Epiphone, Gibson's Custom Shop, and the Jimi Hendrix family estate have come together for a brand new “Love Drops” Flying V in honor of “a player who took the instrument to places no one else had ever gone before.”

The six-string is an Inspired by Gibson recreation of the instrument that Hendrix frequently wielded between 1967-69, and arrives on the market with a $1,499 price tag.

Hendrix had customized what was originally a Sunburst model that had been re-finished Ebony, adorning it with hand-painted psychedelic graphics. Those Hendrix originals have been carefully recreated.

They decorate a mahogany body and one-piece mahogany neck, sculpted into a C-profile and topped with a laurel fretboard. It comes stocked with 22 medium jumbo frets.

Hardware choices include Epiphone Deluxe tuners and a short Maestro Vibrola bridge, while an Inspired by Gibson custom logo and Hendrix’s signature can be found on the back of its headstock.

Epiphone has talked up its “first-rate” electronics, with a pair of Gibson Custombucker humbuckers – rather than cheaper Epiphone-branded pickups found in standard issue Epiphone Vs – making for a fairly premium appointment.

They are wired to CTS potentiometers, a Mallory tone capacitor, and a three-way pickup switch, and the guitar also comes with a hardshell case that sports Inspired by Gibson Custom and Authentic Hendrix logos.

There have been a number of legendary guitar replicas produced under the Gibson brand umbrella in recent years, from Jeff Beck’s 1959 ‘YardBurst’ Les Paul Standard to Jason Isbell's "Red Eye" Les Paul, formerly owned by Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ed King. Those guitars, released as Gibson Custom Shop models, fetched $10,000 and $22,000 apiece so it's nice to see this Hendrix replica coming in at a more accessible price, via the Epiphone family.

It also comes in at a fraction of the $10,000 a Gibson Custom Hendrix V cost players when it was released in 2020.

Of course, Hendrix was famed for his employment of a right-handed Fender Stratocaster that he played left-handed, but he was known to pick up other instruments. His early '60s-Era Japanese Sunburst guitar, which returned to auction in 2022, and his love for a Gibson Flying V are two fine examples.

The new Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Jimi Hendrix Love Drops Flying V costs $1,499 and is available today as right- and left-handed versions.

Head to Epiphone for more details.

Earlier this year a rare recording of Jimi Hendrix playing with Little Richard, akin to “discovering a musical holy grail,” was sold at auction in May. Hendrix was part of the blues great's band long before becoming a household name.

Fender didn’t design the innovative-looking Gibson Flying V solidbody electric guitar, but the company deserves credit for inspiring its creation. In the mid '50s, Fender introduced the Stratocaster, whose then-futuristic design made Gibson’s guitars look rather staid.

Consequently, Gibson’s sales began to suffer.

In 1957, Gibson president Ted McCarty decided that Gibson needed to restore its image as an innovator and industry leader. 

In typical McCarty “take no prisoners” fashion, he made a series of bold moves that resulted in the development of several of the most desirable and valuable electric guitar models of all time, including the sunburst Les Paul Standard, ES-335, Explorer and Flying V, all of which made their debut in 1958.

The Flying V was one of several “modernistic” models that Gibson developed during that period. Sometime in 1956, McCarty hired artists outside of the company to come up with guitar designs with futuristic appeal. 

“I told them what I wanted and asked them to make me some sketches,” McCarty told Andre Duchossoir. “We chose the ones we liked, and then we called in [guitar foreman] Larry Allers and John Huis and asked if they could make them. You can design anything on paper, but building and producing it is a different matter.”

Only a handful of the submitted designs made it to the prototype stage. Allegedly, mockups were built and three final models were chosen from those contenders.

Gibson filed patent applications for those three guitar body designs in June 1957, with the patents eventually being granted in January 1958. This was an unusual strategy, as previously Gibson had filed patents only for engineering inventions and not cosmetic designs. 

Although model names were not submitted with the patent applications, the guitars became unofficially known as the Futura, Moderne and Flying V. 

Of these three submitted designs, only the Flying V’s shape remained unaltered through the production stage. The Futura’s body and headstock were modified to that of the Explorer, and the Moderne never went into production.

Early prototypes of the Flying V and Futura/Explorer that were built for trade shows had mahogany bodies, but before the models went into production Gibson switched to African limba wood, better known as korina.

In addition to being lighter than mahogany, korina’s pale-blond color was more in step with the prevalent aesthetic of the late '50s. 

“No one else had a korina guitar,” Gibson wood expert Wilbur Marker told Duchossoir. “That was the novelty of the thing. It was very pretty. In essence, that is the reason why we went with korina.”

When Gibson displayed the Flying V and Explorer prototypes at trade shows in 1957, they certainly generated the desired reaction from dealers. But while Gibson re-established its reputation for innovation with the guitars, that did not translate into sales. 

Most dealers thought that the models were a little too far out and space age, and those that did order them purchased only one instrument, which was generally used as a window display to attract attention. 

Orders for the Flying V far outnumbered those for the Explorer, and Gibson decided to manufacture three batches (with each batch numbering 40 guitars) of Flying Vs and one batch of Explorers.

Gibson shipping records show that only 81 Flying V guitars shipped in 1958 and 17 shipped in 1959. In early 1959, the Flying V was phased out of production. Leftover parts for unfinished guitars from the initial batch order sat dormant in the Gibson factory until the early '60s, when about 20 more Flying V guitars were completed.

The hardware on these early '60s models differs from the 1958-’59 models in several ways. They have hardware plated with nickel rather than gold, metal cap knobs instead of bonnet knobs, patent-number humbuckers rather than PAFs and a Tune-o-matic bridge with an early '60s-style retaining wire.

Although very few Flying Vs were in circulation during the late '50s, a few did manage to catch the eyes of performers like Lonnie Mack and Albert King, who immediately adopted the Flying V as their signature guitars. Mack added a Bigsby vibrato to his V, which he used to record “Wham.” 

As a left-handed guitarist, King was attracted to the V’s symmetrical shape, which accommodated his unorthodox style of keeping the guitar strung for a right-handed player and flipping the instrument over.

The Kinks’ Dave Davies was another early adopter, although his use of the Flying V started much later, in 1965. According to Davies, the airlines lost his only guitar when he came to America on tour that year, so he stopped into a shop to get a replacement. 

When he failed to find a guitar that he liked on the racks, the owner pulled from storage a dusty case that contained an original '50s V. He sold Davies the V for only $60. 

Davies’ Flying V became an iconic image of the British Invasion after he made several television appearances with it and was shown with the guitar on the cover of The Kinks' Greatest Hits! in 1966.

Demand for the rare and elusive Flying V suddenly increased due to its new exposure, which motivated Gibson to issue a new Flying V model in 1966. 

This second version of the V had a mahogany body and neck, a larger pickguard, a modified headstock shape, a triangular control knob configuration and a traditional stop tailpiece or Gibson Vibrola instead of the V-shaped string-through-body tailpiece. 

However, the new version was only marginally more successful than its predecessor. Just 111 of the guitars shipped in 1966, and the shipments decreased each year afterward, until the guitar was discontinued in 1970.

Jimi Hendrix was the most notable guitarist to adopt this second version of the V. In 1969, Gibson built a one-of-a-kind custom left-handed Flying V for him, featuring gold-plated hardware, a pearl Gibson logo headstock inlay and Trini Lopez–style split-diamond fretboard inlays. 

Hendrix famously used his custom V to perform several songs at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. Keith Richards also caught many guitarists’ attention when he played a late-'50s V at the Rolling Stones’ Hyde Park concert on July 5, 1969.

In 1971, Gibson produced the limited-edition Flying V Medallion model, which was essentially identical to the 1966 version, with the exception of its shorter peg head. The company produced only 350 Medallion Vs. 

The Flying V returned to regular production for a third time in 1975 with a version similar to the 1966 V, and since then some variation of the Flying V has remained a regular production model of the Gibson electric solidbody guitar line.

Demand for the Flying V reached critical mass in the '70s as hard-rock and metal guitarists fell for its aggressive styling. Performing with UFO, Michael Schenker played a white 1975 Gibson Flying V, which he later decorated with a distinctive black-and-white “negative” mirror-image motif. 

He got the guitar from his brother Rudolf of the Scorpions, who started collecting Flying Vs during the '70s and today owns more than 100. Flying V players from the U.K. during this period included Mark Bolan of T. Rex, Uriah Heep’s Mick Box, Wishbone Ash’s Andy Powell, Bad Company’s Mick Ralphs and Chris Spedding. 

In the United States, the V found its way into the hands of guitarists like Billy Gibbons, Rick Nielsen, Joe Perry and Paul Stanley.

Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield helped further the Flying Vs reputation as an iconic metal guitar during the '80s, but the V has also remained a favorite of rockers like Lenny Kravitz, Grace Potter and Eddie Van Halen, who used his '50s V to record several songs on 1984, including “Hot for Teacher.” 

Today, the Flying V can be seen in the hands of players representing almost every genre of popular music, from country to punk and Detroit blues to death metal. 

The guitar’s modernistic design was truly ahead of its time, but now that guitarists’ tastes have caught up to it, the V has become a timeless classic that, today, is considered one of the most successful and desirable guitar designs of all time.

