I bought both the Epiphone 1958 Korina Explorer and Flying V from Ron in the Cincinnati Guitar dept. I'm going to make this short and sweet. Ron's service not only made sure both guitars were set up and ready to go for the by time I hit the door, he made absolutely sure that both guitar were flawless. On Epiphones' end all I can say is that both of these guitars SCREAM rock and roll. The tone and play-ability were exceptional. I've owned over 50+ guitars in my time and only a very few have ever measured up in craftmenship, guts, and pure playing pleasure. They have even beaten my three Gibson Custom shop guitars in quality and play-abilty

I would love to have a real Gibson Korina Explorer, but for 10k... I can settle with this explorer. Comparing to my 2023 Gibson Natural...they both have burst buckers, both sound great, and both look great. This guitar is hand wired, cts pots, Gibson usa pickups, solid Korina, single piece neck, and the perfect weight. I highly recommend this guitar! If you put a tonepros bridge and bone nut on it...it would be even better!

After 30 years of playing, I'm happy to have a decent collection of guitars, including several of the new Epiphone models, the Adam Jones LP Custom (Veil of Bees) the Jerry Cantrell LP Custom Wino and now this Korina Explorer. All of which are professional-grade instruments. Now, I've had a few Gibson Les Pauls equipped with this Burstbucker 2 and 3 combo, and they sounded pretty good. But these pickups installed in this Korina body really opened them up. They sound GREAT here. Very clear and open sounding, huge powerful chords and singing leads. As far as the Guitar goes, it's freaking Epic. It looks like a monster slab of wood (which it is) but feels completely natural while playing. If you dig the geometry of an SG, you'll feel right at home here. The finish is smooth, fast, and looks great. The neck is chunky but totally manageable, the nut is cut perfectly and intonation was close to perfect. And the case? Holy crap man, it's a vault with hinges. I may mount legs to it and use it as a coffee table. Back in the eighties I started playing guitar as a kid to have fun (and meet girls), and this Explorer brings a lot of that feeling back. Fun. I'm normally a Les Paul player, and if Gibson or Epiphone were to ever release a Korina Les Paul, I'd be on it like a fat kid on cake. It really helps shape the tone here. I hesitated when buying this guitar, due to the price tag. But this feels like a pretty special guitar and it's worth every penny.