The Flying V electric guitar dates back to the 50s but it was not until the golden age of heavy metal that it once again rose to prominence when it was used by metal bands like Kiss, Scorpions, Metallica, and perhaps most notably Dave Mustaine, the co-founder and frontman of Megadeth.
Dave does indeed utilize the Flying V guitar a lot. It is almost exclusively as far as I can remember. Perhaps this is why Epiphone has chosen to join forces with Dave Mustaine, who is a Gibson Brand Ambassador, to release the new Dave Mustaine Flying V Custom and the Limited Edition Dave Mustaine Flying V.
The Dave Mustaine Flying V Custom features an ebony fretboard with 24 medium jumbo frets, an Explorer-style headstock with Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners, a Graph Tech nut, a mahogany body, a LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge, string-thru Flying V tailpiece, and Dave’s signature Seymour Duncan Thrash Factor pickup set.
Rounding up the pure-metal looks is a black metallic finish offset with a white body, neck, and headstock binding, along with black nickel hardware. A hardshell case is included with this Flying V electric axe.
Meanwhile, the Limited Edition Dave Mustaine Flying V Prophecy boasts a pair of custom-voiced Fishman Fluence pickups at the front and center that delivers three distinct tones: a warm “Patent Applied For” vintage humbucker, a hot modern humbucker, and a shimmering, optimized single-coil sound, all accessed by push/pull Volume and Tone pots.
It further features Grover locking Rotomatic tuners, Epiphone’s LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge, Stop Bar tailpiece, a Graph Tech nut, mahogany neck, an ebony fingerboard with 24 jumbo frets, and Dave’s custom “D” profile.
Aesthetically, the Limited Edition Dave Mustaine Flying V Prophecy has an AAA flame maple veneer top and sinister Aged Dark Red Burst finish, complemented by brushed black nickel hardware. It also comes with a custom hardshell case.
The new Dave Mustaine Flying V Custom and Limited Edition Dave Mustaine Flying V Prophecy are available now for US$1,399 and US$1,499, respectively.
Images: Epiphone.
