Epiphone 1958 Korina Explorer - Expensive, But Impressive?
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- čas přidán 4. 07. 2024
- The limited edition Epiphone, inspired by Gibson Custom Shop, 1958 Korina Explorer came out recently. It has impressive specs, but is also expensive for an Epiphone - is it worth it?
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Time Stamps:
0:00 Intro
0:45 What does it sound like?
2:22 Size & Shape
2:59 Glad This Came Along
4:22 Where it's made, and materials
6:45 The 1958 Gibson Catalogue
9:00 Thoughts on the catalogue
10:36 Price?
13:43 Demo 2
14:20 Frets
15:38 Demo 3
16:44 Controls, Pots
17:23 Demo 4
18:17 The Burstbuckers/Mods
19:33 Final Thoughts - Zábava
Thanks for watching! Check out my charity raffle where you can win a guitar!! raffall.com/333341/enter-raffle-to-win-pink-stratocaster-pedal-hosted-by-james-holding
Picked one up and I am very satisfied with it . I have repaired guitars for 40 some years so I set it up and it plays really well . Its light and has a very resonant sound , very expressive and balanced . I once owned an original '58 Flying V and love the sound of Korina and this guitar is right there . The Explorer has been one of my favorite guitars , so fifties , and had been considering picking up one of my he recent offerings by Gibson but was not going to put out 9 grand . On top of that I wasn't impressed with the guitars I played and I will put up this Epiphone against those in a heartbeat . The grade of the wood is better , at least on this one , and the build quality is on par . I know that it's all subjective but I started buying vintage guitars when they were just used guitars back in 1968 and have been fortunate to have owned and played many fine guitars and learned a lot about the qualities that make a great guitar or one that is lacking in the good qualities . Just because a guitar was made in the '50s or '60s doesn't mean that it's a great guitar , I have played some real dogs . I have also played some gems . There are guitars being made today that rival the ones of old when the pieces of wood work well together and make a very musical instrument . I think these Korina Explorers and Vs are a fantastic buy for the money . If you can , play what is available and hopefully you'll find one that works for you ... And it sure beats shelling out 9 grand for a guitar that not 8 grand better .. just my perspective
I have been in love with the explorer ever since I saw the Scorpions playing them when I was a kid👍
Wickedly great band Scorpions 👍🎸
Got the same guitar last week. Haven’t put it down. Incredible
Excellent video! Thank you for not littering the video with metal likes like so many who demonstrate the Explorer tend to do. I could actually hear what the guitar sounded like. Looks great and sounds very good too!
Great video!
I already own a late '98 korina Epiphone Explorer ( + a Flying V, an SG and a Firebird built in the late 90's/early 00's...) and this would be a fine addition to my collection...
Oh yeah, I also have the 1958 Moderne reissue...
This one is really really really nice...
This week I gave myself two beautiful, brand new guitars - a Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard and this Epiphone 1958 Korina Explorer but with a black pickguard!!! I can't wait for the delivery - it will be here in two days! I realize that there are higher-end instruments, but unfortunately they are not within my budget. Greets from Poland... 🤘

would like to see a series of mods on this guitar James, thanks
Great vid, I’m a lefty so I might struggle getting hold of one of these. Just sold my Gibson explorer, it was amazing but popped and crackled with static I couldn’t get rid of
Interesting video James. Since the "Inpsired by Gibson" thing started Epiphone seem to have upped their game considerably.
Ive an inspired by gibson sg n theyre not that great.
This drum intro 🤟
That catalogue was fascinating. If the ES and V are at the back it seems like they were marketed as afterthoughts. It would be interesting to compare that 1958 catalog to a 1959 or 1960 one to see what they were trying to push.
Also - it's your guitar but before you sand any frets - why not take it to a guitar tech or luthier? If it's choking after fret 12, it might need a truss rod adjustment?
Yeah, really want to find other catalogues! Yeah, i’ve been learning guitar building, fretwork etc for the last 18 months - have made a few necks and bodies from scratch, in fact one is currently being finished. So, truss rod adjustment is no problem - will always check simple things before doing more vigorous work, but i have all the tools and a little time now doing fret levelling, crowning etc 👍🏼 not quite up to pro standards yet but no longer scared of it (phew!). Cheers
Mine gets delivered tomorrow early afternoon.
Kinda impressed wished it came with Burstbucker Pro pickups tho
I waited too long to press the buy button. So I’m on a waiting list. Though I had just picked up the Adam Jones Berserker and the Billy Joe Armstrong Les Pauls the week prior. So I can wait as long as I get one. Yours looks really nice. Enjoy. Why change out the Gibson pickups
Hello mate, interesting comments in your video. i noted that you said you will change the pots, are they really that poor? I changed the pots in my Les Paul to CTS over the Gibson ones and there was a vast improvement so I was surprised after hearing your guitar that you would change these out. It's all down to personal choice as are the subject of pickups which can open a large can of worms on debates, each to their own though. I have just pre ordered an Explorer from Peach Guitars but I have also gone with the extra cost of having it Pleke'd, so hopefully it will play even better when I get it. I had another of my guitars Pleke'd and it was superb to play no issues whatsoever. I enjoyed your post I would be interested to see a follow up with the Custombuckers. Cheers.
