The Gibson Flying V And The It's History

The 1950's Space Race

The United States got into what came to be known as “The Space Race” back in August of 1955.  I was only three years old at the time, but though the influence of television, which I watched all the time, I remember those  news shows that were continually interrupting the cartoons and kiddie shows that I loved to watch.  However, even at that young age, I found a couple of those news stories to be quite fascinating.

Watching TV in the 1950's

One was the ongoing news stories about rockets that were being developed to carry a satellites, and people into outer space.  Rockets and Outer Space were just marvelous thoughts to spark the imagination of any young boy or girl in the 1950's.  What a curious word Outer Space was to me.

The Iron Curtain

The other more ominous news story of that era was about The Cold War, and The Iron Curtain. At age 3 or 4, I actually had visions of a huge and rusting iron curtain that surrounded this mysterious land known as The Soviet Union.

The Atomic Bomb Scare

The Cold War was a more real phenomenon for me. I  vividly remember a commercial on TV showing a little girl picking petals off of a flower, and then Boom; A huge atomic explosion!

Fallout Shelter sign circa 1950

By the time I got to elementary school, there were Fallout Shelter signs throughout that facility which gave a little comfort to a child of five with the knowledge my family could run three blocks to my school for protection when Russia dropped The Big One.  My next door neighbor proudly displayed a bumper sticker on her car that said, "Better Dead Than Red".  Based on the signs of the time, it was coming!

Sputnik 1

This so called “Cold War” was actually due to extreme tension between The U.S. and the Soviet Union, that was the result of disagreements about the ending of WWII.

The Space Race between the two countries only served to heightened the animosity when the Russians were the first to launch a satellite, Sputnik I, into orbit late in 1957.

But as a little guy during these years, I can sure recall that excitement about rockets, satellites, and outer space.

Wernher von Braun on Disney 1955

Disney had a popular television show on Sunday. One episoded featured filmed interviews with Dr. Wernher von Braun explaining to us all about three stage rockets, and how a satellite was going to be put into orbit very soon.

Telestar 1962

Even in our elementary school, we watched a short film featuring scientists from Bell Laboratories, explaining how they were building a communications satellite. This satellite would come to be known as Telestar.

1954 Fender Stratocaster

The Space Race fad did not go unnoticed by automobile manufacturers, and by some guitar manufacturers. Cars of this era had aerodynamic fins on the back ends, and modernized dash boards.  Electric guitar builder Leo Fender had already introduced a new guitar in 1954.

Fender's  sales manager and marketing wizard Don Randall christened it The Fender Stratocaster.  Randall was a pilot, and an aviation fan. So the name he came up with was a tribute to aviation technology and the stratosphere.

Blueprints For New Gibson Guitars

Not to be outdone, Ted McCarty, president of The Gibson Guitar Company at this time, came up with three very modernistic, space-age guitar designs that were unlike anything other companies were offering.

These instruments included The Moderne, The Explorer, and The Flying V, all of which were introduced in 1958.

1956 Les Paul Junior

These guitars, were  all designed in 1957, and came about because Gibson franchisers were complaining that the companies guitar designs which they claimed had been a little “stodgy and dated". McCarty, who was a marketing guy,  with the help of a local Kalamazoo Michigan artist, drew up plans for three new guitars that were designed to “knock them off of their feet”, with futuristic, space-age instruments, that would compete with Fender’s solid body instruments. I have to add that during the 1950’s Fender had put a considerable dent into Gibson’s market share.

Two of these three guitars were produced for only one year, 1958, and discontinued in 1959 due to their poor sales.

1983 Gibson Heritage Moderne

It is questionable if a prototype, or production model of the Moderne was even built. None have ever been found.

1958 Gibson Explorer

The Gibson Explorer which did make it into production, was a limited production of around only 50 instruments. It resurfaced as a Gibson instrument in 1976, but was made of mahogany instead of Korina wood.

1958 Flying V Advertisement

However it was the Gibson Flying V which also offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, and was the first of these three guitars to experience a resurgence.



The resurgence occurred in 1963, only because there were parts leftover from the initial production. Gibson saw this as a way to salvage them. Only a few instruments were assembled, and unlike the 1958 version, the newer '63 V’s had nickel hardware instead of gold-plated parts.

