No guitar neck profiles are more distinguishable than the neck profiles employed on the Gibson models of today. The more traditional ’50s neck profile is the thicker, more rounded contour, emulating the neck shapes of Gibson’s iconic models of the late 1950s. The ‘60 neck profile is considered the more modern, slim-tapered contour most commonly associated with the Gibson models of the early 1960s. The neck on Gibson’s new limited edition Reverse Flying V Guitar has the best of both worlds–it is a hybrid between the ’50s rounded contour and the ’60s slim-taper profile. As with all Gibson necks, it is machined in Gibson’s rough mill using wood shapers to make the initial cuts. Once the fingerboard gets glued on, the rest–including the final sanding–is done by hand. That means there are no two necks with the exact same dimensions. So while it still has the basic characteristics of its respective profile, each neck will be slightly different, with a distinct but traditional feel.
The new limited edition Flying V Electric Guitar features a solid mahogany, V-shaped body, four-ply pickguard, Kluson-style green key tuners, and retro-style V-shaped gold tailpiece. The neck sports the traditional Flying V profile, a hibrid between the classic ’50s rounded contour and the popular ’60s slim-taper. The ebony fingerboard and gold-plated truss rod cover round out this testament to Gibson’s bold and pioneering design tradition. With a pair of ‘57 Classic humbuckers, for legendary vintage Gibson tone, the limited edition Gibson Flying V Guitar is available in Classic White, Ebony, and Natural.
Probably the most central of the Reverse Flying V features is its V-shaped, solid mahogany body. The solid mahogany body provides tone, sustain, and performance. The mahogany goes through the same rigorous selection process as all of Gibson’s woods, and is personally inspected and qualified by Gibson’s team of skilled wood experts before this wood enters the factories.
Ebony has always graced the fingerboards of the world’s finest stringed instruments. The fingerboard on Gibson’s new limited edition Reverse Flying V is constructed from the highest grade ebony on the planet. The ebony is personally inspected and qualified by Gibson’s team of skilled wood experts before it enters the Gibson factories to be fitted. The resilience of this dense and durable wood makes the fingerboard extremely balanced and stable, and gives each chord and note unparalleled clarity and bite. The 12-inch radius of the fingerboard provides smooth note-bending capabilities and eliminates “dead” or “choked out” notes, common occurrences on fingerboards with lesser radiuses. Resilient and less porous, ebony absorbs oils well, allowing it to preserve its rich, beautiful color.
The tune-o-matic bridge, popularly known as the ABR-1, was the brainchild of legendary Gibson president Ted McCarty in 1954. At the time, it was a true revelation in intonation, and set a standard for simplicity and functionality that has never been improved. This pioneering piece of hardware provides a firm seating for the strings, lets the player to adjust and fine-tune the intonation and string height in a matter of minutes. It also yields a great union between the strings and body, which results in excellent tone and sustain. It is combined with a separate “stopbar” tailpiece, essentially a modified version of the earlier wraparound bridge. To this day, the Tune-o-matic remains the industry standard. It is the epitome of form and function in electric guitar bridge design, and is one of the most revered and copied pieces of guitar hardware ever developed.
When it comes to guitar electronics, less is definitely better. And that certainly holds true with Gibson’s new limited edition Reverse Flying V. Gibson has chosen to install only one volume control, which translates into less resistance between the pickup and the acutal output. This means you will end up with nothing but pure tone from the pickup, and one flat-out screaming rock and roll machine.
