Gibson has announced that it will be launching a custom line of Sammy Hagar Signature Explorers.
The official press release from Gibson reads:
"Sammy Hagar Signature Explorer Sammy Hagar's scorching vocals and Gibson-fueled riffs have been the driving force for more than 60 million record sales, and the Red Rocker continues to explore new creative heights with his 'supergroup' Chickenfoot, with drummer Chad Smith, bassist Michael Anthony and lead guitarist Joe Satriani. To stamp this star's inimitable style on a guitar that is just right for this heavy-rocking, hard-driving new project, Gibson USA introduces the Sammy Hagar Explorer. Crafted in the image of the original Explorer of 1958—a guitar that was blindingly ahead of its time back in the day—and graced with an original blend of Sammy's Red Rocker and Chickenfoot styling, the Sammy Hagar Explorer is an eye-catching axe from every angle, and equipped for everything from searing to sublime tonal adventures, too.
Like every great electric guitar from Gibson USA, the Sammy Hagar Explorer begins with a foundation of supreme tonewoods. The body is crafted from solid mahogany and dressed with a cream binding—an elegant touch for an Explorer. It is dressed in Gibson's unique 'Red Rocker' finish in hand-sprayed high-gloss nitrocellulose lacquer, and adorned with a secret 'ghost image' of the Chickenfoot logo randomly placed on the back, an emblem that can only be seen when viewed from a particular angle in the right light. A quarter-sawn mahogany neck is glued-in in traditional Explorer style for supreme upper-fret access, and carved to a slim, fast profile that measures .800" at the first fret and .850" at the 12th. The rosewood fingerboard is also bound in cream, and the classic "drooped" six-in-line Explorer headstock carries a truss-rod cover with Red Rocker 'R'.
To power it all right over the top, Gibson USA has loaded the Sammy Hagar Explorer with a pair of its finest pickups. The zebra-coil '57 Classic in the neck position carries a smooth Alnico II magnet and is wound to the specs of a vintage PAF pickup, for creamy, rich tones with plenty of articulation and bite. A zebra-coil Burst Bucker 3 in the bridge position carries a few more turns of wire to emulate the tone of a PAF at the hotter end of the vintage spectrum, and is made with an unpolished Alnico II magnet like the originals, all of which yields plenty of grind and sting when pushed through a cranked amp. Anchored by the classic pairing of Tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece at one end and a set of Mini-Grovers at the other, the Sammy Hagar Explorer exudes ringing resonance and sustain, and takes you from subtle ballad to screaming rocker with ease."
