The Gibson Flying V is an electric guitar model first released by Gibson in 1958.
Gibson first manufactured prototypes of the guitar in 1957. Production guitars were made of korina wood, a trademarked name for limba, a wood similar to but lighter in color than mahogany. (Korina, originally spelled 'Korena', is the name that has been given to certain types of African Limba.) This Flying V, along with the Futura (Explorer) and, initially, the Moder...
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The Gibson Flying V is an electric guitar model first released by Gibson in 1958.
Gibson first manufactured prototypes of the guitar in 1957. Production guitars were made of korina wood, a trademarked name for limba, a wood similar to but lighter in color than mahogany. (Korina, originally spelled 'Korena', is the name that has been given to certain types of African Limba.) 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. Some instruments were assembled from leftover parts and shipped in 1963, with nickel- rather than gold-plated hardware.
They started out with a mahogany guitar that was rounded in the back instead of being cut out. Gibson and Ted McCarty decided to change the back for weight reduction....
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