Epiphone Explorer Custom Futura Dragonfly Shift IBGM

The Futura Explorer Custom: Epiphone's Angular Icon, Enhanced for Performance

The Explorer shape is one of the most recognizable electric guitar silhouettes: radical, bold, immediately "rock." With the Futura Explorer Custom, Epiphone preserves the historical DNA of this design (mahogany body, set neck, stage attitude) while adapting it to current expectations: stainless steel frets for longevity, compound radius for modern comfort, and more flexible electronics to multiply tonal colors.

Within the lineup, the Futura series positions itself as a performance-oriented approach: an instrument built to be played often, recorded cleanly, and maintain a strong identity. The glossy finish and multi-ply binding reinforce the "Custom" aspect, delivering a premium and highly photogenic look under the lights.

Who Is This Explorer For? Demanding Guitarists, From Riffs to Leads

The Epiphone Futura Explorer Custom "Dragonfly Shift" targets intermediate to advanced guitarists seeking a reliable solidbody ready to withstand rehearsals, concerts, and home studio sessions. Its Explorer-typical ergonomics have character (especially when playing seated), but it rewards with true presence and a "made for the stage" feel as soon as you play standing with a strap.

Its natural playground covers rock, hard rock, and metal: clear attack, sustain, solid lows, and well-present mids to remain audible in a dense mix. Thanks to the split and phase functions, it can also venture into clearer and more textured registers, useful in pop, indie, funk-rock, or for layering tracks in recording without excessively thickening the spectrum.

Dense, Precise, and Modifiable Tone Thanks to Push/Pull Controls

The acoustic foundation is based on a classic and effective duo: mahogany body and set mahogany neck. This combination emphasizes a dense response, full mids, and well-controlled lows, while promoting a sense of vibrational continuity. The result: naturally generous sustain and notes that remain "full" when pushing gain, ideal for heavy riffs as well as singing leads.

The ebony fingerboard adds a sharper attack and appreciable definition in the upper spectrum: useful for maintaining precision on saturated chords, palm mutes, and fast runs. The compound radius from 10" to 14" reinforces this modern orientation: more rounded near the nut for chords and rhythm playing, then flatter towards the higher frets to facilitate bends, vibratos, and solo phrasing with a slicker feel.

Plugged in, the Explorer reveals its versatility with the two ProBucker Ignite humbuckers. In humbucker mode, you get a full and solid sound, perfect for distortion and pick-driven rhythms, with a good balance between power and clarity. The push/pull controls expand the palette: the coil split opens up clearer, airier, and more percussive tones (ideal for arpeggios, crunch, and finer mix placements), while the phase options add scooped and incisive colors, interesting for creating immediate contrast between two parts or giving a "studio" relief to an arrangement.

Everything remains easy to control thanks to a familiar layout: 3-position toggle switch, 2 volume knobs, and 1 tone knob with push/pull. You can quickly switch from a thick bridge sound to a rounder neck tone, then fine-tune with push/pull controls without losing your bearings live.

Recommended Compatible Accessories

The guitar comes with a gig bag, ideal for daily protection of the instrument. To complete your setup, a guitar strap compatible with standard strap buttons is a logical choice, as well as a set of electric guitar strings suited for a 24.75" / 628.65 mm scale length (choose the gauge according to your tuning and finger resistance).

Technical specifications

Electronics: microphone configuration	HH	Nbrs of frets	22
Category	Extreme	Body	Mahogany
Left handed	No	Bridge / tailpiece	Fixed
Strings	Steel	Electronics	Passive
Nbr of strings	6	Color	Multicolor
Top	Maple	Finishing	Glossy
Fingerboard	Ebony	Hardware	Nickel

Shape	Explorer	Nut	Graph Tech
Style	Solidbody	Bridge	LockTone Tune-O-Matic
Wood	mahogany	Tailpiece	LockTone Stop Bar
Finish	glossy	Tuners	Grover Rotomatic locking
Binding	multi-ply (top and back)	Hardware Finish	nickel
Construction	set neck	Pickup Covers	nickel
Profile	Modern C	Knobs	nickel knurled
Fingerboard Binding	single-ply	Plastics	black
Inlays	split-block / Super 400 style (pearloid)	Neck Pickup	ProBucker Ignite
Frets	22 medium jumbo stainless steel	Bridge Pickup	ProBucker Ignite
Radius	compound 10" to 14" / 254 mm to 355.6 mm	Controls	2 volumes, 1 tone with push/pull
Scale Length	24.75" / 628.65 mm	Switch	3-position toggle