After the 1960s blues boom, the genre began to lose traction as rock, metal, punk, rap and hip-hop took turns in music’s mainstream.

Stevie Ray Vaughan became the blues’ first great hope in many years when he arrived on the scene in 1983. Slowly, the genre came to life again as new players followed in his footsteps.

Today, blues is healthier and more diverse than ever. Whether you like your blues stately and traditional or subversive and spicy, there’s almost certainly something for you.

Gary Clark Jr. and Fantastic Negrito blend hip-hop and old-school blues, while Jack White and Samantha Fish create their blues stew with elements of rock and roots music.

And there are Megan and Rebecca Lovell, the two sisters behind blues-rock bright sparks Larkin Poe, and proponents of some of the most fiery, commanding slide-fueled noise currently in rock and roll.

To quote South Africa’s funked-up Stevie Ray Vaughan-channeling virtuoso Dan Patlansky, “This is not your daddy’s blues; this is renegade blues.”

Then there’s the classic torch carriers like Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, rock-and-soul innovators like the Tedeschi Trucks Band and Marcus King, and contemporary blues-rock big hitters like Joe Bonamassa.

Although he was a guitar prodigy, opening for B.B. King at the age of eight and touring at 12, Bonamassa’s career didn’t take off until he released his 2000 debut, A New Day Yesterday.

Marketed then as the next Kenny Wayne Shepherd, he’s since carved out a more diverse path, from his soul-oriented music with Beth Hart to his own solo journey as the 2000s’ biggest blues guitar star.

A dedicated scholar of electric blues, Bonamassa paid tribute to his triumvirate of guitar heroes with the Three Kings tour in 2015. “There is no better way to sum up the music of Albert, Freddie and B.B. than to use the phrase "the Three Kings," he said.

In this awesome rendition of the Jerry Beach-penned "I'll Play the Blues For You" taken from the 2016 Live At The Greek Theatre concert film, Bonamassa does just that as he honors guitar great Albert King (1923-1992).

Albert King, whose 100th birthday it was just a fortnight ago, famously played Flying V guitars. And here you can watch Joe Bonamassa play the very same custom-built Flying V owned and played by King himself.

Made by luthier Dan Erlewine in 1971, this iconic “Lucy” Flying V has the legendary bluesman’s name inlaid across the length of the fretboard.

Look out for Kirk Fletcher too as he takes a solo around the 4:10 mark. His Les Paul tone and phrasing are a lesson in taste.

Joe Bonamassa's latest live album, Tales Of Time, is a performance of his 2021 studio album, Time Clocks. Order it here.

“Hi, my name’s Slash. Can you sell me some Les Pauls?”

Back in 1988, that was how the man born Saul Hudson first came in contact with the Gibson guitar brand. Guns N’ Roses had only recently released their debut effort, Appetite for Destruction, an album on which Slash, in what is now rock-guitar lore, recorded most of his parts using a 1959 Les Paul copy built by luthier Kris Derrig. As the band hit the road in support of the record, he took the Derrig with him. Not surprisingly, the axe, one of his only guitars at the time, quickly took a beating from intense onstage use. So Slash retired the Les Paul copy from live work and went looking for the real thing.

Which is what led him to Gibson. “At that point, Guns N’ Roses hadn’t quite crested that wave. We were sort of still a fledgling L.A. club band that had a record deal, just like all the rest of ’em,” Slash recalls. “But I called Gibson and they said, ‘Yeah, we’ll work something out.’ They sold me two Les Pauls at dealer cost. And that’s how our relationship started.”

That relationship has grown into, arguably, the most visible and fruitful collaboration between an artist and guitar brand of the past 30-plus years. Slash has not only been instrumental in returning the Les Paul to unrivaled prominence in the guitar universe, he has also helped design some of the best-selling and most highly regarded artist models in the marketplace.

And the partnership has only gotten stronger and deeper with each year. In 2017, Gibson named Slash its first-ever Global Brand Ambassador, and today the Slash line of Gibson guitars continues to expand (see, for one, the signature J-45 acoustic offerings). What’s more, the brand recently launched a record label, Gibson Records, which issued the 2022 Slash (featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators) album, 4, as its debut release.

Now, Slash has aligned with Gibson on another new venture – a massive, deluxe hardcover book, The Collection: Slash, which is the first offering from the newly created Gibson Publishing. Across its oversized 364 pages, Slash tells the stories behind the guitars he has used throughout his legendary career, all of them accompanied by gorgeously detailed photos of the instruments themselves. The premium coffee-table tome is a must-have for any guitar fan, and is available in Standard, Deluxe and a truly stunning, limited-to-500-copies Custom Edition that is hand-signed by Slash and nestled inside a clamshell protective box with premium case candy.

In any iteration, The Collection: Slash is a package unlike any seen before. As for why the man himself wanted to do it? “I mean, what’s better than a book full of guitars?” Slash asks with a laugh. “And the way Gibson proposed putting it together, I just thought it was so cool. It was an exciting prospect, and it just started from there.”

In addition to chronicling dozens upon dozens of instruments from Slash’s substantial stash (including, in a very cool move by Gibson, many quintessential non-Gibson models) compiling The Collection: Slash afforded the musician the opportunity to become reacquainted with some of the lesser-used six-strings in his life.

“I have to admit that I buy a lot of guitars,” Slash says. “And I’m a little bit of a pack rat, because I’ve never gotten rid of anything. And while you’re constantly aware of additional things that you keep adding to the stockpile, doing an exposé like this I realized that, while I play a lot of these guitars pretty regularly, some of them, they don’t get enough use. It made me feel like, God, I want to put ’em all in a room where everybody can just walk in and look at them! Now, in a way, they can.”

Here, Slash takes us on a tour of some of the standout guitars in The Collection: Slash, recalling when each instrument came into his life and how it continues to be a part of his musical experience today.

KRIS DERRIG REPLICA

One of the most famous Les Pauls is not a Les Paul at all. Featured on almost all of Appetite for Destruction (“I played an SG on ‘My Michelle,’” Slash reports), the Kris Derrig replica is the source of that album’s coveted guitar tones, and arguably reignited the Les Paul flame single-handedly in the ’80s. It also originally boasted Seymour Duncan Alnico II humbuckers, which were the template for Slash’s signature pickups.

“Getting the Derrig was an interesting sort of perfect storm,” Slash recalls. “Because I went from having no identifiable sound during the basic tracks for Appetite to getting this guitar, with these particular pickups, played through a particular rented Marshall amp. All those contributing factors made for a really great guitar sound that has served me ever since.”

Amazingly, the heavy wear across the top and back is almost entirely the result of Slash using the guitar, then in pristine condition, onstage for less than a year. “I’m hard on my guitars,” he admits. “And with the Derrig, I realized what an effect my live attack had on it. That’s when I finally broke down and called Gibson and said, ‘I need a Les Paul.’ I just didn’t want anything to happen to it. So I put it away.”

GIBSON LES PAUL “JESSICA”

When we think of Slash’s Les Pauls, designs like the Derrig and his signature models come to mind. But it’s likely another Les Paul, one he calls Jessica, that we’ve seen him wield most often. Slash acquired the guitar from Gibson – one of the two factory seconds with three-piece tops the company sent him after he retired the Derrig copy from road work. “It became my main stage guitar with Guns and through Velvet Revolver,” he says. “It still is.”

Onstage, he continues, “Jessica is the main Appetite guitar. I open the set with her for ‘It’s So Easy’ and ‘Brownstone,’ I play ‘Paradise City’ with her, and I play ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ with her.”

As for what makes the now heavily worn instrument stand apart from his many other Les Pauls? “The guitars that you take out on tour and play the most are the ones you feel most comfortable with, the ones that give you what you want from them, the ones that are consistent,” he says. “Back then it was one of two guitars that I had for the road, so I made it work. And now it’s a central part of what I do.”

GIBSON LES PAUL “THE FIRST ‘BURST” – 8 3096

While Slash has always been adamant about the fact that he acquires guitars for their playability rather than pedigree, this Les Paul is one that offers both in equal measure. Dubbed “The First ’Burst,” this Standard was one of two that left Gibson’s factory on May 28, 1958 with ’Burst specifications, including PAF humbuckers and a Cherry Red finish. One of those instruments featured a three-piece top, while Slash’s ’Burst is a two-piece with a slightly off-center join.

“It was definitely an acquisition because of what it is,” Slash says of the First ’Burst. “But it’s also a really great-sounding guitar. And that was the bigger selling point for me – it has amazing tone.”

So much so that Slash has used the historic guitar in the studio, specifically, on the Conspirators’ 2014 album, World on Fire, which was recorded not long after he acquired the instrument. That said, he adds, “I wouldn’t take it on the road.” For that, he continues, “Gibson made me a replica, which sounds really great as well.”

1959 LES PAUL STANDARD – 9 0844

These days, Slash owns several authentic ’59 ’Bursts. But this one, acquired in the early 1990s, was his first, and it remains his favorite. “It has a particular sound that I’m drawn to, a certain kind of attack and personality that I recognize,” he says. “It’s the go-to ’59 for me because I know what it does.”

