curiousgeorge Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 I picked one of these up recently. Great guitar... i mean fantastic guitar... but would love to find a Gibson ad, or any type of literature on it. Seems to be a little bit of a bigfoot thing going on in that most people have heard of these or seen them..but no one knows much about them. Thx in advance!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curiousgeorge Posted December 4, 2013 Author Share Posted December 4, 2013 Anyone... Bueler... Bueler.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curiousgeorge Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 Well.. this forum isnt quite as helpful as i had hoped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I think they made less than two hundred of them? So Lonnie has what? Dozen probably. And you. That would be the two people I know of that actually have one. Just not many around, certainly not enough to make any "expert"s about. A V with a Bigsby on it, for the money they want for them things, just doesn't really draw enough guitar players to sell a bunch to that creates experts and stuff. Good luck with it. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanSchear Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 I am an expert on the "Lonnie Mack Flying V." I have owned one since January 1996 when I mail-ordered it from "Gary's Classic Guitars" in Cincinnati. Previously owned but in near-mint original condition.(see attached photo) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V-man Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I would love one for the collection, but they are expensive for what you are getting (if you aren't a Mack fan). Unlike the original Korina '58 LM refinished, these are painted hog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanSchear Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 V-man: I feel pretty much the same as you and will even use your quote from your comment above: I would love a mint condition 1994 Red Ferrari & Platinum Rolex watch too but believe they are "expensive for what you are getting." Get my point? Oh BTW, I wouldn't consider parting with my "Mack V" for anything less than $10,000 even though the "going rate" right now seems to be around $3500. It's like anything else based on supply, demand & desire. There were approximately 188 "Mack Vs" produced buy Gibson USA in '93-'94. Of those, who knows how many remain, how many are still in near-mint condition with all accoutrements and how many are currently or will be put up for sale? "Mack Vs" are rarely seen for sale these days. Going forward, those low production numbers & stark statistics do not favor the buyer for lower pricing with a current support base of $3500. If I didn't already own one and had a strong desire to have one in my collection, I would be pointedly focused on acquiring now while the general economy is still relatively weak and "disposable income" is not plentiful in the Vintage Guitar community. But hey...That's just "my two cents." The important thing here is: I GOT MINE! LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V-man Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 V-man: I feel pretty much the same as you and will even use your quote from your comment above: I would love a mint condition 1994 Red Ferrari & Platinum Rolex watch too but believe they are "expensive for what you are getting." Get my point? Not exactly where I was going. A Lonnie Mack Flying V is awesome in its own right in that it is: 1. a '58 style V; 2. a solid color; and 3 has the Bigsby B7 mounted. These things make the guitar rare and cool, but there is another edge to that sword: It is a mahogany sig series that has a Bigsby on it. In a world where guitars will ALWAYS become rare and collectable it is a sure bet. In a world where electronic music/hip hop displaces future "would-be guitar buyers" and economic conditions prove how soft the guitar market can be, the investment may not be all it is cracked up to be. In 1971, Gibson reissued the Flying v in a 300 unit batch known as the "medallion" flying V. It was a guitar and it was bought and used and certainly a fair amount were lost to the gigs and "upgrades" of the 80s. As such, very few of those 300 have survived, much less fully intact. The LM is rare, which has a built-in market, BUT it lacks the universal appeal the Medallion has. The LM started out an expensive collectable, which means more were bought as a collectable and more (as a percentage) will survive intact than the small batch "factory guitars". I think LM is great and have no problem rocking a "sig-series" but many people don't share that stance. The Bigsby also has its share of fans and detractors alike. So, in the end in order to buy into a LM, you have to be a fan of LM, or of that specific guitar, and that is going to make it a more obscure market than say the similarly-priced '83 Korina or a 1958 in Pelham blue. Thus, for that level of $ invested I would rather have a '70s era Flying V in pristine cond., which is more common but has broader appeal, but that's me. Like I said, I love flying Vs and would be proud to own a LM. It is a very cool guitar and certainly has a market, but it's a bit lower on my "to-do" list being more of a niche guitar, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanSchear Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 V-man: I agree with you straight down the line! That's why I will hold out for getting $10,000 for mine. If not, I'll enjoy it for as long as I possess it. Ciao! