Paying tribute to two of the lesser known instruments in the Hendrix stable.
To celebrate the late icon’s 78th birthday, Gibson have announced two very special limited edition recreations of guitars played by Jimi Hendrix in the later stages of his career.
Of course, Hendrix will be forever associated with the silhouette of the Fender Stratocaster, but anyone with a keen eye will have spotted him toting an array of Gibsons in his later years.
The virtuoso chose to play a left-handed 1969 Flying V for his appearance at the Isle of Wight festival with Band of Gypsys in 1970, and also brought along a lavish ’67 Custom SG to chat with Dick Cavett in 1969.
It’s these two particular instruments that Gibson have chosen to replicate to celebrate the guitar legend’s birthday with, producing a scant quantity of 300 limited edition instruments that come with a bunch of exclusive case candy and Hendrix ephemera.
With only 125 right-handed models and 25 left-handed models a piece, the Jimi Hendrix ’69 Flying V is constructed with a mahogany neck and body, finished in Ebony by Gibson’s artificial ageing experts at the Murphy Lab.
The guitar also features a tremolo arm, twin Custombuckers and a trio of knobs to tweak the instrument’s tone, while a ’67 Flying V neck profile and 22 frets provides an optimised platform for all your shredding.
For those who like things to be less pointy, there’s also the ’67 Gibson SG Custom, limited to only 150 right-handed units worldwide. This one pairs a mahogany body and ’63 slim taper neck with a crisp Polaris White finish courtesy of the Murphy Lab, with gold hardware giving the guitar quite a regal look.
Elsewhere, there’s three ’68 Custom humbuckers and a myriad of controls to shape your tone, while Kluson tuners and a Maestro Vibrola help to seal the deal.
Of course, the price-tags on these two guitars are pretty insane, but if you’re a Hendrix mega-fan who simply can’t stand to touch a Fender, then hey – these ones might be exactly what you’re looking for.
View the collection in full over at Gibson’s website.