In addition to sporting a gorgeous finish, the guitar is easily identifiable via a telltale “snakebite” – small holes in its top that evidence the one-time addition of a Bigsby vibrato. And while Slash keeps it away from the stage, he says he has used it in the studio with the Conspirators on several occasions, in particular the ballad “The Great Pretender,” from 2016’s Living the Dream, and the band’s cover of Elton John’s “Rocket Man.”

“The PAF pickups just sound so sincere,” Slash says. “The guitar is much different from, say, the Derrig, which is a much more modern-sounding Les Paul – it’s louder, it’s got more attack. If you do like a slow blues thing or anything like that, the tonality on this particular ‘59 is really great for that kind of stuff.”

2002 SLASH LES PAUL PROTOTYPE

This limited-run Custom Shop guitar is “what I would call the first ‘official’ Slash model,” Slash reveals. “This is when I think of us as going into business together for real, and when Gibson started to actually have this idea of me sitting down and designing a guitar with them and then putting it into production.”

The 2002 Slash Les Paul boasts a rich Tobacco Burst finish and Seymour Duncan Alnico II humbuckers, as well as a custom “Slash” truss-rod cover. But the most unique aspect is undoubtedly the inclusion of a piezo pickup system that offers a selection of acoustic and hybrid acoustic/electric sounds, controlled via a three-position mini-toggle switch between the guitar’s volume knobs.

“I did use the piezo for a second, and it actually sounded really good,” Slash says. “But my physical approach to an acoustic sound didn’t work on electric guitar – I hit it too hard when I’m playing acoustic stuff, so doing it on electric was not really conducive to that sort of attack. So eventually I phased it out. But it was a cool idea at the time.”

EARLY 1970S EPIPHONE 6830

This Japanese-made steel-string acoustic isn’t the oldest guitar in Slash’s collection, but it is the one he’s had the longest. “I think I was probably in high school when I got it,” he says. “And I cherish the fact that I’ve managed to keep it and nothing’s happened to it.”

Slash calls the Epiphone the first “good acoustic” he ever took ownership of, and he received it in a moment of goodwill. “When I was 15, I would do some babysitting, and this one kid I babysat for, his parents had it hanging on the wall next to a mandolin,” he recalls. “I asked them, ‘Can I play it while the kid’s sleeping?’ I was still playing it when they got home, and they actually ended up giving it to me.”

These days, the Epiphone is far removed from all-night strum sessions. “I haven’t pulled it out and played it in a long time, because the tailpiece is threatening to come off and I had to bolt it down,” Slash says. “So I just sort of leave it alone. It’s more of a keepsake than anything.” He laughs. “Besides, I have plenty of acoustic guitars to beat on. I don’t need to beat on that one.”

1959 GIBSON FLYING V – 9 1705

“When I was doing the Use Your Illusion records I was looking for different guitars for different songs, and it was the first time I ever had any money to do that,” Slash recalls. “I became aware of the korina ’58s and ’59s, and so I went to my friend who is a guitar broker. He came up with two Explorers and this V, and I bought all three. It was one of those purchases where I was like, ‘Well, let’s see how these sound.’ And it was, ‘Oh, this is fucking awesome!’”

For fans looking to hear that sound, tune your ears to Guns N’ Roses’ cover of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” “I went to the studio, that guitar was there, and I laid all the tracks down in a couple of hours,” Slash says. “The tone on it was so great that it was literally a one-take solo – just a throw-and-go. That guitar, because of the way it sounded, is what led that to be such an easy thing to do.”

As for what he thinks is so special about those original Vs? “They just have a certain tonal quality, this smooth, sweet tone that you cannot find in any other guitar,” Slash says.

1980 BC RICH MOCKINGBIRD

As a teenager, Slash chose a B.C. Rich to be the first “good, brand-name instrument” he ever owned. He has a variety of examples, the most recognizable of which is this red 1980 Mockingbird, which he famously employed in the studio and the music video for the Use Your Illusion track “You Could Be Mine,” as well as on Velvet Revolver songs like “Sucker Train Blues.”

“This is the one guitar that I have a photographic memory of acquiring,” Slash says. “I bought it from a guy in front of [defunct L.A. nightclub] the Cathouse. I hardly knew him, but I saw him regularly every Tuesday night when I would go down there. He told me he had a Mockingbird that he was looking to sell, and he goes, ‘I’ll bring it down.’ And the following Tuesday at, like, 11:30 at night, he comes walking down Highland Avenue with a guitar case. I bought it from him on the sidewalk.”

While the guitar is one that Slash will often reach for when he’s in need of a whammy bar, some of the Mockingbird’s unique appointments – an onboard preamp, Varitone switching, coil splits – are roundly ignored. “The knobs are a cool novelty-type of thing, but I’ve never found much use for them,” he says. “I was never one of those ‘coil-tappers.’”

The Collection: Slash, Custom Edition

Limited to 500 copies worldwide, and hand-signed by Slash, the Custom Edition ($999) measures 297 x 420 mm (11.69 x 16.54”) and comes inside a premium clamshell protective box with case candy, including an Axe Heaven Appetite Les Paul miniature guitar, an exclusive Slash bandana, a guitar pick tin with Dunlop guitar picks, a cover poster, four guitar art prints, and a certificate of authenticity. 

The Collection: Slash, Deluxe Edition

The Collection: Slash Deluxe Edition ($249) is presented in a Les Paul slipcase and measures 240 x 340 mm (9.45 x 13.39”). It includes a cover poster, four guitar art prints, and a certificate of authenticity. The initial print run of the Deluxe Edition is hand-signed by Slash and limited to 1,000 copies. 

The Collection: Slash, Standard Edition

The Standard Edition ($149) offers a widely accessible version of the coffee-table book featuring 364 pages in hardcover, in a slightly more compact size of 240 x 340 mm (9.45 x 13.39”). 

To order any edition, visit Gibson.com. 

Following up last month’s Certified Vintage debut, Gibson has unveiled the second batch of five rare guitars from their groundbreaking program. The firm’s latest curation includes instruments from the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, highlighting Gibson’s decades-long history of building iconic electrics.

Among these are a ’58 Les Paul Custom with three PAF humbuckers and a factory-original B7 Bigsby; a ’61 Les Paul/SG Custom similarly featuring a trio of PAFs and vibrato unit; a ’78 Wine Red L-5 CES (the game-changing L-5 celebrates its 100th anniversary this year!); and an eye-catching ‘85 Designer Series Custom Graphics Flying V.  

Also available is a prototype of Gibson’s first 1959 Les Paul Standard recreation – the Heritage Series Les Paul Standard 80 – boasting the serial number A 0001.

To find out more about these stunning six-strings and the Gibson Certified Vintage program, Guitar Player spoke to Mark Agnesi. We asked him how the idea came about and what this unique service offers customers.

“We have so many vintage guitar lovers on staff, including myself, Mat Koehler, Cesar Gueikian and others,” Mark told us. “When we started to build the Gibson Garage, we wanted to put some cool stuff on display in the Vault. We’re almost two years into that now and everyone’s seen that cool stuff. So we thought, Let’s let it go and get some new cool stuff in. Also, we get so many calls from people asking us about their vintage guitars that it all just morphed into the idea of selling vintage guitars – our history.

“We knew we had a cool idea that would be groundbreaking for the industry. First off, we’re the only company that can say it’s Gibson Certified Vintage. But more importantly, we’re the only company that can put a lifetime warranty with a vintage guitar, which is a first in the history of the vintage guitar business. You have that dual confidence as a buyer that not only is it coming directly from the source, but you also get a lifetime warranty with it.”

Here, Mark tells us about the second batch of five stunning guitars from the Gibson Certified Vintage program…

1958 Gibson Les Paul Custom

“This is an original 1958 Les Paul Custom 'Black Beauty' with a Bigsby. This guitar has lived in the Vault since day one, so anybody who has been in the Vault has likely seen and/or played this guitar. It has three PAFs and is all original aside from a refret. It has medium jumbo frets on it that were put on by our Repair & Restoration team. It also had a new nut cut in the process.

“We’re at the point now where some of this stuff is over 60 years old and a refret is probably the best thing that can happen to a lot of these guitars. If it’s an absolutely mint, collector grade guitar then the chances are it doesn’t need a refret. But it’s like a cap job on an old amp, or a neck set on an old acoustic – if you’re talking about value, what’s it really worth to you if you can’t play it? So I don’t really look at a refret as a detractor – as long as it’s a good refret by someone who knows what they’re doing, I see that as adding to value.

“The back of the neck is great. There’s all this wear in the cowboy chord area and thumb wear right by the twelfth fret. It’s like the original owner played cowboy chords then soloed in E.”

1961 Gibson Les Paul SG Custom

“It’s funny to look back and think about how expensive sunburst Les Pauls from 1958 to 1960 are now. They weren’t huge sellers at the time. It wasn’t until years later when Keith Richards, Mike Bloomfield, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck started playing them that they became desirable. The more modern, double-cutaway SG was the silver lining of those poor [single-cutaway/sunburst Les Paul] sales. Thank god that all happened, because the SG was born out of it all, and it’s the only Gibson solidbody design not to have gone out of production.