I just grabbed one too. Any idea why this Epiphone version is so much lighter than the Gibson version at £8000+? Seeing as they are both in Korina?
How does the neck feel when standing? Does the neck feel heavy, and does it have 'neck dive? Cool video.
Glad to hear some blues on this review tbh, everyone else seems to have to be playing metal with these…
I am curious and interested in this model . But I just feel like its difficult to justify the cost. Yes it does come with a nice hard case. But I think at this price point you should have gotten better pickups. I have the 59 Epi Les paul which has a price tage of £700 and this has the very same pickups as this 58 Korina. BB2 and 3. Maybe BB1 and 2 could have been a better option. But yeah, its a lovely looking combo of guitar and hard case. Also I think i should mention. My Epi 59 Les paul also had issues with the 15th-21st frets. There was fret buzz and I could not bend a string without killing the sound. Had to take to a luthier who unfortunatly could only do so much. So may things to consider... Gibson custom shop, Gibson pickups, made in china, Nice case, fret issues. In any case. Wishing you many good years with your instrument. I hope you write ther next "money for nothin''
I'm a lefty and would love to buy the V, Albert King style. Not trying to be a hater but that guitar is $1900.00 in Canada. For that amount I can almost buy a made in the USA Strat. But that said a left handed Strat is a lost easier to find than a V. Hard decision to make.
Love your channel.
I got so excited seeing the announcement for this and then immediately disappointed when I saw the price, I would’ve instantly bought it for £900, the question now is is it worth forking over another £300 to just get a Gibson explorer?
there is tons used older korina epiphone explorers. Heck they look better and comes with rosewood fingerboard and grover tuners. Many even with cases yet you wouls have 600$ left to mod or repair if needed. Older ones looks better doe they are not satin but thats easily fixable with 15$ worth of sand paper
@@diddymies are they all veneer korina or full body?
@@ToTheMaxGaming1 specs states korina body and mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard.
The Inflation comparison is a bit bullshit because salaries havent increased with the rate of inflation for decades, which means we earn less - according to the cost of life - than we would have in 1958 for the same job.
Well - a) my little section on that was just a but if fun and b) it isn’t really that simple. This site is good to figure it out a bit more - www.retrowow.co.uk/social_history/50s/earnings_1950s.php and www.retrowow.co.uk/social_history/50s/income/cost_1959.php
14:42, You should never-ever use a radius block to sand your frets. Only use a machined level beam to level the frets after first adjusting the neck’s relief to be 100% level/flat.
A radius block is used to contour the fingerboard prior to installing frets.
At least, that is how I was taught.
Yeah - i use a sanding beam to level the frets. Then, to lower the higher number frets if needed i use a radius beam, fret kisser with built in files to level them to each other. It seems to work 🤷🏼♂️
@@JamesOnGuitar When you say "higher number frets" are you referring to the upper register (15th through 22nd)?
I believe what you are referring to is called "falling off" or "dropping off". Yes, I also perform that step when leveling frets for all the obvious reasons.
When you looked at the control wiring, is it wired in modern Gibson or '50s style wiring? The '50s style wiring will have the tone capacitor bridged across the volume and tone pot.
Modern wiring has the capacitor connected from the potentiometer lug to the pot's case/ground. I mention that because, #1 I'm curious, and #2, maybe changing the current wiring configuration might improve the pot's taper performance (simple enough to try before changing out the whole harness).
Myself, I'm a big fan of the Burstbuckers #1 and #2, I recommend the earlier versions that are not wax potted (I believe the lack of potting makes a significant difference in the pickup's feel). Feedback isn't really an issue with the un-potted pickups, it will take at least a decade or longer before the windings start loosening up enough to cause significant feedback problems.
Great content James, Thank You.
@@hkguitar1984 thanks - i’d totally forgotten the right name for it!! Haven’t had a chance to look inside yet but will do when i do part 2 🙌👍🏼
@@JamesOnGuitar Thanks James.
I think those Epiphone are a great second option instead of the Gibson. For myself, I just can't get past the poly finish. Given these new Epiphone don't have binding refinishing in lacquer is most certainly a possibility.
Is it me all the side dots are out of alignment?
17 too high and 21 low. Minor issue, but you're not wrong.
