Flying V production year?

[danielaraujo]

Hi everyone. I bought an used Flying V in 2006. It was very beaten, but after some upgrades and setup it sounds and plays like a charm.

 

Now I'm trying to figure out in what year was it was made. I gathered some info about it but some were contraditory. So I'm hoping that other Epi V owners can help me out...

 

 

Things that make me think it's been made in 1990:

- SN is B0028566. Guitar Dater Project says it was made in the Czech Republic in 1990.

- The position and size of the Epi logo is more like the early-90s guitars than recent models.

- Hardware was veeeery rusty

 

Things that make me think it's been made sometime else:

- An article I read (lost the URL, sorry) said the Czech Plant started producing Epis only in 93.

- Previous owner told me he bought it new in Italy sometime around 2001.

- The B in the SN is so blurred it could have been an "8"

- The 1-letter/ 7-digit SNs seem to be non-standard, so the GDP could be wrong.

 

Things that make me think it's not a counterfeit:

- Gibson customer care says it doesn't look like one

- I read somewhere the counterfeit plague started in 2007.

 

 

Below are some pictures. They're linked to their hi-res versions. Check out the logo... it seems larger than recent V models.

 

Any information will be appreciated.

 

 

[Emetry]

I am not an expert on Flying-Vs by any stretch of the word, but I will say several things do point out to me that this Flying-V is a fake.

 

The biggest indicator to me is the serial number. The way that it is printed is HORRIBLE even if it WAS 1990, there just seems little room for me to wrap my head around a serial being printed so badly and unevenly.

Secondly, you are correct, to the best of my knowledge there WERE no Epiphones being manufactured in the Czech Republic prior to 1993 when the Bohemia Musico-Delicia plant opened.

 

Now, here is where basing analysis off the serial itself get's weird. Standard Epi serial is as such:

LETTER(S) followed by 8 digits, like so: FYYMMRRRR where

F=Factory

YY= Year made

MM=Month made

RRRR=Ranking number

 

HOWEVER, the factory code can be 1 or 2 letters OR non-existant based on the specific guitar, AND, to add a little extra weirdness to this particular issue, in the early '90s, some guitars were only given 1 digit for the year code.

 

So, your guitar COULD be telling us

B=Czech Republic

YY=2000

M=February

RRRR=8566

But, strangely enough, if there is only one digit for the month, usually it's a letter (a=january. b=february, etc.)

Again, that varies from model/year though, but for the year 2000, this is not a valid serial number.

 

OR, your guitar is saying

B= Czech Republic

Y=1990

MM=February

RRRR=8566

Which is a valid serial for SOME guitars in the early '90s, but as we've already established, there were no guitars being made at the Bohemia Musico-Delicia plant before 1993.

 

The ONLY way I can see that being a real Epi is if that B really is an 8, in which case that guitar was made in 1980, not 1990 or 2000.

 

 

REALLY hope that helps. I can only offer input on the serial since I don't know much about the V.

[danielaraujo]

Thanks for your input, Emetry. To be honest I wouldn't care much if my guitar was a copy... it's a keeper.

 

But I would be lying if I said I wouldn't love to find I bought an 80s jewel by accident, hehe.

 

Anyway, I would still appreciate it if other Epi V owners/enthusiasts could compare those headstock details to other guitars'.

 

Thanks

Daniel

[Guest icantbuyafender]

the head stock logo is legit, friend, however the serial # bugs me too. like alot.

 

it just doesnt smell right

 

but, dont stress.

 

she's beautiful. Mine is just in a mental arguement with me..

 

Im very tempted to try a PG similar to your late 50s one to see if it jives.

 

the damn knob layout is seriously getting to me way too much for my liking, and to top it off I dont play metal, I play blues, jazz, and rock.

 

this coupled with my being uncomfortable with the neck and being of only 5' 3.5" tall at 22 years tells me this guitar is going to see more wall time if i decide to keep it.

 

Im too stuck on the les paul jr body to give her more time.

 

this is like a relationship going south. HAHA