In 08, I got an Epiphone Korina Explorer. Was $499.99 off the shelf. The LP Standard Cherry Burst with a stunning top was also $499.00. Now they charge $1200.00. Insanity.
That would be abt 750 in today’s money. Which feels reasonable compared to the quality. I love my new es-335 but the prices are ridiculous 99% of the time
I used to be a package handler for fedex, we were specifically instructed to throw fragile listed boxes to keep up with the 3 package a minute standard operation speed
Dude that guitar is beautiful. Maybe im coping because im broke (and probably will forever be lolol) but buying cheap guitars and customizing them with better parts always make me feel great. Almost like a bonding experience with the guitar. Thats something that i don't think I'd ever get out of a $20k guitar that I'd be too scared to even really ever bust out. Great work man.
Same here, I don't think you're coping. As long as the basics are solid and you don't have to worry about the bridge being in the correct place and stuff that's major surgery, the rest is workable. I found this video because I ordered one of these a few days ago off eBay and wanted to see if anyone else had tried one, even saw the listing for the one I got on his screen! For $200, I got the Explorer shape I wanted and I can mod it without worrying about damaging it. These guitars are great if your expectations are in check. I know I'll probably have to replace some hardware and possibly do some fretwork, but considering the whole guitar plus shipping cost pretty much the same as the pickups I would put it, how can you not?
I totally agree.... I got a few Chinese guitars recently and one of them was almost perfect out of the box (Slight action adjustment) and the other one needed a bit more work . But doing the work is quite satisfying. It really does give you a sense of connection to the guitar.... Also, you learn so much....
Hey man, great vid, I appreciate you putting the final cost, but if you noticed, on the 0:58 frame, starting from the left theres a black Explorer for 599, so it's not like it's that much worthy, I mean, it is in your case because you had the tailpiece and wanted that white paint, but I only recommend getting Chibbos if you're after certain specs, for example, if you want an RD? there's no way to get one under 2k, if you want a maple fretboard LP, or I don't know, a LP DC, those are getting really expensive, but if you're into traditional 50's Les Pauls I would get an Epi and call it a day. I think if you had searched on FB Marketplace you would eventually land on a good deal. But yeah, getting anything that isn't a Les Paul or an SG is kinda hard. There's also IYV who do similar things but from Vietnam.
a cheap guitar with a decent neck is a lot of fun for people who like modding. i live in a small apartment so kits are kind of a pain since i don't have room to paint a body or cut a headstock. i think every guitarist should have a project guitar or two.
I have often thought about buying a Chibson but with no electronics and no hardware but was scared of it coming with a logo, I have seen videos where a guy had ordered one and specifically asked that no logo be on the headstock and they agreed but then just ignored him. As long as the neck and body are built well the cost is much less than it would even cost me to to buy the wood in the UK and it would even be painted and lacquered. I have a collection of 8 white guitars but don't have an Explorer
I bought this same one and will confirm mine was great as well. It was delivered yesterday, 9/6/24. Frets are nicely leveled, action was set well. The only knock on mine was scratchy frets. I polished them and she’s good to go now! Pickups are a little weak so I will be changing them out, but the stock ones are not terrible by any means.
I just snagged an un-branded Explorer off of ebay. Banana headstock. No Gibson logo. Binding on the edges and neck. Seller had 100% feedback and shipped from within the USA. Guitar is nice and heavy. It had trouble getting in tune and needed the action raised. Still needs a set up. Initially sounded terrible. But my first mod was to change the strings and that made a huge difference. Pickups are low end but not microphonic. Electronics are crappy and tuners are bunk. But I have some spare pups that I'm gonna throw in there to make it chug. I'll wait to change the electronics and tuners. But in all, priced lower than a Firefly FFX. Feels really good in my hands and has good bones to upgrade without spending a fortune.
As for the shapes, a shallow top bout with a long bottom horn is a Futura copy, not an explorer. The sharp ones are a Jackson Kelly copy, about 7/8 size of an Explorer.
there used to be problems even with harpsichords being "counterfeited" hundreds of years ago. but when i think about it, if you just copy someone's instrument, putting the name of who you copied is a form of giving credit to the original rather than creating any confusion that perhaps you were the one who invented it and taking credit for it yourself.
