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 who use Explorer-type guitars (1–10)
TAKUMA
10-FEET is a three-piece melodic hardcore punk band from Kyoto.
They’re also well known for hosting the annual Kyoto Daisakusen festival.
When it comes to guitarist-vocalist TAKUMA’s trademark, it’s got to be his Gibson Explorer.
TAKUMA handles not only blistering fast riffs but also sweet, gritty guitar solos, calling to mind Metallica’s James Hetfield!
James Hetfield
James Hetfield, Metallica’s vocalist and guitarist, is also famous as an Explorer-shaped guitar player.
He’s released his Snakebyte signature model through ESP.
He might be the only one who can sling his guitar that low and still pull off blazing-fast downpicking on an Explorer!
Dave Grohl
Dave Grohl, the frontman of Foo Fighters, uses a variety of guitars, but he often plays an Explorer.
In particular, during the early years, he frequently used a black Explorer in live performances.
Rick Nielsen
Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick is known for using unusual guitars, such as oddly shaped models and ones with five necks.
Fond of check patterns, he incorporated them not only into his outfits but also into his guitars.
In this music video, a check-patterned HAMER Explorer-type guitar makes an appearance.
Ayapeta
Dizzy Sunfist is a three-piece melodic hardcore band from Osaka.
Ayapeta, the young band’s guitarist-vocalist who’s taking the melocore scene by storm, is also an Explorer user.
She started playing an Explorer because she admired big names in the scene—Hazawa from THUMB and TAKA from BURL.