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1964 Gibson Melody Maker - a classic vintage guitar
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 A closer look at a Gibson Melody maker from 1964. The Melody Maker is one of Gibson's best ever selling guitars - despite it's comparatively low price it didn't skimp on Gibson tradition: well-built instruments, constructed from the finest materials. The body and set neck are both of South American mahogany whilst the fingerboard is South American rosewood. With a sunburst nitrocellulose finish the Melody Maker certainly looked the part. In fact the Melody Maker had more in common with many higher end Gibson instruments than guitars of a similar price bracket made by other manufacturers. The circuitry was simple; just a volume and tone control for one single coil pickup. See also Gibson Melody Maker shipping figures
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1966 Kalamazoo KG2a electric guitar
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 Details and information on the Kalamazoo KG2a electric guitar. The beat boom of the mid 1960s heralded a huge demand for electric guitars; youngsters up and down America were looking for affordable, well-built solid-bodies, with modern looks and a great sound. Gibson, better known for it's high-end jazz guitars, responded by producing the KG guitar and KB bass lines, under the Kalamazoo brand. They were initially modelled on the Fender Mustang, though soon took the shape of the Gibson SG, which was rapidly rising in popularity. The resulting instruments used modern composite wood technology, Fender style construction and actual Gibson hardware. They looked good, played well, and sold in large quantities. See also Kalamazoo KG shipping figures, a 1966 Kalamazoo KG1 (single pickup) and listen to the Kalamazoo KG soundclips.
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Gibson / Monzino (Italy) guitar catalogue, 1971
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 Gibson / Monzino guitar catalogue, 1971. America saw numerous promotional publications from Gibson in the first years of the 1970s, but new models were coming and going at such a rate, that some never made it into print. Just one US catalogue was printed in 1971: the Low Impedance for High Performance mini-catalogue, which contained just the Gibson Les Paul Recording guitar, and the Gibson Les Paul Triumph bass. However other countries were producing their own literature, capturing a snapshot of the Gibson range not seen in print in the US. This brochure was printed by the new Italian distributors, Monzino, and shows several instruments yet to be seen in US catalogues (the SG range in particular) and one that would never make it: the Gibson SB400 bass.
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Gibson Victory MV series
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 The Gibson Victory MV (multi-voice) guitars were launched towards the end of 1981, with a production period lasting just over two years. There were two models, the Gibson Victory MV2 and the Gibson Victory MVX. Both were very fine passive guitars with maple bodies and set maple necks. They had coil-tapped pickups for either humbucking or single coil sounds, but neither managed to give Gibson the Victory they required in terms of sales.
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1969 Gibson SG Special
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 The Gibson SG came in several varieties; and the Special is a typical 60s Gibson in many ways. Naturally, it has a mahogany body with a set mahogany neck, in true Gibson style. The pickups are typical Gibson single coil P90s, and the control layout, too, is classic Gibson. Have a closer look, or check out the SG Special soundclips of this guitar, through various vintage amps.
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1979 Gibson ES-175D
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 A closer look at a 1979 Gibson ES-175D. By the late 1970s, the ES-175D had followed the path of most Gibson guitars and changed it's mahogany neck, in favour of a maple neck with volute. It didn't last long, and the neck was again mahogany by 1983. Details of the changes in the ES-175D over time are detailed in the ES-175 timeline.
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Gibson Flying V
Solid-body electric guitar
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 | | The cover of Albert Kings 'Years gone by' shows him playing his 1959 flying V upside down. Kings guitars were not restrung for left handed play - merely turned over! |
 | Dave Davies of the Kinks with his 1950s Gibson Flying V. Below: The 1980 Gibson Flying V II - from the 1980 Gibson catalogue
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 | Gibson Flying V electric guitar was first shown in the 1958 Gibson catalogue where it was listed at $247.50 - the same price as the Les Paul (standard) guitar |
The Gibson flying V is one of the most iconic guitars of the 20th centuring, spawning a host of copies. It was not always this way, and if it had not been due to guitarists such as bluesman Albert King, Jimi Hendrix and Dave Davies of the Kinks adopting these guitars in the mid 1960s, it may have been forgotten in the midsts of time. Albert King was a left handed player (like Hendrix) and was an important influence on his style, and perhaps choice of instrument.
The Flying V story starts in 1957 when Gibson found that the general public were searching for more innovative designs in the solid body guitar market. Gibson President Ted McCarty came up with three solid guitars in 1958, to complement the Les Paul. They were the Moderne, the Explorer and the Flying V. Unfortunately for Gibson sales of these lines were small (from 58-59; Explorer - 22, Flying V - 98, Moderne - never commercially available) and they were discontinued in 1959. The image on the left shows the Flying V as advertized in the 1958 catalogue. Luckily Gibson only produced them in small numbers, and were not left with a lot of unsold stock, however this situation means the 1950s Vs and Explorers are some of the most sought after instruments in the world.
The 1960s saw a number of high profile artists using old flying Vs; Albert King, Dave Davies of the Kinks and Jimi Hendrix. In 1967, bouyed by this 'renaissance' of the flying V, Gibson briefly reissued the model, then again in 1971, and from 1975 onwards. Today the flying V is one of Gibsons most recognised designs.
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Date and Quantity |
Wood |
Finishes |
Distinguishing features |
 | Advert from a 1975 copy of Guitar Player magazine, announcing the reissue of the Flying V |
 | Gibson Flying V II |
One of the best examples of flying V playing recorded has to be Jimi Hendrix playing Red House live at the Isle of Wight in 1970. The majority of his set is performed on a Fender Stratocaster, but Jimi swaps over for Red House, and the contrast in sound of the two instruments is clearly demonstrated.
The 1970s saw reasonably good sales of the Flying V, with 1872 Vs shipped in 1975 alone. But this was certainly not due to Gibson publicity; the V had not been in any catalogue since the launch of the original in 1958, and no pricelist since 1968 (it wasn't listed until 1982). A monochrome advert (left) did appear in 1975 guitar magazines, but that was it, despite the model being shipped right through to at least 1979, or later.
In 1979 the Flying V II was launched, with considerably more publicity than the regular V had received. It didn't last long, and both models were shown in 1981 pre-owners guides; the regular V still being the mahogany model of the 1970s.
In 1981/82 the V2 was deleted from pricelists, and two different models launched: the V and the Flying V Heritage. The V was mahogany, with a bound quilted maple top, and "dirty fingers" pickups. The Heritage version had the korina body of the original, and was listed in pricelists (from '82) and catalogues (from '83), with the name quickly reverting to just Flying V.
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If you are looking for specific vintage guitars for sale, you may have to keep an eye on numerous vintage guitar stores, classifieds websites and ebay listings. Below are just the auctions - Vintage guitar stores tend to advertise theirs in their ebay online vintage guitar stores - have a look because there are some different listings.
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