Epiphone | 1958 Korina Flying V & Explorer
Get recreations of the models that launched the Golden Era of electric guitar design into the Space Age!
Epiphone has announced the launch of a new Limited Edition run of instruments recreating two of the most recognizable and valuable vintage guitars ever produced! Made in partnership with the Gibson Custom Shop, the new Limited Edition 1958 Korina Flying V and 1958 Korina Explorer bring the authentic details of each original model to today’s guitarists!
Blasting off into the electric guitar stratosphere!
Although Gibson's first solidbody electric guitar—the Les Paul Standard—has come to represent the pinnacle achievement of design in the instrument category today, by 1957, sales of the company’s flagship solidbody guitar were not as high as Gibson President Ted McCarty had hoped. So, ahead of the NAMM show that same year, he put together a team of employees at Gibson to design the what would come to be known as the “Modernistic” series, with an aim to shake things up at the show, by coming up with guitar shapes that were different from anything else on the market.
Far ahead of their time, the resulting futuristic designs—which included the Flying V and Explorer—achieved McCarty’s goal, shocking the guitar world with Modernistic series’ sharply-angled shapes and supremely resonant Korina bodies.
While the Flying V was adopted by a few players from the start, like bluesman Albert King, the Modernistic series models produced from 1958-’59 were seen largely as novelties, with only an estimated 98 Flying Vs having shipped, overall, while just a mere 22 Explorers are known to have been produced—making the surviving instruments from both models’ initial production run even rarer (and more valuable) finds on the vintage market than even the fabled Burst Les Paul Standards from the same years!
Limited Edition 1958 Korina Flying V
Recreating what is arguably one of the most distinctive and beloved guitar shapes ever produced, the Epiphone Limited Edition 1958 Flying V features a Korina body and neck with a long neck tenon and 1958 Flying V neck profile. Equipped with an Indian laurel fretboard and gold hardware, it also features Gibson Burstbucker 2 and Burstbucker 3 pickups wired to individual volume controls and a master tone control with CTS potentiometers and a Mallory capacitor. An Epiphone x Gibson Custom logo is proudly displayed on the back of the headstock, and a hardshell case is also included.
Limited Edition 1958 Korina Explorer
Named after the first American satellite launched into orbit, the space-age design of the original Explorers proved to be decades ahead of their time. Like the ultra-rare original Gibson models from 1958, the Epiphone Limited Edition 1958 Explorer features a Korina body and neck, with a long tenon and 1958 Explorer neck profile. It’s equipped with an Indian laurel fretboard and gold hardware, with Gibson Burstbucker 2 and Burstbucker 3 pickups wired to individual volume controls and a master tone control, outfitted with CTS potentiometers and a Mallory capacitors, as well as an Epiphone x Gibson Custom logo on the back of the headstock. A hardshell case is also included.
Capture the mystique of these recreations today by pre-ordering yours at Chicago Music Exchange!
SHOP EPIPHONE
Related Posts
Moog | Muse Analog Polyphonic Synth
Conjure classic Moog Synthesizers analog synth voices, yourself, using the Muse’s comprehensive, intuitive digital controls at Chicago Synth Exchange! Come into the showroom today to hear it for yourself! Call CME, or chat with us online (or in the Chicago Music Exchange App) to order yours today!
Read more
Jackson Guitars | American Series Soloist & Virtuoso
Built by some of the same Jackson Guitars craftsmen who’ve been there since the beginning, the new Jackson American Series Soloist and Virtuoso models represent the brand’s first made-in-Corona flagship product line! Learn more on Chicago Music Exchange's Soundboard Blog!
Read more
Introducing | Spector Basses
Founded in New York in 1976, Spector began in a Brooklyn Woodworkers Co-op. Guided by Stuart Spector’s design ethos, the Spector NS has become one of the most recognizable electric basses in history! Learn more about Spector Basses on the Soundboard Blog or visit us in the BASSment at Chicago Music Exchange today!
Read more