Gibson Flying V
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| Gibson Flying V | |
 |
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| Manufacturer | Gibson |
| Period | 1958—1959, 1967-present |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Flying V |
| Neck joint | Set-in |
| Woods | |
| Body | Korina, Mahogany |
| Neck | Mahogany |
| Fretboard | Rosewood, Ebony |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Tune-o-matic |
| Pickup(s) | H-H: 496R (neck), 500T (bridge) |
| Colors available | |
| Classic White, Cherry, Ebony, Natural | |
The Gibson Flying V is a popular electric guitar first released in 1958 by Gibson.
Contents |
[edit] Origins
Gibson first manufactured prototypes of the guitar in 1957. They were made of korina wood, a trademarked name for limba, a wood similar to but lighter than mahogany. (Korina, originally spelled 'Korena', is the name that has been given to certain types of African Mahogany.) This Flying V, along with the Futura (Explorer) and, initially, the Moderne, made up a line of modernist guitars designed by then-president Ted McCarty. These designs were meant to add a more futuristic aspect to Gibson's image, but they didn't sell well. After the initial launch in 1958, the line was discontinued by 1959.
In the mid-1960s, guitarists such as Albert King, Lonnie Mack, Dave Davies and Jimi Hendrix, in search of a distinctive looking guitar with a powerful sound, started using Flying V's. The renewed interest created a demand for Gibson to reissue the model.
Gibson reissued the guitar in 1967, updating its design with a bigger, more stylish pickguard, and ditching the original bridge, which had the strings inserted through the back, in favor of the stopbar tail piece more commonly associated with Gibson models. Some models were shipped with a short Vibrola Maestro Tremolo. This 1967 model is now the standard for the Flying V or, as Gibson now calls it, "V Factor".
[edit] Other makers
Many other guitar companies have copied the Flying V design, most adding several "personal touches" to avoid legal entanglements with Gibson. Among these other V's is the Jackson Rhoads model, custom built for Randy Rhoads in 1981. As the very first Jackson guitar and colloquially known as the "Shark Fin", it featured an asymmetrical cut among other differences from Gibson's. Following the Rhoads model, Jackson produced another V variation for Ratt guitarist Robbin Crosby and marketed it as the King V. Another popular V shaped guitar is the B.C. Rich Kerry King V, Jr. V, and Draco Models. Dean Flying V's are often referred to as "the best deal in V guitars". Other manufacturers, such as Cort, Antares, and Ibanez, produced clones so close to the original Gibson design that they reportedly incurred the wrath of Gibson's legal team.[citation needed]
[edit] V Bass
In 1981, Gibson produced a four-string bass version of the Flying V. Only 375 were produced, most of them black but a few in alpine white, silverburst, or transparent blue. Dean Guitars and Epiphone also make V basses.
There are at least three instances of bassists using a V bass, including Murdoc Niccals from Gorillaz, Tyson Ritter of The All-American Rejects and Stefan Olsdal from Placebo.
[edit] Notable Gibson Flying V players
[edit] Trivia
- The Gibson Flying V was featured in the Sony Playstation 2 games "Guitar Hero" in 2005 and "Guitar Hero II" in 2006.
- The "Guitar Hero" games also featured the Flying V2 finish of the guitar.
- The Gibson Flying V was also featured in the anime series FLCL as Nandaba Naota's guitar of choice.
- The Gibson Flying V was the guitar of Gabriel Tanaka in the anime series Kacho Oji.
- A fully functional, playable highly enlarged replica of Gibson Flying V, sizing over 43 feet (13 m), was built in June 2000 by Scott Rippetoe and his team from The Academy of Science and Technology (Texas). This world record is registered in Guinness World Records.[1][2]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Meiners, Larry. "World's Largest Playable Flying V Guitar Sets Guinness World Record". Guitar Collector Magazine.
- ^ Meiners, Larry (2001). Gibson Flying V: The Illustrated History of this Modernistic Guitar, foreword by Billy F. Gibbons, Flying Vintage Publishing. ISBN 978-0970827333.
- Gruhn, George; Carter, Walter (May 1999). Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars: An Identification Guide for American Fretted Instruments, 2nd ed., Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0879304225.
- Bacon, Tony (1997-10-15). The Ultimate Guitar Book. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0375700903.
[edit] External links
- Flying V 1967 reissue, V-Factor X, V-Factor Faded, Flying V Gothic, and Flying V Limited edition, from the Gibson website
- Gibson's Historic Korina Flying V, a June 2001 article from Guitar Collector magazine
- Gibson Flying V Site, a tribute site that lists all models and re-issues and most notable players
