“They only made 20 of them at the time. I used that one on ‘Memphis’ and I still use it today.” So said Lonnie Mack in 1968, five years after his Top 5 US hit with that great track, which helped define the highly distinctive guitar trademarked by Gibson on January 6, 1958: the Flying V.
Another estimate says that 98 were made originally, but either way, those 1958-59 originals are now valued at between $200,000 and $250,000. Indiana bluesman Mack was one of the early adopters of an instrument that remains one of the most striking looking axes in the world of guitars.
Lonnie named his guitar Seven, because he was told it was seventh off the production line. His fellow blues practitioner Albert King was another who started using a Flying V soon after they came into that limited circulation, and he called his Lucy, in answer to B.B. King’s Lucille.
The first of the guitars were made not of mahogany, but of limba, a lighter wood, and the look, designed by Gibson president Ted McCarty, was deliberately futuristic. But it didn’t prove popular at first, and it was the milestone ‘Memphis,’ and other Mack recordings, that helped the new generation of rock guitarists take an interest in the Flying V.
Dave Davies of the Kinks, Arthur Lee of Love, and Jimi Hendrix were among those to realise that the guitar had both audible and visible appeal. Gibson weren’t slow to recognise the new interest, and relaunched the guitar, this time with a mahogany body, in 1967. That year, King recorded “Born Under A Bad Sign” with his Lucy and future stars like Stevie Ray Vaughan were spellbound. Albert even cut a song that may have appeared to be named after a popular TV series, but was really a love letter to his Flying V, “(I Love) Lucy.”
Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash was another fan of the V. “I [used to go] up to the music shops in London on the train and [look] in the windows,” he told Guitar Player in 1974. “And I used to build up these fantasies about owning a Flying V. At one time it was a Les Paul, but then it changed. Mine is lust a fairly basic mid-60s V. I recently acquired another one in mint condition, which is really nice.”
The guitar also fitted perfectly with the glam-rock look and sound of the extrovert rock bands of the early and mid-1970s. Marc Bolan was closely associated with it, as was Paul Stanley of Kiss; Ronnie Montrose of Montrose and Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen both acquired 1958 models in the 1970s.
Epiphone model is much more budget-friendly than the Gibson Custom Shop version which landed earlier this year.
Gibson Custom Shop model to cost, came with a price tag of $15,000, while the new Epiphone version is priced at a far more modest $1,299. Guitar.com reports.
Both the Flying V and Explorer were originally debuted in 1958 and the two electric guitars shared a similar fate, in that they initially flopped before finding favor decades later in the hands of a younger audience.
While their forward-thinking shapes might have proved a bit much for ‘50s crowds, by the early ‘80s guitarists of various stripes had rehabilitated the V and Explorer. Gibson soon realized the potential of the spiky models among the aggressive stylings of the heavy metal scene and issued new models equipped with super-hot Dirty Fingers humbuckers, in the hope of appealing to heavier players. (GuitarWorld)
Gibson expands its Exclusives Collection with new-look Olive Drab '70s Flying V
The axe, which joins the similarly styled Les Paul, Les Paul Special and ES-335 models, is available only from the official Gibson website
Thought the origins lie in the blues The Gibson Flying V found a home in rock and roll too. many rockers who have played one, including Eddie Van Halen, Keith Richards and Tom Petty.
The first drop introduced the Olive Drab colorway, and was made up entirely of Les Pauls, Les Paul Specials, SGs and ES-335s – now Gibson has expanded the Exclusives Collections further by unveiling a new-look ‘70s Flying V.
The 1958 models of both the “Flying V” and “Explorer” are some of the most valuable production-model guitars in the world, in 3rd and 4th place on Vintage Guitar magazine’s “10 Most Valuable Guitars” list. Although the 1958 “Flying V” is now extremely valuable, at the time the guitar wasn’t an immediate success. It was even discontinued in 1959 after poor sales due to its heavy weight and modern design. In the 1960s, Gibson reduced the guitar’s weight by eliminating its curved back and almost immediately, it was in the hands of many notable musicians such as Lonnie Mack (who had also played the 1958 original), Albert King, Dave Davies of the Kinks, and Jimi Hendrix.
Happy Birthday, Flying V.
A fleet of three Vs gassed Jimi Hendrix’s jams ’til he kissed the sky. The guitar humbucked up T. Rex’s roar and gave the Scorpions enough wind to “Rock You Like a Hurricane.” Metallica’s monolithic wall of sound has a vein of V at its igneous core, and Zakk Wylde has blasted his signature model on-stage and in the studio with Ozzy.
This year marks the golden anniversary of the debut of the Gibson Flying V, and this is the story of the guitar’s birth.
GUITAR WARS
The Flying V was born on a field of battle that still rages: Gibson verses Fender. In 1957 Gibson’s then-president Ted McCarty wanted some new six-strings to tussle with Leo Fender’s popular Stratocasters. Sure, the Les Paul was already making history, but McCarty wanted more contemporary reinforcements with some eye-candy appeal. After all, the Les Paul had debuted in 1952 during the height of the Korean War. It was a new era.
As Guitar Aficionado notes, its look was Gibson's attempt to come up with a Modernist answer to the Fender Stratocaster. In 1956, Gibson president Ted McCarty commissioned some new designs, and the Flying V was the only one that survived the process intact.
Kinks guitarist Dave Davies picked up his famous 1958 Flying V in 1965, while The Kinks were on their first American tour. Davies was soon seen playing the instrument on popular American musical variety TV shows of the day, such as Shindig! Davies was one of the first rock musicians to stir interest in the Flying V among his peers.
But in 1965, Dave Davies of the Kinks picked one up on a U.S. tour when his only guitar was lost by an airline. Appearing with the Flying V on television brought exposure to the instrument, and it was reissued in 1966 with a few modifications to its design. Still, even with Richards playing one at the Rolling Stones' famous Hyde Park show in 1969 and Jimi Hendrix -- who was heavily influenced by King -- having one custom-made, it failed to sell in big numbers and production ceased in 1970. (ultimateclassicrock.com)
Singer-songwriter Grace Potter – one of rock’s most charismatic young performers – becomes positively effusive when asked about the virtues of the Flying V. In addition to citing it as a perfect fit for her rhythm style, she loves the Flying V’s comfort. “The weight distribution is perfect for dancing around during live shows,” she says. “The way it hangs off my neck is very comfortable onstage. It’s also exceptionally beautiful.”
Other rockstars who played this model were Michael Schenker of Scorpions and UFO, Marc Bolan of T. Rex and Bad Company's Mick Ralphs, and it hasn't been out of production since. It later became synonymous with '80s metal thanks to Metallica's James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett,
