Gibson Flying V
The Gibson Flying V is an electric guitar model first released by Gibson in 1958. Production guitars were made of korina wood, a
trademarked name for limba, a wood similar to but lighter in color than mahogany. This Flying V, along with the Futura (Explorer)
and, initially, the Moderne, made up a line of modernist guitars designed by Gibson's 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. Some instruments were assembled from leftover parts and shipped in 1963, with nickel- rather than gold-plated
hardware.
Blues-rock guitarist Lonnie Mack and blues guitarist Albert King started using the guitar almost immediately. Later, in the mid-late
1960's, such guitarists as Dave Davies and Jimi Hendrix, in search of a distinctive looking guitar with a powerful sound, also started
using Flying Vs. The renewed interest created a demand for Gibson to reissue the model.
Gibson reissued the guitar in mahogany 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, the V Factor. Like other Gibson guitars the Flying V's headstock is angled at 17 degrees to tighten string tension
to increase the amount of sustain.
Gibson has issued several limited-edition signature versions of the Flying V, including the Jimi Hendrix model and the Lonnie Mack
model, the latter of which included a Bigsby tailpiece tremolo arm identical to the unit Mack has continuously used on his own
Flying V since 1958.