Gibson Explorer/B-2 replacement

[Jim W]

Lookin at picking up a used B-2/Tribute Explorer but I'm not a fan of the Dirty Fingers from what I've heard. I've read before that Painkillers fit an Explorer nicely. Dont want a fuzzy/hairy sound. Lookin for a tight attack with a full sound. Something along the lines of playing Iced Earth/Testamant/MoP to Black Album Metallica. Appreciate any feedback!

[ericsabbath]

I think you're in the right path
Painkiller should work really well
Rebel Yell as a second option, if you want a little less hair and more versatility
Maybe an Aftermath, if you want even more tightness than a Painkiller

[Dave Sloven]

I think you are on the right track

Painkiller, Rebel Yell, Emerald would be my three options.  Ceramic Black Hawk is also a possibility, especially of you want something closer to Metallica black album

[Jim W]

Appreciate the feedback guys! I forgot to mention I'm running through a VHT Deliverance, very dry amp. Not sure if that would affect you thoughts.

[Dave Sloven]

By "dry", you mean like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaOggOC3ogk

I think you could afford to go with the Emerald or Rebel Yell in this instance, especially for Iced Earth tones through an Explorer.

The thing with Explorers is that they are very dark and bassy so you can afford to go with a less bassy pickup (like both of these) that has more upper mids with a tight bottom end, without sounding too dry.  The ceramic options like the Painkiller, Aftermath, and ceramic Black Hawk might be too much if you want this guitar to have some versatility.

[Jim W]

Yep that sucker is crisp. You make a mistake and you'll know it. In this one I believe he has a Painkiller in the neck but not sure about the bridge. This guitar I'm not so much worried about versatility, mainly metal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8Bncxt0IA8&t=168s

[Dave Sloven]

The Black Hawk set is very versatile within metal and can handle other stuff too to an extent.

The Rebel Yell is a good metal pickup with a great reputation in Explorers.

One thing I would point out is that when EMGs etc came out they were intended to push JCM800s with a Distortion+ or something like that in front of it. A lot of newer amps don't need that so much.  You might find something like that better in terms of feel.

I will warn you though that most of the tighter BKPs - such as the ones listed so far - are pretty unforgiving regarding a sloppy right hand, their clarity and bite will show up mistakes.  The Aftermath is legendary for this, but I suspect the Painkiller is similar.

This is a RY in an Explorer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7mAGqMmjcY

That's the first time I've seen someone top wrap the strings on an Explorer, by the way.

Here's a Chapman Explorer type guitar with a set.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFth4SYc3TE

[ericsabbath]

Yep that sucker is crisp. You make a mistake and you'll know it. In this one I believe he has a Painkiller in the neck but not sure about the bridge. This guitar I'm not so much worried about versatility, mainly metal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8Bncxt0IA8&t=168s

bridge pup was also a painkiller, according to another video posted by that guy
that's a great metal tone

[Jim W]

Jeremys vids are what sealed me into getting a Deliverance. Love that tone. The one of him playing the D60 Fryette is great too. For a one channel amp the thing is pretty versatile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iShbk8p4GBQ

Also a slight change in plans. Instead of going with the B-2/Tribute I found a used Gibson Gothic Explorer and snatched it up. Those have the maple necks with Ebony fingerboards so I'm gonna have to see how it sounds before I pull the trigger on a new pup for it.

Edit: Thank you for the info Dave! Rey does some pretty awesome demos!

[Dave Sloven]

I have the  '58 Korina Explorer with the maple neck.  Holds tune extremely well, especially after I changed out the bridge

I put a TonePros Nashville style bridge in it but if you want the ultimate sustain get a Gotoh 510FB.  I replaced a worn TonePros on my Schecter C-1 with the Gotoh and the difference is like night and day.  Most solid, locked bridge I've ever experienced.

My Explorer is very dark acoustically, even with the maple neck.  The body is limba I think, a yellow colour without much dark streaks (it was painted black).  The fingerboard is rosewood.  Korean production 2006.  Alnico Warpig was way too dark for it.