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 I'm a big Lonnie fan and if I saw one reasonably priced I might grab one. Have you visited Lonnie Mack's site? It gives a little history of the guitar. He has a few for sale but I think he wants 30k and you have to visit him and get it in person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanSchear Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 I'm a big Lonnie fan and if I saw one reasonably priced I might grab one. Have you visited Lonnie Mack's site? It gives a little history of the guitar. He has a few for sale but I think he wants 30k and you have to visit him and get it in person. Dave F: Looks like Mr Mack has the same greedy idea I've got...only TIMES THREE! LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boodreaux Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 There is one for sale on Reverb.com. https://reverb.com/item/69752-gibson-flying-v-lonnie-mack-artist-model-1994-wine-transparent $3900, but supposedly it's in near mint condition. If I had the funds available I'd be tempted, but I'm not really in a position to buy that right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanSchear Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 There is one for sale on Reverb.com. https://reverb.com/item/69752-gibson-flying-v-lonnie-mack-artist-model-1994-wine-transparent $3900, but supposedly it's in near mint condition. If I had the funds available I'd be tempted, but I'm not really in a position to buy that right now. Re the Mack V for sale at $3900 on "Reverb.com": First a correction to his listing: The Mack Vs are finished in "Heritage Cherry Red" NOT "Wine Red." OK, that said, there's an episode of "Seinfeld" where George Costanza "double dips" his potato chips and gets hollered at by his girlfriend's little brother Timmy who shouts at him, "THAT'S LIKE PUTTING YOUR WHOLE MOUTH RIGHT IN THE DIP! Next time, take one dip and END IT!" To which George calmly replies, "I'm sorry Timmy. You dip the way you wanna dip and I'll dip the way I wanna dip!" (SEE LINK BELOW) So Boodreaux, along those same lines, the guy who's listed his on Reverb.com for $3900 can list his Mack V his way and I'll continue to list my Mack V MY WAY on eBay for $10,000 and possibly higher in the future! Perhaps Boodreaux you should "seize the day" and do whatever it takes to procure that Reverb Mack V at $3900 because you've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I think these guitars will actually get cheaper in the future?" Well, do ya....?? (OK, I'll spare you the Clint Eastwood "Dirty Harry" quotes & clips. LOL!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boodreaux Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Re the Mack V for sale at $3900 on "Reverb.com": First a correction to his listing: The Mack Vs are finished in "Heritage Cherry Red" NOT "Wine Red." OK, that said, there's an episode of "Seinfeld" where George Costanza "double dips" his potato chips and gets hollered at by his girlfriend's little brother Timmy who shouts at him, "THAT'S LIKE PUTTING YOUR WHOLE MOUTH RIGHT IN THE DIP! Next time, take one dip and END IT!" To which George calmly replies, "I'm sorry Timmy. You dip the way you wanna dip and I'll dip the way I wanna dip!" (SEE LINK BELOW) So Boodreaux, along those same lines, the guy who's listed his on Reverb.com for $3900 can list his Mack V his way and I'll continue to list my Mack V MY WAY on eBay for $10,000 and possibly higher in the future! Perhaps Boodreaux you should "seize the day" and do whatever it takes to procure that Reverb Mack V at $3900 because you've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I think these guitars will actually get cheaper in the future?" Well, do ya....?? (OK, I'll spare you the Clint Eastwood "Dirty Harry" quotes & clips. LOL!) I wasn't taking any kind of shot at you for pricing yours at $10,000 whatsoever. The way I understood what you wrote is that's what it is worth to you and unless you get offered that you'll be content keeping it. I feel the same way about some guitars (and other things) I own and didn't think you were being outrageous at all. You even stated that the going price is around $3,500. The reason I posted that was I couldn't swing the cash and since these are rare and don't pop up very frequently, I thought someone following this thread might be interested in it. Sorry my post offended you. On second thought, I'm not really that worried about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanSchear Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 I wasn't taking any kind of shot at you for pricing yours at $10,000 whatsoever. The way I understood what you wrote is that's what it is worth to you and unless you get offered that you'll be content keeping it. I feel the same way about some guitars (and other things) I own and didn't think you were being outrageous at all. You even stated that the going price is around $3,500. The reason I posted that was I couldn't swing the cash and since these are rare and don't pop up very frequently, I thought someone following this thread might be interested in it. Sorry my post offended you. On second thought, I'm not really that worried about it. Oh golly HECK Boodreaux! Just when I thought we had a good sparing match goin' on here...I'll just halfta sit & wait patiently for a suitable "shot monger" to come along and give me a spirited argument about how his last three mint Mack Vs he sold had to be "blown out" at under $1200 each but he doesn't currently own one to sell me right now at that price. You know, something like that, along the lines of "the Beluga Caviar always sells for 10 cents per pound on the days the Seafood Merchant is OUT-OF-STOCK!