Pinch Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 I've mentioned it before, thought I'd do an actual review. The amount of scrounging that went on to get me a Gibson again is for another thread, but suffice to say it was substantial. Still, for once I think Gibson priced a guitar reasonably ($1399), which is probably due to a few cut corners. Do they matter? We shall see. My first decision to make was what color. It was a split-second decision, as I don't think Alpine White looks good on a V. The ebony one comes with a white "half-pickguard", which may be off-putting to some, but I actually think it looks better on a black V than a full white pickguard. It has that touch of Schenker without going overboard with it. Continuing on looks-wise, the 2017 V comes with no binding and rolled-off fretboard edges. While binding usually looks classy, this guitar is eye-catching enough on its own, and binding is something that can crack, come loose... So for me personally, I'm happy it doesn't have binding. The rolled fretboard edges do indeed make the SlimTaper neck fast, and particularly helps with pull-offs on the high E string. I've had no issues slipping off the fretboard either. I'm perhaps slightly less enthusiastic about the rolled edge next to the bottom E, but I've had no slip-offs there either. All in all, the neck plays great. Moving on... I don't know why none of the washer thingies (excuse the technical jargon) for the Grovers were tightened, so I had to do it when I changed strings (that's when I noticed they all rattled). Small thing, but shouldn't pass QC. The Grovers stay in tune VERY well, by the way. The ones on this one are almost like locking tuners! Very nice! Came perfectly set-up out of the box, except for intonation. Not touching a thing as far as action and pickup height on this one goes! Front strap button drilled in slightly crooked, but no dealbreaker as it's very minor. Back strap button wasn't tightened - WTF? I mean, they're small issues, but the QC folks need to pay more attention. The fretboard is Grenadillo, which looks like dry rosewood as it's lighter in shade than regular rosewood, is a bit more dense - something like the bastard child of rosewood and ebony - and basically feels like rosewood. Some people have reported a sort of orange tint to their Grenadillo 'boards, but there's no orange tint here. Haven't had it long enough to review the wood used... Hopefully it'll all be good. The 2017 T Flying V comes with two Dirty Fingers humbuckers, and believe me when I say they're awesome! High output, but very warm and organic-sounding. No buzzsaw EMG sounds here, but metal enough for, um, metal! The warm sound of your 70s/early 80s vinyl that had Flying V players on it? Right here. I've heard it mentioned than the DFs can be a bit muddy - maybe the alleged slightly-brighter-than-regular-rosewood tone of the Grenadillo counteracts it? No mud here. Nut well cut. Comes with a proper hardcase, multi-tool and certificate that lies and says they've sweated the small stuff. So, am I happy with it? Very! It's just, for me at least, the perfect hard rock/metal guitar. The warmth and thickness of the tone is just amazing, without sacrificing any clarity at all. Love it!! Oh, a question: since the rolled fretboard edges also have rolled-off fret edges, is it gonna be a ***** to re-fret? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryUK Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 Pics? Where did you get it from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelT Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 Yep, we definitely need pictures and lots of them. I've been playing Flying V's for years and love them. Thanks for the review and I'm glad you like the guitar despite its few QC issues. I'll always have a fondness for my V's. They certainly have their own feel and sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted May 4, 2017 Author Share Posted May 4, 2017 Larry: I'm in Sweden. If I said you had a nice Brexit, would you hold it against me? MichaelT: in due time. i was guitarless in Feb last year and bought an Epi LP. Still no pics. So... Maybe next year. Or sooner. It basically looks exactly like on Gibson.com, only it gleams like... well, I haven't been to Brazil, but I've seen the vi... postcards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megafrog Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 Did they include a strap with yours? I like my 2017 quite a bit. Great case on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted May 5, 2017 Author Share Posted May 5, 2017 Megafrog: yup! A good one, too. I like the LM straps, and the strap that came with my V... I think they're manufactured at the same plant. I ordered bottle washers for straplocks. We don't get the Grolsch washers in Sweden, unfortunately. We get the small bottles. Decent lager. Paying almost twice as much for Heineken? Riiight. :) Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the output jack in my review. Long story short, I've found out it's a stereo jack wired for mono. And it's pretty tight. See other threads: I went all OCD on it. To be fair, it's 1.4k bucks. Thanks to Megafrog for assisting me in my dementia ;) All in all... Like I said, I really, REALLY like this one. Fair price for this tone. You can "tame" the Dirty Fingers, too. I haven't recorded with this one yet, but th pups are... responsive. I had a 2014 V a few years ago (that would be 2014), and while it would probably have been great had I been tapped to play for the new Ghost line-up, it was more bark than bite. I liked it at the time. I dunno; the guy who bought it loves it. Me, I'm not the biggest Burstbucker Pro fan. It does sound like a V. At $2k, it'd better. But it needs a loud tube amp. My 2017 sounds like da sheit on a modelling amp. Granted, it's a Blackstar. Maybe the TVP 260 deserves a thread of its own? I have Epiphone ProBuckers in my Epi LP, and they blow BB Pro's out of the entire pond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american cheez Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 The Grovers stay in tune VERY well, by the way. The ones on this one are almost like locking tuners! Very nice! Oh, a question: since the rolled fretboard edges also have rolled-off fret edges, is it gonna be a ***** to re-fret? locking tuners don't lock the rotation of the post. they lock the string into the post hole. locking tuners operate otherwise identical to your grovers. in this regard, their stability is indeed equal. i much prefer the grovers to klusens. your frets are just like all frets and when the day comes, far in the future when you need a refret, it won't be a big deal. i looked on the gibby website and it doesn't say theu are the cryogenically treated frets. maybe they are and it doesn't say. those are supposed to be a little harder, and last a little longer. i don't know if it's true though. my LP has them but i have only had it for 3 years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted May 5, 2017 Author Share Posted May 5, 2017 I know Grovers aren't locking tuners. Just saying these are exceptional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted May 5, 2017 Author Share Posted May 5, 2017 They're still doing that cryo stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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