It was 1957, and Gibson had a problem.
Specifically, they were losing ground to Fender, whose new-fangled Stratocasters were taking the guitar world by storm. Fender’s flagship guitar sported a space-aged name and a futuristic and innovative body style. At the height of the Space Race, this resonated with the public.
By contrast, the Les Paul seemed like a throwback to the older Spanish and archtop guitars from the previous half-century. While now we view Les Pauls as iconic, Gibson felt that consumers saw the design as outdated at the time.
The guitar of the future…except it wasn’t (yet)
Gibson CEO Ted McCarty gathered together a team of designers to create their own line of futuristic guitars to level the playing field. The team designed and prototyped three different products: the Moderne (which never made it into production), the Explorer, and the Flying V.
The Flying V body style was the brainchild of Seth Lover, who was also responsible for designing Gibson’s first humbucking pickups. He sketched out several designs that were a departure from previous guitars. When he showed McCarty, the Gibson head laughed and said it “looked like a flying V.” The name stuck, and after prototyping, the guitar went into production in 1958.
Initial sales, unfortunately, were abysmal. Fewer than 100 of the first production run of Flying Vs were shipped and sold. Dealers mostly thought the design was too far-fetched, and those who did order them often only purchased a single instrument to display in their window as a curiosity to draw in customers.
As a result of the lack of demand, production was halted shortly afterward.
Lonnie Mack, Albert King, and the British Invasion
Not all was lost, however. Of that first run, several ended up in the hands of professional musicians. Blues legend Lonnie Mack owned an original Flying V that he used as his main guitar for decades. Albert King also played on one. As a lefty, he played a right-handed guitar “upside down,” and the symmetrical body style made it easy for him to play.
Dave Davies from the band The Kinks also purchased an original Flying V. He found the guitar languishing in storage in a shop. The owner pulled it out of its dusty case, and Davies bought it on the spot for $60.
In the mid-1960s, The Kinks would make it big as part of the British Invasion, and Davies’ Flying V brought about a renewed interest in the unique guitar.
Gibson attempted to capitalize on the free advertising by reissuing the guitar in 1966. But the new version fared about as well as the original — only 111 guitars shipped the first year, and it went downhill from there. The second-generation Flying V was discontinued in 1970.
Third time’s the charm
For Gibson, however, the third time was the charm. They released a Flying V yet again in 1975, and this time it stuck. It has been a staple in the company’s electric lineup ever since.
The list of famous guitarists who have played a Flying V is long and illustrious. Metallica’s James Hetfield bought one for $200 while still a teenager as used it as his main guitar during the band’s ascension to stardom. As mentioned, Lonnie Mack and Albert King both owned them. Other guitar greats with a connection to the Flying V include Tom Petty, Billy Gibbons, and even Jimi Hendrix, who ordered a custom left-handed version in 1969.
The popularity of the Flying V is evident in that not only does Gibson still produce them some 65 years after they were first introduced, but many other companies have Flying V-inspired guitars too. It’s a common occurrence to see this kind of guitar being used in many genres, from blues to metal.
While it may have started off life as a not-so-successful attempt to knock the Stratocaster off its throne, the Flying V has endured and made its own unique impact on the history of guitar and rock music.
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