Gibson Flying V or Gibson Explorer
- Thread starter James2244
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L
Little Pigbacon
Guest
Re: Gibson Flying V or Gibson Explorer
Also, a V doesn't need a guitar stand.
Also, a V doesn't need a guitar stand.
Gone_Shootin
New member
Re: Gibson Flying V or Gibson Explorer
When it comes to Vs, I like Jackson King Vs better & like my Ibanez V as well. I also have a Gibson Explorer. But speaking general terms, I like both the V and Explorer body shapes, so I say get both. I did.
And they're both fine for sitting down, if you do things the right way. With the V, put your right leg in the crotch of the body and rest the bottom of the body on your left leg. After having my first King V for awhile I ended up playing all of my guitars like this when sitting down, because resting the bottom of the body of any guitar rest on my left leg while letting it be cradled between my legs so the neck is at an upward angle is more comfortable for me. The Explorer in particular is very well suited for this as well.
When it comes to Vs, I like Jackson King Vs better & like my Ibanez V as well. I also have a Gibson Explorer. But speaking general terms, I like both the V and Explorer body shapes, so I say get both. I did.
And they're both fine for sitting down, if you do things the right way. With the V, put your right leg in the crotch of the body and rest the bottom of the body on your left leg. After having my first King V for awhile I ended up playing all of my guitars like this when sitting down, because resting the bottom of the body of any guitar rest on my left leg while letting it be cradled between my legs so the neck is at an upward angle is more comfortable for me. The Explorer in particular is very well suited for this as well.
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beaubrummels
Well-known member
Re: Gibson Flying V or Gibson Explorer
...and apparently there's a union rule you can't play blues with them, according to certain card-carrying members. But thankfully, there are some young upstart rebels out there making some inroads into other genres.
...and apparently there's a union rule you can't play blues with them, according to certain card-carrying members. But thankfully, there are some young upstart rebels out there making some inroads into other genres.
L
Little Pigbacon
Guest
Re: Gibson Flying V or Gibson Explorer
^ In 1958, clearly only metal guys were using V's.
^ In 1958, clearly only metal guys were using V's.
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Gibson Flying V or Gibson Explorer
Actually the V was an inside joke in Gibson in the late 1950's, silly drawings of a crazy wedge shape design they laughed about never being able to be put into production. But then Ted McCarty wanted something modern and off-the-wall, and the Flying V was born.
Actually the V was an inside joke in Gibson in the late 1950's, silly drawings of a crazy wedge shape design they laughed about never being able to be put into production. But then Ted McCarty wanted something modern and off-the-wall, and the Flying V was born.
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Gibson Flying V or Gibson Explorer
Which is why I said V's are seen in more genres. Lonnie Mack and Albert King were a couple bluesman who got V's early on. Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash played rock on a V.
I've been going to blues festivals for 25 years and have hundreds of blues CD's (mostly by black guys!) and don't recall ever seeing a blues guitarist playing an Explorer.
...and apparently there's a union rule you can't play blues with them, according to certain card-carrying members. But thankfully, there are some young upstart rebels out there making some inroads into other genres.
Which is why I said V's are seen in more genres. Lonnie Mack and Albert King were a couple bluesman who got V's early on. Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash played rock on a V.
I've been going to blues festivals for 25 years and have hundreds of blues CD's (mostly by black guys!) and don't recall ever seeing a blues guitarist playing an Explorer.
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InbredJunk
New member
Re: Gibson Flying V or Gibson Explorer
I really can't say one is better than the other. They both feel like home to me.
I really can't say one is better than the other. They both feel like home to me.
hydro
Prayin' to Cheeses
Re: Gibson Flying V or Gibson Explorer
ha!
I love the way a V looks but they always felt weird (unbalanced or something) to me. Clearly the King did not mind it though!
...and apparently there's a union rule you can't play blues with them, according to certain card-carrying members. But thankfully, there are some young upstart rebels out there making some inroads into other genres.
ha!
I love the way a V looks but they always felt weird (unbalanced or something) to me. Clearly the King did not mind it though!
Re: Gibson Flying V or Gibson Explorer
I imagine there might be a few out there playing Explorers because they're so comfortable but they don't get taken seriously by armchair expert bluesmen...based solely on image.
Hmmm...
I imagine there might be a few out there playing Explorers because they're so comfortable but they don't get taken seriously by armchair expert bluesmen...based solely on image.
Hmmm...
ItsaBass
New member
Re: Gibson Flying V or Gibson Explorer
The reason Vs are seen more in "harder" music has nothing to do with design features. It has to do with rarity, and with when they were produced in numbers. It starts with the initial rarity of the Explorer. Flying Vs and Explorers were both incredibly rare in the '50's and '60's, however the Explorer was five times as rare as the V back then (about 100 Vs made vs. about 20 Explorers). Hardly anyone played them, because hardly any existed. The very few famous people who played Vs were very early adopters of those guitars, and they happened to be r&b musicians, because that style was popular/common at the time. I would guess that they picked them simply because they were 1) more likely than an Explorer to actually be found sitting in some shop, being more common, and 2) symmetrical. When the V was reintroduced, it was the late-mid 1960's, nine years before the Explorer was introduced. The blues-rock movement was at its height in popular culture, so more people who might be seen as rock, hard rock, blues-rock, and blues players took them up, in the footsteps of Albert King, et al. By the time the Explorer was reintroduced (mid 1970's), hard rock and metal were more popular styles among "rockers" than than blues and blues-rock. It's not that blues players naturally gravitate toward either of them for any particular reason of design. It's just due to the image that was established for Vs early on by a few somewhat high-profile artists, coupled with the fact that almost no one even knew that Explorers ever existed, due to their extreme rarity.
