I have a 2024 Gibson 70s Explorer here with its original hard shell case and factory paperwork. This one has the desirable trait of being a lightweight specimen, weighing in at 7 lb 11 oz.

Conditionally, this guitar looks nice.

The body top shows no marks or dings or any patterns of playwear. The surface finish looks really clean, and the original film sticker sleeve protector is still on the pickguard. I will leave you the pleasure of peeling that off when you're ready.

The body sides/edges look excellent as well. I did not find any bumps or indentations. Any superficial swirling will be absolutely minimal to nonexistent. I did not find any patterns of soft playwear.

The body back again looks excellent. I found no buckle rash or worming, nor any buildup of any lower-intensity surface playwear. Any superficial swirling will be absolutely minimal. I found a tiny bit of swirling around the upper strap button from the normal use of a guitar strap.

The neck shaft contour looks and feels excellent, with nothing to report there. The headstock shows a little bit of scuffing on the shoulders of the guitar. That commonly happens when a guitar is hung from a guitar hanger. So, not too bad here, just a little trace of that on the edge of the headstock veneer. See the last picture for this. Beyond that, the headstock looks great. I didn't find any notable playwear on it. Also note the little black line you see in that pic is not a crack. It's either a grain convergence or the seam of the two piece wood bond that Gibson does use on some headstock. The finish is nice and smooth.

The frets are tall and full, showing no fretwear. Also note, I took the time to give the fretboard a conditioning and a deep cleaning with F-1 fretboard oil, which also polishes the frets. And I installed a new set of 10-46 Ernie Ball Slinky strings. The setup is perfectly dialed in. It will play exceptional right out of the case.

So this one rates a 9.1/10 and grades as excellent. I found just a little bit of playwear on the shoulders of the lower portion of the headstock as the only mention on this guitar. Beyond that, the entire surface of it looks on the higher side of excellent. It is structurally and sonically sound and plays and sounds fantastic.

This guitar is synonymous with heavy metal and hard rock genre's and upon playing it and assessing it's tone i can see why. More so then the radical edgy look the guitar has a big tone. It has an all mahogany body like an SG but sounds much different. The Explorer has a very big body mass, and a thicker body. It is a dense large guitar. And has a heavy handed tone that has a lot of natural bass and low mids to it.

To me it sounds solid and muscular but in no way congested or boomy. It has excellent cut and articulation. I have sometimes heard heavy singlecut guitars that sound bassy but are to blunt sounding without an open clear tone. This Explorer is fairly substantial but the weight is distributed through a larger wider area then a Les Paul would be. Body thickness and even to a lesser degree body shape has a role in the soundstage and resonance of the guitars tone. This explorer has a great blend of a clear midrange that has cut and bite to it. But sounds big and chunky without having to achieve that artificially with active pickups.  

It sounds very appropriate with high gain. I put it through it's paces on a Mesa Boogie rectifier and it has pretty much a perfect tone for high gain. Larger gauge strings or higher output pickups could be used if desired to make it sound even bigger. But overall it is impressive how fat and chunky of a sound it gets as is.

Note that this listing may come down at any time as I am a multi-platform seller and do sell locally and on my own Site as well in an effort to keep sales fluid. State sales tax will be charged on Reverb sales when applicable, so factor that into your purchase.

I will immaculately pack it as well. I use quality shipping boxes, ample tape on all sides. And sufficient bubble wrap filler and bracing inside the box. And always Marked/denoted as fragile. I generally detune guitars 1/2 half step prior to shipment as well if needed. The shipping is a little pricier on Explorer's due to the massive size of it's hardcase.

Thank you for reading and considering!