Gibson Custom's Nashville recreation copies the thinner body, hand-wired T-Tops and numbered medallion of the 1971 original.
One of the rarest guitars in Gibson’s back catalogue is heading back into production. Gibson Custom has recreated the 1971 Flying V Medallion, the numbered, gold-coin-toting V that Michael Schenker turned into a hard rock signature and that Kirk Hammett keeps several vintage examples of, calling them “consistently great”.
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Gibson built only around 350 Medallion Vs in 1971, each carrying an individually numbered gold coin originally made to mark the 1972 Olympic Games. They were among the company’s first limited-edition runs, and until now the model had gone un-reissued apart from the recent Michael Schenker Collector’s Edition.
The reissue is built in Nashville with a two-piece mahogany body that runs about 1.375 inches thick – slimmer than the 1.5-inch Korina Vs of 1958, so it sits a touch lighter against you. A three-piece mahogany neck carries the thin, fast 1971 Flying V profile with a volute for added strength, topped by a one-piece rosewood fretboard, 22 medium jumbo frets and cellulose dot inlays.
Faithful to the era, the hardware features a pair of genuine T-Top humbuckers with Alnico 5 magnets, hand-wired to individual volume controls and a master tone and all under black Witch Hat knobs. Chrome hardware covers a Historic Reissue ABR-1 bridge and Stop Bar tailpiece, with Kluson double-ring tuners and a Corian nut up top.
The namesake medallion sits on the bass-side wing – a 1.5-inch gold disc stamped with the Gibson logo and Limited Edition text, individually numbered like the originals. It comes in Medallion Cherry with a VOS finish and a Gibson Custom hardshell case.
Anyone after a slice of hard rock history rather than another new-model V, a numbered reissue is about as close as it gets.
For local enquiries, head here.
