The Gibson Flying V Guitar – 10 Interesting Facts

Since its introduction, the Flying V electric guitar has won numerous admirers around the world. Its V-shaped body became ideal for the countless guitarists who like to stand out and who also like to pose when performing live.

This guitar has been around a lot longer than some people thought, although it has undergone a design tweak or two in the process. These instruments are still produced today and are as popular now as ever.

Here are 10 facts about this legendary guitar:

1. The Gibson Guitar Company began manufacturing prototypes of the Flying V in 1957.

2. The original guitars were made from a wood called Korina. This wood resembles mahogany although it is lighter in color.

3. The official Flying V product was released in 1958 and only 81 instruments were shipped that year. An additional 17 were shipped in 1959.

4. While these initial models are truly valuable and collectible today, the first versions were priced at $ 247.50 and an additional $ 75 was required for the standard hard case.

5. To put in perspective how collectible these unique models are today, a 1958 or 1959 model turns out to be the fifth most collectible electric guitar and has a value of around $ 200,000 – $ 250,000.

6. There have been many known users of this type of guitar over the years, including: Jimi Hendrix, Albert King, Marc Bolan, Tom Petty, and the Schenker brothers.

7. Gibson made a change in style and design in 1967 when they introduced mahogany as the wood of choice for the instrument. There were also subtle modifications to the shape and also the introduction of a new scraper plate, another type of bridge and tailpiece setup and also a different control system. The 1967 product had become the standard Flying V guitar and remains so to this day.

8. Between 1979 and 1982 a V2 model was released. This instrument had completely different body sizes and even had two boomerang shaped single coil guitar pickups as standard. These pickups would not be a huge hit and many guitarists over the years opted to replace them with humbuckers.

9. The Flying V became synonymous with heavy rock as a result of its ability to fit over the guitarist’s knee when played live on stage.

10. The 1967 mahogany variation of the Flying V is manufactured in the same manner as the Gibson SG, apart from the notable variations in shape.

So that’s the Flying V electric guitar. It’s not necessarily everyone’s cup of tea and it certainly seems to be a pretty genre-specific model, having said that in 1957 this guitar was certainly a hugely innovative design.

You may want to check under your bed in case you have an authentic 1958 model in there.