“When the Les Paul Custom switched from single- to double-cutaway, Gibson switched the ‘tuxedo’ finish from black to white. The gold hardware is such an iconic look on this guitar. It’s famously associated with Sister Rosetta Tharpe – she’s the first who comes to mind – and Jimi Hendrix later played an SG Custom. It’s a classic.

“This one lived in the Gibson Vault, but it’s time to let it back out in the world again. It has the original 'Fretless Wonder' frets on it. The Customs were traditionally always 'Fretless Wonder' guitars, even when they were brought back in the late ‘60s. We didn’t start putting bigger fret wire on until the mid ‘70s. So even the [20th] Anniversary Randy Rhoads-style Customs [from 1974] are still 'Fretless Wonder' guitars. That’s what Les liked!”

1980 Gibson Heritage Series Les Paul Standard 80 Prototype

“By the early ‘80s, you start seeing Gibson reissues. The ‘70s era was over and the vintage guitar market had already started, with ‘50s and ‘60s models becoming more valuable. We were getting back to the original designs. Everybody realized there was something there.

“The Heritage 80 was our first attempt at recreating the ’59 Les Paul [Standard]. From a spec standpoint it was a nice first attempt, but it’s nowhere near as accurate as what we’re doing today. But it was the first attempt, and this guitar is serial number A 0001. It’s stamped 'prototype,' which to all intents and purposes makes this the very first ’59 reissue that was ever made! It’s a very cool collector’s piece that I’m sure someone will fall in love with.

“For whatever reason this guitar had the pickguard removed at some point, so it’s shipping without one. Our current [repro] ’59 ‘guard won’t fit (because we make them historically accurate now!)

1978 Gibson Custom L-5 CES

“I don’t know why, but this guitar got set aside in the Gibson headquarters and it’s been sitting here for over 40 years. It’s not what I would call NOS (there are some NOS guitars here) but this one shows a little bit of wear. It was played but, for some reason, it was stuck back in the case and put back on the rack where it’s lived for 40-something years.

“I started looking through some stuff and opened the case and was surprised to find this really cool Wine Red L-5 CES. We don’t have a lot of hollowbody guitars in production currently and we thought this Kalamazoo era guitar would be a cool thing to offer up.

“The Wine Red finish looks great – it really shows off the grain. There’s a three-piece maple neck with a lot of figuring on it and the finish makes it all jump. It looks really beautiful. The Wine Red is dark, but you can clearly see the grain through it.”

1985 Gibson Designer Series Custom Graphics Flying V

“I love these guitars. The first music store I walked into as a kid had these all over the wall. In the mid ‘80s MTV era, this store looked like a Scorpions music video with all these Designer Series Explorers and Flying Vs on the wall. There’s a variety of graphic styles and this is what we call the Style 30.

“This is an NOS guitar. This guitar was never sold. It still has the warranty card, the arm for the Kahler [vibrato] and all the stuff in the pocket of the original case. For whatever reason, this guitar was put aside. I have a few of these that will trickle out over the next several months. I mean it’s too much fun to not share these.

“It’s NOS, but it’s been sat here for almost 40 years now, and there is some lacquer checking on the guitar. But it’s an unsold Graphics Flying V from 1985 – I mean, how cool is that? Where else can you buy an unowned 38-year-old guitar? Those things just don’t come up.”

All Gibson Certified Vintage guitars are sold via the Gibson Garage in Nashville, TN. Call (615) 933-6000.

Select models will be available for purchase here.

Following up the recent news of another Greeny Les Paul replica, Gibson has announced the latest creation in their ongoing collaboration with Metallica’s Kirk Hammett.

The Kirk Hammett 1979 Flying V – a recreation of the guitarist’s first-ever Gibson axe – is now available worldwide via Premium Gibson dealers and Gibson.com.

Priced $14,999, the Kirk Hammett 1979 Flying V joins the ranks of the highly collectible Custom Shop artist models – many of which have appreciated in value over the years.

Check out this 2010 limited-edition Gibson Custom Shop aged/signed Kirk Hammett Flying V replica listed at $16,500, for example.

Limited to just 200 instruments worldwide, Gibson’s latest batch of Kirk Hammett guitars was crafted in Nashville, Tennesse at the Custom Shop and expertly aged by the Murphy Lab. Each comes with a Certificate of Authenticity photo signed by the Metallica star.

Considered one of the most important electric guitars in the history of metal, Hammett’s original 1979 Gibson Flying V appears all over Metallica’s earlier albums, including Kill ‘Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, …And Justice for All, and Metallica a.k.a. The Black Album.

Inspired by V-toting metal guitarists like K.K. Downing of Judas Priest and Michael Schenker of Scorpions, the young musician purchased his Flying V because, according to Gibson, he was “looking for a fuller sound.”

Featuring a single-piece mahogany body finished in Murphy Lab aged Ebony nitrocellulose lacquer, the Kirk Hammett 1979 Flying V boasts a Kirk Hammett V Profile neck with an Indian Rosewood fretboard.

Hardware includes M6 Schaller tuners, a custom replica bridge and a '79 V truss rod cover, while Hammett’s “full” signature tone is provided by a pair of T-Type humbuckers. Comes with an SKB Flying V case.

Visit Gibson for more information.

Larry McCray’s new album, Blues Without You, is his first record of original material since 2007. McCray burst onto the scene as a major new voice in blues guitar way back in 1991, with the release of his debut album, Ambition, followed two years later by Delta Hurricane.

It looked like he was destined for the sort of mainstream crossover appeal enjoyed by the likes of Robert Cray and Stevie Ray Vaughan, but his blues train started to derail.

By 2001, without a record deal, McCray was releasing his music on his own label. He’d resigned himself to the possibility that his major-label days were behind him, when Joe Bonamassa called to ask if he’d record for Bonamasssa’s label, KTBA (Keeping the Blues Alive).

The result is Blues Without You, not only McCray’s career-best record but also one of the strongest blues guitar albums released for many years. Indeed, it is hard to imagine that there will be a better blues record released in 2022.

McCray presents the same kind of two-fisted combo that made giants like B.B. and Freddie King such formidable artists, with not only the ability to play blisteringly effective solos but also a voice that can rival the best blues singers from any bygone age.

McCray’s soloing is both fluid and visceral; he is unafraid to hang on to a couple of notes until every last drop of emotion and soul has been wrung from them.

The release of Blues Without You will be accompanied by a documentary that reveals the ins-and-outs of McCray’s hookup with Bonamassa, and shows both men and co-producer Josh Smith working out ideas for the record.

The film also demonstrates that McCray’s stalling career was in part due to poor management from his former manager, Paul Coch, who died in 2021 in a car accident.

It makes for compelling viewing and reveals McCray to be a deeply humble, emotional man who truly appreciates getting a second bite of the cherry.

It must feel good to be back on a label that has prominence in the industry.

Yes, absolutely. Sometimes, when things don’t work out, you have to make peace with yourself. That’s what I was doing, and then the opportunity just kind of fell into my lap. I am very pleased with how the record turned out. It’s my best album by far.

In the documentary, you use an acoustic guitar to perform many of the songs that subsequently turned up on the album in electrified form. They were such strong performances. Was there ever any thought of recording them that way?

I’ve been trying to get that done for the last 25 years, and I couldn’t. I’ve never been one to use race as an excuse for what you can’t achieve. I don’t know if my image wasn’t palatable to the people who make these decisions, who had the control, or if they just weren’t interested in my brand of music. But with that said, there was never a plan to make this anything but an electric guitar album.

Watching the documentary, you seem very humble about your own talents. Do you think perhaps the way that your career became derailed undermined your sense of where you should be in terms of recognition?

I guess it’s not really that important what I think about my music; it’s what the people think. I’ve spent over 40 years making music, and if somebody wanted to give me an opportunity, it’s not like I sat on my ass and didn’t work for it. I’ve played every honky-tonk and every dive.

I’ve played some high places and some low places, and a lot in-between. If the powers that be don’t accept what you do, there are some doors that you can’t open yourself. I put albums out on my own label, and I worked constantly, but I never had the means to promote them properly.

There are some parallels with you and your label mate Eric Gales, in that you both lost your way career-wise for some time, and now you’ve both just released career-best albums on KTBA.

I knew Eric at the start of his career. We’ve been friends since the late ’80s. Eric was always my go-to when anybody was talking about who was a great blues guitarist.

He was such a talent even then; I knew him when he was just a kid. He used to come out to my house and we’d sit up late playing guitar. He’d play guitar and I’d listen. [laughs]

I’m a non-political and a non-controversial person, but when you look at it straight on, I wonder how people could justify why someone like Eric or me couldn’t get opportunities in the music business.

I think, fundamentally, sometimes people can get judged by two different standards. I’ve been away from the game too long to just make that a focus, but I know I worked my ass off to do everything that I could.

Blues Without You is a very organic, timeless album. Was that a deliberate attempt to re-create the warmth of those classic blues albums from the early 1970s that B.B. and Albert cut?

