EPIPHONE 1958 KORINA EXPLORER & FLYING V
BOTH £1,219
CONTACT Epiphone PHONE +1-615-871-4500 WEB www.epiphone.com
What You Need To Know
1 What exactly is korina?
Also known as limba, korina is a West African timber that’s used in veneers, plywood, turned objects and, of course, guitar bodies and necks. As well as Gibson and Epiphone, PRS and Fender have also employed it, and it’s the standard choice of Reverend Guitars.
2 These look like remarkably accurate remakes…
Epiphone collaborated with Gibson’s Custom Shop to ensure that they remained as faithful to the original specs as possible, given the price. It’s all top-notch under the bonnet, too, with Gibson Burstbucker 2 and 3 pickups, CTS pots, Mallory capacitors, and Switchcraft switches and jacks.
3 Are the finishes nitro?
No, these are ‘thin skin’ polyester and have been given something akin to Gibson’s VOS treatment, where the surface is left satin. It gives them a slightly weathered appearance but feels great to the touch.
When in 1958 Gibson president Theodore ‘Ted’ McCarty designed the ES-335 and its siblings the ES-345 and ES-355, it was clear that his understanding of electric guitar design ran deep. The models were an instant success and their unbroken production from then until now has proved so in spades. How come, then, that in that very year the self-same designer dreamt up these two? Other than the basic electronics, the Explorer and Flying V couldn’t have been more different. Of course, this was the ‘space age’ and Fender
