Unholy Stratocaster/Flying V lovechild from Psychederhythm GIBFENDRIX Limited!

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Yeah yeah, I know I've been far too quiet in recent times. Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging, guys. ANYWAY, despite all that malarkey, I couldn't let this freaky Hendrix-inpsired Strat/Flying V mutant axe that I just saw offered for sale on eBay go unmentioned.

I'm sure it'll be sacrilege for some, but I'm no purist, I quite like it although perhaps not enough to warrant the tune of the US $2,430.00 Buy It Now price.

GIBFENDRIX...?  You can almost hear the vulture squawks of the lawyers circling overhead.

G L Wilson


© 2017, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Takamine EA-360 electro-acoustic guitar, a.k.a. the Takamine Flying A

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I've written before on this blog about the curiosity that is the Takamine Flying A. It's basically an acoustic Flying V that looks af if it has been over-inflated with an air-pump. Of course you can get more V-like acoustic Flying Vs these days from Dean Guitars, but these Takamines remain rare and sought after in certain circles.

So, it's interesting to see one come up for sale on eBay this week with a Buy It Now price of US $2,350 (with a starting bid of US $1,799).

It's also interesting to note that the eBay listing uses the very same photo montage that I personally Photoshopped together from a previous eBay listing from four years ago and blogged about here when another of these guitars was offered for sale. I wonder if it is actually the very same guitar again, or just another very similar example? It's a shame I hadn't made a note of the asking price back then in 2011, just for sake of comparison for those of us who are interested in such things.

G L Wilson

© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Dean V-Coustic Flying V acoustic abberation.

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Oh Dean, you is so metal.

Leave it to Dean Guitars, purveyors of all fine "Rock" guitars, to come up with an acoustic Flying V.

I can just imagine the meeting they head at head office circa 1987, all spandex and cocaine. " This will make us all millionaires!" I bet C.C. Deville was there ( though I admit, I'm not sure if he was ever a Dean endorsee, i just see this guitar and immediately think "Every rose has it's........)

All that said, my immature sense of irony wants to have this guitar for classic country gigs.

So very contrary.

Currently $250 Canadian.


R.W. Haller







© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Gibson V2 - a redesigned Flying V from the late 1970s / early 1980s

guitarz.blogspot.com:

1980 Gibson V2 in Goldburst, Buy It Now US $5,940

1980 Gibson V2 in Bahama Blue Sparkle, Buy It Now US $6,190

1980 Gibson V2 in Maple, Buy It Now US $3,290

1980 Gibson V2 in Black, Buy It Now US $4,190

1981 Gibson V2 in White, Buy It Now $US $4,390

In 1978 Gibson decided to bring back the Flying V in a new re-designed version, dubbed the V2. it was actually intended to be the companion model to the E2, the then latest incarnation of the Explorer, and was designed by Tim Shaw. The sculptured body contours were originally intended to show off the maple and walnut layers making up the body, but obviously this only had visual impact on natural-finished examples. Additionally it has a Strat-style "tummy tuck" contour on the rear. The boomerang-shaped pickups were designed to sound like single coils but without the associated noise issues; visually along with the boomerang tailpiece they echo the V-shape of the body. In 1982 the pickups on the V2 model were swapped for more conventional looking "Dirty Finger" humbuckers.

Initially the V2 was available in Walnut top and Maple top finises, but the Maple top sold poorly and so, circa 1980-81, Gibson refinished their Maple top inventory in a variety of colours (some seen above), including: Pearl white, Blue sparkle, Blue sparkle metallic, Candy apple Red, Sunburst, Goldburst, Silverburst, Black, and Black Sparkle.

Olivia's Vintage currently have a bunch of these V2s for sale on eBay (see photo captions for links and Buy It Now prices). You'll notice that the prices vary significantly depending on the finish. I guess it's a "collector thing".

G L Wilson
 
© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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The Terminator custom stainless steel electric guitar and illuminating case!

guitarz.blogspot.com:

It's probably easiest if I just quote liberally from the eBay listing for this particular custom guitar:

Nicknamed "The Terminator", this is a RAM-JAM Music one-of-a-kind. You'll be the envy of all other with this baby! This custom 100% 316 stainless steel guitar and all stainless steel body has 2 necks, one with stainless steel frets, and one fretless. It also had custom turned stainless steel knobs and a kick ass design and case. This guitar plays and sounds as awesome as it looks. Like the stainless steel lightening bolt handle on the case, this guitar has power! With its 1/4" solid stainless steel neck, this guitar feels like no other. The fretless is 3/8 of an inch thick and is slightly scaled down for a lighter weight. You can play all the way up to its double coil stack pick up, when you run out of frets, play the fretless area and if you like the feel of that, change the neck to the 100% stainless steel all fretless neck with adjustable height nut. For a rugged sound, use the same strings. For a smoother sound change to the flat wound strings. For slide guitar without the noise of the slide hitting the neck, simply adjust the screws behind the nut to raise strings up to 3/8 above the fretless neck. It has a Schaller bridge, new 1987 Seymour Duncan Hot Stack Pick-up, O.E.M. tuning pegs, .010-.046 strings, and a set of flat wound .013-.056 strings for the fretless neck.

