In 2022, Lzzy Hale made history when she was honored with her first signature guitar, the Gibson Explorerbird – a spin-off of the Explorer, which in turn has been her go-to electric guitar for much of her career.
However, the Halestorm guitarist wasn't always such an Explorer loyalist. In fact, she started out on another Gibson model but ultimately switched ranks – after buying her first Explorer second-hand from Craigslist.
“Originally I was a Les Paul girl,” she reveals to Guitar World’s Paul Riario. “I fell in love with the Explorer shape while we were making our first album [2009's Halestorm] out in California.
“I ended up getting my first Explorer off Craigslist. This poor guy had to sell his guitar because of medical bills. So I went to see him, and he was so incredibly excited that it was gonna actually get played and go out on the road.”
The switch from Les Pauls to Explorers was a no-brainer, according to Hale. The Explorer just had the right vibe.
She continues, “What I love about the Explorer shape is that it doesn't matter whether you're front row or in the nose bleed [seats] section, you see that shape and it's undeniable. It's like, ‘Okay, this isn't going to be country. This probably isn't going to be pop. This has to be rock.’”
Shortly after unveiling her Explorerbird, Hale introduced the pointier-but-still-Explorer-inspired Kramer Voyager.
Elsewhere in her interview with Guitar World – for which she's joined by bandmate Joe Hottinger – Hale looks back on the band's involvement in Back to the Beginning, and recalls how they had to pivot to their plan B after Metallica ended up covering their first-choice Black Sabbath song.
Lzzy Hale has also singled out one guitarist as proof that the future of rock 'n' roll is in very safe and capable hands.
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