"Love Drops" Flying V
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.Though known for playing Fender Stratocasters, Jimi Hendrix played this Gibson Flying V extensively from 1967 to 1969. He probably used it on his 1967 BBC Radio 1 sessions and 1968’s Electric Ladyland, notably for his solo on “All Along the Watchtower.” Hendrix modified the nut and strap button and painted the instrument himself using nail polish. When Hendrix gave the guitar to Mick Cox of the Irish band Eire Apparent in 1969, Cox refinished it in black and removed the original design. In the 1990s, session musician Dave Brewis acquired the instrument and restored Hendrix’s original paint job.
Technical Description:
Mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard; 24¾ in. scale; black finish painted with psychedelic design, set neck with pearloid dot inlays; rounded arrow-shaped headstock with gold Gibson logo stamped on truss rod cover; two humbucking pickups, three-way selector switch, two volume controls and one tone control; nickel tune-o-matic bridge, Vibrola vibrato tailpiece, pickup covers, and Kluson tuners, black plastic knobs, large three-ply white & black plastic pickguard; original sunburst refinished in black, restored psychedelic paint job, nut and strap button modified for left-handed playing
Technical Description:
Mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard; 24¾ in. scale; black finish painted with psychedelic design, set neck with pearloid dot inlays; rounded arrow-shaped headstock with gold Gibson logo stamped on truss rod cover; two humbucking pickups, three-way selector switch, two volume controls and one tone control; nickel tune-o-matic bridge, Vibrola vibrato tailpiece, pickup covers, and Kluson tuners, black plastic knobs, large three-ply white & black plastic pickguard; original sunburst refinished in black, restored psychedelic paint job, nut and strap button modified for left-handed playing
Artwork Details
- Title: "Love Drops" Flying V
- Artist: Gibson (American, founded Kalamazoo, Michigan 1902)
- Artist: Jimi Hendrix (American, 1942–1970)
- Date: 1967
- Geography: Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States
- Medium: Mahogany, rosewood, metal, plastic, nail polish
- Dimensions: Length: 44 1/2 in. (113 cm)
Width: 16 1/8 in. (41 cm)
Depth: 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm)
Weight: 8-9 lbs. - Classification: Chordophone-Lute-plucked-fretted
- Credit Line: Collection of William C. Butler, Vanderpool, TX
- Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments