Reverse Flying V Review

The innovative design of the Gibson Flying V, first introduced in 1958, has been turned on its heels. In a daring move, Gibson has flipped the iconic V fins and added an asymmetrical headstock, drawing further attention with a vivid Trans Amber finish and gold-plated hardware. With a period correct string-through tailpiece and twin '57 Classic humbuckers, this guitar is a bold new take on a groundbreaking classic.

Features:	10
Sound:	10
Action:	9
Reliability:	8
Impression:	10
Overall rating:	6.9
Reviewer rating:	9.4
Users rating:	4.4
Votes:	165

overall: 9.4

Reviewed by: dethklok101, on november 09, 2012

Purchased from: Gibson.com

Features: This stunningly beautiful guitar was made in 2007, due to major requests from a lot of people. It was made in the USA. It has 22 frets on a rosewood fingerboard and mahogany neck. The body is made with mahogany. The finish is trans amber. The bridge style is the Tune-O-Matic. The controls for it are one volume and a 3-way toggle switch. The nack and bridge pickups are both 1957 classic. The machine heads are Green Keys. Sadly, there are no accessories that come with the guitar. // 10

Sound: The Reverse Flying V Completely suites my style of music witch is classic rock and metal styles. I prefer to use Vox amps, because it allows you to create sounds and save them on it. I don't, however, use any add-on effects because the amp supplies all the effects you could need in it. it is deffenitly noisey on the "nu-metal" setting but not to distorted. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: In my opinion, I think the Reverse Flying V is Perfect. Eccept the pickup selector clicks when you change it. The cord input jack sometimes comes loose but that's easy enough to fix. The bridge pickup is just slightly croked. Overall the guitar is great I'm lucky to have one. // 9

Reliability & Durability: It would deffenitly withstand Live performances. All the hardware seems like it would last a very long time. The strap buttons are solid, but there not wide enough. Strap holders fix that problem easily. It is deffenitly dependable and trustworthy enough that you wouldn't need a backup ir you were playing a gig. // 8

Impression: My playing style is mostly metal. Metal music and Reverse Flying V are agreat match. I, myself, have been playing for 8 years and counting. If it were stolen I wouldn't and couldn't because it was a lot of money (not saying I didn't love it) and I can't beacause there are none left anywhere, there were only 400 of them made and I was lucky enough to get one. What I love about this guitar is everything. There is nothing the hate about, just some things that I thought would've been better. The one thing I wish it had was tone knobs. // 10

Comments

[mdsmith1]

the ugliest things ever. except maybe richard simmons.

[Weybl Himself]

led_zep_1789, in case you didn;t know, Dick is short for Richard.

And as for the guitar, it probably sound's great, but it's gotta be about the dumbest looking thing on the planet

[Surflyer]

Consider the source of the comment.

[blakwyte]

y'know, i read a study suggesting that the price paid generally affects the users view of the product.

for instance, you enjoy a glass of wine more if you know it costs $100 a bottle.

sounds like the same scenario right here.

[Kanthras]

I can't believe people buy these guitars.
It just screams "ooh, look at me and my fancy guitar!"

[Ferrarone]

what an ugly guitar...guess gibson has run out of ideas

[les witty]

i cant wait for the reverse les paul and the reverse SG

[PoP N FresH]

it looks like (insert your most hated guitarist or crappy punk group) got violent diaorrhea from some poor qulity spicy seafood curry and crapped a tornado in a guitar store and this monstrosity was the result. i hate it.

[Elohel]

That looks like it would have all sorts of balance issues.

[Pedro O'Mally]

That guitar is displeasing to the eye.

[traumetal]

When will UG be reviewing the Gibson Robot guitar ??

[sparkysmith]

traumetal wrote:

When will UG be reviewing the Gibson Robot guitar ??

when someone from UG buys one and plays it enough to have an opinion

[maximus69er]

that looks sillier than a squire

[MrChris]

when someone from UG buys one and plays it enough to have an opinion

whats the point? most people give there guitars a 10 anyway

[Surflyer]

9.99999 not a 10 but very close. Takes a while to learn how to play it.

[Phillitalian]

*grabs flame shield*


i like the way it looks

[Demonikk]

It's finally happened!
The Gibson execs have come out about their smack-habits!