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boodreaux Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Oh golly HECK Boodreaux! Just when I thought we had a good sparing match goin' on here...I'll just halfta sit & wait patiently for a suitable "shot monger" to come along and give me a spirited argument about how his last three mint Mack Vs he sold had to be "blown out" at under $1200 each but he doesn't currently own one to sell me right now at that price. You know, something like that, along the lines of "the Beluga Caviar always sells for 10 cents per pound on the days the Seafood Merchant is OUT-OF-STOCK!" I enjoy a good 'sparing' match occasionally but I'm failing to see much to spar over. You can ask anything you want for your guitar. There's nothing inherently wrong with greed, it's dishonesty that I have a problem with. As far as I can see you're totally honest with your intentions so I think you deserve to get as much as you can get out of your guitar. Whether or not you had posted that you wanted $10G for yours I still would have posted that link for the guy who said he might buy one if he found a good deal. But if you think of something worth sparring over give me a shout. I might be able to come up with a few insults and throw a proper anonymous Internet forum temper tantrum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanSchear Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 I enjoy a good 'sparing' match occasionally but I'm failing to see much to spar over. You can ask anything you want for your guitar. There's nothing inherently wrong with greed, it's dishonesty that I have a problem with. As far as I can see you're totally honest with your intentions so I think you deserve to get as much as you can get out of your guitar. Whether or not you had posted that you wanted $10G for yours I still would have posted that link for the guy who said he might buy one if he found a good deal. But if you think of something worth sparring over give me a shout. I might be able to come up with a few insults and throw a proper anonymous Internet forum temper tantrum. Boodreaux: You have a good spirit about you on this Mack V garbage. Hey, it's only a guitar, right? A quick parting comment if you will: Just don't even dare double dip your chips in my presence! LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boodreaux Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Boodreaux: You have a good spirit about you on this Mack V garbage. Hey, it's only a guitar, right? A quick parting comment if you will: Just don't even dare double dip your chips in my presence! LOL! No need to double dip when I bury the whole chip up to my knuckles. It's finger licking good. To the OP: I've been looking for ads or literature to no avail. There's someone I can ask what they have on the guitar and if they have any info I'll share it with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curiousgeorge Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 No need to double dip when I bury the whole chip up to my knuckles. It's finger licking good. To the OP: I've been looking for ads or literature to no avail. There's someone I can ask what they have on the guitar and if they have any info I'll share it with you. Thx Boodreaux... i have asked around and nada... figured there would have been some kind of gibson ad or something... had a guy look through a full yesr of 94 guitar players and nothing. Will ck out the website... but at least now i know the color isnt wine red like my 76 lp!... also from a collect standpoint, it has the 94 serial number which i think was unique to the centennial year (or something like that). I HATE stringing the bigsby, but love playing around with it... and the cross bar makes it easier to play sitting! And to the hog comment... true, but man what a nice mahog... perfectly straight grain and light as korina. Postal scale says 6.8 all in... with that massive bigsby and cross bar... and a fat 50s type neck!... i do think its a sleeper. Daves guitar in wis... he has one in his personal collection. until i look at lm's website, heres what i know I have heard both 193 and 188 made, but never know how many got qc'd out....that neck joint looks intensive. long tenon heritage cherry (not wine red) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curiousgeorge Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 Dan... i laughed because i remember seeing your LM on ebay.... i was like 10g and its laying on a bed!! I love my Lonnie... but would prob give it up for 10g.. although i might regret it in the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanSchear Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Dan... i laughed because i remember seeing your LM on ebay.... i was like 10g and its laying on a bed!! I love my Lonnie... but would prob give it up for 10g.. although i might regret it in the long run. curiousgeorge & all following this "Mack Madness": You're quite right. That's my ad on eBay and I've resolved to never go lower than $10G for it. I love my Mack V too and at 65 years old, comfortably retired with plenty of bucks in the bank, I'm perfectly content to have this V buried with me if I don't get at least $10G. Of course should I live another 10-20+ years, the price will escalate accordingly. KNOW THIS: Whosoever acquires my Mack V through a cash sale will pay a DEARLY HIGH PRICE or they won't get mine! (That sounded like a