1957 Flying V Prototype from
the Experienced Music Project

The first Gibson V's produced for sale in 1958 were made of Korina, which is a trade name for Limba wood. However it is said the prototype of the Gibson V started out with a mahogany body, which did not have the deep arrow-like “V” cut. Instead it had a rounded bottom. The guitar was heavy, so Gibson decided to change the back by putting in the deep V cut at the instruments base. Gibson also opted to build the guitar with the lighter Korina wood for the same reason.

The 1958 Flying V was had a pickguard that covered one side of the guitar.  This instrument was fitted with twin Gibson P.A.F humbucking pickups with gold-plated covers. It also came with a gold-plated tune-o-matic bridge, and a classy gold-plated V-shaped tailpiece/plate that allowed the strings to pass through the guitars body.

1958 Flying V

The Flying V neck was made of mahogany. The fretboard was made of rosewood, and the neck was topped with an arrow head shaped headstock,. The tuners featured pearl buttons. A Gibson logo was made in stylized raised gold lettering and attached horizontally to the headstock. The instruments electronics consisted of a three way toggle switch,  two volume controls, and a single tone control, which ran parallel on the instruments lower horn.

The input jack featured a large circular surround that was done a two ply white plastic. Gibson offered white or black pickguards. The bottom of the guitar had a corrugated rubber strip that was glued to guitars lower edge to prevent the instrument from slipping off a seated players leg.

Due to the limited production, the current value of a 1958 Flying V has been consistently listed at $125,000 to $250,000 in the vintage resale market. There were only 81 original Flying V's made and shipped in 1958, and 17 guitars produced the following year.  So Gibson discontinued manufacturing this guitar.

As previously stated, in the early 1960's Gibson build a few Flying V's that were assembled from leftover parts and shipped in 1963, with nickel- rather than gold-plated hardware. This was an effort on Gibson's part to get rid of their old stock.

Lonnie Mack

One of the first players to use the 1958 Gibson Flying V was Lonnie Mack. He was born as Lonnie McIntosh, and grew up as a country boy living in rural Indiana. At 13 years of age Lonnie got into a quarrel with a teacher and was promptly dismissed from school. He never returned.  All Lonnie ever wanted to do was play guitar.

He hung out at a music store in nearby Norwood, Ohio, called Hughes Music. Norwood is mid-sized blue-collar community located just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. It used to be home of a GM plant.

The store's owner, Glen Hughes. would talk to Lonnie and knew that he was interested in shooting the bow and arrow. Mr. Hughes pulled out the latest Gibson catalog that he had received and showed Lonnie this new arrow shaped guitar.  Lonnie was awestruck and had to have that guitar. Mr. Hughes put in an order to Gibson and drove all the way from Cincinnati Ohio to Kalamazoo Michigan to pick it up.

Lonnie Mack with 007
before he painted it

The Flying V that Lonnie purchased had the serial number 007. Lonnie used that guitar throughout his career. His original instrument had a natural wood finish, but Lonnie soon painted it red.

Lonnie's original band

Mack later wanted to add a vibrato to his Flying V.  Mr. Hughes already had a Bigsby B-7 vibrato in his store, and to put it on Lonnie's V.

Lonnie's '58 Vee

Mr Hughes took a stainless steel bar and bent it into a shape that could be anchored on the instrument’s V section as a base for the bottom of the Bigsby unit.

Lonnie named his guitar "Number 7",  based on the serial number. Other users of this iconic model include Blues singer Albert King, and Kink's guitarist, Dave Davies. Davies acquired his Flying V at a London shop for only $60!

The Kinks on TV in 1966

Dave Davies is probably responsible for a big resurgence of the Flying V.  In 1966, after Davies and The Kinks were featured on an American television show playing the guitar, there was an immediate demand for the Flying V.

Gibson responded by reissuing the Flying V that same year; 1966. This time it was a much different guitar featuring a mahogany body, and some other changes that differed from the original model.

1966 Dealers Sheet Flying V

The original 1958 came with a V-shaped gold plate that allowed the strings to go through the body. The 1966 version came with either a stop tailpiece, or a Maestro short tremolo unit. The strings no longer ran through the guitars body, but were attached to the stop bar or the tremolo unit.