Great video! watched your DG-335 vids a while back and took the plunge with a Chibson. First guitar was confiscated and destroyed by HMRC (customs in UK) - even after telling the seller to NOT to label the guitar as Gibson or DG-335, the case & guitar had Gibson logos. Fortunately the site I purchased from had buyer protection, so I got a refund. Better luck with my second purchase however all they'd done was put some masking tape over the Gibson Logo! (Sigh). Like you I changed all the electrics, pickups and tuners for Gibson & Govers. I even had the neck re-shaped, slimmed down and re-sprayed (I'm 5ft8 to your 6ft7!) - at which point ! discovered it wasn't painted genuine Pelham Blue. The worst part of it was that the intonation was off. I ended up taking it to a luthier who did the best they could - we even checked all the fret spacing and bridge positions against my epiphone ES-335 and everything was with 1-05.mm tolerance, but the notes all went sharp around the 4-5th fret, especially on the G string - we just couldn’t work out what was wrong! Such a tragedy as it was the guitar I’ve always wanted, but I fell out of love with it and sold it for far less than it cost me in total (new components & luthier work). I’ve played many Chibsons (mainly LPs) and some where exceptional - I guess I was just unlucky. The real rub is that I don’t think I can quite bring myself to spend £1,200 on an epiphone DG-335. As you say - if you have a bit of skill and patience you can end-up with a bespoke hot-rodded DIY-custom shop guitar to your own specifications. Personally I wouldn’t buy another Chibson, unless it was 2nd hand and I could try before I bought it. Keep up the great vids - thanks!
8 месяцев назад+1
The original pickups sounded killer to me, sounded like they did distortion with a lot of definition. Not sure if new ones are better or not.
Definitely agree, the Explorer shape is so underrated. I have an Ibanez X Series bass with the same shape and my elbow just sits super comfortable on that wing.
I’ve almost always had to change pickups on “cheaper” guitars.. whether epiphone, Harley Benton, etc. pretty much all my other chibsons have had horrible pickups
Hey, New Subscriber here and this video popped up after Trogly. Great vignette, and your entertaining personality and excellent writing and video skills are solid!
he's like Trogly if Trogly spent a fraction of his time researching and ogling 20 000$ LesPauls practising and could actually play more than jangly zombie chords and smells like teen spirit for the demos !
That fretboard looks sweet. What do you think is made of ? Richlite?Laurel or pau ferro dyed ? It cant be real ebony. But overall is a beauty and I'm not even a huge explorer fan.
those pickups are probably wilkinson humbuckers, pretty much the best aftermarket that wont break the bank for low end guitars because they're wax potted on a lot of models
Dude, like your playing! I have a Gibson Explorer and need a fret leveling but got no one to do it. One dude that i was referred to did some work on it but now its worse. Thinking i will have to buy another guitar until I can find someone who knows what theyre doing
It looks and sounds excellent. I just found your channel I like it. I’ll look forward to some more of your videos that came out really good. I too heavy chibson Explorer and I did some upgrades and I love it.
Great video, man. Very inspiring, in a way. I also have a copy of an ESP explorer, those Hetfield's style, but an actual brazilian company that manufactured in Korea back in the 00's. Plays great, it's kinda heavy, but I still wanna have the experience of playing on an actual explorer body, could be an epiphone or gibson, but both are damn expensive here in Brazil. Watching videos like this will serve as guide to pay attention to detail when buying stuff from China, even though I never did.
Awesome video man! And I've never noticed you're really tall until you mentioned it, but the Explorer was really a good comparison for me. I've had an explorer copy a few years ago and that guitar was too big for me (I'm 5'6") but it looks awesome with you, like it fits :), for me, even a Les Paul looks big haha
Great review and song at the end. How did you record the bass and drums? Does anyone know if any "brand" has basically done what was done here? Seems like a missed opportunity to not upgrade these guitars with solid hardware and electronics and sell those upgraded "Chibsons" and hit that $500 price point where the end user doesn't have to upgrade anything as they're getting quality components from the purchase. I think far more people want something great out-of-the-box rather than to upgrade and hope the ROI is there. If I were a Chinese seller, I would definitely try that myself.
This tall man bought a not-splorer for pennies, gutted it, stuffed it back full and ripped a demo that was tastier than anything any major record label has put out in years. bravo.
Just commented on your paint job video and the next video I saw was this explorer video. 2 years ago I walked into guitar center and on the wall was a used Korina 2008 reissue explorer. Since I’ve never seen an explorer in guitar center I grabbed it off the wall immediately. It’s an Epiphone great shape 275.00 it’s the black with white pic guard. By the way the comment your wife said on the couch sounds exactly like my wife. You seem to know wiring. That kit guitar I painted the neck pickup is not working right. Could that be the ground wire?
