Back around 1958 or so, the Gibson Guitar Company of Kalamazoo, Michigan built four distinctly modern looking solid body electric guitars, in fact, one was even called the Moderne!! The other three were the Firebird, the Explorer, and the most famous of them all the Flying V. To put things in perspective, the unique radical designs of these guitars were based on the finned-look exhibited by Detroit’s chrome monster automobiles, which were in turn based on aeronautical motifs, jet airplanes, sputnik and so on. Ever see a ’58 Cadillac Eldorado? a ‘55 Ford Thunderbird, a ’57 Chevrolet BelAir, or a 57 Desoto FirePower? If you have, then you will know what I mean. Lots of mean angles, horsepower, flashy paint, and chrome.

At the time, the four new designs went over like a lead balloon. I believe I remember reading about an economic recession at the time and the market for luxury items like Gibson guitars just dried up. Today, if you have an original of any of these in mint condition I’m sure you can name your price and somebody will gladly pay. I also seem to remember that the Moderne may have been limited to the prototype while the others had some commercial sales.

Today, if you have a mere $1,500 or so laying around you can get yourself a new Gibson Flying V ’67. The Flying V has the same control setup as the classic Les Paul guitar with Tune-o-Matic bridge and dual humbucking pickups with separate volume and tone controls for each. The Tune-o-Matic bridge allows tuning the individual string lengths for proper intonation up and down the scale. The humbucking pickups provide a fat sound for chords and cutting lead tones. For examples of the fat sound of a Flying V, check out blues masters Albert King or Lonnie Mack. The immortal Jimi Hendrix, no mean blues player himself, was captured for posterity on film playing his most intensely sizzling blues number "Red House" on a Gibson Flying V. Many rock groups, notably Kiss were known for playing the Gibson Flying V.

One significant advantage the Flying V has over the Les Paul is the lighter weight. The Les Pauls weigh a ton while the V weighs about the same as a Fender Stratocaster. The lighter weight makes a difference when you play hour after hour. Like all Gibson electrics, the action is impeccable, with playability all along the scale length.

The Flying V ’67 comes with a solid mahogany body and neck with a rosewood fingerboard. It is available in three classic finishes, black, cherry, and white. The white really looks scrumptious! My Flying V, an original '67, is a tobacco brown sunburst with white pickguard.

Happy playing!


Recommended: Yes