The case body is made of aluminum mesh with a diamond plate aluminum bottom for light weight yet rugged look and can be hung on the wall as a display case. The top is made of aluminum mesh with an aluminum angle frame. The whole case is polished to a mirror finish and reflects like it's alive. The EL neon light runs on 2 AA batteries and has 2 settings of flashings and one setting of solid light. The Terminator is held captive in its display case with a single lighting bolt handled shackle strapped down tightly on its rubber lifters which hold it in the center of the case! The custom illuminating case has a white fuzzy bottom with a custom made box to store a slide and picks or a pack of smokes! The strap is made of an army green braided 1970s robot main frame computer wire, tough yet comfortable, and is the lifeline of The Terminator.

Now with 3 necks! One ultimate 32 slim frets, one 22 Jumbo fret, the super fretless!

If you like the pictures, you are going to love the real thing!

"The Terminator" was created by Ram-Jam Music

Quite astonishing, I think you'll agree. And it could be yours if you can afford the $8,000 Buy It Now fee on eBay.

Thanks to Joe from Stratoblogster for brining this guitar to my attention.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Hoyer 5069 Flying Arrow - Germany's answer to the Gibson Flying V

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Dirk writes:

I just bought a Hoyer Flying Arrow 5069 from 1972 (not yet a 5069 S with DiMarzios, neck-through and string-through) in my town here in France after having followed it for more than a year. The guy who owned it last (it changed between two shop-owners) got hassled by me for a couple of weeks and yes, yesterday after two and a half hours of "discussing" in front of his shop he ended up by bringing the case out, taking my (reasonable) €600 in cash and I ran to plug it into my amps...

It's very pleasant to negotiate with real people in real life without screen and keyboard inter-faced, I must say!

Some basics: three piece mahogany body, center block plus two "wings", an ultra-rigid laminated set neck, fat and round (about twenty layers or so) like some older German archtops (Höfner, Hopf or Hoyer?); the original, Hoyer-branded, low-output single-coil pickups which look like Humbuckers have been replaced by some no-name doublebobbins, one volume, a pot to influence the lower frequencies, another one for the higher tones. The switch (very flimsy on top, good mecanically underneath) does neck, bridge and both out-of-phase (very useful for a full-throttle Hardrock axe ridden at 11 - but it does the softer, bluesier or jazzier range as well with the neck pickup and pots rolled back).

I'll get her some decent pickups one day (Gibson '57, without the + ?).

The interesting thing in fact is the bridge (Schaller ???), no stamp. It is adjustable in any direction; I wouldn't call that a roller bridge, because the rollers just help you to adjust the spacing of the strings as you like...

Intonation is perfect so.

Easy to service; just loosen the strings, unscrew the block which holds them, swing it away and you do whatever is necessary to her. Ah yes, tuners are Schallers, not original.

I love it, sounds great and I don't want to sell it.

When started [playing guitar] about the age of 14/16 there were Flying Vs or Arrows all over the town, every shop had them, cause I used to live in Hanover, Germany and Scorpions played Vs, at least the Schenkers did. So we flatenned our noses on windows and put our paws on some of these Vs, but never on a Gibson (always protected by "Please don't touch" or "Ask a seller" notes) and by that time the Flying Arrows had a very good reputation as a Gibson V Killer (the Humbucker versions!) and we were allowed to touch them!

If you're a poser, you'll need the right logo. If you're a player looking for the advantages of these guitars, accepting the inconveniences, a Hoyer Flying Arrow will satisfy you for a lot less money. It's a 40 year old mahogany girl with an undestroyable neck, made in Germany and not thrown together from Asian prefrabrics.

Just two things: if anybody knows how to get the fretboard dots back up (they've sunk in theirs slots !) I'd be happy to learn about that. Second thing, if anybody knows about a 5069 S (neck-through, string-through, last version of it) for sale, I'd be more than very interested! I'd even be interested in a 5069 S woodwork, just the body and the neck... all offers are way more than welcome.

Dirk can be contacted via Guitarz - we will pass any messages on to him.

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Paul Gagné Guitars Veetle: Rudolf Schenker's Volkswagen themed Flying V

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Hi Gavin and everyone at Guitarz. I've been following your website for many years. It's a feast for the eyes and the mind. I may have a few pics of guitars I made to share with you to have possibly put on you're website and Facebook. I have this one, which was a custom order from Scorpions management in 2010 for their founder/rhythm guitarist and leader Rudolf Schenker. Enjoy!

