The Explorer was a futuristic looking guitar back in 1984, and 1958, so now Epiphone have re-released what is now a retro ‘1984’ Explorer EX.
The only thing wrong with Marty’s scene where he played guitar at his parents homecoming, was that he wasn’t playing the futuristic head banging guitar of the day, well not that particular day, his future self’s day, wait – he was from the future, so it was his day.
Actually, the Explorer body shape was originally introduced in 1958, so I guess it was too late for Marty by 3 years – please disregard my previous references to Back To The Future.
If you’re still with me, my point is that all this ‘retro’ stuff is getting a bit confusing. Is there really a need out there, or is this like getting the same generation who re-bought all their favorite albums on CD years later, to go out and buy the old guitars they used to have?
Anyway – if you’re interested, here’s the basic feature run down from Epiphone:
The 1984 Explorer EX features a solid mahogany body for a light but balanced weight that’s perfect for long hours on stage and in rehearsal. Mahogany also gives the “1984” EX subtle tonal shades and biting sustain when played at loud volume. The mahogany neck is hand-fitted and glued into the body. It features a 24.75″ scale length rosewood fingerboard with 22 medium/jumbo frets, a 1.68″ nut width, and a radius of 14″. You’ll also notice the “1984” Explorer has no pickguard, giving the guitar a sleek, uncluttered and modern look.
The “1984” EX’s Big Brother tone comes from one Active EMG-85 neck pickup and one Active EMG-81 bridge pickup. The EMG-85 uses two Alnico magnet-loaded coils with a wide aperture for a beefy low end and a fat top end. The EMG-81 pickup is designed especially for lead guitar and excels at high volume overdrive. Distortion during lead passages is consistent with long sustain and smooth breakup fades. The Active EMG pickups excel at pushing any amp into overdrive. The EMG-81 features ceramic magnets and close aperture coils for a ringing sustain and high end cut. The combination of both the neck and bridge positions make for head ringing that will cut through any stage volume. A hinged compartment on the back makes changing the active pickup’s 9-volt battery easy. The pickup selector is an Epiphone all metal three-way toggle switch.
No information on price just yet – but the full specs are available from Epiphone’s website.
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