Hey all, first time poster to this forum.
I purchased a 2006 Gibson Flying V (or as it was named then, V-Factor) second hand and was very careful to verify the serial number and make sure to pay attention to details before making a deal. The seller wasn't suspect at all, but he didn't have any original Gibson documentation for the guitar so my detective work (or paranoia) has been in overdrive. I paid the market value price, so no "deal too good to be true" situation here. It sounds really good to me having come from mid-high level Epiphones.
Upon having the guitar in my possession, I have opened up the pick-guard, truss rod cover, and examined all electronics and hardware and everything seems to line up, and I reached out to Gibson with images and the serial number and they gave a pass of authenticity. I even verified weight and body construction, and subsequently looked at the finish for seams/joints to identify that it has a three piece body and headstock with "ears/wings" typical of a Gibson Flying V '67 Reissue. As pictures will show, it does have an aftermarket Bridge Pickup, and he may have applied some shielding paint, but everything else from the truss-rod to the pots seem to point to it being authentic. I haven't found anything that is a "smoking gun" of sorts that point to it being fake. I did also replace the knobs with some spare off-brand ones as the ones he had put on were not to my liking.
The only thing that is giving me pause is that the body and headstock seem a little...wonky? Maybe it is my eyes playing tricks on me, but for a symmetrical body and headstock design, it seems slightly asymmetrical. The tailpiece for example doesn't line up perfectly with the bottom carve of the "V" and and the treble side of the body where it is joined to the neck seems slightly wider than the bass side. And the headstock curves coming up from the nut seem different from each other as well. Are USA Gibsons a bit unique to each their own given the nature of more human hands in production? I know a CNC cuts out body shapes, but can the sanding process result in body shapes being slightly different from each other? Is it normal for a Flying V to not be perfectly symmetrical?
The real question is of course, am I going crazy? Pictures are posted in the link below (I attached a low res preview of the link) and I welcome all responses, thank you!
https://ibb.co/album/LNT1YV