• Sculptured African mahogany body, with VW Beetle "hood"
• 3-piece Honduran mahogany / hardrock maple neck with volute
• Custom made maple mounting ring for Gibson 500T pickup
• Bound ebony fretboard with custom VW octave inlay
• Grover Rotomatic machineheads / Gotoh wraparound bridge
• Genuine VW polyurethane finish
• VW logo in body handmade from T6 aluminium, illuminated underneath from inside the body

Paul Gagné

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

1981 Gibson Flying V Bass in transparent blue

guitarz.blogspot.com:  

I always felt that the Gibson Flying V Bass was so much more impressive than its six-string guitar counterpart. Probably mainly because it is just so enormous. I remember seeing John Entwistle playing a Flying V Bass with The Who backing Elton John performing Pinball Wizard in the film of Townshend's rock opera "Tommy", and I just thought "Whoah! That's one helluva bass!"  Imagine the stage presence you could command with one of those.

This transparent blue example from 1981 is being sold by the always excellent Olivia's Vintage eBay seller and has a Buy It Now price of $4,590.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

11 on 11/11/11: #2 - JHS Vintage-brand Flying V prototype

OK, it's the 11th November 2011, that is 11/11/11, and as such today has been designated Nigel Tufnel Day. To celebrate this day of Maximum Elevenness, we here at Guitarz - for this day only - will be posting an unprecedented ELEVEN blog posts! So, keep tuned throughout the day for eleven weird and wonderful guitars!

Here we have a Vintage-brand Flying V prototype from John Hornby Skewes. The Vintage brand offer some excellent quality guitars at budget guitar prices. Many are based on Gibson and Fender guitars, but with a few design tweaks courtesy of the almost omnipotent Trev Wilkinson (who is also the designer behind various other guitar ranges, including the "professionally-priced" Fret King guitars also distributed by JHS).

This particular V has one of those little design tweaks - note how the body shape includes a "lip" on the treble side so as to keep the damn thing on your knee when playing seated. I'm still trying to make up my mind as to whether I like this or not. True, Vs are not good guitars to play whilst seated, but then on the other hand they really are stage guitars so does that really matter?

Knowing JHS's Vintage brand guitars it'll be a fantastic quality build - certainly better than Epiphone's copies of Gibson designs - and a few would argue that Vintage brand guitars would give Gibson themselves a run for their money. Currently listed on eBay UK with a Buy It Now price of £200, someone could get themselves a real bargain here and a possible collectors item too.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Vintage & Rare guitar of the week: Zemaitis GZV 500 MF

guitarz.blogspot.com:

This Zemaitis GZV 500 MF is a Japanese-made Greco/Zemaitis guitar rather than one built by the late legendary British luthier himself. Nevertheless it is a very elegant piece, one of the most attractive Flying V style guitars that I have laid eyes on. Metallica's James Hetfield is also a fan having played the exact same model guitar on the World Magnetic Tour. The guitar features a two-piece Mahogany body, engraved aluminium top, DiMarzio DP103 PAF pickups, a 25" scale, and Schaller M6 tuners.

This guitar is currently being offered for sale via Vintage & Rare priced at €3709.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Fernandes FV-85MS Japanese-made Michael Schenker Flying V replica

guitarz.blogspot.com:

For some reason I find myself drawn towards the Flying V shape, especially when its on a guitar as beautifully finished as that pictured above, but despite the fact that the shape is totally impractical. The Flying V is really a stage guitar. It's not really a guitar for playing at home, or for playing when seated.

Strangely, this particular V appears to be anonymous, although it is actually a 1980s Japanese-made Fernandes FV-85MS. Usually Fernandes guitars based on Gibson designs were given the Burny brandname, and this guitar is unusual in having no name (and what are the bets that some owners applied Gibson decals?). The MS in the model designation naturally refers to none other than Michael Schenker - as if you hadn't guessed from the two-tone black and white finish.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $899.99.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Broken cheap Flying V copy

guitarz.blogspot.com:

From eBay UK:

broken electric guitar

nameless broken flying v electric guitar inc gigbag . you get whats in the picture garden hose ground etc not included . collection only london nw2 . payment upon collection . thank you

(sic throughout)

Awww... I had my eye on that garden hose too.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Some hybrid guitar designs are just not meant to be!

guitarz.blogspot.com:

My goodness, take a look at this... Flycaster... Telling V? Call it what you will, just because something is possible, doesn't mean that it should happen. As Guitarz reader Al in Crosby TX USA points out, even the eBay seller describes it as an abomination.

