HOW TO CONVERT AN EPIPHONE FLYING V TO 1950S SPEC PART ONE
If you’re a Gibson player and you want a Les Paul or an SG, there’s a model for every style and budget. But when it comes to Flying Vs, Gibson doesn’t currently manufacture a 1950s-spec Korina reissue. If you can get hold of one, Epiphone’s recent limited-edition Joe Bonamassa 1958 ‘Amos’ Korina Flying V model features impressive specs for a model that originally retailed around £750. A friend of the Guitar.com team was so impressed that he bought one and has been gigging with it over the last year or so.
The guitar is made from period-correct Korina and features 50s-style through-body stringing. There’s a fairly chunky neck profile too, apparently modelled on Joe’s own Flying V, along with vintage-style tuners and a fine-quality hard case.
Yet over time, the nagging feeling crept in that this Flying V could be even better – the thick, dark gloss poly finish and jumbo fretwire being the chief areas for improvement. Delving deeper, the owner wasn’t keen on either the dot markers or the milky finish covering the fingerboard. And with a spare set of late-60s Patent Number humbuckers sitting unused in his parts box with some CTS control pots, upgrading the electronics is a no-brainer.
Epiphone has
