Vista Pawn was having a 50% off sale over the weekend and Saturday I was there broadcasting live with Eagle Rock Girls Shelby and Charlie.

I’ve been obsessed with Flying V guitars for at least 10 years.  I went through a phase where I quite playing my guitar for about 3 years so I sold my Fender Squire, my Fender tube amp, and my Marshall Half Stack. I kept my acoustic and recently started playing it again.

The urge for the Flying V kicked back up when I interviewed Michael Schenker from the Scorpions.  Then I started visiting stores in the Treasure Valley and testing out different brands, playing them in the store for hours and getting a general idea of what a Flying V costs.  Nobody ever needs an electric guitar I told myself as I watched deal after deal disappear off the shelves.  Saturday l go into Vista Pawn and if they had a Dean VX already cheaper than local music stores plus an additional 50% off.  I grabbed it the second I walked in and had them hold it in the back until I was done broadcasting live.  The minute I was done I plugged it in and checked it out, mint condition.  Sold.

I pulled the Mister Yuk sticker off and now it’s like my freshman year of college all over again, playing an electric guitar without an amp.  I’ll get one eventually I just want to do my research and figure out what I want.  I never should of sold my Fender tube amp because it ended up being from the 60’s and worth a few grand (I stupidly sold it for $75).  Nothing looked more rock and roll than my Marshall Half Stack but honestly I just didn’t play it enough but Angus Young, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Perry, Iron Maiden, Jane’s Addiction, Slash, Motorhead, Megadeth, and Joe Satriani all played Marshall’s.  I’m sort of checking out Orange Amps now but I’m still not sure which direction I want to go.

Some of my favorite musicians that play the flying-v are Jimi Hendrix, Dave Davies (The Kinks), Michael Schenker, Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Zakk Wylde & Randy Rhodes (Ozzy Osbourne)Kirk Hammet (Metallica), Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Keith Richards (Rolling Stones), Neil Young and the coolest thing about the flying-v guitar? They’re not just for metal, originally they were first used up by blues guitarists in the last 50’s and my holy grail would be Albert King’s 1958 Korina V now owned by actor Steven Segal.  Check out Albert jamming with Stevie Ray Vaughn below, this is what finally sold my on the Flying V.  This defines cool. – Forrest