christmas present: new flying v (old post with new pic)

[gwEm]

i went to boston on my job over christmas... this was a bit sucky, but i brought myself a little present.

just a gibson faded cherry flying v, like 100s of others - but it was really cheap buying it in the US of course.

it has good quality hardware, and its quite refreshing not to have to gut the guitar and change all the parts straightaway - enjoyable "out of the box" so to say.

its a resonant piece of mahogany too, and i quite like the faded cherry finish. this is my fourth flying v, and its defintely the one which sounds most like "typical flying v tone" - if you see what i mean.

there were quite a few negative points - the truss rod cover was hanging off (not screwed in properly). the neck pickup height was totally wrong... and no one at the gibson factory bothered to set the intonation... or it was a tone deaf monkey ;) and the controls were in the wrong place too!!

i didn't think too much about customisation so far.. i have a couple of ideas though. the 500T bridge is not-too-bad, but i dislike the neck pickup. i'll certinally change the knobs for fender or witch hat ones, and the pickups too (not sure what for though).

overall, considering the price (which was a little over 300UKP) i think it was a real bargain.

any customisation ideas - write here  :lol:

[Twinfan]

There's a faded brown one in my local guitar shop that I love the tone of.  I'd have a V for gigging if I didn't have to use an SG!

[ToneMonkey]

... or it was a tone deaf monkey ;)

Hey man, that's my cousin  :lol:

Nice axe, I'll have myself one of those one day.

[Crazy_Joe]

Niiice, i would like a V some day.

[38thBeatle]

Cool, I am visting the USA in April- was thinking of possibly getting a plank whilst there.

[Sekhmet]

:-) i love V's, i ahve one of the Faded ones myself (soon to be Nailbombed me'thinks) i find it really nice to play. Looking to get a black or White/cream one soon.

Nice buy :-)

[Philly Q]

any customisation ideas - write here  :lol:

Cool, and a hell of a bargain!

You definitely have to replace those knobs with witch hats or SG-style bell knobs.  And you need covered pickups!

[Tricalibur]

yah those Gibson V's are fricken awesome. I played a white one tuned to C up at guitar center into a Diezel Einstien and the sound was awesome. Action and overall build quality was ace too. Id say BKP it and then maybe get some locking tuners.

[gingataff]

And a pearloid scratchplate :D

[lulusg]

I would like to get a "V" most likely this year , I don't know which pu yet, maybe Painkiller on the neck, and the new Holy Diver on the bridge, Does anybody has the new HD on a mahogany guitar? for a reference or is it too mid inclined?. Then I can also change the nut for a bone nut, the stop tailbar, and the bridge for Tone Pros II, the electronics for the Rs Guitarworks custom shop, and that's it tone wise. Also on the pickups It could go down on the scale, towards Riff Raff(how do they compare to an SG? also mahogany), or Stormy Mondays(Albert King use to play Blues on a "V". Man,  it is great to have multiple choices with these BKPs :)

[gwEm]

thanks all for sharing my happiness ;) its my favourite already.

the faded finish makes the neck feel really nice - i'm not 100% convinced about it on the rest of the body, although it does look very priest :twisted:

38thBeatle: You should defnately get a new guitar if you're going to the US :) This was no impulse buy - I planned the whole thing, and even brought my V flight case with me.

Philly Q: The witch hats are already on order from axesrus ;) I'm not sure about pickup covers yet, but as a Flying V fan your opinion carries alot of weight.

Tricalibur: the tuners seem fine so far, but i may change them indeed

gingataff: Pearliod scratchplate, not too sure about that :)

LULUSG: I have riff raffs in another V and they work very well. i might even be tempted to go Twilight Oddessy style - RR bridge and SM neck. i like the idea of an SM set on a '58 V...

Not sure what about the PUPs to be honest with you. I have some ideas:

Chrome Riff Raffs (the classic, although I have this already)
Chrome Painkillers (the stealth)
Pickup rings and open holy divers - cream bridge and black neck (the breaking the law)
Pickup rings and open painkillers - cream bridge and black neck (the you dont know what its like)

or some mixture: i like emotional neck pickups these days so maybe RR/SM or Painkiller/RR or Painkiller/CS

or cold sweat alround... (but again I have some original Dirty Fingers on another V)

decisions decisons ;) BKP doesn't make it easier with their selection... I need more flying Vs.

[Philly Q]

Not sure what about the PUPs to be honest with you. I have some ideas:

Chrome Riff Raffs (the classic, although I have this already)
Chrome Painkillers (the stealth)
Pickup rings and open holy divers - cream bridge and black neck (the breaking the law)
Pickup rings and open painkillers - cream bridge and black neck (the you dont know what its like)

or some mixture: i like emotional neck pickups these days so maybe RR/SM or Painkiller/RR or Painkiller/CS

or cold sweat alround... (but again I have some original Dirty Fingers on another V)

I've got the impression the CS and HD might both have too much bass/lower mids to work in a mahogany guitar (if I'm totally wrong about that, it wouldn't be the first time...).  I know the CS is built along the same lines as the Dirty Fingers - how does that sound in your other V?

The Riff Raffs are definitely going to work, so will the PKs (bit too high-gain for me though).  What's the Riff Raff neck like?  I have absolutely zero knowledge of that pickup, don't even know what magnet it has.

For my own V, I'm seriously considering a Black Dog bridge (for that little bit of extra power) plus AIV Stormy Monday or maybe Mule neck.

[_tom_]

Looks really nice, I want a V but I dont think I look rock'n'roll enough to pull it off without looking like a tit :lol:

Nickel or Raw Nickel covered pickups would look really nice on that in my opinion.

[gwEm]

I've got the impression the CS and HD might both have too much bass/lower mids to work in a mahogany guitar (if I'm totally wrong about that, it wouldn't be the first time...).  I know the CS is built along the same lines as the Dirty Fingers - how does that sound in your other V?

The Riff Raffs are definitely going to work, so will the PKs (bit too high-gain for me though).  What's the Riff Raff neck like?  I have absolutely zero knowledge of that pickup, don't even know what magnet it has.

For my own V, I'm seriously considering a Black Dog bridge (for that little bit of extra power) plus AIV Stormy Monday or maybe Mule neck.

The Dirty Fingers sound balanced in the other V, but then that one has a Floyd... might be bass heavy. However I imagine Tim tweaked out the drawbacks of the Dirty Fingers in the Cold Sweat (never tried a CS to know for sure), I'd need to ask him I suppose.

Riff Raff neck sounds how you might expect, vintage but focused. Holds up under gain. I assume its A5 (sounds like it) - dont know for sure.

I was considering medium-output pickups, but some of the Tim posts seem to suggest mid-output is not a good idea in pointy guitars. Although the idea of Black Dogs (with their mid-boost) in a V is a pretty cool one.

_tom_ : You need to be less self-concious! i think you'd pull off a V for sure :)

[stuckin93]

man this V thing is contagious! any one not got one?

as for the black dogs - the gibbo ones in the V are high output & playing the V next to my paul there is a noticible difference in output also there is a noticable lack of mid. also the highs are not very defined & the neck pickup is just awful! although i cant stop playing mine -  and unfortunatly striking really bad rock poses whilst playing!  :twisted:  :P  :lol:


edit: Les Paul has black dogs - Flying V has standard Gibson Pickups.