Cases and gig bags for left handed Explorers

Hard Cases

There are no hard cases made to fit left-handed Explorer guitars other than proprietary brand cases which are made for their own brand models. Because of the extreme angle of the headstock on Explorer guitars the headstock always sits lower than the body of the guitar, i.e. Explorer guitars do not sit flat. Generic hard shell cases are made only for guitars that sit flat and are never deep enough to put a guitar in with a sweep-back headstock flat or to put it in with the body raised to compensate for the headstock. Gator, SKB, and Artist offer hard cases for Explorers but these are strictly for right handed guitars only. I have only seen pictures, but the Epiphone EXPL2 Hardshell Guitar Case for Explorer looks like it might fit right and left hand Explorers? The good thing about it is it looks like the case has the proper depth for proper support of the headstock. It can be bought from Thomann. Anybody tried?

Soft Cases

There are no soft cases made to fit left handed Explorer guitars. There is a right hand Explorer soft case available from SKB (model # SKB SC63) but even if you put a lefty Explorer in upside down not only is the padding the wrong way round, but the guitar still does not fit due to the extreme angle of the headstock. Don't even try it.  

Gig Bags

There are a number of gig bags for Explorer guitars and a few are ok for left-handed Explorers. See below. (Click the pictures to go to the product pages.)

RITTER  are a Swiss brand. They make a few different bags for Explorers. But in order to fit a lefty Explorer the guitar has to go in face down. This means the rear of the guitar faces upwards and the pickups, bridge, switches are at the bottom of the case. This one has no front pockets so there is no additional padding for that side of the guitar. However, the bag offers 33mm padding and this is exceptional for a soft case, but just not optimized for a left handed guitar. The Ritter website used to be really annoying to get around but more recently has been made much more user-friendly and there are good details about their bags now. They look nice, but in truth a lefty Explorer is not a good fit for this soft case, and I do not recommend this case only for that reason. I give it a 5/10.

THOMANN is a German musical instrument and musical accessories chain store that is all over Europe and the U.K. This gig bag is branded as a Thomann but is a bag sold under other brand names and they are all made in India. I have compared all of these bags side by side and they are identical except for branding. This is a really sturdy gig bag made of 600 Denier cordura nylon and 20mm padding. It is made for right handed guitars so a lefty guitar fits in face down instead of face up. The bag suits the bigger-bodied Gibson Explorer. It is slightly roomy for the Gaskell shape. Although this is the same bag as others it is the least expensive. Buy direct from Thomann. Unfortunately for us here in Australia by the time you do the currency conversion and add postage this gig bag is quite expensive. I give the Thomann Explorer gig bag an 8/10.

GB DELUXE is a bag I am very familiar with. I was using these for all my Gaskell Explorers after I ran out of hard cases, until they stopped selling them in Australia about 10 years ago. These are made in India and is the same bag as the Thomann and other bags that look the same. This is a really good, padded gig bag with 20mm padding. Being for a right-handed Explorer a lefty Explorer fits in face down instead of face up, so all the outside pockets are on the backside of the guitar leaving no additional padding for the front of the guitar. The bag suits the bigger-bodied Gibson Explorer. It is slightly roomy for the smaller-bodied and rounder Gaskell shape. Pre-Covid it used to retail for US$ 49.95 through Alto Music in the USA or DV247 in Europe. Alto Music advertise other GB bags but not the Explorer one anymore. And their prices have doubled. DV247 have changed their name but they still sell the bag, branded as "Music Store." In 2023 I contacted a number of Chinese factories to try and convince them to make this bag in left hand but none were interested. I never found the original Indian manufacturer either. Only Thomann knows now. I give this one an 8/10.

WORLD TOUR is a US company that just sells musical instrument bags. The Explorer guitar bag they sell is the very same one as the GB and Thomann. For $US 29.95 (if that price is still current) it's a good buy. As mentioned, I am very familiar with these bags, and I like them even though your lefty Explorer has to go in face-down instead of face-up.

CHASE DIRECT is a UK online musical instrument and musical accessories store that only delivers within the UK. When I checked recently I couldn't find any instrument bags at all. Assuming they don't sell them anymore, the used to have an Explorer gig bag branded as "Chase." I have not seen another one like theirs. The bag has the usual problem with being a right handed bag but also has only 10mm padding. This would be a little risky to use for active musicians. I would not recommend this unless you really need to go somewhere with your guitar that isn't going to be an obstacle course, definitely not gigging. At GBP 29.99 at least it's not too expensive! I have never seen or handled this bag myself so I can't rate it honestly.

ROCKBAG RB20620 by Framus & Warwick could very well be the gig bag that offers the best protection for an Explorer shaped guitar. This one features 30mm padding all round, front and rear. As with similar bags it has pockets for carrying leads, strings and straps. This bag will also fit Firebird guitars due to the fact that the bag is a little squarer in the body which accommodates the Firebird lower body contours (when put in face down for a lefty.) This bag can be bought quite easily from European, US and Australian music stores and while not the cheapest is definitely very robust. Framus & Warwick have different bag series and even offer leather bags. If the RB20620 was not still a right handed bag in the first place, I would give this bag a 10 out of 10, so for me it is a 8/10.