NGD - Epiphone Tommy Thayer 'White Lightning' Explorer

Alnico

Waited a few months to get hold of this and it's stunning.

I'm not the worlds biggest Kiss fan, it was the guitar that did it. A pair of Sd JB's and decent hardware, a flawless finish and a really put together feel sold me on it as soon as I played it.

It's Classic Rock on a stick.

I love the strap that comes with it and I haven't bought this as a fanboi, collectors piece so It's having straplocks and I'm using it with the guitar. It looks and feels right with it, to me anyway.

The frets are amazing and I'm not sure what the fretboard is made of yet but it's got a really nice black look to it which contrasts really nicely.

Eagle eyed will spot that the chrome switch tip has been swapped for a white one. That's because the shop I bought it from had lost the one it should have and they've ordered me a new one. This was the last TT Explorer in stock so they gave me that white one straight off the nearest Epiphone they had on the wall, just so it could go out looking ok. I really appreciated the service I got from Dawsons, Liverpool.

I'll have some better photos in a day or two.

Here's a couple taken just now and a couple of library shots...

https://i.imgur.com/n4MxK5I.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/zemwthr.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6XZ3Fb7.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/XWbPZgt.jpg

robgilmo

Sweet god in heaven, that's a lovely thing. Ive been after an Explorer for ages now, one day Rodders, one day.

DrBob

They do seem to be having a lot more fun at Epi than Gibson these days 

Alnico

You can't really see it on the photos but it's a sparkly, pearlescent white that really jumps out at you in direct light.

stickyfiddle

Kiss are stupid but that's ace  

darthed1981

DrBob said:

They do seem to be having a lot more fun at Epi than Gibson these days 

Quite right, wiz awarded!

I love that white V thing they do ("Snow Falcon" is it?)  I seriously want one of those!!

EricTheWeary

I entered a competition to win one, still hoping it will turn up one day. And Thayer is the least annoying member of Kiss ( well based on his sig amp the profits from which go to charity and a couple of interviews where he seems to realise he is a journeyman musician who has landed on his feet ). 

usedtobe

Oh, yes! Cool as you like!

darthed1981

@alnico will you be wearing the make up next time we see you....?

Blackjack

It’s a thing of great beauty it really is!!
loving that metallic white, it’s stunning. 
so happy for you mate! 

Alnico

darthed1981 said:

@alnico will you be wearing the make up next time we see you....?

No, it gets all over my beard and anyway, I'm not a 'Spaceman'... Much.

It's way more to do with the guitar being what I wanted from an Explorer than anything else but it's nice that it's a special model that means something.

I'll frame the booklet it comes with and hang it behind the guitar, I'm quite proud to have it.

grungebob

Very nice !

i picked up the vintage korina explorer from epiphone a few months back and so far it’s been a fantastic instrument with much more versatility than I thought it would have so I’m sure yours with the upgraded pickups will sound killer. 

I love the way explorers play, there’s nothing in the way of the strumming arm , it’s like nothing else’s I’ve ever played 

zepp76

That's a lovely guitar mate, I hope you get plenty of enjoyment from it. What does it sound like with the JB's in it? I hope you have an equally fantastic amp to play it through.

DiscoStu

I REALLY like that. It's nickel hardware, right? It looks kinda gold in some pics.

impmann

Perfect for your Western Swing moments. ;-)

David5150

That's just epic - nice one

Always wanted an explorer - lusted over the Lzzy Hale sig explorer but this is close - and a fair few quid less

Alnico

zepp76 said:

That's a lovely guitar mate, I hope you get plenty of enjoyment from it. What does it sound like with the JB's in it? I hope you have an equally fantastic amp to play it through.

I've had a Katana 50 for a while but I'm currently waiting for the 100w Katana head to arrive with Fed-Ex.

The MIDI port will allow me to control the amp from my GT100 so the whole thing will integrate using 4cm plus MIDI and I can write the amps instructions into every patch. I only ever use the GT in Preset/Patch mode so it's pretty much perfect. Next thing on my list is a pair of Zilla cabs. A pair of oversized 1x12's in a mini stack with the top cab angled, made to fit the head.

I've been a massive fan of the Katana and the head just gives me a better approach to using the Katana platform. I'm also sure that having the option to run into different cabs/speakers will drastically open the amp up into something much broader.

It just sounds like it wants to play every Classic Rock all day long. Not that I can play 'Freebird' properly but start there, spend some time with AC/DC and then just mosh around most of the 70's and early 80's rock scene. It's SO easy to play and although it's the size of Manchester, it's not overly heavy. At the moment the set up is "Out of the box" and I know the setup @SteveRobinson will do next week will transform it so it's not quite as much fun as it could be but it will be soon.

DiscoStu said:

I REALLY like that. It's nickel hardware, right? It looks kinda gold in some pics.

It's Nickel. My phone camera is all I've got and it's rubbish.