[Ali-b912]

maximus69er wrote:

that looks sillier than a squire

they look fine. they just play rubbish. this thing is probably the opposite of a squier affinity strat. looks absurd but probably plays like a dream. the concept was cooler in theory then in reality. i always wondered what a backward flying v would look like. now i wanna see an explorer with the body flipped. like a left hander body but with the knobs, pickguard and the rest all in right hander spots.

[plbrynt]

hope it comes with a special stand

[messenjah]

that is officially the most repulsive thing i have seen, i wouldnt be caught dead with that thing

[polargimp]

i have to say it does not look that nice *cuddles proper V and protects it from seeing the picture*.

[craigmileham]

Wouldn't it be a flying N then? or is that just me? looks horrible

[Xeus]

looks horrrrrible


what you doing gibson???

[Surflyer]

Look in the mirror on a good day.

[tim311mahoney]

this really is the ugliest guitar ever made. and when they released this on their guitar of the week campaign, they had the audacity to release another version of it later on! not only is it ugly but i'm willing to bet that its extremely uncomfortable to play. F minus gibson, go back to the drawing board.

PS- i think this is the first time that everyone who's posted has actually agreed on something.

[Surflyer]

Very comfortable to play sitting down, a bit of a challenge standing up but incredible sound!

[led,rainsong]

the v is hard enough to play sitting now look at that
there is really nothing special about the guitar except the shape and it does look strange...

[XSider]

It looks like a SU-47

[XSider]

And hell yeah, this is very ugly.

[Bigdave9576]

And how can you really test it on a digital modeling amp....? boo to those.

[joshjebl]

hey mix in a spell check on that article and throw that reverse flying v in the trash. I would like to see the reverse explorer

[chickrawker]

i agree it looks retarded. i generally like gibsons although i could never afford them but thats a step backwards...

[mosh.and.roll]

That's gotta be about the weirdest idea for a guitar ever. Yeah, I can see probably where they got the idea from, and it probably has good upper fret access, but it's definately gonna have some balance issues. Plus it looks strange.

[theshroomman]

what the **** :|

[HeXeL]

Very neck heavy guitar. Looks ridiculous. Why would anyone want to play one of these?

[FlamingYouth]

what a poor attempt at a collectible

[Lord_Doku]

Actually i think this guitar has more benefit for being named the V. It looks like one for sure so not to much on that part. Must be hard to actually play it too.

[daniel_s]

i don´t know what it sounds like but in my opinion it looks really nice

[Elohel]

mosh.and.roll wrote:

That's gotta be about the weirdest idea for a guitar ever. Yeah, I can see probably where they got the idea from, and it probably has good upper fret access , but it's definately gonna have some balance issues. Plus it looks strange.

To me, it looks like the upper fret access would be awful, because you'd have the lower horn pushing against your hand/arm.

[Surflyer]

No balance issues. Just have to adapt to the body standing up.

[cam_sampbell]

It looks cool, it being different makes it, I also normally don't like flying Vs

[roksta101]

i must agree with some of you guys....it looks weird...just plain weird...the V is cool..but the reverse just doesn't make the league

[dinkyfendersg]

Horrible...horrible fret access, uncomfortable design, probably sounds ok, but just looks terrible overall.

[Death-Speak]

just no

[Mrtomtwo]

personally i like them (wait's for atomic blast of abuse) i like the weird shapes that gibson come out with and if you look at the past the flying V was almost stopped because of it being unpopular with 'Refined' Guitarists, the same with the explorer

[stephen_rettie]

Mrtomtwo wrote:

personally i like them (wait's for atomic blast of abuse) i like the weird shapes that gibson come out with and if you look at the past the flying V was almost stopped because of it being unpopular with 'Refined' Guitarists, the same with the explorer

yes but i liek the v and the explorer is my favorite guitar of all time
but this is hideous

[mr. ...]

looks like the shit i just took

[AnimatedHand]

mr. ... wrote:

looks like the shit i just took

Lol
It does look ****
but it probs sounds gd

[Surflyer]

You couldn't even come close to free handing this!

[AnimatedHand]

lol in the review it ses its "stunnigly beatiful"

[Surflyer]

It is stunningly beautiful!

