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King Loudness « Interesting Flying V... »
Published on 10/24/11 at 18:58The Gibson Faded Flying V 3 is basically a standard version of the Flying V in the famous "faded" finish that has been very popular for a number of years, but it adds in a changed up electronics layout with a middle Gibson humbucker and slightly changed electronics, featuring just a single volume and tone with a rotary pickup selector. Otherwise, the core features of the Flying V are the same as stock... mahogany body and neck, rosewood fretboard, 22 frets, Kluson tuners, a tuneomatic bridge and stopbar tailpiece and the typical Gibson ceramic humbuckers. They're built in the USA just like the other Faded Gibsons... a great value for the money for sure.
UTILIZATION
The design of this guitar is pretty ergonomic. I like the Gibson V's more than an Explorer or similar Jackson V's just because I find them lighter and easier to hold. This is certainly helped by the slick and easy playing faded finish that doesn't inhibit my hands in the same way that the typical glossy nitro finish does. It's got good upper fret access as well, and balances well in both sitting and standing positions.
Getting a good tone out of this guitar is reasonable for sure. I'm not particularly a fan of that third pickup and don't feel it's needed or that it does much to aid the tone, but other than that, it has a pretty great raunchy rock or metal type of tone. It's meaty and clear, but less compressed than many modern ESP/Jackson type guitars with higher output pickups. Pretty cool for sure.
SOUNDS
This guitar, like many other faded Gibsons, seems to excel at higher gain type sounds through more modern amplifier rigs. The Flying V 3 pickup sounds pretty similar to the standard Flying V Faded due to the similarities in construction. I honestly didn't bother with that middle pickup a whole lot because it got in my way and a middle position pickup (especially a humbucker) is not something I normally use in my style anyway, and I find that the higher output model in this guitar doesn't really sound all that stellar for hard rock tones like the neck pickup or the bridge, so I'm not really sure why it's there. Oh well... I suppose for some players that third pickup might work well.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the Gibson Faded 3 Pickup V is not a bad guitar for someone looking for a unique take on the Flying V. It plays well and sounds good, but the middle pickup really doesn't offer much of an improvement on the standard Flying V. They are harder to find but honestly I'd rather just get a standard Faded V and save the space for my picking hand. If you want that third pickup it might be worth looking into, but most players probably wouldn't, as it doesn't really improve the sound greatly in my honest opinion.
UTILIZATION
The design of this guitar is pretty ergonomic. I like the Gibson V's more than an Explorer or similar Jackson V's just because I find them lighter and easier to hold. This is certainly helped by the slick and easy playing faded finish that doesn't inhibit my hands in the same way that the typical glossy nitro finish does. It's got good upper fret access as well, and balances well in both sitting and standing positions.
Getting a good tone out of this guitar is reasonable for sure. I'm not particularly a fan of that third pickup and don't feel it's needed or that it does much to aid the tone, but other than that, it has a pretty great raunchy rock or metal type of tone. It's meaty and clear, but less compressed than many modern ESP/Jackson type guitars with higher output pickups. Pretty cool for sure.
SOUNDS
This guitar, like many other faded Gibsons, seems to excel at higher gain type sounds through more modern amplifier rigs. The Flying V 3 pickup sounds pretty similar to the standard Flying V Faded due to the similarities in construction. I honestly didn't bother with that middle pickup a whole lot because it got in my way and a middle position pickup (especially a humbucker) is not something I normally use in my style anyway, and I find that the higher output model in this guitar doesn't really sound all that stellar for hard rock tones like the neck pickup or the bridge, so I'm not really sure why it's there. Oh well... I suppose for some players that third pickup might work well.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the Gibson Faded 3 Pickup V is not a bad guitar for someone looking for a unique take on the Flying V. It plays well and sounds good, but the middle pickup really doesn't offer much of an improvement on the standard Flying V. They are harder to find but honestly I'd rather just get a standard Faded V and save the space for my picking hand. If you want that third pickup it might be worth looking into, but most players probably wouldn't, as it doesn't really improve the sound greatly in my honest opinion.