Review of the 80s EMG Epiphone Explorer]

The image of James Hetfield donning his all-white Explorer, carved with the words ‘So what’, is an iconic one in metal history. Despite this, there’s never actually been an official Gibson Explorer made bearing Papa Het’s moniker, and that remains the case with this Epiphone Explorer 80s EMG. Some may feel this is a Hetfield Explorer in all but name, however, Hetfield is not a Gibson signature artist like his bandmate Kirk Hammett. This is more of a firm nod fans will very much appreciate. Myself included.

Hetfield originally began playing a white Electra Flying Wedge, which was sold to him as a Gibson Flying V. After the neck of that guitar snapped in 1984, he then switched to a white Gibson Explorer, which had no pickguard and a three-knob control layout, now commonly referred to as an 83 or 84 Explorer, depending on who you ask.

This was the model largely used to record Metallica‘s second album, Ride The Lightning and was a favorite of Hetfield’s until he got his ESP endorsement in 1987. It was equipped with Gibson Dirty Fingers humbuckers.

The Explorer 80s EMG is not to be confused with the Epiphone 1984 Explorer EX, which gained massive popularity and value on the used market when Epiphone pulled it around 2019. This updated model is much closer to the form factor of Hetfield’s original guitar, sans any lewd graffiti.