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Hi all
As you can tell, I am new here. Here are photos of my two favourite guitars...
My initial reason for joining is to endeavour to find out more about my particular idiosyncrasy – a love of Gibson Flying V2s. I know they are not everyone’s cup of tea, and I know there appearance alone divides opinion, however, allow me to tell you my V2 story...
So, back in
1979 when I was still a teenager I somehow managed to scramble together enough
money to buy a brand new Gibson Les Paul Deluxe natural top. Unfortunately, a
couple of years later our house was burgled and it was stolen. However, it was
insured, and when the claim came through, I went back to Kingfisher Music in
Fleet, Hampshire, which is where I’d bought the Les Paul.
I fully
intended to buy another Les Paul, but instead was blown away by a Gibson Flying
V2, which was in what Gibson called “Bahama Blue”. The neck felt great, my fingers
seemed to whiz around the fretboard (as much as they have ever whizzed
anywhere) and it was a whole lot lighter than the LP. I bought it – I hadn’t
even appreciated the significance of it being a V2 as opposed to a “normal” V
at the time – it just happened to be the one that was available in the shop
that day. Think the cost was £700.
Anyway, a
couple of years later – maybe 1984 - I fell on hard times and I was forced to
sell it – heartbreaking but necessary.
I recovered financially and have had some nice guitars over the years, but when my wife and I (more or less) retired to Spain a couple of years ago, a friend of mine who was aware I had “lost” that beloved old V2 all those years ago, sent me a link to a 1980 natural top model that was on sale in at Coda Music in Stevenage. I knew that they had only been made for two or three years in the V2 format and were quite rare – I pulled the trigger and bought it.
When it arrived and I started to play, I instantly remembered the feel from more than 30 years before, and I swear I started to play things I wouldn’t have come up with on any other instrument! I was in love!
Bringing
this right up to date, I have just taken ownership of a second 1980 model –
this time in a red sparkle finish. It is in almost mint condition – I certainly
wasn’t that well preserved when I was 38! In its original case – just
beautiful.
So V2s are
now becoming a bit of an obsession! Starts with an emotional attachment to
tough times decades ago, and now being in the fortunate position of being able
to indulge a little.
I am hungry for more information about these guitars – I have read the Wikipedia entry of course, seen a few You Tube reviews etc, but would love to know more. I hope this community might be able to help!
I know they’re quirky, and certainly not to everyone’s taste – the output jack is in a stupid place, the output itself is deemed too low by some and of course they are impossible to play on your knee...but I think the V2s are extraordinary beautiful guitars! And they play beautifully. It’s more than possible to get great tones from them in a studio set up – I use Scuffham S-Gear amp sim software and a J Rockett Archer hardware pedal.
Would love to hear from any other enthusiasts, or anyone who has knowledge to share!
Cheers
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Comments
I love these, year of birth guitar for me, but still haven't taken the plunge and bought one.
One day though..
Unusual pickup - more akin to a Precision bass pickup than a regular humbucker as each coil only serves 3 strings
Inside the V-shaped black plastic pickup cover are two separate single coils. These appear to be wired in series and out-of-phase for noise immunity. Each coil is assembled with a clear plastic bobbin containing a bar magnet. Both bobbins are taped to a base plate. This plate appears to be a soft, stamped metal in the shape of the bottom end of a hockey stick. Gibson's S-1 guitar pickups resemble these individual bobbins but are larger. Potting may also have been required to hold the bobbins against the top of the pickup cover because the base plate does not allow for screw attachments.
The bass string side coil sits against the back of the pickup cover and is almost perpendicular to the guitar strings. It's coil length covers the three bass side strings (E, A, D). The other coil is situated against the bottom front-side of the cover and has an exaggerated slant as compared to a Stratocaster bridge pickup. This coil covers the treble side strings (G, B, E). With the end of the bass coil pointing into the treble coil one quarter of the way down it's length at about a thirty degree angle from perpendicular, forms the hockey stick with a knob end. Both coils are wrapped with black tape to the baseplate.
Measuring these pickups indicate a high output level, or as players say, these are "hot" pickups. They ranged from 11k to 13k ohms. Sound characterizations are usually subjective, however these guitars have some of the warmth of a Les Paul and a bit of the bite of a Stratocaster. Because they are hot pickups, they tend to be somewhat muddy which is a characteristic of hot, twin-coil humbuckers. With the configuration and output of these V-II pickups in combination with the laminated woods, the sound produced will be like no other solid-body. If it's a different tone you're after, the Flying V-II may be worth a test flight.
Many guitars have a re-sale value. Some you'll never want to sell.
Stockist of: Earvana & Graphtech nuts, Faber Tonepros & Gotoh hardware, Fatcat bridges. Highwood Saddles.
Pickups from BKP, Oil City & Monty's pickups.
Expert guitar repairs and upgrades - fretwork our speciality! www.felineguitars.com. Facebook too!
There was a shop in Edinburgh that I think had one of these from new for years, along with a Silverburst V Bass and three Corvuses.
It's good to be different and like unusual things. It would be boring if everyone only liked Les Pauls.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I've never seen them in any colour other than natural.
Many guitars have a re-sale value. Some you'll never want to sell.
Stockist of: Earvana & Graphtech nuts, Faber Tonepros & Gotoh hardware, Fatcat bridges. Highwood Saddles.
Pickups from BKP, Oil City & Monty's pickups.
Expert guitar repairs and upgrades - fretwork our speciality! www.felineguitars.com. Facebook too!
Always associated in my mind with NWOBHM band AIIZ. Dig those outfits.
http://davidjpym.com/page381.html
https://soundcloud.com/bill-saunders