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https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/epiphone-releases-limited-edition-korina-flying-v-and-explorer
Not sure if the bonamassa version will be another £300 plus better than this one?
I doubt it?
Nowhere near me has them in stock or I would go check them out
http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Designer/Ltd-Ed-Korina-Flying-V.aspx
Spotted these when they released a while back and really want to check one out before I buy, but as I'm in Exeter these days can't get to Brighton to try one.
I've got an old Korean "Unsung" SG and newer Epiphones made in China and I'm not able to tell a meaningful difference. The only thing I will say is I prefer the ProBucker pickups in the higher-end Epis to the "standard" ones.
Edit: Epis do have that funny D-profile that winds some people up...
I'm cool with it not being made in the USA and I quite like African Limba as a wood, as it is light.
Just not sure if I would get along with the thinner neck profile, as I like a thicker neck whenever possible on guitars, just at £400 it seems like a good price for a good quality Flying V.
I doubt you would find anyone who has owned a "proper" Flying V buying a Korina version but if someone wants to make the case for Korina I'm happy to listen, having never played one.
These things are so very, very subjective - you won't know until you either spend your own cash on a guitar you might not like, or try one in a shop...?
However, didn't think it would hurt to ask on here as I know a lot of forum members live near shops that I don't and so may have tried them out in the real world.
Chances are I will buy one anyway and give it a go, as £400 is pretty cheap for a guitar.
Some average weights for you from the wood database:
limba: 555 kg/m3
Hoduran Mahogany: 590 kg/m3
red alder: 450 kg/m3
Swamp Ash: 481-538 kg/m3
To put that in real terms If the average weight mahognay V was 9lb, the average weight korina one would be about 8 1/2lb. The alder one would be under 7lb and the swamp ash one could be anywhere in between
Mahogany and limba vary in weight quite a lot, there is a hell of a lot of crossover between the two species and that average comes with a very wide range. enough to say there is no guarantee a korina guitar will be lighter
And yes, a "proper" V is korina
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The Flying V was originally designed to be made out of mahogany. The prototypes were considered at the time to be too heavy, so korina was used to save weight.
With all due respect to Albert King, the original korina V was not a popular guitar. Only when Gibson reintroduced the guitar in 1967 - in mahogany as originally intended - did it find favour.
The classic V is the 67 model, original korina guitars may be worth a fortune but that is because of their rarity.
I suspect korina guitars are not as well balanced as the mahogany versions but I take the point, these days there might not be a serious difference in weight as there clearly was in the 1950's. I still wish I had a V so I must try out one of the korinas for myself. If I could get the sound I had with my '67 for a lot less money, I'd be very happy.
The original V’s lack of popularity has nothing to do with the wood choice. It was all to do with the shape.
who knows why Gibson really switched from mahogany to Korina. I accept a slight weight reduction may have been one factor but it won’t have been the only one. It certainly has little relevance in a discussion of modern epi phones.
For comparison, my mahogany moderne build was 7lb with no hidden weight relief. I
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Knowing Gibson they probably just used what they could buy for a better price back in the '50s and then again in the '60s...
https://i.imgur.com/A41Fsjp.jpg
I suspect it was an aesthetic choice for the range, something to differentiate these crazy modern looking things. Gibson wasn't known for its natural finishes at this point either
The wood choice never went as far as the standard range of Les pauls or the lighter SG's that followed them. I know weight is a common question on new les pauls (thanks to the 70's), not sure it will have been back in 1958
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