I have a ChiESP Explorer and love it!! It is amazing how they can get these to us from China with headstocks perfect condition. Those shipping boxes are kinda bullet proof with all the foam cradling it. Surprised the neck joint took a jolt.
The guitar looks absolutely lovely! Ive been thinking about ordering a guitar from china as i am a lefty and there are just some guitar styles i cant get in my price range which i can get from china and use as a mod platform. However i am slightly worried about getting it through customs, if i tell the seller to remove the logo would you know if it will it be fine to go through customs at all? I dont care for the logo i just want a guitar that looks nice.
I'd do the truss rod cover in black too, just to break up that headstock a bit. Maybe throw a Decepticon logo on the headstock since it has no official logo in the way
Sounds damn good bro! But I wanted to correct ya on just one thing though! I actually got the Chinese copy of the ESP MX-220 .. and maybe it’s just that I got a really good one, but the body shape was pretty much dead on identical to the original MX-220. And how do I know that? Well, because a friend of mine owns a guitar shop and one of his collections. He actually owns one of the original MX 220. EET FUK JH explorer guitars. Yeah he spent $32,000 on that I think he said lol , but yeah, I was actually really surprised everything was damn near for too much dead on. Of course I changed out the pick up and tuners the bridge. Everything else but this Guitar sounds and feels just like the original…. And the trick you did with the soldering, I do that exact same thing because it is way easier that way just to do it in the open and then set it into the Guitar .. but dude you got that Guitar looking seriously bad ass!
Awesome , knowing stuff will always save ya money . I understand being a bigger dude and guitars looking hilariously small . I played bass in a band and one day I picked up my girlfriends guitar to play and everyone started laughing about how small the guitar looked LOL . I have a late 2018/ early 2019 Gibson Explorer and it has been my fav . It was part of the first batch Gibson sent out under new ownership so I'm thinking it was made to impress . I've play other Explorers during the 2010's Henry Era and they just didn't have it . Keep up the great work !
Great video! Also, you can get the bridge post ferrule thingies out by screwing in a longer bolt of the same thickness. (In case you wanna replace them with chrome ones). Edit: Oh and by the way, my mom with face blindness thought you were Dave Grohl.
I bought 2 explorers, on both guitars truss rod is fake, so neck adjustment isnt possible. For now they looks and played great. But bad thing is that adjustment isnt possible
As someone who solders professionally, it all comes down to the gear and solder. I use only Pace stations (MBT250 and 350) and multicore solder (several sizes and types) I can solder anything you throw at me. It is not like it is with guitars. Slash can probably make every guitar sound good, I can not solder at the same level with a crappy station like yours. Not enough power, not fast enough to keep a real stable temp during soldering (and that is the most important thing that is overlooked by almost all cheap station reviews, non coated tips etc.
Personally, I'm a fan of gold hardware. But not on white guitars. Goes better with black in my opinion. This Explorer looks much better with the silver hardware for sure. Well, hope it serves you well. I personally own three chinese guitars. A fake strat, a fake Ibanez and an indeterminant bland model. Two of them I had to modify to be well-functional. The third one was custom order so I knew that aside from shoddy soldering it was going to be fine as is parts-wise.
12:29 those are most likely a rebranded Artec pickup which is what they use on Epiphones too🤣 they're pretty decent too especially since they cost around 13-20 USD.
Great vid , love it . Fiddling with my Koa Chibson . Maybe mahogany . Faber Hardware and soon some nice American ‘59 pups . 58 wiring with CTS pots and input jack . Anyway , I love it ❤
Not sure about " moral Grey area ", I think counterfeiting is a pretty black and white wrong thing. But it is cool that they didn't put Gibson on the headstock
So happy I came across your channel. I've been toying with the same idea in customizing a more "affordable" guitar. I want to go the '84 Explorer route...not a fan of pick guards. Fucking awesome presentation man, knowledgeable and some great tips. Now to find decent hardware in the asshole side of the world... Greetings from South Africa
The 2023 Korina Explorer Epi's are solid body.. not veneer.. I just bought a husk for $490.. Epi says exact same wood (That's why they cost $1300).. .. doing a build a soon..
The multiple tape applications indicated it may have actually been QC'd when it hit the states. I think if I bought a Chibson, id want it to say Gibson on the headstock, just in case it was wall art. At least I could pretend I could afford one.
Jeej, its hilarious how you are an unofficial Chibson Guitar Explorer for us lol! You are an invaluable resource for some of us who may take a small gamble into seeing how some of these guitars will be for us in the Future! Keep the vids up and keep rocking out man! This guitar gives me Dave Grohl mid 2000's vibes!
i don't know why people are still surprised by quality "chibsons" these are probably all made by the same people that are making most of the import brand name guitars...they have access to all the parts and schematics...they just un-brand them and sell them for cheap...
That lead in the demo is fantastic. And, at $493 total cost, that's still the same or less than a used Epi, but better. Sometimes I wonder how actually disconnected the materials/factories/workers are when you're comparing brand-name guitars made in China to the same guitar without the brand name made in China.
Yah I enjoyed watching your video, great choices you made to actually own and modify your explorer into a Beast! All done without breaking your bank account. Rock On!
I just bought the Matte black “Les Paul” with the “bigsby” (if you know you know), and the headstock was broken in shipping. The return process was okay but just be mindful that you’re no purchasing from Americans and they will try to get you to keep the guitar without a refund or just a partial refund! Also pots and pickups and tuners are absolute garbage! But for $300? That’s hard to beat
There's a good chance this actually IS Epiphone. Gibson has their factory in Qingdao, China. Chinese often take guitars that didn't pass QC, stamp Gibson on headstock and sell them off on Aliexpress and DHgate. Or simply steal CNC plans and run them off outside the factory.
I actually think you could do a cool video for something in the Hagstrom line… I realize you are probably at no new guitars for a while other than the Epiphone DG-335… but, that’s one I think you could demo well.
I've been eying unbranded explorer-shaped guitars on eBay for weeks now, and you, my dude, are not helping! Also, your music sample tune is very cool; I even rewound the video to listen to it again. PS: What book was your understanding wife reading at the beginning of the video?
Dude sounds great! Also, you're fucking funny dude. Those screaming Lzzy segments and the sad explorer montage really tickled me.
Daniel Heiman is actually a pretty sick singer.
In 08, I got an Epiphone Korina Explorer. Was $499.99 off the shelf. The LP Standard Cherry Burst with a stunning top was also $499.00. Now they charge $1200.00. Insanity.
That would be abt 750 in today’s money. Which feels reasonable compared to the quality. I love my new es-335 but the prices are ridiculous 99% of the time
I used to be a package handler for fedex, we were specifically instructed to throw fragile listed boxes to keep up with the 3 package a minute standard operation speed
yes but "fragile" marked on the box is important if a claim is made
It's so insane that they have these "3 packages a minute" speeds....
Note to self do not use FedEx.
Dude that guitar is beautiful. Maybe im coping because im broke (and probably will forever be lolol) but buying cheap guitars and customizing them with better parts always make me feel great. Almost like a bonding experience with the guitar. Thats something that i don't think I'd ever get out of a $20k guitar that I'd be too scared to even really ever bust out. Great work man.
Same here, I don't think you're coping. As long as the basics are solid and you don't have to worry about the bridge being in the correct place and stuff that's major surgery, the rest is workable. I found this video because I ordered one of these a few days ago off eBay and wanted to see if anyone else had tried one, even saw the listing for the one I got on his screen! For $200, I got the Explorer shape I wanted and I can mod it without worrying about damaging it.
These guitars are great if your expectations are in check. I know I'll probably have to replace some hardware and possibly do some fretwork, but considering the whole guitar plus shipping cost pretty much the same as the pickups I would put it, how can you not?
PSVR2: MEOW!!!
as long as the neck is good the rest doesn't matter that much cause you can replace em.
Keep up that attitude and you'll be poor your whole life. The minute you step outside of your comfort zone you'll be right where you want.
I totally agree.... I got a few Chinese guitars recently and one of them was almost perfect out of the box (Slight action adjustment) and the other one needed a bit more work . But doing the work is quite satisfying. It really does give you a sense of connection to the guitar....
Also, you learn so much....
Hey man, great vid, I appreciate you putting the final cost, but if you noticed, on the 0:58 frame, starting from the left theres a black Explorer for 599, so it's not like it's that much worthy, I mean, it is in your case because you had the tailpiece and wanted that white paint, but I only recommend getting Chibbos if you're after certain specs, for example, if you want an RD? there's no way to get one under 2k, if you want a maple fretboard LP, or I don't know, a LP DC, those are getting really expensive, but if you're into traditional 50's Les Pauls I would get an Epi and call it a day.
I think if you had searched on FB Marketplace you would eventually land on a good deal.
But yeah, getting anything that isn't a Les Paul or an SG is kinda hard.