[Jim W]

I was really thinking about grabbing one of those. I can be super picky and Korina has always piqued my interest. I'd love a guitar in black limba. I may have to grab that Gotoh now. Instead of working on the Explorer I'm going to upgrade my Beast. I have one of the BC Rich IT Beasts and I absolutely love the way it plays. But the parts feel quite cheap and the tuners are cr@p. So I'm thinking of grabbing a new bridge and tuners and throwing a Painkiller in that thing(Nato neck and body with an ebony board)

[Dave Sloven]

I went through a company in Canada called Japarts.  They have a branch in Japan that deals directly with the Gotoh factory, and can get you ANYTHING in the catalogue if you are prepared to wait roughly a month for it to be made to spec.  I got the 510FB bridge and a set of the SG381MGT locking tuners from them with metal grover style buttons all in the Cosmo Black finish for considerably less than it would have cost me here in Australia via eBay.  Shipping is by EMS from Japan so it was really fast once the parts were shipped. If you are based in the USA it might be the case that you can get the items you want for less through a local supplier, but elsewhere I think you are better off doing what I did.  I also got the Telecaster style knobs from Gotoh, they are VK-18 I think, the ones for splined/split shafts.  They fit the CTS pots that BKP sells perfectly.  The pots (CTS vol, vol, tone push-pull, all 550K), switch (CRL 3-way), capacitor (Jensen), and jack (Switchcraft) are all sourced via BKP.

The sustain enhancement with this bridge is incredible.  My guitar is string-through so I didn't need the tailpiece.  A luthier friend of mine cut the saddle notches to a 14" radius (to match the Schecter fretboard) for me, that cost $25.  The rest of it (including extracting the old bushings and installing new ones) I did myself.  On the ATX it was an active-to-passive conversion and I had to drill for a bridge ground wire and build a whole new harness but it was worth it.









The pickups are the alnico Black Hawk set.  Here's a video of the bridge with tailpiece:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blvjjSnn0k0

If you need gold or chrome I think you can buy them from StewMac.

[Jim W]

Thats a pretty awesome looking axe! Reverb has some Gotoh bridges including the 510FB right now. I'm a fan of the Tone Pros bridges, are the Gotohs worth the extra money? Think they are about $30 more atm. I'm actually starting to learn more about the technical side of things. I think I have a small post bridge atm? I'll include a pic. And I definitely wanna swap out the tuners, but I'm not sure if theres a specific size or type I should be looking for. They look to be the same style you have with those Gotohs.

Those knobs are the kind I have on right now, always liked that style. I plan on pulling all of the electronics out too and buying all new from BKP when I get the Painkiller. Guy I got the guitar from had EMG X series pups in it and I hate EMGs.

[Dave Sloven]

Definitely worth the money, but only if you get the 510FB.  The other bridge they sell is the same as the TonePros without the grub screws.  In fact I think they make bridges for TonePros.  Gotoh is the company  that makes the good Ibanez tremolos.  I don't know who makes their cheap ones.  There is also another strange one that sounds a bit like the 510FB but is different, not locking.  I think that's from Allparts.  You'll think you're getting the good one but it's not the same.

If you have Asian metric pots in your guitar and install the CTS ones you will need the Gotoh knobs.  My Schecter knobs didn't fit the CTS pots.  Interestingly on this particular guitar I didn't need to ream the body though.  It had a full Seymour Duncan Blackout active harness in it originally, I lifted that out, removed the battery clip, and drilled a hole from the cavity to the bridge bushing hole (active pickups are balanced and don't need the ground wire apparently).

There are definitely different fitments on tuners.

If you have inline tuners you will need the mini size buttons

Different tuners have different legs for the screw.  The differences are quite obvious.  Just go to Japarts and download the catalog.  You should be able to find all the info in there.

http://japarts.ca/Content/Docs/GOTOH-2014.pdf

They also make 510 series tuners which are a higher spec/price.  I find that the regular MGT locking tuners (with the thumbwheel) are fine.

[Dave Sloven]

I wasn't seeing the photos before.

The bridge is the same setup as mine, just the bridge with no tailpiece.  To install the Gotoh 510FB you need to remove the factory bushings on your guitar, because the Gotoh use a special bushing with a metal bottom in it that after you have set the height with a bigger hex key then you wind a grub screw down with a smaller hex key that locks the bridge rigid against the insert.

There are actually four different hex keys that come with the bridge (see the video) and these adjust a heap of things.  There are grub screws fore and aft on the bridge itself, you can use these to adjust gross intonation.  Then each saddle has a grub screw; you loosen those and set the intonation, then tighten them down to lock it in.  There are big hex keys that adjust the height of the bridge.  There are no screw drivers or thumbwheels involved.

By the look of the headstock you want the same tuners that I have fitted to my Schecters, due to the angled leg for the locating screw.  The Gotoh part number is SG381 MG-T.  You have a wide choice of buttons. The 01 or A01 shape is probably closest to yours, you might want to stick with that given the shape of your headstock.  It is a common one though that you can find on eBay or through companies like Philadelphia Luthier Tools & Supplies (they don't keep the 510FB bridge though).  On all Gotoh parts there is also a finish code.  Mine are Cosmo Black, which is CK. I think Black is B.

So the bridge would be 510FB-B and the tuners would be SG381-01 MGT-B if you were getting the same spec as on my Schecter, but in Black with the buttons more like what you already have (mine are the 20 button code).