Epiphone Korina Flying V Guitar Review

The Gibson Flying V model has, ever since the days of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, been a legendary style. It has been used in bands including Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, and is considered the prototypical metal guitar. Today, genuine Gibson Flying V's are worth thousands. In an effort to make them available to the average consumer, Epiphone has made a Korina Flying V in the style of the Gibson 1958 version. Let's see how it measures up.

Features: The Body of the Epiphone Korina Flying V, as one could probably guess by the name, is made from korina wood. This helps with enhancing sustain, a nice higher end feature. It is definitely an exact copy of the Gibson 1958 Flying V, down to the available finishes and gold V shaped tailpiece. The neck of the Flying V is made of mahogany, and is set into the body of the guitar. Its fretboard is crafted from rosewood, and it has pearloid dot inlays. All of the hardware, including the Tune-O-Matic bridge, pickup covers, and tuning heads, are gold. Electronically, the Korina Flying V has two Alnico Classic humbucker pickups. There are also two volume and one tone control knobs with a three way selector switch.

Playability: Flying V's are notorious for being difficult to play when sitting down. The sharply angled V shaped body tends to slip right off your knee. What's nice about the Epiphone Korina Flying V is that the bottom edge has a rubbery texture to prevent that slippage. Also, the set in neck and body shape combine to make high fret access wonderfully easy. The only real flaw, which is true of nearly all Flying V models, is that the selector switch is located very out of the way. It is quite a challenge to switch tones smoothly while playing.

Sound: Many users agree that this is the strongest quality of the Epiphone Korina Flying V is its sound. The Alnico Classic humbuckers deliver a very authentic sounding Gibson tone. Unexpectedly, they even sound great when playing clean. For a metal guitar, it is surprisingly versatile.

Overall: The Epiphone Korina Flying V is one of the nicest all around instruments that Epiphone has to offer. It's got several high quality features, high quality playability, and a sound unmatched by even the most expensive of instruments. You can find the Epiphone Korina Flying V for about $500.