Explorer Replicas (PICs)

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Author Message   JohnS Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 11:03 am:    Ibanez collector Doug has graciously submitted a picture of his 2 Gibson Explorer copies. These are beauties. Thanks for sharing Doug. Doug can be reached at: Douglas6@aol.com   Cliff Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 11:03 am:    I want to know where to purchase replica guitars...Icemans, Firebirds and such...somene e-mail me some links or manufacturers.   chris s (Ccs) Posted on Monday, August 20, 2001 - 11:36 am:    Did anyone see the Van Halen print thing on ebay that says the "Women and Children..." guitar was a chopped up Ibanez Destroyer?Anyone know the story behind that guitar? Chris   Steve (Gitfiddle1) Posted on Monday, August 20, 2001 - 5:36 pm:    Chris, Yeah, I saw it. Dunno if there's any truth behind it. Mr. VanHalen did play some Frankenstein axes in the early years. Be cool if it WAS an Ibanez! Steve   Fred B. (Fredb) Posted on Monday, August 20, 2001 - 7:13 pm:    Chris, Remember reading something about it, there's an interview with EVH from 1980 where he talks about the guitar at http://www.guitarplayer.com/archive/artists/vanhalen80.shtml He mentions that the Destroyer was eventually carved into some kind of dragon figure after he butchered it too much (he took a lot of wood out and it "lost its tone"). Fred   chris s (Ccs) Posted on Tuesday, August 21, 2001 - 1:30 pm:    Thanks Fred,very cool link.   JohnS Posted on Tuesday, August 21, 2001 - 2:23 pm:    Fred & Chris: I thought his was an interesting Q & A: "Are there any guitars that you'd like to build in the future? I'll have the next one built, and it will probably be difficult and cost a lot of money. What I'd really like now is like a three-quarter sized 335. ...So what I would like is a 335 to fit my body, and maybe not quite as hollow as some 335s. I'd like a solid beam all the way to the back of the wood in there. The one I have now lacks a little bit of tone -- it's too acoustically toned, too hollow." Sounds like he's describing the AM series?   chris s (Ccs) Posted on Tuesday, August 21, 2001 - 3:09 pm:    John, Good eye,didn't the AM come out a year or 2 after that interview?Could be where they got the idea to shrink it down thinking of a coming trend of Eddie followers.I'd like to see a old collection photo with the "Japanese Strats".The story of taking a chainsaw to a original Destroyer is a little hard to take,I get pale and start to sweat just thinking about it.I don't like to take mine out of the house.   chris s (Ccs) Posted on Wednesday, August 22, 2001 - 12:01 pm:    Something else that may be of interest: This guitar was kind of Ed's back-up guitar during the earlier albums/tours. It was a Ibaneze copy of the Gibson Explorer model. "You can hear that on 'Jaime's Cryin','On Fire' and 'You Really Got Me'. It was a great sounding guitar, but I (messed) it up by cutting a big chunk out of it later. It never sounded the same again." (Note: The overdubbed guitar on "Jamie's Cryin'" is not the Destroyer.) This guitar was made up of the following: Korina body (giving it a unique tone). Dual humbucking pick-ups with a three way toggle switch selector. Stop-bar tail piece (such as standard Gibson Les Pauls). Bonus Information The guitar was originally white but Eddie "Van Halenized" it by giving it a purple and silver striped paint job This guitar is shown in chainsaw massacre condition on the cover of the Women and Children First album. Ed used the toggle switch to create to cool echo sound on the last note of the solo in "You Really Got Me." Eddie used this guitar to record songs that didn't require any whammy bar acrobatics. Ed calls this his "Shark" guitar due to it's customized shape.   The_Ripper (The_Ripper) Posted on Monday, May 24, 2004 - 6:47 pm:    Once again this brings rise to the question if any Destroyers were really made out of Korina. Eddie seems to think his was because he said it had such great sound and tone - until he chopped it up. Then he got a later Destroyer made of ash and he said it "sounded like shit". I guess somebody painted his guitar white over the original factory korina finish before he acquired it. I doubt he was involved in the prototype phase to get any one-off painted white. ALthough Ibanez advertised in early '76 they were made of "solid Korina body", only one person on this board has said he's seen one. So he and the ad so say but not a single soul elsewhere have. I don't believe there is a definitive answer to this question yet. Also, how many Destroyers did they make from 75-77 ????   Richierocker Username: Richierocker Registered: 04-2005 Posted on Thursday, April 07, 2005 - 4:10 pm:    I am currently restoring my 1976 Ibanez Explorer to it's original color - amber. This time - she's getting nitro! It was already painted black when I got it in 1977. The wood is NOT korina, it is Japanese Ash. I myself thought it was until I stripped it. The word KORINA in all of the early literature refers to the finish only. I try & post a pic when finished.   Billy_porter Username: Billy_porter Registered: 03-2005 Posted on Thursday, April 07, 2005 - 6:06 pm:    Hi Guys, Not wishing to bore you guys but................as I’ve mentioned before. I worked in an Ibanez main dealer in the UK for 13years in the golden ear of Ibanez. There were very few guitars that I wish I’d bought. One of them was a Korina Explorer which was beautiful to play and surprisingly more so sitting down and sounded gorgeous. 3 other Ibanezes really stood out. A hollow body artist that was a metallic/flake silver (early 80’s), a purple Roadstar (about 83) with active electronics – don’t know which model - and burnt finish LP about ’78. However - If I could go back in time and bring back any one guitar it would have to be the Explorer.   Strat78 Username: Strat78 Registered: 05-2005 Posted on Thursday, November 17, 2005 - 11:35 am:    Those guitars (pictured above)in particular the six string looks like it might actually be mahogany or korina! I tried writing Doug at the address given but it no longer exists. Is JohnS still around? If we could get a better shot of this guitar it might put to rest all the speculation whether different woods were actually used in the making of the 2459's. Anybody have shots of 70's Destroyers that don't look like the usual ash versions?   Johns Username: Johns Registered: 02-2001 Posted on Thursday, November 17, 2005 - 11:44 am:    Strat78: Yup, I'm right here...looking over your shoulder. Sorry, I have no more pictures or anway of getting in touch with Doug, if his email is disconnected. Maybe if he's lurkng, he'll see your message and try to get back in touch.   Ccs Username: Ccs Registered: 03-2001 Posted on Thursday, November 17, 2005 - 12:23 pm:    I think in the first Guitar Stories it's mentioned that there were a small number of darker mahogany models in the first batch and I think one just closed on ebay a few weeks ago.I believe Cub Coda is mentioned to have slid across the stage and snapped the neck or headstock off of one by accident.I need to get the book out and double check to be sure but I did read that somewhere.   Ibanezkid Username: Ibanezkid Registered: 6-2007 Posted on Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - 3:29 pm:    Huge Bump here but is it possible that Ed's guitar was a Greco?I ask this because Ed's guitar has the same truss rod cover as a Greco.   Tbplayer Username: Tbplayer Registered: 4-2007 Posted on Thursday, August 23, 2007 - 2:15 pm:    van halen said in many interviews that he had 2 destroyers. one carved into dragons and the "shark" on women and children. the shark was done with a chain saw.

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