This one picture.....

[hamerhead]

...makes me want another Standard soooo bad.

Sure, it's an Explorer but I was shooting a little higher.

[kizanski]

Yeah, that's a really nice Les Paul.

[Dave Scepter]

30 minutes ago, kizanski said:

Yeah, that's a really nice Les Paul.

And Explorer 🤣

[Steve Haynie]

Allen Collins sometimes makes me want a Firebird, too.

[ZR]

That's right Dave! At least to me, the explorer shape is one of the coolest. I'm a big fan of Mathias Jabs from Scorpions. I really liked his smaller ( I think 90%) version of the Gibson Explorer he used. I don't believe he had an actual signature model from them, either they customized or he had customized his with usually the three stripes on one end of the points, like black stripes on white. I liked the slightly smaller size of a fairly large guitar. I couldn't afford a Gibson or a Hamer Standard so I bought an Ibanez destroyer II in the early 80s. The slightly different cut, especially at the end of the lower horn and near the rear end pin were cool, and of course they had the best knurled rubber knobs!

My Hamer infliction started when I traded a soul album for Cheap Trick Heaven Tonight in high school. Plus, Def Lep and ... well name an act back then, everyone played Hamer! All over guitar and rock fanzine mags etc. 

How they lost that ... is for another thread. 

Edited December 28, 2025 by ZR

[ZR]

Actually, I guess it was 4 stripes. And I call myself a fan! 😄 But yeah, one pic...

A few months back at their 60th Anniversary residency in Vegas he played a series of Dommenget explorers each painted as the album covers of what they were playing as they went through the years of their career; the Blackout cover was really cool.

Edited December 28, 2025 by ZR

[mrjamiam]

1 hour ago, hamerhead said:

...makes me want another Standard soooo bad.

Sure, it's an Explorer but I was shooting a little higher.

And the Peaveys to go with it?

[Dave Scepter]

25 minutes ago, ZR said:

I don't believe he had an actual signature model from them, 

He did have a Gibson "Custom Shop" Signature Explorer

.. here's mine, It's currently sporting EMG's👍

[diablo175]

Despite my penchant for gaudy graphics and colors, my Standard is pretty... well, standard. I prefer the classic '59 burst!  But I wasn't always that way...  

[DaveH]

5 minutes ago, diablo175 said:

Despite my penchant for gaudy graphics and colors, my Standard is pretty... well, standard. I prefer the classic '59 burst!  But I wasn't always that way...  

However, I like the way you eliminated the non-inverse headstock from that pic... Was that intentional? 😂

[diablo175]

5 minutes ago, DaveH said:

However, I like the way you eliminated the non-inverse headstock from that pic... Was that intentional? 😂

Not really.  

I'm quite okay with the standard Standard headstock on mine. Sure, the coolness factor would be much higher w/a reversed one but there's something to be said about the aesthetics of the traditional orientation of the 6-in-line version. F*ck, I must be getting old(er).  

[BTMN]

20 hours ago, Dave Scepter said:

He did have a Gibson "Custom Shop" Signature Explorer

.. here's mine, It's currently sporting EMG's👍

Don’t forget he had a hand in development of the E90, an Explorer 90% sized. 

Edited December 29, 2025 by BTMN

[BTMN]

My Explorer/Standard affliction started with Cub Koda ads for Ibanez Destroyers followed by heavy doses of Rick Nielsen and Dave Hlubek with the Hamers. Somewhere along the line I learned where the idea came from. Funny thing is I have never owned a Gibber except my E90. 🤷🏼

[hamerhead]

21 hours ago, Steve Haynie said:

Allen Collins sometimes makes me want a Firebird, too.

Yeah...

[Jimbilly]

I was wise enough to keep the single hum Destroyer I bought for about $100 ages ago, it was 'art' on my kids wall for quite a few years. I was dumb to sell the blue one.  I've been playing the red one quite a bit recently, I really like that stock Ibanez version of the Super Distortion. And yes, the ibby knobs are among the best, I'm glad they are currently spec'ing guitars with those.  I don't play it much, but the Designer series bass gets cooler every day

[kizanski]

[Camstone]

My first Standard in '80 and my last in '06.

 

[BoogieMKIIA]

I saw them in high school the time Second Helping came out. The three vintage guitars and righteous playing stoked the fires even more. We learned Sweet Home, I Need You and The Needle and the Spoon right away. An Explorer and Firebird have yet to make it into my hands. Already had my Les Paul because of the Allman Brothers. Saw Gary’s Les Paul at the RRHF last year.