Well no... I'm not going to get into this one either. I'm pretty heavily on the side of the tonewood debate that says tone is almost 100% electronics, strings, and hardware.
DANG! Gotta give old Orville some cred for being a sharp dresser!
On topic, that "Gibson" is definitely fake. The inlays on the headstoco are off.
Off topic, if you don't like Gibsons, then going into a thread about Gibsons and bashing them is a surefire way to let people know you're totally reasonable. I don't like ESP. I don't bash ESP threads when they show up.
Ah well... I don't like ESP that much either, but I don't bash them. Know why? Because taste aside every ESP I've ever met has been a quality product.
Consistency is everything, really.
I hope I'm not the only one who will hold you to this.
Have to disagree there. Gibson Explorers in the early to mid 80s were made with alder bodies and maple necks instead of the usual mahogany. I once had a chance to compare an '84 Explorer against my '96; both were loaded with EMG-81/85 at the time. The alder/maple Explorer sounded like thin, nasal crap compared to mine. I've had similar things happen far to many times to believe that wood doesn't matter in terms of tone.
The problem human perception is subjective and inconsistent. That's why metrics and tools were invented.
On topic, that "Gibson" is definitely fake. The inlays on the headstoco are off.
Off topic, if you don't like Gibsons, then going into a thread about Gibsons and bashing them is a surefire way to let people know you're totally reasonable. I don't like ESP. I don't bash ESP threads when they show up.
??? Maybe having the knowledge to know what is an easy fix is a benefit to a Pro. But to assume a Pro musician has more money than anyone else seems kinda wrong. Sure there are guys who made it big playing music, but they are rare. In fact, music on AVERAGE is one of the lowest paying careers that exist. So not really getting what you are saying at all. Not saying I am rich by any means. Maybe you are and grats to you on that. But many in music are not
Yup... there are tons of alder/maple superstrats and stuff around with EMGs in them and they're fine. Why would it sound like crap just because it's an alder/maple explorer? That doesn't even make sense. I'd be more inclined to suspect inconsistencies in pickup manufacture before blaming the wood.
EDITED TO ADD: This puts me in mind of a show I mixed a couple of years ago where the guitar player was using EMGs. He'd been using... I wanna say it was Charvels, and he bought a couple of new EMG loaded ESPs. Identical pickups. He was all excited about the new guitars and he was telling me before the show how much better they sounded than his old ones, because different body wood of course (I have no idea what either was made of). He did have one of the old ones there as a backup, and used it for half a set when he broke a string. Now I'm sitting here at the mixing desk, I have his tone EQed into the mix all nicey-nice, and once he switched guitars it was exactly the same. Here I am, listening very critically because it's my job, and I can't hear a PARTICLE of difference when he changes. Then he bounces off the stage and hes all like sorry I had to switch to that crappy-sounding old one hope it didn't mess up your mix too bad but didn't the ESP sound AWESOME?!
I'm like oh man do I tell him? Couldn't do it...
An alder/maple explorer would be unsatisfactory largely if you were trying to get a particular tone the original mahogany ones made and were unable to get close enough. A player with lots of experience, who knows a particular set of pickups well, can quickly identify issues with the rest of the guitar that are not related to the pickups, be it wood, hardware, strings, etc.
Unless you are working FOH for Live Nation stadium gigs, I've never (repeat, never, in 35+ years) seen a local venue where the sound desk position and the room itself was designed and set up for critical listening. I'm not doubting anyone's experience or skills, but I do strongly doubt that even the best of ears can hear the differences between two slightly different guitars in a local live venue, particularly if it's in a band mix during a show on top of the other issues mentioned.
IME an electric guitar has things in common with an acoustic guitar with a microphone. In an electric, the pickup will impart a more significant influence on the resulting sound than a microphone, but the source instrument with it's wood and hardware has to be generating a particular vibration for the pickup to pick up. From my critical listening experiments, I'm convinced the body and the hardware can counter the string vibration with dampening effects, even at particular frequencies; same reason some guitars have more sustain than others or some strings or fret positions have dead spots (a Hofner bass is a great example - you have to play each note differently to get the same output level); some guitars feedback, others don't. Construction matters also. The degree of influence on the final sound is much less in an electric than with an acoustic instrument, but it does matter and does make an audible, perceptible difference. I would bet my entire next paycheck if you take those two guitars into a properly set up studio and A/B them, you will hear the differences.
Yup... there are tons of alder/maple superstrats and stuff around with EMGs in them and they're fine. Why would it sound like crap just because it's an alder/maple explorer? That doesn't even make sense. I'd be more inclined to suspect inconsistencies in pickup manufacture before blaming the wood.
EDITED TO ADD: This puts me in mind of a show I mixed a couple of years ago where the guitar player was using EMGs. He'd been using... I wanna say it was Charvels, and he bought a couple of new EMG loaded ESPs. Identical pickups. He was all excited about the new guitars and he was telling me before the show how much better they sounded than his old ones, because different body wood of course (I have no idea what either was made of). He did have one of the old ones there as a backup, and used it for half a set when he broke a string. Now I'm sitting here at the mixing desk, I have his tone EQed into the mix all nicey-nice, and once he switched guitars it was exactly the same. Here I am, listening very critically because it's my job, and I can't hear a PARTICLE of difference when he changes. Then he bounces off the stage and hes all like sorry I had to switch to that crappy-sounding old one hope it didn't mess up your mix too bad but didn't the ESP sound AWESOME?!
I'm like oh man do I tell him? Couldn't do it...
I live in New England. I hate lobster.
WHAT?!
How about Steamers? Man, I could go for some littlenecks and drawn butter right about now.