I want a flying V.

[RABid]

... but if you like big neck guitars ...

 

Not for me. My first electric was an Ibanez Les Paul clone around 1980. It had a baseball bat for a neck and really bad tuners. That guitar knocked me out of playing guitar for years and years. I had to fight the chords.

[Dannyalcatraz]

Personally, if my irrational desires override my practical side and a buy a V, odds are good it will either be something custom or- far more likely- one of Reverend"s versions. Their Volcano and the Ron Asheton sig are vert slightly asymmetrical, but otherwise have the rounded points and all those other things I like about Reverends: the medium neck, Korina body the bass contour knob, etc.

[Mark Schmieder]

Epi does make Flying V's and current Epi's are mostly great as well as good bang-for-buck. I sold all my old Epi models a few years ago (Mandobird electric mandolin, etc.), but have been thrilled by my ES-295, the all-acoustic 1920's style archtop, the Sheraton Pro II that arrived today, and hopefully the Frontier dreadnought acoustic that arrives tomorrow. I would even argue that the higher-end Epiphones of today are better than most new Gibsons!

[PJay]

Do, it RABid!

 

No one who has owned a flying V has ever regretted it (it's a fact, Google it )

 

Here are mine, both from 1975, and both nearly all original. As far as one being better than the other, I can't decide. That'd be like picking a favorite child.

 

[Larryz]

WELCOME ABOARD PJay!

[Scott Fraser]

Here are mine, both from 1975, and both nearly all original. As far as one being better than the other, I can't decide. That'd be like picking a favorite child.

 

A nice pair. Personally I like the look of the Ibanez better. The pick guard, tailpiece, & knob arrangement just fit the lines of the body better IMO.

[Caevan O’Shite]

Here are mine, both from 1975, and both nearly all original. As far as one being better than the other, I can't decide. That'd be like picking a favorite child.

 

Niiiiiice... ! I particularly like that "lawsuit era" Ibanez V! Beautiful!

 

A nice pair. Personally I like the look of the Ibanez better. The pick guard, tailpiece, & knob arrangement just fit the lines of the body better IMO.

 

Pretty much a dead-on accurate replica of a '50s vintage Gibson Flying V- one of the "lawsuit" guitars!

[PJay]

Thanks, guys!

 

I've tried to do some research online on my Ibanez. From what I've been able to find, it's one of the very earliest '75's (no serial number or "stinger" on the back of the headstock, no rubber strip, black pickup covers with open tops, pickguard that goes under the bridge, not around it, etc.). It's all original, including the pickups and electronics. The pickups are ink stamped 15110, for January of 1975:

 

https://ibb.co/7SnVVRc

https://ibb.co/DzJNcmm

[KuruPrionz]

Thanks, guys!

 

I've tried to do some research online on my Ibanez. From what I've been able to find, it's one of the very earliest '75's (no serial number or "stinger" on the back of the headstock, no rubber strip, black pickup covers with open tops, pickguard that goes under the bridge, not around it, etc.). It's all original, including the pickups and electronics. The pickups are ink stamped 15110, for January of 1975:

 

https://ibb.co/7SnVVRc

https://ibb.co/DzJNcmm

 

 

Welcome P Jay! Is that a Rocket Roll Sr.? Or was that a later model?

[PJay]

Thank you!

 

It is a Rocket Roll Sr., also known as a 2387CT.

[Caevan O’Shite]

Thank you!

 

It is a Rocket Roll Sr., also known as a 2387CT.

 

I would love to check that out! Even though I can NOT for the life of me get comfortable- sitting OR standing- with a V. That V- ehr, Rocket Roll Sr. of yours really looks like a late '50s Gibson Flying V, and I've long thought that those were among the coolest and most beautiful guitars ever made.

 

Those "Lawsuit era" guitars from Japanese makers have a great reputation for often having high quality and authenticity. They were showing up Gibson, Fender- and Martin, Gretsch and others, too, perhaps? The US makers had been dropping the ball and the Japanese makers were lovingly picking it up and running with it!