I don’t have to try, because that’s who I am. I’m just being myself. When I look back on my career, that’s what I’ve always been, and I guess that’s just how it comes out. [laughs]

It seems like there are a lot of church and gospel influences in your vocals. Was that something you grew up with?

No. I was raised around that, but I was raised differently. I was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, so I didn’t get the chance to pursue that gospel side of music. My parents converted to that when I was about six years old. I did hear that music, and it had an influence on me, for sure.

You are the kind of singer who sounds like they’re living every word that they say, so presumably the lyrics of a song are very important to you.

I sing about life. And I sing about it in a way that everyone can relate to, whether it’s being sick, not having money, relationship problems or whatever it might be. I feel every word that I’m singing.

We all need to feel whole, and I hope that’s what my music helps people to achieve. I call my music “good-time, feel-good music.” I don’t want to be technical or nothing, trying to win the respect of people who care about those things; I want to win the hearts and souls of people – what people feel in their heart.

You always have great phrasing on your solos and fills. A prime example of this is your playing on “Without Love It Doesn’t Matter,” where you leave gaps between phrases, almost as if to allow the listener time to digest what you just played.

Exactly, that’s right. It isn’t necessary to play any more than that. Whenever I play something on my guitar, I try to channel what I call the four greats: B.B., Freddie and Albert King, and Albert Collins.

I think of Albert Collins as the razor. He slashed, cut and sliced with his guitar. B.B. was class and elegance. Freddie was raw power with both his vocals and guitar. And Albert King played the crying, weeping guitar.

My playing draws from all those four guys every time I take a solo. If I want cut, elegance, power or a real weeping feel, I tap into one of those four guys.

“No More Crying” is such a great southern soul ballad with the same emotional resonance of Vince Gill’s “Go Rest High on That Mountain” and an ability to comfort someone dealing with loss.

I co-wrote that with a youngster that I influenced, Aaron Sarkar, who was 30 years my junior. We met at a B.B. King concert when he was working in hospitality there. He was 15 years old at the time, and I remember him saying that he wanted a musical career.

Fifteen years later, he came to my house and he was showing me some words that he’d written. He said they’d come to him and he wrote them down in about five minutes.

As soon as he read the words to me, I automatically had those chord changes. I just sang it exactly as it is, the first time I tried it. It just came in an instant. It was the easiest song I ever wrote.

The turnaround in your career is very much echoed by the sentiment behind “Don’t Put Your Dreams to Bed.”

Definitely. I wrote that with my girlfriend, Peggy Smith. We thought of that concept together. That was another song that was real easy to put together. I think a lot of the best songs do come very easily, as if they were just meant to be.

It is interesting that the song “Blues Without You” was dedicated to your former manager, Paul Coch. Obviously you had plenty of good times together, but I know he also caused problems for your career at times.

Although we had a lot of rough roads and went through some tough things together, I certainly didn’t hate the man. We spent 34 years together, you know? He definitely did work very hard to try to help me get success, but he just didn’t have the right people skills.

For whatever reason, people sometimes found it hard to work with him. I know Joe had tried to contact me years ago to do this, but Paul didn’t tell me. That was just one of many incidents that happened over the years.

In some ways there wasn’t a whole lot that I could have done. Maybe I could have found another manager, but I couldn’t find someone else who was interested.

The closing track, “I Play the Blues,” is a solo acoustic and vocal piece, which is a great way to close the album, as a real contrast to what has gone before.

I did think that we were going to do it with the band, but Joe thought it would be nice to do the stripped-down acoustic guitar version. We did the whole album in seven days, and that was the last song that we recorded.

I did a lot of singing and playing in that week, and by that time my voice was starting to feel a little rough. Joe thought the slight rawness in my voice really worked for the song, although I do think that maybe I could have sung it better if I’d had a chance for my voice to recover slightly. But that’s all that I had left.

When it comes to playing solos, do you plan beforehand what you’ll do?

No, I never do. I always just play straight through without any preparation, in one pass or maybe two passes at the most. I do like to warm my chops up before I record, maybe for an hour or so.

What were you playing on the album?

I only took one guitar with me, a Les Paul Deluxe, as I was flying and I couldn’t really take any more than that. I used a lot of Joe’s guitars and amps.

Joe has so much great gear that there isn’t anything that I could have taken with me that would have been any better anyway. [laughs]

You’re very much a Gibson guy, although I believe way back you used to play a Strat.

That’s right. In fact I played an Ibanez before the Strat. What happened was that I went over to England, and I saw Gary Moore playing. When I heard his humbuckers, I thought, Okay, there’s a bigger bear in the woods; I need to keep up here. [laughs]

As soon as I got back to the States, I bought a tobacco-brown Flying V, which I played a lot. That was when I also discovered that I really liked Les Pauls as well, and the 335 came soon after that.

I like to switch my tones a lot, even in the middle of a solo, where I’ll flip from one pickup to another. I know Albert King always did that. I think it takes the solo on more of a journey through different tonal ranges.

Things must be very busy for you now that the album is being released.

Yeah. I’m also doing some things with Devon Allman and the Allman Brothers Revue right now, and I’m starting to book a lot of dates for myself.

Everything is really starting to build up, and I’m determined that I’m going to make the most of every opportunity to make up for a lot of lost time.

Order Blues Without You here.

Gibson has launched an exciting new Custom Shop venture in style with the release of ten Flying V guitars designed in collaboration with boutique luthier Leo Scala.

Kicking off their Master Artisan Collection, Gibson has employed the artful skills of world-class craftsman Scala who has provided some patent-worthy tweaks to the iconic ‘modernistic’ design released in 1958.

With further collaborations in the pipeline, we spoke to Gibson brand president Cesar Gueikian to find out more about this innovative approach to electric guitar building.

Is this the first time Gibson has worked with an independent luthier?

Yes. This has been many years in the making. It’s a collaboration we’ve been working with Leo Scala on for over two years.

Leo Scala is also well-known for making custom guitars for Guns N’ Roses' Richard Fortus…

Yes. That’s how I connected with Leo. Richard was the one who said, “Hey, I think you should meet with Leo Scala. I think out of all the creative boutique luthiers, Leo is the best one I’ve worked with.”

He’s not only a passionate musician and guitar maker, but he’s also very passionate about Gibson and Gibson history. He’s highly respectful of the history and what Gibson has inspired him to do. So that’s why Leo and I met.

How did you meet Leo Scala?

I met Leo in person at his workshop and he started showing me some of the things that he has been coming up with over many, many years and some of the things he was making. 

We connected immediately. He has such great respect for the instrument, quality, history and craftsmanship. Taking all that into consideration was an inspiration to do something new.

Leo is somebody that has broken the mold and has been innovating on his own while being inspired by the things [Gibson] has done in the past.

What new concepts has Leo Scala introduced?

We have two new innovations patented by Gibson with Leo Scala as the inventor: the hybrid chevron tailpiece and the dogear humbucker. Those are his ideas and creations. We paid tribute to him as the guy who invented them. And we’re putting them to work in this collaboration.

With the hybrid chevron tailpiece, you can string through the body, or use it as a stop-bar. That was a great idea by Leo. As was the dogears on a humbucker.

It’s a simple idea, but very effective…

Yeah, I think that’s right. But within that simplicity is an incredible amount of custom work on each guitar. I’m very much into that.

The guitars look immediately familiar. But the more you look, the more you notice how different they are…

And each of the ten has a different finish shade – a different degree of natural. All these subtle things [Leo Scala] thinks about and applies are why it takes so long to make these guitars.

Do you have a favorite?

Yes. The Seraph. It’s absolutely unbelievable. But every one of the Leo Scala Master Artisan guitars are incredible.

How long did they take to make?

It’s a lot of work before starting, and then the process is about one-year. It’s a highly involved process. 

One of the great aspects of this series is that it was started by our artisans in the Custom Shop and then passed to the master artisan Leo Scala. So it was started by Gibson and finished by Leo.

What did they look like when they left the Custom Shop?

They left the Custom Shop as korina guitars with Brazilian rosewood fingerboards. Leo then makes the instrument what it is. That’s really powerful, I think.

All the metal parts – including the chevron tailpieces and stop-bars – and the pickups are all done by [Leo Scala.] It’s all handmade. He wound every pickup. There is a lot of work that goes into it. I mean that’s why it took one year to make ten guitars. But each guitar is unique.

So it’s fair to say they’re works of art in themselves?

They absolutely are.

Are you reserving one for Gibson?

We have one that’s going to stay in the Gibson Vault.

And will it get played?

Without a doubt. Our guitars are going to be making music. Our original ’58 Flying V that we’ve had in the Vault for a very long time was on stage two weeks ago with Richie Faulkner and Judas Priest here in Nashville.

Gemini, my ’59 ‘Burst that has a sequential serial number to Greeny, is going to be on stage soon with John Notto of Dirty Honey. So these guitars were made to be played. Guitars that come into our collection are very much going to be used on stage and in the studio.

Considering so much work has gone into making these guitars look a certain way, what would you say to those people concerned about playing them?

We wanted to make sure these instruments create the opposite reaction to picking up a mint condition guitar. That’s why they’re so heavily aged. We wanted people to not worry about just picking them up and playing them.

