# Gibson Flying-V , relic project



## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

OK..grabbed this Nive V today loclly, butnot a fan offade red...so..it"s comming off and is refinished in a nice vintage white 67style...


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

shavef neck
View attachment 3250


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## ElectricMojo (May 19, 2011)

Cool.
Really looking forward to the completed pics.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

well..all the paint is removed....and grain filler applied and drying overnight. I'm actually thinking of doing something a little more funky with the color...like surf green...wish is my favorite guitar color...
View attachment 3281


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## Intrepid (Oct 9, 2008)

I'm with you Alain. I'm a big surf green fan and this V would look wicked in that colour.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

View attachment 3296


OK...surf green it is...it actually looks pretty wicked....


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Yep...really glad of my choice....but will have nickel covers instead of black
View attachment 3297


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

hum..ok that is THE look...
View attachment 3298


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## Intrepid (Oct 9, 2008)

That is simply awesome! Great looking V.


al3d said:


> hum..ok that is THE look...
> View attachment 3298


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## ElectricMojo (May 19, 2011)

Wow.
That's awesome.


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

Pretty cool! An ABR-1 Nashville conversion bridge would look much better than that big honking Nashville TOM IMO, but that's just me...


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

gtone said:


> Pretty cool! An ABR-1 Nashville conversion bridge would look much better than that big honking Nashville TOM IMO, but that's just me...


Very true ...i'm actually looking for a place to get one of those convertion bridges


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

Faber and Callaham both make Nashville stud to ABR-1 conversion bridges. The Callaham is steel, quite expensive, but sounds great (have one on my '10 FB-V). The Faber is zinc, but has steel or brass saddles (can't remember which), reasonable in cost and also sounds very good (have one on my '74 SG Special). 

They both look far better than the clunky pot-metal stock Nashville bridges. Let's face it - THAT guitar is worthy of a bridge upgrade... ;^)


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

gtone said:


> Faber and Callaham both make Nashville stud to ABR-1 conversion bridges. The Callaham is steel, quite expensive, but sounds great (have one on my '10 FB-V). The Faber is zinc, but has steel or brass saddles (can't remember which), reasonable in cost and also sounds very good (have one on my '74 SG Special).
> 
> They both look far better than the clunky pot-metal stock Nashville bridges. Let's face it - THAT guitar is worthy of a bridge upgrade... ;^)



yeah..was looking at Tone Pro..but don't seem to have them...unless i missed it


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

Go Albert King and put a Bigsby on her!


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

MrMarr1972...not even at gun point..LOL

I emailed Callaham...those insane folks are charging 40$ to ship a bridge here...under 1lbs package in a small padded envelope....insane


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

Looks great man, nice job!


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

al3d said:


> MrMarr1972...not even at gun point..LOL
> 
> I emailed Callaham...those insane folks are charging 40$ to ship a bridge here...under 1lbs package in a small padded envelope....insane


There's a couple of Callaham dealers on E-Bay that might ship cheaper. I bought mine from a dealer in Vero Beach, FL.

I don't know if I've ever heard of a TonePros Nashville to ABR-1 conversion, but they might be out there somewhere.


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## OldGuitarPlayer (Feb 25, 2013)

mrmatt1972 said:


> Go Albert King and put a Bigsby on her!


Albert King never used a Bigsby on his flying v.










[video=youtube;BKY8KIt9kqc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKY8KIt9kqc[/video]


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## GUInessTARS (Dec 28, 2007)

Lonnie Mack had the V with the bigsby!


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

Notice how neither Mack nor King had those clunky, tone-sucking Zamac Nashville bridges on their V's (chuckle).


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

well.;.i tough about changing the bridge AFTER the paint was done..so i'm stuck with the nashville bridge for now. I don't wanna rip out the insert and risk fucking up the paint. unless i can find a ABR convertion that can FIT in those holes...then...it's that

Spent 6 wet sanding yesturday...today buffing and assembly..


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

You could always drill/ream out the holes on an ABR-1 and use the existing Nashville studs - seen that before with good results.

BTW, there's a Callaham ABR-1 bridge on the TGP emporium now at a reasonable price, no exhorbitant shipping fee likely. That could work a charm.

Optionally, you could always snag an older Gibson ABR-1 - cheap and plentiful, better built unit than the modern ones (Schaller made these units for a while). While it might not have quite the tone of the Callaham, it should still sound a little better than the Nashville and look 100% better too.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

They all would need i remove the inserts..and not something i wanna do right now



gtone said:


> You could always drill/ream out the holes on an ABR-1 and use the existing Nashville studs - seen that before with good results.
> 
> BTW, there's a Callaham ABR-1 bridge on the TGP emporium now at a reasonable price, no exhorbitant shipping fee likely. That could work a charm.
> 
> Optionally, you could always snag an older Gibson ABR-1 - cheap and plentiful, better built unit than the modern ones (Schaller made these units for a while). While it might not have quite the tone of the Callaham, it should still sound a little better than the Nashville and look 100% better too.


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

al3d said:


> They all would need i remove the inserts..and not something i wanna do right now


Think you misunderstood what I was suggesting. You can leave the existing Nashville inserts/studs in the wood and just remove the existing Nashville wide-body TOM bridge. You could then drill out the holes in the metal body of a "regular" (ie non-conversion) ABR-1 bridge to fit the existing Nashville stud setup and voila - c'est cette. Works fine assuming you can drill close tolerance holes to fit the existing studs.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

OK..shitty pict..i know..LOL..but always raining and want to take good picts outside when it stops raining..but still gives a good idea of the final look..


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## Guest (Jun 17, 2013)

Looks nice! Good job! Have you you considered a matching green headstock?


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

laristotle said:


> Looks nice! Good job! Have you you considered a matching green headstock?


I tought about it..but it gets to green...with the whole thing green...the black breaks it up a bit..


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

Yep - looks great with the black headstock. Matches the black control knobs very nicely and the seafoam green thing isn't too overdone. Looks very rock'n'roll with a retro vibe - nice job!!


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

OK.well, finally finished to my taste. I've decided to install a new set of EMG James Hetfield active pups in her..and WOW....that's what i call a Rock'N Roll guitar..


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