[Lokair]

Ok after reading this post they other day, I decided to do 1 whole month with out a Flying V in my hands. I got out (2009)1959 relic tele( the only Tele I have ever liked). my Les Paul, and a no name strat. as well as a Dean Les Paul , and a Jackson soloist. so now I feel like a noob playing guitar, but diversity makes hard work and hard work pays off. I have two Jazz jams this month and a few heavy rock\metal jams. The jazz guys will have the most fun with me as they are ruthless bunch of nice guys (and one girl).

 

Lok

[Caevan O’Shite]

I have two Jazz jams this month and a few heavy rock\metal jams. The jazz guys will have the most fun with me as they are ruthless bunch of nice guys (and one girl).

 

Take your favorite V. Especially to the Jazz sessions.

[Ivan May]

Nancy Wilson played a lot of Flying Vs on a lot of vintage Heart albums. Let me tell ya: Flying Vs, especially the original ones from 1958 and 1959, are not cheap at all!! Some of them fetch close to $250,000! So unless you're some crazy investor, don't buy a vintage Flying V!!

 

 

 

This is a Korina Flying V. It was used on many of the Heart recordings in the Eighties, such as This Man Is Mine, Allies, Alone, If Looks Could Kill and What About Love. I believe it is from either 1958 or 1959, given that it has the giant Gibson logo on the headstock, rather than later Flying Vs which usually have the Gibson logo designed on the truss rod. I often wonder when Nancy acquired this guitar?

However, Nancy also used a sunburst Dean Flying V copy in the eighties and nineties. 

A Dean Flying V guitar in sunburst finish, serial number 0601493. Nancy Wilson remembers playing this guitar on stage and in some Heart music videos. Accompanied by a color photograph of Nancy Wilson with the guitar, signed in black marker "[heart] Nancy Wilson," and an original hardshell case. It was eventually auctioned off in 2015, though it is unclear who currently owns this Dean Flying V.

However, I do know that Nancy owned a real Gibson Flying V. However, Howard Leese owns a 58 Flying V, which he uses along with his Gibson Firebirds and a Telecaster.
 

https://www.vintageguitar.com/wp-content/uploads/HOWARD_LEESE_03_guitars.jpg

Howard says of the guitar: "Well, there’s the ’58 Gibson Flying V with a white pickguard. I’ve had it a long time; it’s a guitar I played on some of the Heart records for power chords. It’s very even from note to note, so when you strum a chord it’s very homogenized. It’s a really good basic-track guitar. I used it when we cut the drums; Heart always used live bass, drums and rhythm guitar. Another thing that’s great about the V is that it’s so microphonic you can talk into the pickups… no talkback mic needed (laughs)! The guitar track becomes part of the snare sound; you can hear the snare drum through the guitar. It’s a nice bleed. It’s all over the ’80s tracks, stuff like “Alone” and “What About Love.”

Nancy no longer owns her own Flying V. In a recent interview, Nancy claimed of the Flying V's whereabouts: "My Flying V went to another home. I sold it to the guitarist for the Scorpions, Rudolf Schenker. He’s got this huge collection of original Flying Vs. So, he’s got my old V there with his stash.

I have the blue carbon top Ovation from the mid-to-late seventies, and it actually went on tour without me. The guitar went to the “Play it Loud” exhibit at the Metropolitan in New York—there’s all these amazing instruments and guitars. It was there for like six months; then they moved the entire exhibit over to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland (Rock Hall Museum). Now it’s there for a few more months. I always said, “Oh, it’s the only guitar that went on tour without me.” But I don’t have my first Flying V. I kind of fell on some financial hardship and wound up selling it to Rudolph (Scorpions).

A friend of my guitar tech built me another Flying V that’s incredibly great. It’s kind of diminutive, slightly smaller, and easier for a girl to play, but it screams just as loud as any Flying V. He made it from a piece of mantle wood that was salvaged from a burned-down house. I think it was an oak mantle, and he fashioned a Flying V out of it. I played that V with Heart most of the last tour, and it was so much fun. It’s really loud. And then he went ahead and built me a twelve-string V, which is highly unusual. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that before. So, I’m going to have to take that one for a spin.

Some of the early Ovations don’t really record as well because they’re just a different, less wooden kind of sound. I was playing a lot of Takamines for a long time, and then Martin approached me with a signature concept. So I worked with them on a signature Martin (HD-35 Nancy Wilson Dreadnought Signature Edition), which I love dearly, and I have a few of them. That’s my main go-to now because I designed it to be Crosby, Stills & Nash-like, a three-piece back, dreadnought style. And it’s got such a good, responsive tone, and it’s lovely to play. I love playing it.
 

