![Gibson [Guitar of the Month - August 2008] Shred V](https://img.audiofanzine.com/img/product/normal/8/4/84857.jpg?fm=pjpg&w=300&h=218&fit=max&s=4cbd45882eec7802ecc50a8b48580d16)
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tjon901 « Flying V for the shredder? »
Published on 09/27/11 at 09:44The Shred V is a pretty interesting guitar from Gibson. It seems like they wanted to make a Flying V for shredding but they didnt quite want to commit to it. This was part of Gibsons guitar of the month series. A few years back they would put out a new limited run guitar every month and only for a month. Some cool guitars came out of that series and a lot of ugly ones as well. This Flying V has a mahogany body and neck like most Gibsons. The set neck has an Ebony fretboard with 22 frets. Up top you get no locking nut or even locking tuners which is silly because of the Kahler. This is what I mean when I say they didnt commit to it. You get dual EMG pickups. They went the way less traveled with their EMG's and included dual 85s which I have never seen before but like. I like dual 85s personally. The 85s have a thicker sound overall than the 81s and have more warmth.
UTILIZATION
The guitar plays as well as any Gibson. The ebony fretboard is nice. I wonder why they dont put it on all their guitars if they can put it on this. No locking nut or tuners is silly. The tremolo puts the guitar out of tune if you use it because there is no locking nut. Its like the tremolo was an after thought. They have guitars with tremolos that have locking nuts so why not on this guitar. This guitar does not seem to be designed for a tremolo. The neck shape is between the 60s and the 50s neck. The body is nice and light from the V design. The fret markers are black dots on an ebony fretboard so they are pretty much impossible to see. Since the guitar has EMG's Gibson put in a battery compartment in the control cavity plate so you can change batteries without having to open the whole guitar up. This is a nice touch.
SOUNDS
Dual 85s is pretty much my favorite set for EMG's. The 81 is more common but the 85 has a thicker sound than the 81 and is more versatile overall. In this guitar it is used in both positions and yields good results. In the neck you can get nice and smooth high gain leads. It cleans up alright in the neck position but it still has a ton of output. In the bridge you get a thick crushing sound with a big low end. This guitar sounds huge.
OVERALL OPINION
If this guitar had a locking nut and no inlays it would pretty much be perfect. The black inlays on the ebony fretboard have no reason for being there. The tremolo without a locking nut is the fastest way to go out of tune. They have guitars with locking nuts so why not on this guitar. The tremolo must have been an after thought. If you are looking for a metal flying V you can get this and not use the tremolo. If you are looking for a flying V with a tremolo there are other models with better designs overall.
UTILIZATION
The guitar plays as well as any Gibson. The ebony fretboard is nice. I wonder why they dont put it on all their guitars if they can put it on this. No locking nut or tuners is silly. The tremolo puts the guitar out of tune if you use it because there is no locking nut. Its like the tremolo was an after thought. They have guitars with tremolos that have locking nuts so why not on this guitar. This guitar does not seem to be designed for a tremolo. The neck shape is between the 60s and the 50s neck. The body is nice and light from the V design. The fret markers are black dots on an ebony fretboard so they are pretty much impossible to see. Since the guitar has EMG's Gibson put in a battery compartment in the control cavity plate so you can change batteries without having to open the whole guitar up. This is a nice touch.
SOUNDS
Dual 85s is pretty much my favorite set for EMG's. The 81 is more common but the 85 has a thicker sound than the 81 and is more versatile overall. In this guitar it is used in both positions and yields good results. In the neck you can get nice and smooth high gain leads. It cleans up alright in the neck position but it still has a ton of output. In the bridge you get a thick crushing sound with a big low end. This guitar sounds huge.
OVERALL OPINION
If this guitar had a locking nut and no inlays it would pretty much be perfect. The black inlays on the ebony fretboard have no reason for being there. The tremolo without a locking nut is the fastest way to go out of tune. They have guitars with locking nuts so why not on this guitar. The tremolo must have been an after thought. If you are looking for a metal flying V you can get this and not use the tremolo. If you are looking for a flying V with a tremolo there are other models with better designs overall.