What concept did you have in mind specifically when it came to esthetics?

They’re not Gloss or VOS like you would normally get out of the Custom Shop. We offer that, but these particular guitars were all about: what would they look like today if they have been heavily used over the decades since 1958? That was the concept of the design for Leo Scala.

1,000 dings looks better than one, right?

Right. And it’s all in the right places. Leo Scala paid a lot of attention to that. You know, what would be the result of decades of play wear: the arm, picking, fretboard wear… It’s all done in a really nice way.

It’s refreshing to see Gibson working with an independent luthier. Things seem to have changed a lot in recent years…

Yes. We were very selective, obviously, but on the other hand we’re really excited about it. What we just did with Leo Scala and what’s going to be coming out in future gets me motivated.

When I go to the Custom Shop, I can see the passion of our builders – some of whom have been with us for decades.  

Gibson seems an altogether happier place these days…

I certainly think so. I think it’s been a complete 180 as a result of the actions we’ve taken. Not what we’re saying, but the actions. I like the fact we’re doing things that are paying tribute to our very iconic past while looking towards the future.

That comes with a lot of communication and collaboration, and respect for our craftsmen and craftswomen. 

It’s about celebrating people’s skills, experience and depth of knowledge. Everyone is so excited about what they’re building.

Visit Gibson for more information.

Over a remarkable 40-year career as a member of the bands Hüsker Dü and Sugar, and as a solo artist, Bob Mould has garnered his fair share of huzzahs and hosannas. 

His aggressive and highly dramatic signature guitar style was famously admired – and emulated – by bands like the Pixies and Nirvana, among others, and a number of his albums have topped critics’ polls and “greatest records of all time” lists.

All of which the 61-year-old singer-songwriter and guitarist takes with healthy doses of humility and perspective.

“I think I’m the same as any musician,” he says. “I’m grateful when anyone pays attention to the work I do, let alone when colleagues or other people make such wonderful comments about it.

“To me, it all goes back to when I heard the first Ramones album and thought, Wow, anybody can do this. That’s no slight to the Ramones; I’m just talking about the simplicity and beauty of it.

“To go from that day to today, talking about ‘greatest albums of all time’ – that’s quite a leap and a stretch.”

Abrasive and bruising guitar work has long dominated Mould’s oeuvre, although there have been fascinating detours into introspective, acoustic guitar-based songs and even a dalliance with electronic music.

“I like to try new things occasionally, particularly if I’ve stayed at one thing too long,” he explains, “but I always seem to come back to a sound that I adopted back in my youth.”

At the center of it all is his artful, muscular rhythm guitar playing – earth-moving stuff crafted from equal parts British Invasion (Pete Townshend looms large here) and New York punk.

“I’m pretty comfortable saying that I excel at rhythm guitar,” he says, “even more so as I get older and age affects the way that I play and the fury I put into it.”

Mould points out that a strong, economical rhythmic sense was essential in his early Hüsker Dü days.

“We were a three-piece, so automatically I had to cover a lot of sonic ground, even when I was taking a solo,” he says. “That began to inform my songwriting, knowing that I could only solo a certain way.

“That’s something Townshend did with the Who. Suddenly you’re writing a lot in E, A, D, G and B – keys where you can build chord structures and still have the I chord or the IV or V chord resonating as you’re playing a solo.

“You write to fit your playing.”

Throughout his Hüsker Dü years, Mould played a Flying V-shaped Ibanez Rocket Roll that he purchased on a whim at a music store.

“I was a big New York Dolls fan, and this store had a poster of Syl Sylvain playing a Rocket Roll,” he recalls. “I looked at the poster, turned around and saw the very same guitar on sale. I was like, ‘I’ll take that one.’”

At the end of Hüsker Dü, Mould began playing Fender Stratocasters. His first was a similar impulse buy, but it led to a decades-long association with the model.

“I walked into a music store and saw this blue Strat. I asked the guy if I could play it, and he said, ‘Sure. What kind of amp do you want to put it through?’ I said, ‘No, no, I don’t need an amp. I just want to check the guitar out.’ And within 15 seconds of playing it, I knew it was the guitar.”

He underscores this point. “Anybody who’s looking to buy an electric guitar, don’t worry about the electric part. Pick up the guitar and play a few chords unamped. You’ll know right away if it has something to say. You’ll know if it feels right.

“You can deal with pickups and knobs and things later. Concentrate on the wood of the guitar. If it feels good and sounds good unamped, you can figure out the rest.”

Here, Mould discusses five songs from his brilliant career…

1) Hüsker Dü | “Something I Learned Today” from 'Zen Arcade' (1984)

“We were prolific. I mean, we were writing constantly. We were in this cycle in that you write enough songs to have what you think is an album. Then you record the album and wait a few months for it to come out. Then you tour to show people these new songs in the live setting.

“When you finish the tour, you write new songs to record a new album, and you keep repeating that.

“‘Something I Learned Today’ was a great opener for Zen Arcade. Technically, that first-position B chord could be described as a hallmark chord of mine. I think I’ve exhausted every possible permutation of how you could write an entire song without ever moving off of that chord.

“This song is a perfect example of that, where I’ve basically frozen the D and G strings in that first-position B, and I’m playing the bass part on the two lower strings. I do all of that without ever moving from that position.

“I could also leave the high B and sometimes sneak in the high E completely open, and I’ve got the two middle strings frozen as the foundation of the chord.

“At the same time, I can walk all of the chord changes around with the lower two strings. So that’s the hallmark. I’ve lost count of how many songs I’ve written in the position.”

2) Hüsker Dü | “Celebrated Summer” from 'New Day Rising' (1985)

“It was a pretty logical extension of the pop sensibility that we started showing on Metal Circus [the group’s 1983 E.P.].

“There was some melodic stuff on that album, but on New Day Rising we amplified those moments and began to move away from the augmented dissonant songs and hardcore songs, like we did on some of the Zen Arcade stuff.

“I hope it wasn’t a stretch or a surprise. I thought it made sense for the band.

“In the middle of the song, there’s a break in which I played a 12-string acoustic. Very Townshend. The whole idea of the song – that sort of triumphant, thematic longing for last summer, or looking forward to next summer – felt like a Townshend idea circa Quadrophenia or Tommy.

“To have a complete acoustic break and return to electric fury, and then another denouement – it was more sophisticated than what we had done before. We had used acoustics previously, like on ‘Never Talking to You Again,’ which is one of [drummer/singer] Grant Hart’s greatest songs.

“That was all acoustic. Soon we were going back and forth. We’d have an electric guitar part and an acoustic part. It was an evolution of two things we used to do separately.”

3) Bob Mould (solo) | “Sunspots” from 'Workbook' (1989)

“After a while, Hüsker Dü had difficulties, and eventually the difficulties got to the point where it was time for the band to end. I moved to a farm in Northern Minnesota and spent a year in isolation. All I did was feed chickens and relearn how to play the guitar.

“I would become a different type of musician. I didn’t want to start another band that sounded like Hüsker Dü. I wanted to have my own identity, so I started listening to different types of music – Celtic music and Appalachian folk music.

“I had just bought my first Strat, which is still my go-to guitar. From the maple neck and the contour of the body, versus the rosewood neck on the Ibanez ‘Flying V’ and the shape of the guitar – it all led me to approach the guitar differently.

“I don’t remember when, how or why I wrote ‘Sunspots.’ I was probably just messing around with neoclassical motifs and trying to learn how to fingerpick. In some ways, the song was really a lesson I gave myself.

“It was a wonderful gift and a great fortune to have a song like this to announce myself to the world, because it was such a stark contrast and a sharp break from what people may have expected.

“They probably bought the album thinking, Oh, he’s going to come out with fury and anger and vindication. And it was the quietest of moments.”

4) Sugar | “If I Can’t Change Your Mind” from 'Copper Blue' (1992)

“I started messing with things like alternate tunings and capos. On this song, I capo the neck at the third fret, so it moves what would normally be a cowboy D chord to a cowboy F.

“The song has been written so many times before. If this were ‘My Sweet Lord’ for me, I would be fearing a lawsuit from the people who wrote ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight.’

“We recorded the song with my co-producer and co-engineer, Lou Giordano. Typically, I produce my own work and look to my engineers for critiques of performance and things like that.

“But on this song, Lou said to me, ‘Don’t you think that guitar solo is a little short?’ He started counting it out and said, ‘It’s only eight bars. It’s really beautiful, but it goes by so quickly. Shouldn’t you stretch that out?’ And I was like, ‘Mmm... Nah. It’s a pop song. Economical – get in, get out, and let’s get home as quick as possible.’

“Lou really wanted me to double the length, but I was trying to be mindful of pop sensibilities.

“The words are very poignant and heartfelt. And yeah, for somebody who tends to write from the glass half-empty side of things to have a song where the glass is much fuller than half is always a blessing for me.

“When I get a happy one, I’ll gladly take it.”

5) Bob Mould (solo) | “Next Generation” from 'Blue Hearts' (2020)

“‘Next Generation’ is aspirational. As I was writing those words in 2019, we were deep in the dark times.