“My guitars all get really scratched up.”

I believe that Michael Schenker also owns a Flying V that was owned by Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash, one criminally skilled guitarist who was single-handedly responsible for the popularization of the instrument. Eddie Van Halen and J. Geils are also known for playing Flying Vs.
 

[KuruPrionz]

On 8/20/2021 at 10:48 AM, Lokair said:

OK if you are looking for a classic V stick with Gibson , or an 70-80s Japanese copy v brand Fernandez , Greco ,Edwards, Tokia (gibson of Japan) , or Epiphone. Modern Deans are ok if your willing to redo the electronics(pick ups are not that good and the pots and caps are crap) and the tuning machines are poorly made grovers on their modern stuff. I love my Greco Flying Vs one MS650 from 1981 and one 1981 v850 both feel and look like 70s Gibson Vs as well as having great pick ups, the build quality is very high over all. The 80 Gibsons can still be had for reasonable prices from private sales (Reverb is way over priced for now) like 1500$ and a good Greco , Edwards, Tokia ect should still be around 1k$, 5 years ago it was around 500$.

I own 17 flying V as of now some Deans (I really like the 2004-2008 korean built and some of that era built in the eastern europe area, but I have replaced pick ups in most and said electronics), Grecos (mentioned) a few custom builds and three Gibsons 1987 is the only one that I use(its beat but sounds great) the other two are locked away as investments. I also have Jackson from the 80s round horn locked away that is an amazing guitar.

 

 

As to playing one sitting it takes some getting used to but worth it , The bottom horn goes between your legs and the neck stick up at and angle in front of your left arm, very comfortable after getting used to it(so much so that after playing flying Vs for along time I struggle with my les pauls ,PRS and strats and such), but standing is no problem either way.

 

 

Rabid if you live in the Pittsburgh area i could loan you one to see if you like it.

 

Lok

One of the reasons Reverb is overpriced is that with their listing structure, the price can only go down. That price is an overly hopeful starting point but you can make an offer, even a ridiculous one (I've had low-ballers test that on stuff I was selling). On the other hand, for guitars eBay has lowered their cut to more or less the same as Reverb's. 

If you have a desirable item sometimes it's best to post an auction on eBay (10 days starting on Thursday and ending on the Sunday afternoon in the middle of the month, when everybody has their mid-month paycheck). I posted a friend's clean but played 82 Gibson Les Paul Custom in white for .98 (yes ninety eight cents starting bid) and he was freaking out until he saw it get to almost $2,000 on the first day. Sold it for about $3,200 as there was a big "fight" in the last 5 minutes. That was some years ago, might get more now. He paid around $600 in 1983 so I figured we did well. 

[o0Ampy0o]

Nancy Wilson standing still in a photo looks amazing with a Flying V. Once she bops to the music in motion all that goes away. I thought having dance rhythm was built into the gender. But proportionally even the guitar almost "suits" her perfectly.

 

Flying V's are not appealing to me but my friend has one. Only way to play it is standing with a strap. No sitting or resting it on a thigh resting foot on something as you stand. He loves his though. It is white like I think you indicated you like as well.

 

If you have tried a Flying V style guitar and you can live with its lack of ergonomics then I would discourage you from special ordering one from a boutique builder. One day you or your heir may have to sell it and the number of interested buyers are reduced with any of the following: going with a Flying V style, going with a boutique builder, choosing a boutique builder with a horrible headstock, any unique playing features like odd neck size accommodating large or small hands. Also, if you really want a custom build avoid bursts because you never know what you will get. Limit bursts to buying stock already built which you can see. Same really applies to what you can play before pay unless you can play anything.

 

Even if you have a swimming pool of money in your backyard I encourage you to find something else to do.  We are not meant to acquire everything we have ever wanted.  There is always something we want. We are not acquiravores.

 

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

2 hours ago, o0Ampy0o said:

We are not acquiravores.

Speak for yourself!😜

[Scott Fraser]

2 hours ago, o0Ampy0o said:

We are not acquiravores.

Neologism of the week.