Gibson Flying V Guitar Lens - The History

The first prototypes of the Gibson Flying V Guitar were made in 1957 to compete with the Fender Stratocaster, which was very popular at the time. Gibson wanted to create a guitar that had a design that looked great and something that would look like it came from the future. They did exactly that by designing a guitar that looks like something that would be in a Jetson's cartoon. Another futuristic model that they created at the same time was the Gibson Explorer.

1958 was the year that the Flying V hit the stores but with a few changes that made them different from the prototypes. The prototypes were made of mahogany, which made them too heavy for Gibson's liking. They changed the wood to korina wood, which was similar to mahogany but lighter.

These new models didn't fly off the shelf like Gibson had hoped they would and dealers in all of 1958 and 1959 ordered less than 100 of them. This led to the Flying V being discontinued and left out of the Gibson catalog in 1960.

As we all know, even though it was discontinued, this was not the last we would see of the Flying V. So what happened? Well a couple of amazing guitarists, Albert King and Lonnie Mack, really loved the sound and the looks of the guitar and continued to use them as their main instruments. These guitarists influenced a lot of the up and coming guitar players and the Flying V caught their eye as well. Interest was really starting to grow so Gibson decided to bring it back.

Gibson returned the Flying V into production in 1966 and went back to using mahogany wood, added a bigger pick guard and changed to a Vibrola tailpiece. Some records show that only 175 Flying V's were made between 1966 and 1970.

In the late 60's, Jimi Hendrix began using Flying V's and one of his most popular guitars was the first one he got where he hand painted some psychedelic artwork on it. Jimi is also known for his sunburst and left-handed models.

In 1971, Gibson release a limited run of 350 Medallion Flying V's. These featured a two-piece body, a three-piece neck, a shorter headstock and a stop bar tailpiece instead of the Vibrola. These guitars were so popular that they sold out in their first year.

In the mid 70's, thanks to heavy metal bands like UFO and the Scorpions, the Flying V was producing massive sales with the Flying V Mahogany.

Gibson came out with the famous Flying V2 in 1979 which featured "boomerang" style pickups and brass hardware to improve sustain. Only 157 of these guitars were shipped the first year and they were more expensive than the earlier versions.

Other guitar companies like Dean, Hamer and Ibanez were selling cheaper versions similar to the Flying V design, so Gibson released the Flying V CMT in 1981.

In the 1990's, Gibson released a series of artist signature models for Jimi Hendrix, Lonnie Mack and Rudolf Schenker. In 2002, they came out with a Lenny Kravitz Signature 67 Flying V.

Even though the Gibson Flying V guitar had a rough start earlier on, today the guitar is one of the most sought after models ever. Some of the guitarists that have made the Flying V famous are Albert King, Lonnie Mack, Jimi Hendrix, Billy Gibbons, Rudolph and Michael Schenker, Kirk Hammett, Pete Townshend, Lenny Kravitz, Yngwie Malmsteen, K.K. Downing, Rick Nielsen and Eddie Van Halen.

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Gibson SG Guitar Lens - Review

The Gibson SG guitar is one of the most coveted guitars in history. Many musicians over the years have fallen in love with the SG and have remained loyal to Gibson. Here is a bit of the history of the SG for you to enjoy.

Around the year 1960, the Gibson guitar makers were suffering through a sales slump. Not that the Les Paul was not selling, as it was and very nicely. The trouble was that music was evolving and musicians were looking for a sound, or tone, different from what the Les Paul offered.

So in 1961, Gibson radically altered the body shape so it was now thinner, more lightweight and now featured a double cutaway neck area that permitted deeper access to the higher frets. The neck took on a heavier construction and the neck joint was raised approximately three frets higher. This was done in hopes of competing with Fender's Stratocaster model, which was gaining popularity then.

The new design was marketed with the "fastest neck in the world" and this was largely a fact. The neck had a thinner profile (from the side) and with the higher neck joint, the heel was no longer an obstruction, as was the case with the Les Pauls.

Another name was sought because the guitar looked nothing like a Les Paul. Since the guitar was it's inventor's namesake, Les Paul (the inventor of the electric guitar and the Les Paul design) asked that his name removed from the new design completely.

So, the good people at Gibson brainstormed and called the new model an "SG". Ironically enough, this was simply short for "solid guitar".

The Gibson factory had an abundance of plastic "Les Paul" nameplates in stock. So even though Les Paul's name was removed in 1961, Gibson continued to manufacture SG's with the nameplate between the topmost pickup and the fret board until the end of 1963. Finding one of these early SG's with a Les Paul nameplate would truly be a valuable collector's item.

Since the SG was introduced in early 1961, numerous variations have been made carrying the SG name. There was a standard model (SG Standard) as well as a junior model (SG Junior). Then the top of the line Gibson SG Custom made the scene. Curiously, the SG Customs manufactured from 1961-63 did not say 'SG' on them, yet they did have a Les Paul signature plate under the fret board, as did all Les Paul's.

From 1961 to early '63, the truss rod cover on the SG Standard was engraved with "Les Paul". The SG featured a small pick guard on models made between 1961 and 1965. Then, in 1966, another slight redesigning took place. Now the SG had a different type of neck joint and a batwing-shaped pick guard appeared on models from 1967 upwards.

The design was firm until around 1970 or so. The year 1971 saw the release of a new version of the SG with a floating pick guard reminiscent of the Les Paul. Also the control plate was mounted from the front to decrease construction cost.

A variety of quality tailpieces were offered as options as well. Notable ones were the "Maestro", the "Lyre Vibrola" and the Bigsby vibrato tremolo arm. A few new designs were brought into play with the new tailpiece design. A few of these were the SG 100 (a low end version that was more affordable) and the SG 200 (with two single coil pickups). On the higher end of the SG spectrum were the SG Pro and the SG Deluxe models.

Gibson returned to the original design of the SG in 1973. The pick guard went retro to the small original pick guard and the controls were moved to the rear again and the neck was set deeper into the body with a joining point around the twentieth fret. But by the end of that decade, all the SG models reverted mostly to the old design. Current models are now made with 1967-1969 constructions, the larger LP style pick guard that encases the pickups on the SG body. Variations are still available with the small pick guard. Re-issues of the SG are common and popular.

These guitars resemble their 1960's brothers except that a stop tailpiece is now standard. Models of the SG with a vibrato tailpiece are now a custom item or a special edition model.

The first SG that had active factory pickups was introduced in 1980. Gibson tested an SG model with the same active Moog electronics that were being used (or had been used) in a previous model called the RD Artist. This experimental SG sported a thicker body due to the extraneous added circuitry. This model was lovingly nicknamed the "Gibson SG-R1".

The SG-R1 was made of solid mahogany with a black glossy finish. It had no pick guard, the fret inlays were "dots" opposed to original trapezoid shapes and it featured transparent barrel knobs for the treble and bass controls ranging from "0" to "+5" or "-5" instead of "1" to "10". There was also an extra switch to activate a "boost" on the bridge pickup.

The SG-R1 had a fixed bridge with a tremolo/whammy bar standard. Gibson renamed the SG-R1 the "SG Artist" circa 1981 and subsequently discontinued it. Of these SG's, there were only about 200 ever made.

Today the Gibson SG guitar is still as popular as ever and is used by some of the top guitarists to ever strap on an axe. Some of Gibson's loyal users are Angus Young (AC/DC), Hank Williams Jr, Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Marilyn Manson, Nic Cester (Jet), Pete Townshend (The Who), Shakira and Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath).

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