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The Gibson Flying V

It looks and sounds like a mystical machine gun, it's rocked the worlds of some huge names, and yet it very nearly ended up as a bizarre footnote in the history of the guitar. It could only be Gibson's Flying V: here's a brief history of a modern classic.

Monday, 12. November 2012 - by Russ Thorne

Take your pick of any guitar model and most will have been wielded by some big names. The Flying V is no different. But perhaps where it is a little unique is in the divisive effect its looks can produce. Sure, you might be a Les Paul man who baulks at the idea of playing a Strat; but you're unlikely to dismiss the Fender because it looks like an intergalactic cocktail stirrer. Not so with the Flying V.

Perhaps that's one of the contributing factors to the V's rather underwhelming reception when it first appeared in stores. Conceived in 1957 by Gibson's president at the time, Ted McCarty, it was intended to offer a Gibson alternative to the Les Paul (which appeared in '52) and be a rival to the futuristic Stratocaster that had cruised into being three years earlier. In the guitar wars, V was indeed for Vendetta.

Codename V

The problem was, the design team at Gibson potentially went too far. The Strat and the Les Paul had flowing lines that reflected contemporary aesthetics, all swoopy Cadillac curves and rounded aeroplane styling. The Flying V looked like you could chop trees down with it. In the age of the Stratocruiser they'd delivered Concorde, a premature time's arrow that the world wasn't ready for. Less than 100 of the original run were sold, and the model was discontinued by 1960.

But if they misjudged the look, they didn't get the sound wrong. Certainly not in the eyes of musicians like Albert King and Lonnie Mack, anyway – Mack's '58 guitar was reputed to be the seventh off the production line and was duly christened 'Seven' by the blues-rock legend, and remains the core weapon in his musical arsenal.

Prototype models of the V were carved from mahogany, but the production models – like Mack's – were of korina wood, which kept the weight down and the price comparable to a Stratocaster. They sported twin humbucker pickups and were strung through the body, which some fans believe gives the early models their hefty sustain. A custom bridge and pickups that were unintentionally overwound at the factory gave Mack's 'Seven' the tone that contributes to his ferocious, bubbling lead sound – the sound that helped pioneer blues-rock and inspired a certain Stevie Ray Vaughan. Not a bad heritage for a failed experiment.

The V Rises

: Jimi Hendrixs' custom made Gibson Flying V guitar, which he called "Flying Angel" Currently in the Hard Rock Cafe Museum, London, England. (Photo By Mike Cattell CC-BY-2.0)

As the 60s swung by the V developed something of a cult following and Gibson were persuaded to reissue the model, with a few tweaks. They were now made of mahogany, no longer strung through the body and came in colours more befitting the decade – Cherry, Sunburst and Sparkling Burgundy. Newly upgraded and with a flashy paint job they attracted the attention of Jimi Hendrix, who owned three, including a custom model (with split diamond inlay on the fretboard to represent native American arrowheads) that he played at the Isle of Wight festival in 1970. None were subjected to the pyrotechnics of his other guitars, and all three survive.

However, despite the ministrations of the left handed voodoo god, the Flying V still had to wait until the mid 70s before progress caught up with the arrow Gibson had fired into the future 20 years earlier. Concorde was in the skies and music had moved away from the thrall of late 60s rock and pop and into altogether different waters, including glam rock and heavy metal.

The V turned out to be surprisingly flexible across these different genres. With its startling look and crunchy-but-clean sound courtesy of some of Gibson's more feisty, spiky pickups (compared to the Les Paul's smoother tones), the guitar was a natural showoff and the perfect companion for Marc Bolan's adventures with T-Rex, working well with his hybrid rhythm/lead sound. But that wasn't all.

Going a Bit Metal

It was through hard rock and heavy metal that the V really found its voice, embraced by Kiss, Judas Priest, and most notably The Scorpions – guitarist Rudolph Schenker is reported to own more than 70. Its sonic dexterity combined with the fact that when wielded on stage the Flying V simply looks like it's machine-gunning the crowd make it a great gigging guitar for the mega-riffing mentalism of metal. Still need convincing? At the heart of Metallica's '...and Justice for All' is Kirk Hammett's thundering '75 model. Enough said.

Since that 1975 model there have been more than 25 variations and reissues of the Flying V, with tweaks to the headstock, tuning pegs, even the wood. This is a restless guitar, as the cross-genre roll-call of famous musicians shows. But one thing remains the same: if you're after a unique sound, a sturdy build and a look that's just that little bit different...well, you know where to go.

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