The pickguard and controls were also changed. The original 1958 pickguard covered only one side of the body. The twin volume and single tone controls were parallel and had clear gold-coloured knobs. The three-way toggle was near the top volume control. The input jack was mounted with a circular plastic surround on the lower horn.

1967 Flying V's

The 1966 version had a larger pickguard that extended to both sides of the guitar. The two volume, and single tone knobs were now configured in a cluster, and had top-hat knobs. The toggle switch was below the controls, and the input jack was on the face of the pickguard.

Instead of gold-plated hardware on the '58 version, the 1966 version had nickel-plated hardware. The 1966 Flying V was available only in cherry or sunburst. In later years an ebony finish was available.

1966 V

The arrow shaped black headstock on the 1958 Flying V had the word “Gibson” written in gold script raised letters that were attached. The 1958 version also had a bell shaped truss-rod cover.

The 1966 version had a much larger white truss-rod cover with the Gibson logo embedded in gold letters.

A major change in the 1966 version was the shape of the guitars body. The top of the body on the 1958 guitar had two "shoulders" that were prominent enough for the strap button placement.

The 1966 model had only a very modest slope at the top of the body, and the strap button was moved to instruments back, just below the neck joint.

1967 Gibson Flying V

One feature of either of the Flying V guitars that often goes unnoticed is the pickup placement, which is near the center of the instruments mass, which enhances sustain. The 1966 version of the V was offered through 1971.

Jimi Hendrix with his Flying V

Jimi Hendrix can be seen playing a painted version of the 1966 Flying V that has a psychedelic design which he painted on his guitars black body.

The 1966 version of the Flying V remained in Gibson's catalog through 1981.

1971 Gibson Medallion Flying V's

In 1971, Gibson produced the limited-edition Flying V Medallion model, which was essentially identical to the 1967 version, with the exception of its shorter peg head. The company produced only 353 Medallion V's.

1971 Flying V Medallion Edition

Each guitar had a metal medallion on it's upper bottom horn stating it was a "Limited Edition Medallion Model - Gibson - and the guitars edition number".

In 1975, The Flying V returned to regular production for a third time  as a version similar to the 1966 Flying V.

Since then Gibson has offered some variation of the Flying V, as a regular production model of the Gibson electric solidbody guitar line.

Tim Shaw in a recent interview

By 1978 Gibson hired Tim Shaw in an effort to get the Les Paul back to original specs. Possibly Shaw's best contribution to Gibson was redesigning the humbucking pickup for Gibson in an effort to bring their models back to P.A.F standard. Tim Shaw pickups are sought after even today by those in the know.

1979 Gibson Explorer II E2

But one of Shaw’s first assignments was to help Gibson design two updated versions of classic instruments; The Explorer, and the V, which would be called the E2, and the V2.

Flying V2

The 1979 Gibson Flying V "V2" retained the basic shape of the iconic instrument from twenty years earlier, but also sported a unique five layer sculpted body, as well as a five layer neck, which both consisted of a sandwich of Walnut and Maple wood. The body was also beveled to give the instrument a three dimensional effect.

1980 Flying V2 Boomerang pickups

The most obvious feature of this guitar was the two “boomerang” pickups. There is a debate if they are actually humbucking pickups that were designed to sound like single coil pickups, or single coils. Remember this guitar came out during those “Crazy Norlin years”. Those pickups were quite expensive to build. And they featured classy brass surrounds.

Due to this design, the end of the fret board had to be routed to allow access for the neck pickup surround. This guitar came with a small black pickguard.

1980 Flying V2 hardware
with Sustain Sisters under the bridge

All of the V2's hardware was made of brass, right down to a brass nut. The brass tune-o-matic bridge was fitted to the body with two solid prominent brass 5/8" studs, which Gibson nicknamed “the Sustain Sisters”. The guitar also had a raised brass V shaped tailpiece which was anchored to the body with four brass screws.


Gibson felt all of this brass, plus the boomerang pickups would give this instrument more sustain than anything else on the market.

1980 Gibson Flying V2 Headstock

The name plate on the V2 headstock was done in pearl. The truss rod cover had a stylised “V2” embedded into it.

