feel moderately pleased - got what i paid for

[gwEm]

Ah, I didn't remember the John Birch being white, and I totally forgot the Steinberger.  And I didn't know you had an RR1!

its an mij rr24 in fact.. getting the numbers all mixed up!

[gwEm]

Well, I think Vs are a bit like women in a way. Just when you think you understand them you realise you have no $%&#ing clue ;)

So this '79 V is nothing like the mid 70s one I played in Chicago a couple of years back! Its closer to my '84 in terms of feel.

Still haven't plugged her in, all seems good, and I think the price I paid is pretty much dead on. She's 'well in use' let's say. Plenty of chips and wear, plus the Kahler repair. The fingerboard is a slightly meh piece of rosewood, and I don't think the pickguard is the original. I wondered if she was a fake at first, since the colour is a bit off what I expected, but she is certainly geninue. On the plus side, most of the hardware is original, and she is set up. *really* well. Very fast and low action. The mahogany used in the body is fairly light, and of good colour.
 Acoustic tone is pure, and decently loud.

All in all a real NWOBHM relic!

More later.

[gwEm]

did some work on the '79 tonight, and attaching an additional picture here.

the switch was very dodgy after 31 years, so i replaced it. at the same time i noticed it had 2 original pots, plus one replacement pot. the capacitor was a nasty contemporary ceramic thing. i also noticed the cover of the bridge pickup was badly fitted.

anyway, i strung it with 11s (9s on it before - really easy to play) and did the following:

swapped bridge volume and tone - a common mod on Vs of this body style.
replaced non-original pot with modern 500k CTS (the non-original pot turned out to be just 120k!!)
replaced modern ceramic capacitor with sprague orange drop
removed cover from bridge pickup

i decided i liked the look of the guitar with an uncovered bridge pup, so i've left it. i may replace the bridge with a dirty fingers at some point.

during the setup for 11s i noticed the intonation was well out. i've set it up as best i can, but the G string is still a little sharp. the other strings are fine - close enough for rock'n'roll. despite the kahler repair, the instrument is good and resonant. neck is very stiff.

regarding the 9s i do wonder about changing back to this gauge. when i was learning i used 9s, and even if the feel isn't my thing i actually prefer the tone and the gymnastics you can do on 9s after being used to 11s is great fun :)

the guitar is very photogenic - all its wear looks great! in real life it looks alot more battered.

edit: the 120k pot was the tone pot originally.. i wonder if one of the owners decided they preferred a darker tone. the attack on this guitar is pretty strong.

[FernandoDuarte]

Nice :D

[blue]

hey, Gwem :D

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1979-Gibson-Flying-V-RARE-Silverburst_W0QQitemZ310254426262QQcategoryZ33034QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DDLSL%252BSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D8%26pmod%3D300462505559%252B300462505559%26po%3D%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D5461746455268775242#ht_500wt_1154

just call me mr temptation ;)

[gwEm]

hey, Gwem :D

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1979-Gibson-Flying-V-RARE-Silverburst_W0QQitemZ310254426262QQcategoryZ33034QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DDLSL%252BSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D8%26pmod%3D300462505559%252B300462505559%26po%3D%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D5461746455268775242#ht_500wt_1154

just call me mr temptation ;)

nah - don't like the silverburst on a V - looks great on a Les Paul though.

very interesting pics though, thanks for posting

[Philly Q]

nah - don't like the silverburst on a V - looks great on a Les Paul though.

I know what you mean - I think the big white scratchplate breaks up the burst too much, or something.

[AndyR]

nah - don't like the silverburst on a V - looks great on a Les Paul though.

I know what you mean - I think the big white scratchplate breaks up the burst too much, or something.

Oo gawd yeah... ugly bad.

Looks like any burst on a V would have this problem for me. I hadn't realised, until I saw this, that the line of the scratchplate isn't parallel with the body. Obviously that works on solid colours, because it doesn't stand out as "er, you didn't finish designing this folks...", it just looks "right".

Add that extra line in the burst, and it's suddenly "hey, are you sure the scratchplates in this bin are meant to go on these 'ere geetars?"

[roland_rat]

Nice hope you enjoy that one :D

[Telerocker]

Congrats. I agree white is the best colour for a V, although I like plain mahagony or korina too. I would love to score a Gibson korina explorer with white pickguard, like The Edge used to play, I think.

[keith]

Gwem you'll be changing your name to Schenker the way you are going, but nice guitar though bro

keith