“I realized that I wanted to look back at those moments in 1983, for instance, when the government and religion conspired to make my life a living hell; that along with feeling that same kind of marginalization being put upon me and anybody who wasn’t a rich white hetero male with some kind of weird power in government.

"All of that ended up being Zen Arcade.

“With this song and almost all the Blue Hearts album, those old tunes said to me, ‘Man, you did all of that with nothing. Go back and take a look at how you did it, not by copying it but just by going back and reflecting on how simple it is to affect change when you really believe in what you’re doing and saying.’

“So I’m taking those feelings from 1983 and updating them in an age-appropriate and society-appropriate way for what we were facing in 2019 and 2020. It was like, ‘How do we rectify this?’

“Structurally, the song hits my other sweet spot. It’s not first-position B; it’s first-position G, whether it’s open nut or wherever the capo lands.

“As I get older, that chord has sort of become my recliner and a good book. First-position G – it all starts and ends there. I’ll just pick up a guitar and start playing, like I did in my first days, and I’ll land on that chord.

“It’s amazing how many songs you can write with it.”

Browse Bob Mould's catalog here.

The Gibson Flying V didn’t get off the ground very easily. Along with the Explorer, the design divebombed following its late ‘50s debut. Less than 100 of these original korina body examples are recorded shipping between ’58 and ’59, making it a very rare (and valuable) axe indeed.

Those old Gibson “modernistic” electric guitars were notoriously ahead of their time. It would be years before the Flying V really began to fly.

In the late ‘60s, Gibson relaunched the model, albeit in a different guise with a mahogany body. Following in the footsteps of Albert King, Hendrix famously played a Flying V and from there the progressive solidbody started to come into its own in the world of hard rock.

Fast forward to the ‘80s heyday of metal and the Flying V is riding high with Gibson launching numerous permutations of the model.

Among the countless metal guitarists synonymous with the Flying V-style design are brothers Rudolf and Michael Schenker of Scorpions, K. K. Downing of Judas Priest, and Dave Mustaine of multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning thrash pioneers Megadeth.

Now a veteran of the metal scene, Mustaine has been honored by Gibson with the release of a brand-new signature model – the Dave Mustaine Flying V EXP.

“I think that the Gibson Flying V is such an icon as far as guitars are concerned,” says original ‘big four’ thrash guitar hero Mustaine.

“If you ask someone to draw a guitar, they’ll draw a Flying V.”

Part of Gibson’s Dave Mustaine Collection, the Dave Mustaine Flying V EXP is available in a choice of two finishes: Antique Natural and Silver Metallic.

Priced $2,799, this signature Flying V boasts a longer 25.5” scale mahogany neck with a swanky 24-fret, compound radius ebony fingerboard uniquely featuring mother-of-pearl “teeth” inlays.

While the mahogany body of the Dave Mustaine Flying V EXP follows the traditional Flying V form, the guitar’s headstock profile deviates from the original arrow-shaped peghead and is borrowed from its sibling solidbody, the Gibson Explorer.

Black chrome hardware includes Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners along with a Nashville Tune-O-Matic bridge and stop tailpiece.

Working closely with one of the best pickup builders in the business, this Flying V has been endowed with a dual set of Dave Mustaine Signature Seymour Duncan Thrash Factors. Employing “custom Dave Mustaine wiring” the guitar’s controls comprise a three-way selector switch along with a master tone and independent pickup volume pots topped with retro ‘witch hat’ knobs.  

An accessory kit and custom hardshell case are included.

Visit Gibson for more information.

On 17 September 1991, Guns N' Roses released their much-anticipated Use Your Illusion albums. This double dose of hard rock hit the shelves in tandem, immediately peaking at the top of the charts. Supported by the lead single "You Could Be Mine," Use Your Illusion II reached the number one spot while Use Your Illusion I followed closely behind at number two. Bolstered by a massive world tour, both albums would eventually go on to reach multi-platinum status.

Later that year, Guitar Player caught up with Slash to talk about the "blood, sweat, and tears" recordings. Here's what he had to say...

Rumor has it you’ve got a pretty righteous guitar collection.

About 50 guitars. I’m really a guitar freak. I spend money on what – snakes, guitars, and cars? I try not to spend too much on women. I keep everything in storage; I don’t take the really good shit out on the road because things get too banged up. There was a point when I had to take the guitar that I used for Appetite on the road, ‘cause it was the only guitar I had. Now, it’s beat to shit.

The ’59 repro?

Yeah, the hand-made yellow flame-top with zebra [Seymour Duncan] Alnico II pickups. For the first record, I must have gone through 10 guitars trying to find one I liked. And I couldn’t afford to buy some ridiculously expensive Les Paul. When our former manager showed up with this one, it became my main studio guitar.

Did you use it on “Sweet Child O’ Mine”?

Yeah. For almost everything on Appetite and then for most of the heavier songs on Use Your Illusion.

You used other guitars on this album?

Some fucking great guitars – a ’58 V and a ’58 Explorer. There’s a certain nasal sound you can hear on “Heaven’s Door,” “Locomotive,” and a couple of other songs – it’s almost [Michael] Schenker-sounding. That’s just the tone control on the V, no wah pedal. There were a couple of other guitars that people aren’t used to hearing me play. 

I used one of those small-scale Music Mans like Keith Richards has. There’s a Travis Bean that I use for slide on “Bad Obsession” [Illusion I]. When I first got into slide, I went to a Joe Perry Project show; he had a Travis Bean, and it sounded killer. So when I saw one in the paper, I bought it. It has a gorgeous mahogany body with this real subtle rainbow in the finish – it’s almost airbrushed. 

I played maybe 20 different guitars on Use You Illusion: a Strat, a Dobro, a 6-string bass, a banjo, some acoustics. But the sound that I’m recognized for is my Les Paul through a Marshall half-stack.

Will there ever be a Gibson Slash model?

At one point they had an idea for a Slash Les Paul. I gave them my best live guitar; they had it for six months, trying to get the weight and density and everything right. God bless the guys who worked on it, ‘cause they’re really cool, but they sent me four instruments and none of them sounded anywhere close to it. 

I’m sort of pissed off at Gibson, because in the six-odd years that I’ve been with them, I’ve only gotten three gold-tops that I can use live. And I’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on old Gibsons. We just cannot seem to get a sound that I’m happy with from the new ones.

How do you set up to record?

For the basic tracks, I play with the band, using headphones; we’re all in one room. The main goal is to get the bass and drums down. It’s a great vibe and I wish I could record my final tracks that way, but I can’t. I need to be in my own studio – away from where the basic tracks are done – in the control booth. I don’t let anybody in from the band, if I can help it. 

On “Shotgun Blues” [Illusion II] Axl and some friends popped in, and I did the solo in one take. Sometimes you just want to fuckin’ jam in front of somebody. Usually no one was in the studio except for Mike [Clink, Producer] and Jim Mitchell, our engineer. That’s really my element. I love it.

What happens after the basic tracks?

I redo all my parts. There are a lot of guitars on the album. Izzy has only one guitar throughout the whole record; he comes out of the left speaker. He recorded most of his stuff during basic tracks. I did all the overdubs and harmonies, plus my regular rhythm track. There are a couple of songs, especially ones I wrote, where I beefed up the tracks over on Izzy’s side, ‘cause he’s got a particular sound that doesn’t necessarily…

…weigh as much.

Yeah, exactly. It falls out of balance. I did all that, the acoustics, and my other instruments in five weeks. For 27 songs, it was pretty quick.

Did you cut all your rhythm tracks and then do all the solos, or did you complete one song at a time?

Because there was so much material, I debated both approaches. But I ended up going in and doing the entire song. If there were four different parts on that song, I just get into it and do ‘em. Otherwise, even if you switch rhythm sounds for each song, you’d end up playing all your rhythms the same. You need to get into one song at a time, so when you go to the next one, it’s a whole different entity.

How do you set up for overdubs?

When I was doing my guitars, I stood out in front of the main monitors with Mike and the engineer. Just blasting as loud as possible.

Playing through the monitors, how did you get you trademark feedback?

That’s a major problem that I’ve been battling for a long time. Normally, you go out into the studio and stand in front of your Marshall. With headphones on you can’t even hear the tracks – I don’t know how people deal with it. 

Anyway, my techs came up with a trick. I bet them that it wouldn’t work. They set it up so that I was coming through the monitors and a MESA/Boogie [Mark III combo]. I had the monitor so loud that even though the Boogie was right in front of me, I could still hear the band and sit in the control room. I got a lot of feedback that way.

Did you have to stand in certain places?

I’d find a cool spot and put a piece of tape on the ground. Then girls would come down to the studio and hang out. I’d get in the next day and find these shapes on the floor where they’d had a ball with the tape. I was completely confused: “Where’s my spot?” Or somebody would come in and tidy up. I’m like, “Fuck, do not touch anything, leave everything alone!” I love things to be a complete disaster. 

For every beer we drank, we’d stick the label on the [control room] glass – we almost covered the whole thing. One day we got to the studio and the manager had cleaned up. The whole environment was shot – all the porn pictures were taken down.

For your Dobro and slide parts, did you play in standard or open tuning?