Mahogany top and
Walnut top

Gibson came out with two versions of this guitar. The best seller had a Walnut top and back, with Mahogany sandwiched in the center. The other version, had the woods reversed, with a Mahogany top and back, and a center layer of Walnut. The public wanted the version with the Walnut top and back.

Mahogany Flying V2's
that were painted

This Mahogany top version of the V2 changed around 1980, when Gibson realized they needed to unload them. So they painted these Mahogany guitars with different solid and burst colour patterns. All versions of the V2 guitar were discontinued in 1981.

1981 Limited Run Flying V

In 1981 to 1982 Gibson had a limited run of 100 Flying V's all painted in either black or red. All of these had the tune-o-matic bridge and stop tail piece. That same year, Gibson issued a limited deluxe version, with a binding on the top of the body, open coil humbuckers, and a black truss rod covered embossed with "The "V". The Gibson logo was silk screened on the top of the headstock in gold letters.

Gibson Flying V '83

In 1981 Gibson also introduced The Flying V1 which had a Alder body, and exposed pickups. It later was renamed The Flying V '83, and the name changed for each subsequent year. The guitar was discontinued in 1989.

1982 Flying V Heritage

Back in 1982 Gibson came out with their new Heritage Flying V. The expensive beveled body of the V2 was gone, and replaced with a flat Mahogany body with a painted laminated Maple top and back. The boomerang pickups were also history, and replaced with two “Dirty Fingers” humbucking pickups, that did not require the fret board to be routed. The “sustain sisters” were also no longer on the 1982 version. The guitar did retain the brass tune-o-matic bridge, and the brass V shaped tailpiece. However the guitars nut was now made of bone instead of brass. The pearl logo from the V2 was replaced with a Gibson decal.

This guitar lasted until 1983 when it was dropped from the catalog.

Gibson Flying Double 90

By 1989 Gibson was offering the The Flying Double 90. which was a Flying V style guitar with one single coil, and one double coil pickup, and with or without a Floyd Rose tremolo unit. This guitar was available through 1991.

1991 Flying V Reissue

Another version of the Flying V, which was introduced in 1990 as the main production Flying V, was originally named the Flying V Reissue and then called the Flying V '67 Reissue. It is also known as the '67 Flying V.

1991 Jimi Hendrix
 Flying V

From 1991 through 1993 Gibson offered The Jimmy Hendrix Flying V. This was a limited run of 400 guitars. These 1966 style Flying V guitars had a black finish, with gold-plated hardware. Most of these guitars came with the stop tailpiece, but some had the Maestro vibrato unit. This collectible came with a case and a certificate of authenticity. The neck on this guitar was bound, and the rosewood fretboard sported split diamond markers.

Hendrix V #040

The guitars black headstock had the Gibson logo in mother of pearl script at its top, and embossed in the small bell shaped truss rod cover was a statement that this guitar was a limited edition and said which number it was out of 400. This guitar also had a facsimile of Jimmy's signature on the white pickguard.

2006 Custom Shop Hendrix  Flying V

Years later, around 2006, Gibson offered a very expensive custom shop version of The Jimmy Hendrix Flying V that was hand  painted to look like Hendrix's guitar.

Gibson Lonnie Mack Flying V

For one year, from 1993 to 1994 Gibson Guitars honored Lonnie Mack by offering The Lonnie Mack Flying V. This guitar came with nickel hardware, and a Bigbsy B7 tremolo unit, attached to the bottom horns with a stainless steel bar, like on Lonnie's original guitar.

The body on this guitar differed from Lonnie's original '58 model since this guitars body was made of mahogany. It was stained cherry red,  and topped with a white pickguard. Some made have been offered with a natural finish, a black pickguard, and gold hardware. This guitar did have the same shape of the original 1958 Flying V.

Lonnie Mack Personal Run
Flying V - #007

There was a run of 180 units of this guitar. However out of those it is rumored that about eight of these guitars were "personal runs" made exclusively for Lonnie. Lonnie was also provided with this guitars prototype that was made of the original Korina wood. The Lonnie Mack Flying V maintained the original Gibson raised logo on its headstock. Those personal run instruments with serial numbers 001 through 008 are commanding high prices in the vintage resale market.