Gibson is taking the same tack that fender has been doing for a few years , blur the quality and price between the import and the US models by slowly increasing both on the import
I think it sounds really really great !
I won't buy any new Epiphone, but come to think of it I won't buy any new Gibson for the different reason but the same reason really ! I won't buy a new Epiphone for 2 reasons, one being made in China and the other is Gibson owns em ! The only reason I won't buy a new Gibson is because Gibson sued Dean instead of competing but at least Gibson introduced me to my new favorite guitar company, Dean guitars ! I bought a Dean select series Z with a hard case and custom made Seymour Duncan's, tone pros hardware abs grover tuners with burl maple top abs ebony fretboard with perfect fretwork for under $700 and it's an amazing guitar !
This is great and all, but Gibson usa should be able to offer this body shape too. It sucks that an Epiphone is much closer to a true spec Explorer than a $2K american Explorer (those have a smaller shape and slimmer neck). Imo they should just label most of these high end epiphones as part of some new Gibson import line.
I heard more backing track than I did the guitar licks
Pickups are real Burstbuckers, and the electronics are Gibson without the orange drops.
Korina wood is a bit toxic to human lungs so please protect yourself from Korina dust when sanding
a piece . Mine comes Monday here in the USA /
They're charging (literally) double the price for the color of the guitar, compared to the black model that's also available. I played both at the same time and there's no appreciable difference in quality. I'd rather build my own with better specs for less cash
I think it’s not just the colour - the one here is solid korina, the black one is mahogany. Korina is quite hard to get in this uniform colour so it looks like the originals. Also the korina one has gibson pickups and the epiphone has epiphone pickups. There are a couple of other differences too. There is a premium for the korina - not because it costs more in general to buy but in my experience of working with it is hard to find good pieces without worm holes and a uniform colour and also it is incredibly soft and scratches and dents easily when you are working with it. I think generally just go with whatever floats your boat - price and quality and sound wise 👍🏼
@@JamesOnGuitar I could go buy a guitar sized amount white korina for maybe $90 right now, which isn't that much more than any of the other popular wood species. I'm not really buying the different woods bit. I wasn't aware it had Gibson pickups but that's a different can of worms.
At last gibson style bridge and not the ugly matric one
Less solid what ever dude
People think cuz they can buy a Harley Benton for $200 that every guitar that’s costs more than that, is a rip off. It’s a pretty narrow minded way of viewing it. If anything, for as much bashing as Gibson gets, Fender is the ones who are outa their mind with pricing. You seen American Fender prices lately? Holy Toledo.
Expensive ?? Compared to what a first act ?? $1300 with a nice case I feel is a good price if you compare it to other guitars. Try the Gibson version of this guitar if you think this is expensive , lol.
I just picked up a 74 Gibson Explorer with a case for $1,500 in great condition 😐 what Gibson is doing is testing the waters so if everyone steps up to $1,200 on a Epiphone than they will know that next a $1.500 Epiphone will have a chance to sell than a $1,800 Epiphone will come 😐 the 1959 Epiphone Les Paul is the only guitar that I have ever returned from sheer disappointment 🤦🏻♂️
Well here in the uk a mid 70’s explorer is many 1000’s, also isn’t korina or 58 style. You don’t have to buy it 🤷🏼♂️ everything has gone up hugely in price recently for all sorts of reasons
@@JamesOnGuitar Korina is not important to me 😐 Korina is mahogany
@@scottanderson4175 it isn’t mahogany? Limba is its own species isn’t it? Its not relevant who it is important to. But the 58 korina style and other specs are not apples to apples
@@JamesOnGuitar to you Korina is Important to me it is not and Korina is actually known as Madagascar mahogany 😐 1958 is not important either you are not buying a 1958
@@scottanderson4175 yeah, it’s important to me… exactly.
Any one else waiting for master of puppets ?
But why? 🤔
@@JamesOnGuitar bro it's like a double cheese burger, but without the cheese. 😊
You know it would be nice if you actually said the prices and the price of equal to what they are today in today's dollars for one thing I'm blind and I would have liked to have known that and another thing is people I don't know if you put this on podcasts or anything else but some of them might be listening to this or people could be listening to this in the car while they're doing something else and yeah you know something to think about for the future and possibly a monthly as possible I might not be the only blind to visually handicapped person listening to your video so yeah something to think about it's kind of a pet peeve of mine when people you know post videos and the eliminate like a audio cues well that's what I'm going to call it or things you know that you know could be said instead of you know why wouldn't you just put it unlimited man why don't you do both you know if you're going to do it you know is it like part of your is it part of your design layout your graphic ideas or something I don't know to me it's just it's just frustrating andnow that my ran over I'll get back to the rest of the video usually I just click off I just end the video and go somewhere else at this point but I'm not going to do that this time sincerely by the black bedroom guitarist 0😅😅😅i