There's also IYV who do similar things but from Vietnam.
Large sections of your jam session at the end sounded a lot like Kyuss. Not all of it, but the majority of it was very Kyuss-esque. I dig it.
Kyuss lives.
That came out AWESOME! And I love that you opted for no "Chibson" decal...made it your own!
I’d be one to put a piece of tape on the headstock and write Gibson in some stupid ass lettering
@@gpf32 comic sans 😂😂
a cheap guitar with a decent neck is a lot of fun for people who like modding. i live in a small apartment so kits are kind of a pain since i don't have room to paint a body or cut a headstock. i think every guitarist should have a project guitar or two.
Love Lzzy that said always love tricking out a guitar. Chibson, Partcaster and so on some upgrades always help!
It looks 100% better after your upgrade! Love the jam at the end, some tasty licks there!
Sounds really good dude! I’ve done this treatment to two of epis where I swap out a ton of parts. They hang with all my gibsons just fine!
I have often thought about buying a Chibson but with no electronics and no hardware but was scared of it coming with a logo, I have seen videos where a guy had ordered one and specifically asked that no logo be on the headstock and they agreed but then just ignored him.
As long as the neck and body are built well the cost is much less than it would even cost me to to buy the wood in the UK and it would even be painted and lacquered.
I have a collection of 8 white guitars but don't have an Explorer
I bought this same one and will confirm mine was great as well. It was delivered yesterday, 9/6/24. Frets are nicely leveled, action was set well. The only knock on mine was scratchy frets. I polished them and she’s good to go now! Pickups are a little weak so I will be changing them out, but the stock ones are not terrible by any means.
I just snagged an un-branded Explorer off of ebay. Banana headstock. No Gibson logo. Binding on the edges and neck. Seller had 100% feedback and shipped from within the USA. Guitar is nice and heavy. It had trouble getting in tune and needed the action raised. Still needs a set up. Initially sounded terrible. But my first mod was to change the strings and that made a huge difference. Pickups are low end but not microphonic. Electronics are crappy and tuners are bunk. But I have some spare pups that I'm gonna throw in there to make it chug. I'll wait to change the electronics and tuners. But in all, priced lower than a Firefly FFX. Feels really good in my hands and has good bones to upgrade without spending a fortune.
As for the shapes, a shallow top bout with a long bottom horn is a Futura copy, not an explorer. The sharp ones are a Jackson Kelly copy, about 7/8 size of an Explorer.
there used to be problems even with harpsichords being "counterfeited" hundreds of years ago. but when i think about it, if you just copy someone's instrument, putting the name of who you copied is a form of giving credit to the original rather than creating any confusion that perhaps you were the one who invented it and taking credit for it yourself.
People forget to take off the plastic covering on the pickups sometimes and claim the pick ups suck. It's pretty fun y
Bro your editing is Supreme. Good work, i’m thinking about doing this exact method with some gibson pickups just as a shredder. Super informative
Great video! watched your DG-335 vids a while back and took the plunge with a Chibson. First guitar was confiscated and destroyed by HMRC (customs in UK) - even after telling the seller to NOT to label the guitar as Gibson or DG-335, the case & guitar had Gibson logos. Fortunately the site I purchased from had buyer protection, so I got a refund. Better luck with my second purchase however all they'd done was put some masking tape over the Gibson Logo! (Sigh). Like you I changed all the electrics, pickups and tuners for Gibson & Govers. I even had the neck re-shaped, slimmed down and re-sprayed (I'm 5ft8 to your 6ft7!) - at which point ! discovered it wasn't painted genuine Pelham Blue. The worst part of it was that the intonation was off. I ended up taking it to a luthier who did the best they could - we even checked all the fret spacing and bridge positions against my epiphone ES-335 and everything was with 1-05.mm tolerance, but the notes all went sharp around the 4-5th fret, especially on the G string - we just couldn’t work out what was wrong! Such a tragedy as it was the guitar I’ve always wanted, but I fell out of love with it and sold it for far less than it cost me in total (new components & luthier work).
I’ve played many Chibsons (mainly LPs) and some where exceptional - I guess I was just unlucky. The real rub is that I don’t think I can quite bring myself to spend £1,200 on an epiphone DG-335.
As you say - if you have a bit of skill and patience you can end-up with a bespoke hot-rodded DIY-custom shop guitar to your own specifications. Personally I wouldn’t buy another Chibson, unless it was 2nd hand and I could try before I bought it.
Keep up the great vids - thanks!