2002 Gibson Faded Flying V

In 2002, Gibson also started making a cheaper version of the Flying V, which had a Faded finish. These guitars all had nickel plated hardware, twin humbuckers, a tune-o-matic bridge, with a stop tailpiece. The Gibson logo was imprinted on the large truss rod cover.

These guitars came with rosewood fret boards that had crescent moon inlays for fret markers.

Gibson Kirk Hammett Flying V

Around this time Gibson even issued a Kirk Hammett tribute Flying V, which was a replica of his 1979 model. This was done as a series of 100 guitars. The pickup covers, the tune-o-matic bridge, and stop tailpiece were all gold-plated.


Gibson has continually offered the Flying V in one form or another since its 1966 reissue. In 2006 Gibson began a promotion called, The Guitar of The Week. There were 48 limited production of 400 instruments for each week, that were produced during around a two year period.

In 2006 the Gibson Guitar Company began a promotion called The Guitar of The Week. This promotion ran for 48 weeks, and each week featured a different instrument was offered in a limited run of 400 units.

Gibson Reverse Flying V

Week 29 was the Gibson Reverse Flying V.  This instrument began production in 2007. Everything was backward on this all mahogany guitar. The pointed end was at the bottom, and the wings were at the bodies top. Instead of a pointed headstock, it had a V-shaped indention at it's top, similar to the one on the patent for the original '58 Explorer.

2007 Reverse Flying V

The hardware on this guitar was gold-plated, and the V-shaped plate for the strings was reversed. The pickup covers for the twin '57 Classic humbucking pickups were also gold-plated, as was the truss rod cover.  The plate for the guitar's jack was located on the bottom edge of this guitar. It was also gold-plated.

The only controls were a single volume potentiometer, and a toggle switch that was located on the top wing. A silk-screen Gibson logo was on the instruments headstock. Originally it only came with a transparent amber finish. Later models in the run, came with white and black finishes. The guitar included a special, white plush Gibson hard case. Despite being somewhat of an oddity, the Reverse V is commanding about $2200 in the vintage market.

2011 Gibson Melody Maker Flying V

In 2011, if you were on a budget, and who isn't, Gibson offered four new guitars in their Melody Maker line up. One was the Melody Maker Flying V. It was a very basic guitar, with one Duncan JB Humbucker pickup, one volume control, and a wrap-around bridge. The body seems to be smaller than any other Gibson Flying V. It was available in cherry, black, blue, white, and natural satin and sold for $829.00 USD.

The Gibson logo was embossed on the truss rod cover.

2017 Gibson Custom Shop Flying V

During 2017 Gibson offered a custom shop version, that had a mahogany body and a clear yellow finish. Like the prototype, this guitar came with a black pickguard, however the hardware on the 2017 model was gold plated.  and the potentiometer knobs were the 1958's clear gold knobs.


The body maintained the original shape, and had the V-shaped gold-plated tailpiece unit that allowed the strings to attach though the body. The top of the body. and the neck were both bound, and came with block inlays on the ebony fretboard. The headstock was also bound and featured the Gibson logo in pearloid, and a split diamond inlay. This deluxe instrument sold for $6000 USD. Only 200 units were offered. A less expensive model was also offered that mirrored the 1966 look. It had a stop tailpiece.

2017 Reissue Flying V

That same year Gibson offered the '59 Reissue Flying V. Except for the mahogany body, this instrument was true to the 1958 guitar.

2019 Gibson Flying V

Gibson's 2019 Flying V hearkens back to the 1966 version, except the pickguard is slightly smaller. This guitar comes with twin Burst-bucker pickups, the 1966 body shape, and the large truss rod cover that has the embossed Gibson logo.

1981 Gibson Flying V Bass

Gibson only offered a Flying V Bass twice.  In 1981 only 375 units were produced. Most of these were done in black, but some were offered in Alpine White, Silverburst, and transparent blue. The bass pictured on the right is a rare transparent blue model and is being offered at 175,000 Euros!

2011 Gibson Flying V Bass

Later the Flying V bass resurfaced under the Epiphone brand. Due to popularity, in 2011 Gibson offered the Flying V bass, but discontinued it again the following year.