[IfTheWorld]

dinkyfendersg wrote:

Horrible...horrible fret access, uncomfortable design, probably sounds ok, but just looks terrible overall.

yet you've never played one

[FreakShow99]

regardless of is sound and durability etc, i personally think this is one of the ugliest guitar shapes. it seems to me, along with the robot guitar, that gibson are 'pushing the boundries' in the wrong direction

[celticus]

lol, i think they kinda made it as a novelty things, not to actually be used, just to have on your wall lmao.. sucker.

[Nazi zaschzi]

I actualy think it look f***ing cool

[bigMaor]

great guitar, but it looks so bad X_X

[Ultimatemetal]

Phillitalian wrote:

*grabs flame shield*

i like the way it looks

I know rite, it looks and sounds good

[Megallica666]

i would really like to play it before i dog it, but shit just look at it,i would rather have a reg V. But im sure it sounds really great.

[Megallica666]

led,rainsong wrote:

the v is hard enough to play sitting now look at that
there is really nothing special about the guitar except the shape and it does look strange...

v was made to play setting down. you put your leg in the split.

[CJRocker]

Given the fact he bought it from Gibson.com, I wonder if he was paid to write this. As for the guitar itself, I would buy it on sheer novelty to play "Breakin the Law".

[Dudage]

The only thing uglier than that guitar is the spelling and grammar in that review. Seriously, people around here need to learn themselves some English

[Surflyer]

The guitar is beautiful and their English ugly.

[Mark-O1987666]

It's such a pointless idea! I can't understand why Gibson made this! It's more of a novelty item than a guitar.

To the reviewer, it's supposed to be a review about the sound of the guitar, not your amp

[rgibson2]

although the gibson monstrosity looks like something made in the toilet, the sounds gotta be alright, mainly based on the fact that gibsons havent really dissapointed me for sound, just now appearances are the problem

[Angelgiest]

i'm sure the sound is great and everything, but i prefer the normal v because of how it fits between yout legs when playing sitting down, i played a poppa chubby one with a rubber strip so it would hook on to your knee and stay in place, pretty cool.
but on the other hand this could be a cool guitar when you look at the "breaking the law" video by judius priest because the security guard plays a cardboard v reversed.

[Surflyer]

Plays better than a V sitting down and fun! Easier to play sitting and a bit of a challenge standing though doable. Excellent sound between a Les Paul and Regular V. The last frets are not hard to reach. Overall incredible guitar.

[RandyRhoads2]

God damn that is ugly.

[zepto]

Christ its ugly

it looks like something that ought to be on the bottom of a toilet.

[Hassassin]

WTF!!!

[Hassassin]

no Gibson , no!!!

[Metalology]

Ugly as hell.

[Surflyer]

Beautiful as heaven!

[Maineguitarist]

Well then heaven must be f-cking ugly

[alexanderjames7]

i'm sure none of the sixty people saying it's ugly would accept it if someone came to their door and offered them a free one. because it is so ugly. the letter v is hideous. the music machine makes me want to puke.

[Jouni]

OH F**K this thing is so ugly! Must be the ugliest guitar ever made by Gibson

[Spirit_Crusher]

i love how all these people who have never played one are so sure it isn't comfortable

[Nazi zaschzi]

Angelgiest wrote:

i'm sure the sound is great and everything, but i prefer the normal v because of how it fits between yout legs when playing sitting down, i played a poppa chubby one with a rubber strip so it would hook on to your knee and stay in place, pretty cool.
but on the other hand this could be a cool guitar when you look at the "breaking the law" video by judius priest because the security guard plays a cardboard v reversed.

wrong it's called a Hardboard guitar and thats the truth

[MetalliRage]

plbrynt :
hope it comes with a special stand



lmfao +1 to that

[keavader]

Megallica666 wrote:
v was made to play setting down. you put your leg in the split.

Hahahaha, that's what she said anyhoo, it looks really weird. it had best sound freaking amazing to be worth that look...

[MusicIsTheWay]

Wow. This thing is uglier than that retarded guy from the Goonies. And I can't imagine it being comfortable at all to play, either. Maybe if it would play by itself and get you a beer during a gig and you planned on destroying it on stage and then using the broken remains to beat emo kids with after the show, then it MIGHT (most extreme use of that word, by the way) be cool...