threat, didn't it? LOL!) Some things you should know about the 1994 advertising for the Mack V. It was featured in the 1994 "Gibson USA Catalog" as well as a few sparse ads in several guitar magazines. I could never locate a '94 Gibson catalog at any price but I was lucky enough to get a photocopy of the Mack V depicted in that catalog. Like mine, the toggle switch tip is WHITE, not aged-Amber like you see on most of them. BTW, Lonnie's '58 V has a WHITE toggle switch tip, not amber. I had the pleasure of growing up in Northern Kentucky just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati Ohio. I watched Lonnie Mack & his band play numerous times at Sunday afternoon "teen dances" from 1964-65 at "The Flamingo Club" in Newport Kentucky. I stood right up by the stage in a crush of all the other "wannabe" aspiring guitar slingers who idolized Lonnie like I did. However, Lonnie kept himself aloof from the crowd. He entered the club from the artists' entrance in the rear and when he finished playing, rapidly exited into a waiting car out the same door. Luckily for me, in January 1986, I got to meet & talk with Lonnie in person at a performance at "Gilley's Club" downtown Dayton Ohio. This happened due to my association with "Pure Prairie League" (PPL). My former late '60's Cincinnati rock band "East Orange Express" (see my YouTube Channel "Dan Schear" for videos) spawned three future members of PPL in the early '70's. In the mid-'80's PPL was on sabbatical due to the recent departure of Lead Vocalist/Guitarist Vince Gill and the other members of PPL formed a local Cincinnati gigging group known as "The Goshorn Brothers Band." Larry & Timmy Goshorn were both mid'70's members of PPL before the arrival of Vince Gill who replaced both of them. Highly acclaimed bassist and blues vocalist extraordinaire Roger "Jellyroll" Troy formerly of Mike Bloomfield's legendary "Electric Flag" was a close friend of the Goshorn brothers and like I did, frequented many of their Cincinnati gigs just to have something to do. So happens, Jellyroll was doing a bass/vocal gig with "The Lonnie Mack Band" at that time. I became good friends with Jellyroll (he liked my off-the-wall, irreverent humor) and one night after telling him how much I idolized Lonnie but never had the opportunity to meet him, Jellyroll invited me as a backstage guest at their "Gilley's Club" performance in January '86. Youbetcha I went and had a great time! At the end of the evening, I almost got on stage to jam a tune with Lonnie & Jellyroll but Lonnie busted a high-E string on his #1 V and that ended the night...DAGNABIT! Anyway, I snapped many still photos backstage with Lonnie, Jellyroll, me and Lonnie's cache of Flying Vs including two prototypes of the '93-'94 Lonnie Mack Flying V! Perhaps I'll post these photos here on the Gibson Guitar Board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boodreaux Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I found out the LM Flying V was featured in The Flying V Book which is available on Amazon.com and excerpts are available through Google Books. Here is a screenshot from that book: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanSchear Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I found out the LM Flying V was featured in The Flying V Book which is available on Amazon.com and excerpts are available through Google Books. Here is a screenshot from that book: Boodreaux: Thanks for this info & link. Never saw this before. BTW, I have a copy of the "Guitar Player" article where George Gruhn mentions that Gibson Historian Walter Carter pegs the production of "Lonnie Mack Flying Vs" to 188. Given Carter's impeccable credentials, I'm confident in his numbers over others. Even if Carter might be in error, it couldn't be by much. Safe to say, we can all be certain the production run never exceeded 200 instruments and that INCLUDES those Vs Gibson gave to Lonnie himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boodreaux Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Dan, I read somewhere that the run was one hundred and eighty some. The ones that Lonnie has I'm pretty sure are prototypes from the Custom Shop. Some of the production models were probably modified, played heavily, or abused. Many are probably overseas where values are often higher and won't ever make their way into the domestic market. I think demand either already outstrips supply or it will soon. Either way, these guitars ain't going down in value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curiousgeorge Posted September 29, 2014 Author Share Posted September 29, 2014 Just happened to run across this thread again... and new info! Dan... very cool story about PPL... and continue to laugh at your bedspread marketing effort there. It is an amazingly well built guitar... just flawless execution... but agree with Bood... guess if i had a LM and an 80's korina both offered to me at 3500... would go korina... even though my guess is the LM is a better built guitar with exceptional wood... light hog doesn't come around these days much on anything under 6k... and the 94 serial number is unique/cool as well. My guess is that they ddn't do a full run of these... they come up so rarely that i bet the actual number was quite a bit under what the stated was... have seen that before. diff info from the gibson spec sheets vs my inside info of which i cannot divulge ;-) Anyway... didn't buy it to appreciate in price... just bought it to appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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