1958 Gibson Flying V Korina

This guitar is on consignment from a lifelong friend and customer of Woodsy's Music. Below is the story from the customer, as well as our own findings. The guitar has also been evaluated and appraised by Carter Vintage Guitars - see photos for their evaluation. 

"Though its original owner is unknown, the history of this guitar is a story in itself. In 1968, it was traded for a hotel bill in Puerto Rico. It was found in the kitchen of the restaurant, painted green, by the current owner’s brother. A musician and artist himself, he then painted the guitar red, white, and blue with stars - we would have liked to see a picture of that! 

The current owner was given the guitar by his brother in 1971 and started the restoration process. A new replica case was made in Canada, two dowels were added to stabilize the neck, and the guitar was restored to its original Korina finish by Lay’s Guitar Shop in Akron, Ohio. During the refinish process, they also replaced the original wood where a third pickup was installed sometime in the 70’s.

This guitar was loaned to Joe Walsh, who was a friend of the family, who had it for two years before returning it to the current owner."

Notes from our shop. See photos:

Replaced electronic components:

• The pot in the photos says “WD250” which is a 250k pot from WD Music. Cap appears to be old.
• Any codes on the other two pots can not be discerned, however when you compare the color/lack of tarnish to the switch you can see that they are much newer - most likely replaced at the same time as the WD250 pot. Additionally, the wiring appears to be new as well.  
• Based on the discoloration of the gold bridge and “V” below the bridge, the pickup covers have been replaced. This can also be seen in the way the covers have been soldered on.
• One pickup has a “Patent Applied For” sticker, the other one is missing. However, based on what we know and the apparent age, both pickups are original.

Additional modifications:

• It seems as though this guitar was, at one point, routed for three humbucker pickups and then reverted to two (confirmed by owner).
• Pickguard and output jack ring appear to have been replaced, as noticed in the difference in discoloration when compared to the truss rod cover.