Nope. Nevermind. It would still suck.

[guitaringsailor]

sweet reversing the V-shape =P daring but cool

[keefe122]

hahaha wow is this a joke?

[metalsincebirth]

wow we all agree on something. theres a ****in first for UG.

[Cobalt Blue]

I don't know how long the wings are... but I would imagine it being awkward to play higher frets...

[ECwomantoneman]

metalsincebirth wrote:

wow we all agree on something. theres a ****in first for UG.

Yay for unity!!! *holds up UG flag*

[AlchoholicA]

who the **** in their right mind would request gibson to make something like that

[progressivas]

a terrifying kinda thing indeed... it almost made my flying v cry!This thing belongs to a modern art museum not to stores...

[benjistar666]

looks like the cardboard guitar from judas priests breaking the law video

[Shinozoku]

craigmileham wrote:

Wouldn't it be a flying N then? or is that just me? looks horrible

Nah, flying arrow.

[mrbiscuits315]

Quick lets all send emails to gibson asking for a flying O... we know theyll listen.

[xboofoox]

what the hell is didnt fender allready do a stratocaster like that it is ugly though

[MetalMilitia212]

Crooked pickups
Noisy on high gain
Bad pickup selector
Ass-ugly
TERRIBLE upper fret access
$1000+

This seems like THE worst guitar, dollar for dollar, that has ever come out.

[Mortalitas]

MetalMilitia212 wrote:

Crooked pickups
Noisy on high gain
Bad pickup selector
Ass-ugly
TERRIBLE upper fret access
$1000+

This seems like THE worst guitar, dollar for dollar, that has ever come out.

Not to mention the ugliest.

[wilson 595]

its not the cardboard one?

[TheDisturbed78]

that looks really terrible to sit down with

[NorfIrIon]

Why don't they reissue the Corvus instead of this stupid thing, I'd actually buy it.

[Kutanmoogle]

Um...the finish is nice, at least.

[Phe4rTheGod]

lol...trust gibson to "break" the mold...anything to not be overrated makes it worse...

[angusyoung_sg]

it looks so awkward to play. like u gotta reach your arm around the back of the one side of the V to grab the neck.

[Otnip]

You don't need to play a guitar to know the fret access sucks when you can clearly see your hand would get caught on the body at the 19th fret... Forget the neck joint, the body.

Thats pathetic. They'd be 50% smarter if they made it hollow and made it an acoustic guitar. 19 frets on an electric... Pffft.

[Aminos]

ugly.

[KY_GuitarMan]

As much as I love Gibson I'd have to say this guitar looks really stupid.

[postmortem2006]

that my friends, is what us in the music business tend to refer to as '****ing ugly'

[Moonman13]

Retarded..if i see a reverse les paul ill flip

[afromonkeyR0X]

This guitar makes me want to go up to Gibson and just say "WHAT THE F*%# WERE YOU THINKING?!?!?!?!?!?" It makes me wanna cry, crap...I am crying, damn you Gibson!

[afromonkeyR0X]

Sorry for double posting but It would make a really nice thing to throw at people! Think, it's the next best murder weapon! The Arrow guitar!!! MUHAHAHA!

[bokuho]

les witty wrote:i cant wait for the reverse les paul and the reverse SG

A reverse SG actually sounds like it'd be quite good. Shit upper fret access, but rear horns could look pretty cool.

[Riffer_maddness]

yea reverse SG would be klick ass but be like an acoustic for upper frets

[spiff389]

that axe looks disgusting...i'd rather have a regular flying v

[human-blasphamy]

it looks like you can't reach the upper frets

[QueenZeppelin]

I don't know what asshat at Gibson thought of this, but this is the stupidest guitar I have ever seen, and that includes "The Log" from GH lmao

[reilly91]

Flying V? More like Flying Arrow...

[P-Bass Pirate]

i just started crying...

Gibson, you just killed all my hopes and dreams... I'm gonna stick with Fender basses from now on, just to stay as far away from that monstrosity as possible.

[westvipor]

mdsmith1 wrote:

the ugliest things ever. except maybe richard simmons.

haha, richard simmons. yet i do like the normal V and the x, i do think that this on looks okay.

[schecter_guy]

i like how the "sound" review is a review of his amp instead of the guitar.