This Telecaster/Flying V hybrid comes from Indy Custom (The Indiana Guitar Company - not to be confused with Indie Guitars) and is one of a limited edition of 100 - even that sounds like pure optimism to me!

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Takamine EA 360 Electro-Acoustic Flying A

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I mentioned this one in passing the other day here on Guitarz, so thought it was about time we had a blog post dedicated to it.

Takamine Co., Ltd., the Japanese guitar manufacturer based in Nakatsugawa, Gifu, Japan, were forerunners circa 1978 in the introduction of electro acoustic guitars and were pioneers of the design of the preamp-equalizer in these guitars.

They were known for producing high quality copies of Martin guitars, but in the early 1980s they produced a far less conservative looking instrument, the above-pictured, Takamine EA 360, a.k.a. Flying A. Initially it was marketed as the "acoustic Flying V" but allegedly Gibson took exception to this description and so such references were dropped. Also, a V standing on its end - and with a soundhole - does resemble a big fat capital letter A, so the guitar intead became nicknamed the Flying A.

Construction is solid spruce top with rosewood back and sides. The scale length is 25 3/8" on a mahogany neck with a rosewood fingerboard with 14 frets clear of the body and 20 frets in total. The guitar is equipped with a pre-amp and a 4-band EQ.

There were 800 of these guitars built in the erly 1980s. The example pictured is from 1983. They were available in natural, metallic red and metallic blue finishes. Early examples had a Dean-like V-shaped headstock. My guess is that this was changed because of Gibson's objections to the V terminology.

Other makers have produced acoustic Flying Vs, most notably Germany's Dommenget guitars and more recently Dean; whilst their guitars are closer in shape to the Gibson Flying V template, it's my understanding that Takamine were the first to take this classic electric guitar design and apply it to an acoustic model.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Jackson USA Custom Shop King V doubleneck

guitarz.blogspot.com:

This Jackson USA Custom Shop King V doubleneck is an exercise in excess with its over-sized quilted maple topped body, dual through-necks, reverse pointy headstocks, gold hardware, mother of pearl sharkfin inlays, etc. I have to confess that I'm not a fan. I never did like the Jackson pointy headstock design - it just looks totally incongruous on just about any body design, and quilted maple I'm sure is supposed to imply opulence but to me it just seems like an unimaginative short-cut to tarting up a guitar's appearance. Many would be impressed, but I have to stifle a yawn.

Flying V? Flying W more like!

Currently being offered for sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $9,999.99.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

It's that cat again! This time on a Burny Flying V

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Following on from our piece about the Fernandes "Love Driver" Strat, I would like to thank Ralf Mutz from bringing this Burny Flying V LV-115KK Ken model to my attention. Like the Fernandes Love Driver it has an ultra-sparkly finish, and there at the 12-fret is the very same black cat inlay. The Burny brand was produced by Fernandes, but the Fernandes name was initially reserved for Fender replicas with the Burny brand being applied to Gibson replicas.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

A Flying V for jazzers?

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Here's a Flying V-styled guitar with a difference - it's an archtop! This guitar was handcrafted by Personal Guitars of Washington, USA, and was recenrly offered for sale on eBay Australia. Thanks to Liam, who spotted this one.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Greco Tusk "V"

guitarz.blogspot.com:

We've looked at a Greco Tusk with an Explorer/Star-shaped body before, and here's another from the Tusk series with Randy Rhodes-esque V-style body.

Ken Shima, who found this guitar on the Yahoo Japan auction site, comments "totally awesome tuners, how do they work?"

Well, I think it's effectively a headless system with the tuners on the bridge, while the three "tuners" on the headstock are actually just string clamps.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Gibson Flying V limited edition

guitarz.blogspot.com

You won't see this every day! 

Here is a limited edition by Gibson of Rudolf Schenker's trademarck black and white Flying V dedicated by the members of Scorpions, on an east-german flag background, it's unique and it's on the Guitarz blog!

bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Dean Flying V

guitarz.blogspot.com

Lately I started to work on a project that would likely require a Flying V style guitar (I do music-based performances for which the visual aspect is very important), and I was wondering what brand I should get since I can't afford an original Gibson model, and I wouldn't be happy with a mere copy - and it has to be a good player enough.

Also I've always felt that the Flying V has kind of perfect proportions: you can do variations on a strat or a Les Paul but any change on a Flying V would spoil it - that's the price of minimalism, the slightest detail matters...

So I've been looking around and scratching my head for a while, and I reached the conclusion that the Dean V is the only one that respects the Flying V while being very specific with its characteristic headstock that mirrors the body.

Then I found this pic (here) of a retrofitted Dean V with the coolest natural finish and I knew I was right, stripped down to the simplest, this guitar is at its best (I wish I could have found a photo of the guitar only, but it came with the lady, whose face I pixelated).

bertram

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