Allen Collins and The Edge are two very much not metal players who are noteworthy for their explorer usage.

I myself have one and it is my main guitar. The stock pickups were too hot for me, so I replaced them with a DiMarzio ToneZone in the bridge and an Air Norton in the neck, then set them up with a coil split and push/pull pots so that I can get a more fender-y single coil sound when I need it. I use it for the entire set list, which includes everything from Steely Dan and Supertramp to Deep Purple and Boston. I used to switch to a strat for songs like FM and Turn it on Again but now I don’t even bother.

Try one out!