And FWIW, while I play a bit of metal and hard rock type stuff (mostly rhythm), I'm basically 90% an r&b and rock-n-roll guitarist, and the Explorer feels as much at home playing that **** as any other guitar I pick up. So there!
Also, let's not forget the Firebird, which is nothing much more than a "socially acceptable" Explorer. In terms of feel to the player, they're pretty much identical. They were pretty damned popular guitars in rock-n-roll, pop, and r&b circles. Among others who made heavy use of them during the '60's, Joe Messina played one on who knows how many (hundreds?) Motown r&b/pop records in the '60's, not to mention all his jazz gigs on the side.
One more thing: the musician most famous for/most identified with playing Explorers is in a power pop band, for Christ's sake, not a metal band!
The reason Vs are seen more in "harder" music has nothing to do with design features. It has to do with rarity, and with when they were produced in numbers. It starts with the initial rarity of the Explorer. Flying Vs and Explorers were both incredibly rare in the '50's and '60's, however the Explorer was five times as rare as the V back then (about 100 Vs made vs. about 20 Explorers). Hardly anyone played them, because hardly any existed. The very few famous people who played Vs were very early adopters of those guitars, and they happened to be r&b musicians, because that style was popular/common at the time. I would guess that they picked them simply because they were 1) more likely than an Explorer to actually be found sitting in some shop, being more common, and 2) symmetrical. When the V was reintroduced, it was the late-mid 1960's, nine years before the Explorer was introduced. The blues-rock movement was at its height in popular culture, so more people who might be seen as rock, hard rock, blues-rock, and blues players took them up, in the footsteps of Albert King, et al. By the time the Explorer was reintroduced (mid 1970's), hard rock and metal were more popular styles among "rockers" than than blues and blues-rock. It's not that blues players naturally gravitate toward either of them for any particular reason of design. It's just due to the image that was established for Vs early on by a few somewhat high-profile artists, coupled with the fact that almost no one even knew that Explorers ever existed, due to their extreme rarity.
And FWIW, while I play a bit of metal and hard rock type stuff (mostly rhythm), I'm basically 90% an r&b and rock-n-roll guitarist, and the Explorer feels as much at home playing that **** as any other guitar I pick up. So there!
Also, let's not forget the Firebird, which is nothing much more than a "socially acceptable" Explorer. In terms of feel to the player, they're pretty much identical. They were pretty damned popular guitars in rock-n-roll, pop, and r&b circles. Among others who made heavy use of them during the '60's, Joe Messina played one on who knows how many (hundreds?) Motown r&b/pop records in the '60's, not to mention all his jazz gigs on the side.
One more thing: the musician most famous for/most identified with playing Explorers is in a power pop band, for Christ's sake, not a metal band!
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beaubrummels
Well-known member
Re: Gibson Flying V or Gibson Explorer
In an interview, King said he picked the V because he was left-handed and it looked the same upside down as right-side up. Also was one of the reasons Paul McCartney bought a Hofner violin bass originally.
In an interview, King said he picked the V because he was left-handed and it looked the same upside down as right-side up. Also was one of the reasons Paul McCartney bought a Hofner violin bass originally.
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Oinkus
New member
Re: Gibson Flying V or Gibson Explorer
Got a RR and a sort of Epi explorer (Futura) both are nice but I prefer the V been a Schenker fan since the 70s. A good old explorer with an ebony board is just wonderful , have played a few of them extensively and owned one for a short time(it was stolen, had no idea) Play whatever you like on them , they are guitars.
Got a RR and a sort of Epi explorer (Futura) both are nice but I prefer the V been a Schenker fan since the 70s. A good old explorer with an ebony board is just wonderful , have played a few of them extensively and owned one for a short time(it was stolen, had no idea) Play whatever you like on them , they are guitars.
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Gibson Flying V or Gibson Explorer
That is true of most blues players. They usually don't play shred sticks either. Every genre's got it's traditions and images to uphold. Metal's no exception.
That is true of most blues players. They usually don't play shred sticks either. Every genre's got it's traditions and images to uphold. Metal's no exception.
toneseeker74
New member
Re: Gibson Flying V or Gibson Explorer
I'd say there's no inate advantage to one or the other. Play each, decide which you like better. Personally I find the V more comfortable because I don't like the way my forearms rests on the lower bout of the Explorer. I will say, though, that V's can look mighty big/long in the hands of a vertically challenged player like myself.
I'd say there's no inate advantage to one or the other. Play each, decide which you like better. Personally I find the V more comfortable because I don't like the way my forearms rests on the lower bout of the Explorer. I will say, though, that V's can look mighty big/long in the hands of a vertically challenged player like myself.
dominus
King Midas to Cheap Guitars
Re: Gibson Flying V or Gibson Explorer
I know, they really oughta change the name of the band.
I know, they really oughta change the name of the band.
toneseeker74
New member
Re: Gibson Flying V or Gibson Explorer
Yeah, I couldn't come up with a power pop band with an Explorer toting guitarist. Most prominent non-metal band I could come up with was U2. Then again, I haven't take Metallica seriously as a metal band for over 25 years.
Yeah, I couldn't come up with a power pop band with an Explorer toting guitarist. Most prominent non-metal band I could come up with was U2. Then again, I haven't take Metallica seriously as a metal band for over 25 years.