[FISHFACE ROCK3R]

that looks like a piece 0f sheet it has bad fret access, balance problemz ,it proberly soundz k00l az but it just l00kz stupid

[FISHFACE ROCK3R]

stupid idea

[fretsonfire74]

why did they do that?

[FISHFACE ROCK3R]

i can't belive h0w stupid and dumb it is!!!!!

[24fRETSoFfURY]

CJRocker wrote:

As for the guitar itself, I would buy it on sheer novelty to play "Breakin the Law".

Haha, nice.
But yeah I'm not a fan.

[fcukinghostile]

FISHFACE ROCK3R wrote:

stupid idea

+100000

[Ausie Extremist]

Shinozoku wrote:

craigmileham wrote:

Wouldn't it be a flying N then? or is that just me? looks horrible

Nah, flying arrow.

No, flying peice of shit. It would annoy the crap out of me but yea it would sound good and turn heads

[Vitooch]

yea personally i think that guitar looks like a retard...thats the only reason i wouldnt buy it

[metalnoise66]

I personally love Flying V's especially Gibsons, both the '58 and the '67 versions. I hate to say it but I think the body shape on this guitar looks awful. I'd like to see the asymmetric headstock though that would probably be cool on a normal shaped Flying V. The Flying V is such an iconic guitar, they shouldn't have fooled with it! Not even Gibson!

[MorgothAkerfelt]

Don't look at it!


Ill stick to my PRS I think

[GHOST_OF_WAR]

haha me either..(ugly guitar..)

les witty wrote:

i cant wait for the reverse les paul and the reverse SG

[zipppy2006]

wow i bet this dude feels happy about his review, haha. I also think it looks "less than good."

[XSider]

They made this because they know that there are many crazy fans, who buy anything that is Gibson.

[-metalhead-]

Retarded

[guitar98765432]

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa262... derstratocaster.png

...in essence

[Faxl]

You could wear it to point at the person next to you.

[p-p-p-paynis]

http://www.instrumento.cz/clanky-clanek-... ary-20-nejpodivnejsich-kytar.html
theres a reverse strat

[aaron00lee]

Sorry dude...but that thing looks gay

[j-boy199]

les witty wrote:

i cant wait for the reverse les paul and the reverse SG

lol they would suck even more!

[TOMMYB22]

this is probably what people said 50 years ago when they released the original Flying V, it was so unpopular that it was discontinued and then when it was re-released 10 years later it becomes one of the most popular guitars on the market maybe that will happen again.

i like the original V but whats the big difference because lets face the v shape is looks f*cked up as it is

[TOMMYB22]

TOMMYB22 wrote:

this is probably what people said 50 years ago when they released the original Flying V, it was so unpopular that it was discontinued and then when it was re-released 10 years later it becomes one of the most popular guitars on the market maybe that will happen again.

i like the original V but whats the big difference because lets face the v shape is looks f*cked up as it is

+1

[Surflyer]

You are right. The Reverse V will take over as the next shape in the next 10-20 years when a rock star records with it. It is all in the image. The sound is insane and will only improve through the years as the wood dries and ages.

[HomerSGR]

And I thought that the original Flying-V was extremely ugly...

[ellucifere]

the original flying v was ok
but this, ewwwww, anti-guitargasm

[Private_Kickass]

What were they thinking? That's just ugly!

[Krildon]

I cant wiat to see the upright V cause thats the only thing that could beat this pile of unholy crap for the "worst looking guitar ever made" award.....jeese it looks pretty ****in' ugly dude

[Rocker115]

FUGLY

[toasty_alcohol]

wow. i would rather masturbate with sandpaper than look at this guitar. it may sound nice but DAMN! Dats one ugly motha.

[cajun_prince]

wow. it looks like a chicken foot.

[metal jello]

mdsmith1 wrote:

the ugliest things ever. except maybe richard simmons.

Either Richard Simmons or Gene Simmons.....

[metal jello]

Reminds me of an arrow, if you were Dethklok, you would probably string this through a bow and kill your audience with it..... Kinda cool. I guess.

[almighty bowl]

the funny thing is people actually requested this

[myst_ivo]

this thing is really to saweet
i need to have one

[per-rock]

öö what is that i hate it what have happend whith gibson lost whith ideas after robot guitar
i don't like it.

