A guitarist who uses an Explorer-type (guitar)
From among Gibson’s electric guitars, I’ve compiled a list of guitarists who use the Explorer type.
Its avant-garde design reportedly didn’t make it very popular at first, but these days it’s a well-loved guitar used by many famous musicians.
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Guitarists using the Explorer type (11–20)
Fredrik Thordendal
Fredrik Thordendal, guitarist of the Swedish metal band Meshuggah, is a pioneering figure in the world of extended-range guitars.
He has released an 8-string signature model with an Explorer shape from Ibanez.
Starting around 2:00 in this video, you can see his Allan Holdsworth-style guitar solo, and many of you probably noticed the wavy frets.
In fact, this is a fret system called True Temperament.
Brendon Small
Dethklok is a fictional comic band that appears in the American animated series “Metalocalypse.” Would it be similar to Japan’s “Detroit Metal City”? The frontman is Brendon Small, who plays an Explorer.
Brandon Watkins
Year of the Knife is a straight-edge hardcore band from Delaware, USA.
With dynamic song arrangements and a hard-hitting style, they’re one of the most exciting young acts to watch.
Guitarist Brandon Watkins plays a pitch dropped down two and a half steps on a jet-black Explorer.
This is footage of their live set at THIS IS HARDCORE, the annual hardcore festival held in Philadelphia.
Matthias Jabs
Matthias Jabs, guitarist for the German hard rock band Scorpions.
In this video, he’s ripping on an Explorer with a white body and black stripes to their famous “Rock You Like a Hurricane.” Be sure to check out his cool solo starting around 2:30!
Matt Heafy
Matt Heafy, Trivium’s guitarist-vocalist, began using a 7-string on their 2008 album Shogun.
While he now plays an Epiphone Les Paul, up until around 2011 he used a 7-string Explorer.
This is live footage from the German metal festival Wacken Open Air.
Lzzy Hale
Lzzy Hale, the guitarist and vocalist of the hard rock band Halestorm, is also an Explorer user.
She has a signature model released by Epiphone.
This is footage from when she was invited to perform at Eric Church’s live show.
Her powerful vocals and backing riffs are really cool.
Guitarists using the Explorer type (21–30)
Joel O’Keeffe
Joel O’Keeffe, the singer-guitarist of the Australian hard rock band AIRBOURNE, is also a devoted Explorer player.
Is it perhaps METALLICA’s influence that makes the combination of a singer-guitarist and an Explorer feel like such a perfect match?