The original pickups sounded killer to me, sounded like they did distortion with a lot of definition. Not sure if new ones are better or not.
Definitely agree, the Explorer shape is so underrated. I have an Ibanez X Series bass with the same shape and my elbow just sits super comfortable on that wing.
Minor paint repairs can often be done with nail polish/varnish. Most colours are covered and often you can blend shades.
Guitar looks and sounds fantastic, well done.
You mentioned it was heavy-what does it weigh? What about the neck-was it fatter or thinner?
Definitely sounds it looks better but question why did you get the one with the gold all over it if you don't like it?
Great project! Sounds pretty good. Just curious what bridge pickup did you use? Thanks
Got this same hale copy model about a year ago, used it on plenty of recordings and it’s a favorite to jam with. Never even changed out the pickups
I’ve almost always had to change pickups on “cheaper” guitars.. whether epiphone, Harley Benton, etc. pretty much all my other chibsons have had horrible pickups
Hey, New Subscriber here and this video popped up after Trogly.
Great vignette, and your entertaining personality and excellent writing and video skills are solid!
he's like Trogly if Trogly spent a fraction of his time researching and ogling 20 000$ LesPauls practising and could actually play more than jangly zombie chords and smells like teen spirit for the demos !
That fretboard looks sweet.
What do you think is made of ? Richlite?Laurel or pau ferro dyed ? It cant be real ebony.
But overall is a beauty and I'm not even a huge explorer fan.
those pickups are probably wilkinson humbuckers, pretty much the best aftermarket that wont break the bank for low end guitars because they're wax potted on a lot of models
Dude, like your playing! I have a Gibson Explorer and need a fret leveling but got no one to do it. One dude that i was referred to did some work on it but now its worse. Thinking i will have to buy another guitar until I can find someone who knows what theyre doing
It looks and sounds excellent. I just found your channel I like it. I’ll look forward to some more of your videos that came out really good. I too heavy chibson Explorer and I did some upgrades and I love it.
Great vid! Can we dive into the instruments of the rest of the Foo? I'd love your perspective on Nate's rig as well as Pat & Shifty's!
Great video, man. Very inspiring, in a way. I also have a copy of an ESP explorer, those Hetfield's style, but an actual brazilian company that manufactured in Korea back in the 00's. Plays great, it's kinda heavy, but I still wanna have the experience of playing on an actual explorer body, could be an epiphone or gibson, but both are damn expensive here in Brazil. Watching videos like this will serve as guide to pay attention to detail when buying stuff from China, even though I never did.
I seen these on Ebay and they got solid reviews on them. Im getting a explorer and custom it out.
You can get rid of the bubbles on the pickguard by putting a tinny pin prick in the middle of them then squeeze them down.
Awesome video man! And I've never noticed you're really tall until you mentioned it, but the Explorer was really a good comparison for me. I've had an explorer copy a few years ago and that guitar was too big for me (I'm 5'6") but it looks awesome with you, like it fits :), for me, even a Les Paul looks big haha
dis the explorer you got have a gibsin/epiphone size tune o matic? ive been looking to buy a chibson and put an frx on it!
Did you not find the chip that came off in the box ??? might of been able to stick it back on and tidy it up...
Great review and song at the end. How did you record the bass and drums?
Does anyone know if any "brand" has basically done what was done here? Seems like a missed opportunity to not upgrade these guitars with solid hardware and electronics and sell those upgraded "Chibsons" and hit that $500 price point where the end user doesn't have to upgrade anything as they're getting quality components from the purchase. I think far more people want something great out-of-the-box rather than to upgrade and hope the ROI is there. If I were a Chinese seller, I would definitely try that myself.
HOw is the neck profile on this? I have a few Chibson Explorers and my one complaint is that the necks are too chunky.
This tall man bought a not-splorer for pennies, gutted it, stuffed it back full and ripped a demo that was tastier than anything any major record label has put out in years. bravo.
Just commented on your paint job video and the next video I saw was this explorer video. 2 years ago I walked into guitar center and on the wall was a used Korina 2008 reissue explorer. Since I’ve never seen an explorer in guitar center I grabbed it off the wall immediately. It’s an Epiphone great shape 275.00 it’s the black with white pic guard. By the way the comment your wife said on the couch sounds exactly like my wife. You seem to know wiring. That kit guitar I painted the neck pickup is not working right. Could that be the ground wire?
I got the CibPaul custom from AliExspree. It showed up undamaged in about a week after being told it would take a few months.