[xFinnellx]

robot guitar is horrible, worst idea ever. the coolest modern installment to theyre guitar modifications is the hd.6x pro, now thats cool

[ihavenoname93]

who the hell would request this?

[rebornmaster9]

if my dog looked like that guitar, i'd shave its ass and teach it to walk backwards

[DakotaSzlo]

F*ck you all, this is the best guitar ever made. I carved my own body out of alder before this guitar ever came out, the only bad thing is that gibson made it so they can make a sh*tload of money

[DakotaSzlo]

f*ck you all, this is the best guitar ever. I carved my own reverse v out of alder before this thing ever came out, the only bad thing is that it was made by gibson just to make a sh*tload of money. Its just ahead of its time and you sh*theads just cant get ur heads around that fact

[A Bad Guitarist]

^Lame double-post is lame?

And reborn, that pretty much sums up the universe.

[johnyapplec2]

must suck to play that sitting down :\

[kazetuner]

afromonkeyR0X wrote:It would make a really nice thing to throw at people! Think, it's the next best murder weapon! The Arrow guitar!!! MUHAHAHA!

yeah, if you're on a gig a the crowd starts booing at you, you could go like "oh, yeah? so you dont like my music?.. have this, MF's" instant mass murder, heads rolling on the floor, etc. lol

[Valderama]

That's disgusting man! Totally not cool. YUCK. BLAHHHHH

[digman50]

AnimatedHand wrote:

lol in the review it ses its "stunnigly beatiful"

perhaps he likes it
i dont think its as bad as everyone says.
people are alowwed there own opinions

[dadudeguy]

this guitar probably plays fantastic but that doesnt change the fact that it looks like shit.

[sam 3000]

this has to be the worst guitar desighn ever

[MetaMegaMagic]

Must be hell to play sitting down.

[Bob_Sagget]

Looks like an arrow or maybe a Russian Fighter Jet (SU-47) WEEEE!!!!!

[Bob_Sagget]

u could probably use it to dig a hole with and then burry it. For God's sake pull a Jimi and burn the damn thing

[guitar2979]

most ugly guitar i've seen. JIMI BURN IT

[joshmckinnon]

the only guitar ive seen come close to being that ugly is a reverse explorer

[Briar30]

FLYING V!?!?!? That's not a flying v, that's a flying A. And I sure hope that piece of crap never flies. If it flew ANYWHERE near me, I would shoot it right out of the sky. Gibson oughta be ashamed of that piece of $

[Scorn band]

les witty wrote:

i cant wait for the reverse les paul and the reverse SG

Haha, I can imagine how a Reversed Les Paul would look like. Haha, nice +1

[Petar]

Are the looks only thing that matters? Yea, you agreed it's ugly; so what? Stop flaming the guitar, it sold over 400 copies and that means that someone liked it well enough to pay the ridiculously high price Gisbon puts on every piece of wood it makes.

[diamondking117]

That's no guitar, that's a shitty plot to try to get money. Really sad. Most Gibsons kick ass.

[MaggaraMarine]

I think it looks cool. It's ugly but it's cool.

[MaggaraMarine]

Would work with some 80's hairmetal bands.

[Explorer939]

Looks ok

[BlackDeath92]

What would posses anyone to actually buy this? At least other Gibsons are decent guitars. This on the other hand...

[jurnag12]

If you wanna be technical, this is an actual flying 'V', as the usual one resembles an upside-down V more than this one.

[breakinslash]

You guys should check this out:

[Surflyer]

The best review ever! Love the guitar!

[Maineguitarist]

Calm the f-ck down Gibson fanboy.

[Maineguitarist]

The weird things you find when you type "gibson" into the reviews search....

[TeekWan]

Stunningly beautiful? I started laughing there and gave up on this review

[I got the boot]

Specially designed to destroy your nuts

[6-String_Madman]

guitar2979 wrote:

most ugly guitar i've seen. JIMI BURN IT

KILL IT WITH THE FIIIRE!!!!

[LeakyFlask]

I can't believe how many people just seem to really hate this guitar with a passion. I think it's rather smashing just for the sheer bizarreness of it.

[Maineguitarist]

The weird things you find when you type "gibson" into the review search bar...