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tjon901 « Epiphones Gothic Flying V »
Published on 06/15/11 at 15:00Gibson has been making more metal versions of a few of their guitars. These guitars are called the Gibson Gothic line. Now Epiphone is making their own budget versions of these guitars. These guitars are pretty much the same. They are built with the same wood and to the same specs but with different electronics and they are built overseas. Epiphones version of the Flying V Gothic model is close to what the first series of Gibson Gothic Flying V's were like. These guitars have passive pickups where as the new Gibson Gothic Flying V's have active pickups. They have 22 frets on a mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard. The rosewood fretboard is dyed to have a darker look closer to ebony. There are no inlays apart from a 12 in roman numerals on the 12th fret. It has two humbucking pickups which are Epiphone pickups. Two volume and one master tone control with a 3 way toggle switch pickup selector.
UTILIZATION
Flying V's overall have better fret access than Les Paul type guitars. This Flying V is based off of the 1967 reissue flying V. It has less of an angular look. The input jack is in a better place and it has a more traditional bridge setup. The upper fret access is not that great because the body joins the neck at around the 17th fret. The V shape might be hard for some people to play sitting down. You may have to play in a classical position with the guitar in your lap if you are playing while sitting down. Some models have a strip of rubber to add more traction to the bottom of the guitar, making it easier to play while sitting down. Standing up the shape gives the guitar perfect balance.
SOUNDS
Traditionally Flying V's sound similar to Gibson SG's. They both overall use less wood than a Les Paul or Explorer so they will have a brighter crisper sound. The pickups on this explorer have open coils and are a bit hotter to give you a more metal sound. Epiphone pickups normally are not that great. On many Epiphone guitars the stock pickups will sound pretty muddy. These pickups are a little less muddy and normal Epiphone pickups but I would still recommend a pickup change. The big mahogany body on the guitar helps to give it a big tone. This is what you would expect on a Flying V. You can really feel the body resonate with all that wood.
OVERALL OPINION
This guitar is a good alternative to the Gibson Flying V Gothic model. It is much cheaper than the Gibson version and with a pickup swap the guitar can sound just as good. If you drop in a set of EMG's in this guitar it will be a metal machine. This guitar is nice and lightweight so you can gig it all night long and since it is reasonably priced you are not afraid to take it out on shows. If it gets chipped or something it is not a big deal. The Flying V is a classic guitar shape and has a classic metal look. If you are looking for a great budget guitar that has some room for upgrades this is a good bet.
UTILIZATION
Flying V's overall have better fret access than Les Paul type guitars. This Flying V is based off of the 1967 reissue flying V. It has less of an angular look. The input jack is in a better place and it has a more traditional bridge setup. The upper fret access is not that great because the body joins the neck at around the 17th fret. The V shape might be hard for some people to play sitting down. You may have to play in a classical position with the guitar in your lap if you are playing while sitting down. Some models have a strip of rubber to add more traction to the bottom of the guitar, making it easier to play while sitting down. Standing up the shape gives the guitar perfect balance.
SOUNDS
Traditionally Flying V's sound similar to Gibson SG's. They both overall use less wood than a Les Paul or Explorer so they will have a brighter crisper sound. The pickups on this explorer have open coils and are a bit hotter to give you a more metal sound. Epiphone pickups normally are not that great. On many Epiphone guitars the stock pickups will sound pretty muddy. These pickups are a little less muddy and normal Epiphone pickups but I would still recommend a pickup change. The big mahogany body on the guitar helps to give it a big tone. This is what you would expect on a Flying V. You can really feel the body resonate with all that wood.
OVERALL OPINION
This guitar is a good alternative to the Gibson Flying V Gothic model. It is much cheaper than the Gibson version and with a pickup swap the guitar can sound just as good. If you drop in a set of EMG's in this guitar it will be a metal machine. This guitar is nice and lightweight so you can gig it all night long and since it is reasonably priced you are not afraid to take it out on shows. If it gets chipped or something it is not a big deal. The Flying V is a classic guitar shape and has a classic metal look. If you are looking for a great budget guitar that has some room for upgrades this is a good bet.