Back in May, Gibson announced details for the Lzzy Hale Signature Explorerbird in Cardinal Red. Hale is now featured in a new interview with Guitar World discussing her new axe. Following is an excerpt:
Like all the best brainwaves, Lzzy Hale’s new signature guitar started with a drinking session. It was NAMM 2020, and while the apocalypse rumbled in Eastern Asia, at the Anaheim Convention Center, the Halestorm guitarist was throwing back a few with the Gibson team.
Today, Hale insists her Explorerbird pitch was just the beer talking. "But you have to be careful what you say with my Gibson family. We’ll be having a pint and you’ll turn to someone and say, 'You know what’d be cool? An Explorer body with a Firebird headstock.' And then, a month later, something shows up at my door and it’s like, 'Oh Jesus, I guess we’re doing this, then?'"
Guitar World: What makes the Firebird and Explorer such a good combination?
Lzzy: "In their own right, they both have this seat at the table of rock ’n’ roll. Just those classic shapes and sounds. When somebody walks on stage with an Explorer, it’s not going to be country. So the combining of the two forces felt more natural than it should have been. At first, I was wondering, 'Is this the right thing to do?' When you see the Explorerbird on stage, it raises a lot of questions because you know there’s something different about it.
The response has been amazing. I really wasn’t expecting that. I’ve put out signature things before and those went gangbusters, but this one was a little weird. I was nervous. I mean, 'Is anybody actually gonna like this but me?' It’s the same thing with our merch. Our management ask me, 'Well, what would you wear?' And I’m like, 'Dude, anything I would wear, nobody will buy…'"
Guitar World: The Explorer and Firebird are kind of cult heroes, aren’t they?
Lzzy: "When it comes to Gibson, usually you’re thinking of the SG and Les Paul, even the V. The Firebird and Explorer, they’re definitely the outliers. But they have a very near and dear place, obviously, in my heart. I have both of them separately, and now I have one that’s the best of both worlds.”
Read the complete interview here. Check out the trailer below.
For details on the Explorerbird go to this location.
