Gibson Flying V
A certain aura of mystique surrounds the Gibson Flying V. A guitar well ahead of its time when it was introduced in 1958, the Flying V’s intense magnetic appeal, powerful sound, and unusually familiar shape have made it one of the most instantly recognizable guitars in the world. Legendary Gibson President Ted McCarty was looking to add a futuristic aspect to the company’s image when he introduced the Flying V, and he nailed it. And while some of the greatest guitar players of all-time—including Lonnie Mack and Albert King—immediately embraced the Flying V, it wasn’t until Gibson reintroduced the guitar in 1967 that the rest of the world caught on. Guitar Gods like Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Billy Gibbons, Michael Schenker, and Lenny Kravitz have all succumbed to the Flying V’s fascinating allure.
Angled Headstock The pointed headstock on the Flying V is as typical as it is unique. Like every Gibson headstock, it is carved out of the same piece of mahogany as the neck. It is not a “glued-on” headstock, and the process takes craftsmanship, time, and effort. But the rewards are worth the effort. The headstock is carefully angled at 17 degrees, which increases pressure on the strings and helps them stay in the nut slots. An increase in string pressure also means there is no loss of string vibration between the nut and the tuners, which equals better sustain. A white truss rod cover adds a nice finishing touch to the headstock, and perfectly complements the white pickguard on the Flying V body.
Angled Headstock The pointed headstock on the Flying V is as typical as it is unique. Like every Gibson headstock, it is carved out of the same piece of mahogany as the neck. It is not a “glued-on” headstock, and the process takes craftsmanship, time, and effort. But the rewards are worth the effort. The headstock is carefully angled at 17 degrees, which increases pressure on the strings and helps them stay in the nut slots. An increase in string pressure also means there is no loss of string vibration between the nut and the tuners, which equals better sustain. A white truss rod cover adds a nice finishing touch to the headstock, and perfectly complements the white pickguard on the Flying V body.
No guitar neck profiles are more distinguishable than the neck profiles employed on the Gibson models of today. The more traditional ’50s neck profile is the thicker, more rounded contour, emulating the neck shapes of Gibson’s iconic models of the late 1950s. The ’60s neck profile is considered the more modern, slim-tapered contour most commonly associated with the Gibson models of the early 1960s. The neck on Gibson’s V-Factor X has the best of both worlds—it is a hybrid between the ’50s rounded contour and the ’60s slim-taper profile. As with all Gibson necks, it is machined in Gibson’s rough mill using wood shapers to make the initial cuts. Once the fingerboard gets glued on, the rest—including the final sanding—is done by hand. That means there are no two necks with the exact same dimensions. So while it still has the basic characteristics of its respective profile, each neck will be slightly different, with a distinct but traditional feel.
Solid Mahogany Body
The most central of all Flying V features is its V-shaped, solid mahogany body. Whether it’s the regular Flying V, or the Gibson V-Factor X, the solid mahogany body provides tone, sustain, and performance. The mahogany goes through the same rigorous selection process as all of Gibson’s woods, and is personally inspected and qualified by Gibson’s team of skilled wood experts before it enters the factories. Inside the Gibson factories, humidity is maintained at 45 percent, and the temperature at 70 degrees. This insures all woods are dried to a level of “equilibrium,” where the moisture content does not change during the manufacturing process. This guarantees tight-fitting joints and no expansion, and helps control the shrinkage and warping of the woods, in addition to helping reduce the weight. It also helps with improving the woods’ machinability and finishing properties. Consistent moisture content means that a Gibson guitar will respond evenly to temperature and humidity changes long after it leaves the factory.
Electronics
When it comes to guitar electronics, less is definitely better. And that certainly holds true with Gibson’s Flying V. Gibson has chosen to install two volume controls and only one tone switch, which translates into less resistance between the pickup and the actual output. That means you end up with nothing but pure tone from the pickup, and one flat-out screaming rock and roll machine.
Dimarzio Bluesbucker neck
Bluesbucker®
DP163
And now for something completely different: the Bluesbucker® looks like a standard humbucker, but sounds like a P90 and cancels 60-cycle hum as effectively as the average humbucker. This means any guitar with standard size humbuckers can now have the sound of P90s without altering the guitar in any way and without noise. Patented Virtual Vintage® and Airbucker™ technology let the Bluesbucker® “see” a narrow string window like a true single-coil, making it extremely sensitive to playing dynamics. When a pair of these pickups are on together, they achieve the open, slightly hollow sound that two single-coils produce. Splitting the pickup produces a sound similar to that of a Strat® pickup, with very little drop in output.
Tech Talk
The coil with the 6 adjustable slotted poles is the “hot” coil. The coil with the solid poles is along for the ride to cancel hum and look cool. Since one coil is doing most of the work, the direction the Bluesbucker® is installed makes an obvious difference in the sound. When the hot coil is closest to the bridge, the sound is brighter; towards the neck is warmer. Even though the look is a little nontraditional, we like the sound of the bridge pickup “backwards” (with the screw coil towards the neck). With a Bluesbucker in the neck position with the screw coil towards the bridge (also “backwards”) the combined sound is Tele®-like. With the neck pickup in the more traditional direction, the combination is like two P90s. The Bluesbucker® comes with special wiring instructions.
