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(Date Posted:24-08-2008 08:32:03)
I wrote this comparison in response to some questions about Flying Vs as compared to other Gibsons at another forum. Thought I'd share it here (Hell, it was long, might was well use it!) Just to give you all some perspective on my opinion -- this was my main
stable about 3 months ago (Gibson LPVM, Gibson Faded V, Gibson SG
Classic):
To give some background: I play stoner rock -- i.e. 70s influenced hard
rock with a liberal dose of heavy blues thrown in, my band has been
compared to Blue Cheer, Kyuss, Acid King and The Sword to give you an
idea. We tune to D with the occasional drop C. Amp used is an Orange
RV100 on the louder than hell setting and we use no pedals for
distortion/fuzz. All three guitars are very different beasts and sound
or play nothing alike. Just because they say Gibson on the headstock,
that's about where it ends.
The LP has the thickest sound of them and tonally, is my favorite. Just
growls but also has a wonderful clean blues tone. Pickups are
Burstbucker Pros. Overall for playing, my no. 1. With my amp gives a
natural deep fuzz tone that is oh so sweet. The faded finish allows for
a substantial neck to still be fast, after all these are stripped down
LP Studios with better pups. So if you know how fat the Studio neck is,
you get the idea. Very balanced guitar as well.
The SG Classic (I recently sold it to fund the upgraded Orange
purchase, went from a 50 watt to a 100 watt) had P-90s but had the
chunkiest neck of them all. The body was very thin like most SGs are.
The bridge pup on this one and the Gibson SG Special I sold earlier
this year with humbuckers was a bit on the thin side. Excellent for
arpeggios though. Almost a cross between a strat and tele, I could get
a quasi-quack from the bridge if the wind was blowing right. SGs shine
on the neck pup, deep, bucker or P-90. Problem was I couldn't get the
P-90s to really get beyond a nice over driven blues or classic rock
tone. Slightly neck heavy but nothing to freak out about like some
people do.
And what this thread is about, Flying Vs. The body is thicker than the
SG but mainly a big slab of mahogany. No gloppy nitro to slow you down
when playing, just like the LPVM. The neck is thinner than both the LP
and SG. Took a bit of time to get used to. Once you get used to fat
necks, they rule. Hot ceramic humbuckers that do hard rock great. The
496R (neck) is an excellent blues pickup as well. The 500T bridge
shines for solos and more standard fare metal and hard rock. Sounds
good for clean and arpeggios as well -- not thin though. Think like
Metallica when they play those clean passages. But where the V shines
is live. It has become my go to guitar for performances. It feels so
rock and roll on stage, and let's face facts -- the audience members
think they look good and they do. But I've grown to love the way they
feel when playing, it's almost like a shot of rock adrenaline just to
sling one over your shoulder. Comfortable when standing for sure and
very playable. Well balanced. Good tone for what we play, I do prefer
the LP tone wise though, a bit more bluesy and growly.
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Brian H. - Guitars
Orthodox Fuzz
http://www.myspace.com/orthodoxfuzz
Doomed to Fuzz! | 
