IGC Epiphone Flying V Korina 58: (2026)
As someone who has grown up with the Fender / Gibson guitar brands, they hold a traditional and nostalgic place in my own thinking and so… Fender-Squier and Gibson-Epiphone models are not on my radar. As a youngster I loved the look of the Gibson Flying V 1958 model but of course, other than their rarity it would not be long before the asking price for one became excessive for most folks let alone a schoolboy. When Gibson announced their Exclusive Matched Set Murphy Lab 58 Korina Flying V and Explorer Models they were sold out even before they were officially released. This was followed by The Custom Shop models which still had a high price tag of around £10,00.00 each.
Enter the Inspired By Gibson Custom Shop (IGC) Epiphone Flying V Korina 58 released in February 2023. This model is not to be confused with the earlier model which was made with a mahogany body and neck – the body front and back were give a thin Korina veneer and the electronics were Epiphone products. This newer model is made with solid Korina – two pieces for the body. The Hum-bucking pick-ups are Gibson Burst-buckers – BB1 in the neck and BB2 in the bridge. The CTS Potentiometers are 500k with a Mallory resistor and Switchcraft 3 way toggle and input jack socket. The fingerboard is Indian Laurel which in this case could actually could do with some Danish oil treatment. Scale length is 24.75 and sports 22 Medium Jumbo frets which are fairly good, however the edges on this particular guitar do feel a little sharp and could do with a bit of a gentle file and polish. The bridge is an ABR-1 type - manufactured by Epiphone specifically for this guitar – so it is a metric fit set-up - and not to be confused with the Gibson made ABR1 Bridge.
This particular guitar weighs-in at 6.4 lbs which makes it the lightest guitar in my studio and it comes with a rather nice hard-shell case. While it is made to a price-point and not as robust as the usual Gibson cases, it does nevertheless look good and holds the guitar in place in a very snug fit. In my channel video review I put the guitar up against a Gibson Les Paul Standard with Burst-bucker pick-ups just to see how close they sound.
All in all, I would say that this is a very nice looking guitar and certainly looks very close to the original 58. The guitar is very comfortable to play and I think it would delight most folks who would love to own a Korina Flying V 58 model without the high costs associated with them.
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At this time the guitar is very popular and it might be difficult to get a hold of one brand new.
Personal Comment:
Epiphone have in recent years been improving the quality fit and finish of their guitars much to the delight of those unwilling to fork-out for the Gibson model. Certainly, they are getting close to rivaling the original and it remains to be seen if the Asian factory will ever produce a product in a nitro-cellulose finish, that would certainly raise eyebrows!