As apart from my earlier tuning problem which was just due to new strings I haven't noticed anything wrong with the guitar, other than a small crack in the finish where the nut joins the neck and some dents at the tip of the horn on the back
(unfortunately the Epiphone cardboard box wasn't designed to withstand the rigours of international shipping). But apparently nearly everyone who has an Explorer gets it damaged in that exact same spot, which makes me feel better. Small annoyances aside I'm happy and most surprised at how easy it seems to play, I already know a couple of basic riffs ( my favourite so far is TTTYAATW).
PS: my pickups (which are apparently gold plated) had an oily looking film on the when I got the guitar, is that normal? ( it could have been from the stickers though)
,and god knows how long it was on display for, with all fukers playing it. OMG with new strings i might actually rival the Edge in guitarsman-ship.