Used Vintage 1983 Gibson Heritage ’58 Korina Flying V

Sonic Evaluation

Certain special guitars have a power to take you places, and this '83 Heritage 1958 Flying V definitely took me on a magic carpet ride! Personally, it took me back to when I was first learning guitar as a kid and I had a chance to open up my amp for the first time. I felt acutely the elemental, basic joy of LOUD rock and roll then, and I felt the same way when I plugged this guitar in. One of Gibson's earlier efforts at reissuing the classic Gibsons of the fifties, it's an homage to the first production run of less than one hundred guitars (crazy to think that such an iconic guitar was a flop originally!). It certainly has the sonic power of the originals, partly due to its vintage-accurate korina body, which imparts a bit more sparkle and liveliness to the tone than its tonal cousin, mahogany.

On the spectrum of rich to woody, this serial sits near the middle but leans towards richness, giving it a full-bodied, robust tone while remaining articulate. The top-end has a lovely sparkle to it, and the midrange and low-end response is broad and throaty--imagine a Paul Bunyan-sized opera singer and you'll get the idea. The bridge pickup sounds fatter than some neck pickups, and the neck pickup has more beef than all the Arby's in Omaha. Overall, it's a well-rounded guitar with an expansive voice suitable for just about any genre: blues, rock, country, metal, punk; heck, you could even play jazz on it!

Frankly, I can think of nothing I'd rather do than plug this V in, crank the volume, and play loud, and I have no doubt the lucky Gibson aficionado who ends up as this guitar's caretaker will be inspired to do the same.

Condition Report

This Gibson Heritage V looks awesome! It has clearly been played over its four decades of service, and it has some typical vintage wear as a result. The frets are original, and they're in great shape. They appear to have been leveled and re-crowned, and they measure about .032 inches. The pickups have been replaced with Gibson patent humbuckers from the late fifties or early sixties. The bridge pickup is clean, but the neck pickup has been reworked and repaired. The pots, pickup selector switch, and output jack have all been replaced with Switchcraft and CTS parts, and the bridge and strap buttons have been replaced with historic Gibson replicas. The tuners are all original and function well, though a few are slightly bent. It looks cool, sounds great, and it comes with its original hardshell case, too!