I have a ChiESP Explorer and love it!! It is amazing how they can get these to us from China with headstocks perfect condition. Those shipping boxes are kinda bullet proof with all the foam cradling it. Surprised the neck joint took a jolt.
It's really good? Sounds good?
I kinda like the way it looks and sounds...as is. DANG
I own a Chibson Les Paul custom plays great
The guitar looks absolutely lovely! Ive been thinking about ordering a guitar from china as i am a lefty and there are just some guitar styles i cant get in my price range which i can get from china and use as a mod platform. However i am slightly worried about getting it through customs, if i tell the seller to remove the logo would you know if it will it be fine to go through customs at all? I dont care for the logo i just want a guitar that looks nice.
Inspirational! Thank you for making this video. Nicely done, all around.
stupid question especially after this video, but, are you getting the DG-335?
Can you do an update video with one of those lead checking kits, check the frets!
Hi Jeremy, as always a great guitar review. Will you buy and review the Epiphone DG-335?I wonder what it will be like compared to your replica DG-335.
I'm guessing that unless Epiphone gives him a free one at $1299.00 retail that would be a “no.”
I'd do the truss rod cover in black too, just to break up that headstock a bit. Maybe throw a Decepticon logo on the headstock since it has no official logo in the way
That’s a great idea, I’m planning on replacing the truss rod cover for sure
Brother, I have no idea why you only have 4k Subs! The content, and quality, of this video is fantastic! And you're a really talented player!
His tiktok is where its at
@@St0n_e_man Thanks I will check it out!
Fret size and neck radius and neck shape?? Thanks and great video!
He’s the one, pure in his heart.
Is the neck chunky? ot does the guitar lean forward when standing?
Sounds damn good bro! But I wanted to correct ya on just one thing though! I actually got the Chinese copy of the ESP MX-220 .. and maybe it’s just that I got a really good one, but the body shape was pretty much dead on identical to the original MX-220. And how do I know that? Well, because a friend of mine owns a guitar shop and one of his collections. He actually owns one of the original MX 220. EET FUK JH explorer guitars. Yeah he spent $32,000 on that I think he said lol , but yeah, I was actually really surprised everything was damn near for too much dead on. Of course I changed out the pick up and tuners the bridge. Everything else but this Guitar sounds and feels just like the original….
And the trick you did with the soldering, I do that exact same thing because it is way easier that way just to do it in the open and then set it into the Guitar .. but dude you got that Guitar looking seriously bad ass!
Awesome , knowing stuff will always save ya money . I understand being a bigger dude and guitars looking hilariously small . I played bass in a band and one day I picked up my girlfriends guitar to play and everyone started laughing about how small the guitar looked LOL . I have a late 2018/ early 2019 Gibson Explorer and it has been my fav . It was part of the first batch Gibson sent out under new ownership so I'm thinking it was made to impress . I've play other Explorers during the 2010's Henry Era and they just didn't have it . Keep up the great work !
Great video! Also, you can get the bridge post ferrule thingies out by screwing in a longer bolt of the same thickness. (In case you wanna replace them with chrome ones).
Edit: Oh and by the way, my mom with face blindness thought you were Dave Grohl.
I bought 2 explorers, on both guitars truss rod is fake, so neck adjustment isnt possible. For now they looks and played great. But bad thing is that adjustment isnt possible
As someone who solders professionally, it all comes down to the gear and solder. I use only Pace stations (MBT250 and 350) and multicore solder (several sizes and types) I can solder anything you throw at me. It is not like it is with guitars. Slash can probably make every guitar sound good, I can not solder at the same level with a crappy station like yours. Not enough power, not fast enough to keep a real stable temp during soldering (and that is the most important thing that is overlooked by almost all cheap station reviews, non coated tips etc.
Nice video! I've been thinking of buying an Ibanez Iceman replica in white.
Personally, I'm a fan of gold hardware. But not on white guitars. Goes better with black in my opinion. This Explorer looks much better with the silver hardware for sure.
Well, hope it serves you well. I personally own three chinese guitars. A fake strat, a fake Ibanez and an indeterminant bland model. Two of them I had to modify to be well-functional. The third one was custom order so I knew that aside from shoddy soldering it was going to be fine as is parts-wise.
Is there a specific seller you buy from on eBay? I want to order one but I'm afraid of getting ripped off. Any info would be greatly appreciated 🤘🏻
12:29 those are most likely a rebranded Artec pickup which is what they use on Epiphones too🤣
they're pretty decent too especially since they cost around 13-20 USD.