The best thing about this one is it needs nothing more than a pair of strap locks. ALL the hardware is great. I will concede to swapping out the switch and jack socket for Switchcraft items at some point but that's all and that nothing by comparison to some guitars and their "Mods".

I found out this morning that the fretboard is made from "Torrefied Composite" which I read as "Terrified Composite" and nearly spilt coffee all over said fretboard. lol.

Can't wait to take this one out to play at the fretboard Jam in November at Quad Studios. @Bridgehouse could maybe include a song for me that would be good to use this guitar on?

Alnico

David5150 said:

That's just epic - nice one

Always wanted an explorer - lusted over the Lzzy Hale sig explorer but this is close - and a fair few quid less

I stood there looking through Dawsons window and realised that it's *very* close to Lzzy's guitar and around £1k cheaper, but it's not a cheap looking guitar (Opinion dependant obviously) and it doesn't feel cheap.

Like I said I'm not a massive Kiss fan but I am a much bigger Halestorm fan so the fact that it makes that bridge is part of what sold me on it.

The lack of obvious Band-Branding on the guitar makes it look (To me) like just a great, 70's styled Explorer. It's certainly bold but because it doesn't strictly scream Kiss and they've kept Tommy Thayer's moniker discreet by having it engraved on the truss rod cover and not highlighting it, it feels like it's just a cool guitar in it's own right.

I'm never going to like every Kiss record but there's a few I do like and I'm still proud to have a special model.

I'm more proud to have 3 main guitars that are all the same colours and all amazing guitars in their own right.

Photo soon.

DiscoStu

The gold puts me off the otherwise great looking Lzzy Hale Explorer, so the TT wins for me!
I've never liked KISS but I used to own an original Ibanez PS-10 Paul Stanley which I played to death and gigged a lot. It was just a great guitar and the KISS connection was irrelevant to me. The TT also looks great in its own right.

zepp76

Alnico said:

zepp76 said:

That's a lovely guitar mate, I hope you get plenty of enjoyment from it. What does it sound like with the JB's in it? I hope you have an equally fantastic amp to play it through.

I've had a Katana 50 for a while but I'm currently waiting for the 100w Katana head to arrive with Fed-Ex.

The MIDI port will allow me to control the amp from my GT100 so the whole thing will integrate using 4cm plus MIDI and I can write the amps instructions into every patch. I only ever use the GT in Preset/Patch mode so it's pretty much perfect. Next thing on my list is a pair of Zilla cabs. A pair of oversized 1x12's in a mini stack with the top cab angled, made to fit the head.

I've been a massive fan of the Katana and the head just gives me a better approach to using the Katana platform. I'm also sure that having the option to run into different cabs/speakers will drastically open the amp up into something much broader.

It just sounds like it wants to play every Classic Rock all day long. Not that I can play 'Freebird' properly but start there, spend some time with AC/DC and then just mosh around most of the 70's and early 80's rock scene. It's SO easy to play and although it's the size of Manchester, it's not overly heavy. At the moment the set up is "Out of the box" and I know the setup @SteveRobinson will do next week will transform it so it's not quite as much fun as it could be but it will be soon.

DiscoStu said:

I REALLY like that. It's nickel hardware, right? It looks kinda gold in some pics.

It's Nickel. My phone camera is all I've got and it's rubbish.

The best thing about this one is it needs nothing more than a pair of strap locks. ALL the hardware is great. I will concede to swapping out the switch and jack socket for Switchcraft items at some point but that's all and that nothing by comparison to some guitars and their "Mods".

I found out this morning that the fretboard is made from "Torrefied Composite" which I read as "Terrified Composite" and nearly spilt coffee all over said fretboard. lol.

Can't wait to take this one out to play at the fretboard Jam in November at Quad Studios. @Bridgehouse could maybe include a song for me that would be good to use this guitar on?

The Katanas are great aren't they, I have the 50 and it is more than I need at home. Looking forward to what you think of the 100w head.

Alnico

The main reason for the 100w head is the connectivity it offers.

If the 50 had all that I probably wouldn't have bothered, it's not the amps power that's lacking.

Being able to control everything from one multi FX has been my goal since the start of this when I got the GT100. My old Blackstar S1 200 had MIDI and an FX loop so it worked well with the 4 channel aspect of the amp and the Katana is essentially a 4 channel amp too.

Boss' latest update opens the amp up further allowing each of the 4 preset buttons to have 2 banks, so now it's got 8 user presets to store sounds on plus the panel control.

Exactly how much of the amp I *can* control from the GT remains to be seen but I'm looking forward to it for sure. I've got 4 hours a week in the local studio for me and @Route66 to practice at a reasonable volume so part of that each week will be exploring what it will do as a complete setup.

Fed Ex have30 minutes to deliver the amp before I've wasted £8 on "Before 12 pm" delivery...