The Dobro in “You Ain’t The First” [Illusion I] is in standard tuning. I used something I picked up from Keith Richards for “Bad Obsession.” You take the low-E string off and just have five strings. That’s how I play it live, too, in open G [GDGBD, low to high]. I think those are the only slide tunings I used.

And the banjo in “Breakdown” [Illusion II]?

It was a 6-string banjo tuned like a guitar and played with a flatpick. I don’t know shit about real banjo.

Your classical guitar solo at the end of “Double Talkin’ Jive” [Illusion I] is poignant.

Thank you; I enjoyed doing it. That Ramirez was one of my better finds – expensive, but beautiful. It’s really satisfying to heat that the solo has some emotion. It was done pretty quick. Actually, I didn’t spend too much time on anything. It was always one or two takes, more or less. If the intonation was really off, Clink would tell me, and I’d go back and maybe punch in. 

But we never spent entire days on guitar solos. We’d take an entire day and do a whole song. Of course, for the really long songs, it would take two days to get all that shit right. But I’d like to think that it was more rock and roll than what most bands are doing these days.

What steel-string acoustics do you play on the album?

I have several Guilds – a nice 12-string and a couple of great big dreadnoughts. I used a Gibson J-100 too.

Do you use the same picks for electric guitar and acoustic guitar?

Yeah. I’m real simpleminded about that. I use the heaviest picks I can find for everything. I don’t believe in switching picks like people switch guitars. It would probably be worthwhile, especially for strumming an acoustic – a thin pick is definitely easier to use. 

Mine are purple [Dunlop] Tortex, really rigid. I have to work harder for certain subtle things: Sometimes when I get up the neck to play soft, I really have to pay attention to the pressure I’m putting on the strings to get the right sound, whereas with a light pick you can strum away. But I can’t be bothered to change. And I can’t be bothered with string gauges, either – I stick to Ernie Ball .010s and that’s that. I’m really simple when it comes to equipment. I don’t like to switch around too much.

Browse Guns N' Roses albums here.

Back in the late ‘50s, Gibson president Ted McCarty and his team were brainstorming ideas for electric guitars that would compete with the sleek, forward-thinking image of Fender – distinctive solidbody designs that would elevate them beyond their staid reputation as builders of traditional-looking instruments.

In June 1957, three radical solidbody design patents relating to the Futura/Explorer, ‘Moderne’ and Flying V were filed and subsequently issued in January 1958. Collectively, these became known as Gibson's Modernistic range.

While the legendary ‘Moderne’ is known to only exist on paper, the Flying V and Explorer were introduced in 1958. However, showing little success in terms of sales, both models were discontinued by the following year. Consequently, original examples are extremely rare with less than 100 Flying Vs and a mere 22 Explorers registered shipped between 1958-1959.

Now, with the benefit of modern 3D scanning technology and access to original instruments, Gibson’s Custom Shop have expertly recreated authentic clones of these highly collectible ‘Holy Grail’ guitars from ethically sourced Korina and Brazilian rosewood. To add that genuine vintage Gibson look and feel, each of the limited edition guitars (consisting of 19 Explorers and 81 Flying Vs as per the 1958 shipping totals) have been hand-aged in the Murphy Lab.

Here’s a quick rundown of each…

The 1958 Korina Flying V

• 2-piece center seam solid Korina Flying V body
• Brazilian rosewood fingerboard
• Solid Korina neck
• Murphy Lab Custom Aging
• Custombucker PAFs

The 1958 Korina Explorer

• 1-piece solid Korina Explorer body
• Brazilian rosewood fingerboard
• Solid Korina neck
• Murphy Lab Ultra Light Aging
• Custombucker PAFs

Visit the Gibson website for more details.

Gibson has unveiled its new Exclusives Collection of guitars. 

Available only from gibson.com, the Exclusives Collection decks out a handful of the company's models – the Les Paul Special, Les Paul Classic, Les Paul Standard '50s, Les Paul Standard '60s, SG Standard ‘61, ES-335 (with P-90s), and ‘70s Flying V – in Ebony and Olive Drab finishes.

In the Ebony wing, for starters, there's a Les Paul Standard '50s and Les Paul Standard '60s (both $2,499), each of which features a mahogany body and neck, and a rosewood fretboard with trapezoid inlays.

The Standard ‘50s LP features BurstBucker pickups, vintage tuners, and a bigger neck, while the Standard ‘60s features 61R and 61T humbuckers, a SlimTaper profile, and Grover tuning pegs.

Next up in the Ebony corner is a '70s Flying V ($1,999) and SG Standard ‘61 ($1,799). 

The former comes equipped with a SlimTaper neck with dot inlays, Grover tuners, and two ‘70s Tribute Humbuckers controlled by two volume controls and one master tone control.

The SG, meanwhile, features a SlimTaper-profile neck, a five-ply teardrop pickguard, Vintage Deluxe tuners, and 61R and 61T BurstBuckers controlled by two volume controls and two tone controls.

Last in the Ebony range is an ES-335 ($2,999) loaded with a pair of P-90s, Orange Drop capacitors, a maple/poplar/maple body with a maple center block, and a rounded-C mahogany neck boasting a rosewood fretboard with dot inlays.

Finally, in the Olive Drab department, there's a Les Paul Special ($1,599) and Les Paul Classic ($1,999).

The Special features a mahogany slab body, a fat ‘50s mahogany neck, a rosewood fretboard, and a wraparound bridge, with a pair of P-90s providing the guitar's tones.

The Classic, meanwhile, boasts a mahogany back and maple top, a SlimTaper mahogany neck, and a bound rosewood fretboard, with BurstBucker 61R and 61T zebra open-coil pickups giving the guitar its sound.

For more info on all of the guitars in Gibson's Exclusives Collection, stop by gibson.com.

A 1967 Gibson Flying V played extensively by Albert King is going up for auction.

The first guitar of King's to ever come up for auction, the Flying V was the blues guitar legend's go-to instrument both onstage and in the studio from 1967-1972. Consequently, the guitar powered some of King's best-known recordings, such as “Born Under a Bad Sign” and “I’ll Play the Blues for You.”

Inscribed with the words “Love / you / Albert King,” the guitar was gifted to King by Gibson after his first Flying V, "Lucy," was lost. It is said to be the Flying V that inspired none other than Jimi Hendrix – after he watched King give a particularly ferocious performance – to purchase a V of his own.

King's Flying V will go under the hammer as part of Julien's Auctions' Icons & Idols Trilogy: Rock ’N’ Roll auction, which is scheduled to take place on December 1 and 2.

It's expected to fetch between $300,000 – $500,000.

For more info on the auction, stop by juliensauctions.com.

Gibson has announced new Jimi Hendrix 1969 Flying V and Jimi Hendrix 1967 SG Custom signature guitars.

The aged, ultra-limited edition guitars are modeled after the instruments Hendrix used during two legendary performances.

Based on the left-handed Flying V Hendrix custom-ordered from Gibson in 1969 – which he used throughout the Band of Gypsys era and, notably, his performance at the Isle of Wight Festival on August 31, 1970 – the Jimi Hendrix 1969 Flying V is available in both right and left-handed versions and features a Murphy Lab Aged Ebony finish and aged gold hardware.

It's outfitted with a mahogany body and neck, Maestro Short Vibrola tailpiece, and an ebony fretboard with 22 frets, a 24.75" scale length, and split diamond in mother of pearl inlays. Two Custombuckers, controlled by two volume knobs and a tone knob, provide the guitar with its sound. 

Only 125 right-handed and 25 left-handed examples of the guitar – each hand-made at the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville – will be built.

Based on the right-handed '67 Gibson SG (strung lefty) that Hendrix played on his September 9, 1969 appearance on The Dick Cavett Show, the Jimi Hendrix 1967 SG Custom features a Murphy Lab Aged Polaris White finish and gold hardware.

The guitar is built with a mahogany body and neck, and an ebony fretboard with 22 frets, a 24.75" scale length and custom block inlays.

A Long Maestro Vibrola, Kluson Waffle Back tuners and three ’68 Custombuckers also come standard on the guitar.

The Gibson Jimi Hendrix 1969 Flying V and Jimi Hendrix 1967 SG Custom signature guitars are available now for $9,999. 

They come with custom cases that feature interior linings inspired by the clothes Hendrix wore at Isle of Wight (for the Flying V) and the kimono he wore on The Dick Cavett Show (for the SG), and Certificates of Authenticity with photos of Hendrix playing the original guitars live.

For more info on the guitars, stop by gibson.com.

Gibson has teamed up with music retailer zZounds to offer an exclusive Worn Olive Drab Flying V Tribute.

The sharp-looking guitar is built with a mahogany body, mahogany Slim Taper neck and a rosewood fingerboard with 22 frets and acrylic dot inlays. The guitar is outfitted with a set of 490R and 490T humbuckers, plus a Tune-O-Matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece.

A Graph Tech nut, vintage deluxe tuners and nickel plating also come standard on the guitar.

The Gibson zZsounds-exclusive Worn Olive Drab Flying V Tribute is available now for $1,299.

For more info on the guitar, stop by zzounds.com.