Jimi Hendrix’s 1970 Gibson Flying V (Left-handed, Black)
Although Jimi Hendrix was no stranger to Flying Vs, this particular guitar was the only one custom-made specifically for him to be played left-handed.
The guitar was first seen on April 25, 1970, at the Los Angeles Forum, and later on May 8, 1970, at the University of Oklahoma Field House in Norman [Norman (Field House, University Of Oklahoma): May 8, 1970 [Premier concert]]. From then on, it was used a number of times until Jimi’s death, most famously at The Isle of Wight Festival on August 30, 1970.
Specs
Jimi’s left-handed Flying V was finished in plain black with a white pickguard, gold-plated hardware, and a Vibrola tremolo. The guitar also had unique features, such as a fully bound neck with split diamond inlays instead of the dot inlays standard on most models from this period. It also had a plain black truss rod cover reading “Custom,” similar to the truss rod covers on Les Paul Customs.
Additionally, the Gibson logo on Jimi’s Flying V was inlaid on the headstock, while standard models had the logo printed on the truss rod cover. Based on these features, and supported by a few different sources, the guitar was likely a custom order by Jimi himself or something Gibson built specifically for him, with or without his knowledge.
According to Walter Carter, a Gibson historian, the serial number on the guitar (849476) was not logged into Gibson’s shipping registry in 1969, although other guitars from that year had similar serial numbers. This suggests Jimi’s guitar was made in late 1969 but, due to its custom features, wasn’t finished and shipped until early to mid-1970. [Gibson Flying V – Zachary R. Fjestad, Larry Meiners; p.23]
Jimi’s Flying V Today
The guitar is currently owned by Hard Rock International (see video below, skip to the 3:15-minute mark). According to some sources, the previous owner was Eric Barrett, Jimi’s road manager.
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In 1974, Eric Barrett considered selling me Jimi’s Gibson Flying V for $5,000. He told me that the guitar was not an original Gibson, but was made by a guy that gave it to Jimi. At the time, Eric was the lighting director for Fleetwood Mac and Stevie and Lindsey had not yet officially joined the band yet.
The split diamond arrowheads, I’ve been told, were a reference to Jimi’s Native American heritage, one of his grandmother’s having been full Cherokee.
During one period of the HRC’s ownership, the company had quite a liberal approach to the bits of its collection held in the ‘Vault’, an old bank vault in the basement of its London merchandise store, which is the only bit of the HRC empire where you can actually touch any of the exhibits. At this time, 2005/6, I had the opportunity in there to sit on a bench once owned by Hendrix, and not only handle this exact guitar, the Black Angel as he repoutedly called it, but to actually play it. Sadly not plugged in, but still! I managed my rendition of Pirple Haze (which hopefully didn’t make Jimi turn in his grave!), and for the hell of it Wild Thing and a couple of Ramones numbers. It felt fantstic to play. Im’ not a big one for pointy guitars in general, or even much Gibsons with humbuckers in particular, but this guitar has something special in it. Fretting those notes on the Purple Haze intro that he must have played many times on that guitar just felt….. right, somehow. Like they were stored in the guitar, maybe there was a wear pattern that just masde them feel right, something I couldn’t see, but certainly could feel.
Alas, since then the policy haschanged, and I would no longer be able to play andhave my own snaps taken. Nowadays, they let you hold the guitar long enough to pay for a photo with it. This makes my experience feel all the more special. As a lefty, it’s not often you can play anyone else’s guitar, let alone one that belonged to one of your heroes!
I had the same experience….I believe it was John Lennons couch according to the gent that let me play Angel….. #best day ever