Today's Flying Vs
You can pay some very hefty prices for a Flying V - it certainly pays to shop around. It should always be on a web shopper's list to check ebay - not only will you save money on used Flying Vs, but the prices on new ones can be well below what you find elsewhere, even on the net. Merchants use ebay as a way to sell excess, last year's models, etc.
Why mess around with a lesser brand, when you can pay the same low prices you pay for an inferior guitar, but get the higher quality model you really want? On ebay, you'll find trusted sellers who specialize in used electric guitars - check their feedback ratings, experience, etc. before you buy, and you'll have virtually no risk.
About the Flying V
Gibson first manufactured prototypes of the FlyingV 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 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.
Blues-rock guitarist Lonnie Mack and blues guitarist Albert King started using the guitar almost immediately. Later, in the mid-1960s, such guitarists as Dave Davies and Jimi Hendrix, in search of a distinctive looking guitar with a powerful sound, also 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".
Gibson also issued two limited-edition "signature" versions of the Flying V, the Jimi Hendrix model and the Lonnie Mack model, the latter of which included a Bigsby tailpiece tremelo arm identical to the unit Mack had used on his own Flying V since 1958.
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