Great vid , love it . Fiddling with my Koa Chibson . Maybe mahogany . Faber Hardware and soon some nice American ‘59 pups . 58 wiring with CTS pots and input jack . Anyway , I love it ❤
Hey JEEJ can you provide a link where I can get one? I would love one in silverburst.
Not sure about " moral Grey area ", I think counterfeiting is a pretty black and white wrong thing. But it is cool that they didn't put Gibson on the headstock
So happy I came across your channel.
I've been toying with the same idea in customizing a more "affordable" guitar. I want to go the '84 Explorer route...not a fan of pick guards.
Fucking awesome presentation man, knowledgeable and some great tips.
Now to find decent hardware in the asshole side of the world...
Greetings from South Africa
You had me in the first 30 seconds. Love how supportive our wives are of the ever growing collection
cool project dude keep rocking
The 2023 Korina Explorer Epi's are solid body.. not veneer.. I just bought a husk for $490.. Epi says exact same wood (That's why they cost $1300).. .. doing a build a soon..
This was a GREAT video, nice work
The multiple tape applications indicated it may have actually been QC'd when it hit the states. I think if I bought a Chibson, id want it to say Gibson on the headstock, just in case it was wall art. At least I could pretend I could afford one.
Jeej, its hilarious how you are an unofficial Chibson Guitar Explorer for us lol! You are an invaluable resource for some of us who may take a small gamble into seeing how some of these guitars will be for us in the Future! Keep the vids up and keep rocking out man! This guitar gives me Dave Grohl mid 2000's vibes!
i don't know why people are still surprised by quality "chibsons" these are probably all made by the same people that are making most of the import brand name guitars...they have access to all the parts and schematics...they just un-brand them and sell them for cheap...
That lead in the demo is fantastic.
And, at $493 total cost, that's still the same or less than a used Epi, but better. Sometimes I wonder how actually disconnected the materials/factories/workers are when you're comparing brand-name guitars made in China to the same guitar without the brand name made in China.
Yah I enjoyed watching your video, great choices you made to actually own and modify your explorer into a Beast!
All done without breaking your bank account.
Rock On!
I just bought the Matte black “Les Paul” with the “bigsby” (if you know you know), and the headstock was broken in shipping. The return process was okay but just be mindful that you’re no purchasing from Americans and they will try to get you to keep the guitar without a refund or just a partial refund! Also pots and pickups and tuners are absolute garbage! But for $300? That’s hard to beat
Good job. I'd put a black truss rod cover on it but hey, it's your guitar 👍👍
You may have said it, but what was the final total after all of the upgrades?
There’s a tally at the very end. Ended up just under $500
That guitar was definitely packed better than anything I've gotten from official brand name sellers..
I kinda like that they didn’t have a Gibson’s logo on the headstock
Black with binding would of been a good colour.
Most importantly, how are the frets and fret ends?
There's a good chance this actually IS Epiphone. Gibson has their factory in Qingdao, China. Chinese often take guitars that didn't pass QC, stamp Gibson on headstock and sell them off on Aliexpress and DHgate. Or simply steal CNC plans and run them off outside the factory.
Whats the song playing in the background
I actually think you could do a cool video for something in the Hagstrom line… I realize you are probably at no new guitars for a while other than the Epiphone DG-335… but, that’s one I think you could demo well.
..is the es-335 in the back ground a copy?
Watch out. They don’t always ship from the states. Check the delivery times.
That. Looks. EPIC! And sounds great to boot!
That instrumental bit was tasty af.
5:57
Still looking for a Dg 335 like yours, all the ones out there the diamond holes are not right 🤦
The epiphone models are out now!
@@JEEJ_MUSIC I know
Just $1899 Canadian
Or $1299 USD 🤦
I've been eying unbranded explorer-shaped guitars on eBay for weeks now, and you, my dude, are not helping! Also, your music sample tune is very cool; I even rewound the video to listen to it again.
PS: What book was your understanding wife reading at the beginning of the video?
Hahaha probably something from the ACOTAR series
where did you get the parts for the guitar?
Looks great! The only really off part for me is the headstock which looks a bit fat and derpy compared to the real thing.
Oh yeah it’s for sure bigger than a Gibson, but it’s far from the worst I’ve seen
any plan on trying those chinese 7 string warlocks?
Interesting, I have the same guitar and my pickups are stamped ‘made in Japan’
Looks perfect with those mods! Awsome guitar!
Enjoyed the vid. Great playing too