Keith’s Flying V and a bunch of other reasons talk of Gibson’s demise makes me sad.
Keith only had this late 50s Gibson Flying V for a short time. The guitar was stolen soon after this 1969 Hyde Park performance and never made it onto a Stones recording. Keith must have loved the guitar at the time. Those of you who know your Strolling Bones history know there were a lot of eyeballs on this show being the first after Brian Jones’ death and the first with Mick Taylor playing live with the band. You can hear the full show here.
The Kinks’ Dave Davies picked up his Flying V at a pawn shop after the airline lost his guitar. According to Davies, back in the day, they only travelled with what they could carry and one guitar was it. Unlike today’s rock gods touring around with containers full of guitars.
The business model built around selling the average player containers full of guitars is a big part in why greedy Gibson is in such trouble right now. The birth of internet music stores created a huge upswing for a while, but that demand just isn’t sustainable.
Other reasons I’ve got a soft spot for Gibson is Zeppelin’s Heartbreaker, that phat riff on Sweet Child O’ Mine and every note that came from Steve Jones’ Les Paul on Never Minds the Bollocks.
All of the above is strictly sentimental, but the thought of a world without Aerosmith’s Walk This Way makes me sad.
Could any of these songs have been written on a PRS. Sure. But they weren’t.
Gibson is the icon.
The innovation that was the electric guitar gave birth to the music that followed. Gibson wasn’t merely there from the beginning, the Gibson ES-150 was the beginning. Not the first electric, but let’s say the first one that got it right. This guitar enabled Charlie Christian to become a star in the Benny Goodman orchestra, giving the lowly guitar the volume it needed to be heard among the horns.
Perspective check: back in 1939 Benny Goodman = Beyoncé.
Other perspective check: the price of the world’s first popular electric guitar was $155 with a 15 watt amp and cord roughly $2000 today. Today the cheapest ES will run you anywhere from $2,900 to a ridiculous $5,500. Not exactly making music for the people.
Talk of Gibson going tits up begs the question if guitars like Keith’s Flying V would take on even greater value. Already vintage Vs are one of the most valuable guitars out there. One of the main reason for this is because the launch was a fail.
The 1958 Gibson Flying V came out of the womb with like….zero applause. It did not soar–pun–as the name would suggest. Like it’s innovative sibling the Explorer, the V sold poorly. So much so that both models were discontinued after 2 short years. The guitars weren’t back on the assembly line until 1976.
Back in ’59 there must have been a lot of head shaking going on at Gibson. Not more than today of course, but still, here’s to hoping they can at least out live Keith Richards.
Below is a letter of advice to whoever takes over.
Dear (Whoever takes over),
I’ve heard times are tough at the guitar mill and while some are pointing to the demise of Rock ‘n’ Roll, I beg to differ. Sure guitars had a rough time at Coachella this year and Alex Turner isn’t helping but parking his six strings for his latest album, but I think you could still make enough money to keep the kids in private school if you just changes a few things.
- Get rid of what you know nothing about. See electronics.
- Focus on making great guitars. The ES-150 wasn’t cheap, but it was great.
- Lower expectations. Your revenue is still hovering above 1 Billion. The need for constant growth is both unsustainable and unwarranted. Be happy with the first couple of million you’re making you greedy bastards.