Jimi Hendrix Gibson Flying V 1967

Jimi Hendrix: Catfish Blues | Flying V 1967 | Flying V 2026 | Martin Sharp poster |

1. Psychedelic

TV studio, Paris, 10 October 1967.

One of the most iconic electric guitars from the 1960s is the dark brown Jimi Hendrix 1967 Gibson Flying V which he hand-painted and used from around May of that year through to early 1968, eventually giving it to a friend in 1969. The original was right-handed - as were the vast majority of guitars Hendrix played through to his death in September 1970. He would wear the guitar upside down, with the strings rearranged for normal play, whereby the thicker ones were at the top and the thinner ones at the bottom. After February 1968 he appears mostly to have used a tobacco sunburst 1968/69 Flying V for live gigs, and then a special black 1969 left-handed Flying V made especially for him by Gibson. This was seen at the famous Maui, Hawaii gig of 30 July 1970. 

Due to its thicker tone, the Gibson Flying V was generally used by Hendrix to play blues, including Catfish Blues / Redhouse and Voodoo Chile, whilst the higher ringing and distorted tones of a Fender Stratocaster was more commonly seen, and often associated with various pedals, providing him with the wider sonic range and distortion for which he became so well known. The Flying Vs also made use of pedals such as the Wah.

The present writer has written an article which outlines the history of the original 1967 guitar here: Jimi Hendrix psychedelic Gibson '67 Flying V. The present article looks in detail at a modern Chinese copy from March 2026, and compares it with the original from 1967 and the more recent official Gibson copies as sold from 2019, based on a restoration of the original guitar.

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2. The Chinese copy

A number of different copies of the Hendrix '67 Flying V began appearing for sale on Chinese online sites such as DH Gate, Temu and Aliexpress from circa 2022. The quality of the reproductions varied, from hand-painted versions through to those with printed decals copying the original Hendrix artwork. The actual quality of the guitars, such as the body work, frets, tuners and electronics, varied for low to high. Many of these copies appeared to use a black Flying V as the base, rather than the original dark brown version of 1967. It is unclear whether they came from a single manufacturer, or a number of different ones. The copy illustrated below was offered for sale by Aliexpress in March 2026.

Front of the guitar, revealing the artwork on the top and sides.

Rear view revealing single-piece body and rosewood fretboard.

Note that in the illustrations the top of the guitar is not shown, as it likely includes a copy of the original - or near original - headstock with Gibson decal. This can be seen in the illustration at the head of the present article article.

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3. Experience

The author experienced one of these Chinese copies during 2026. It retailed for Aus$348.61 (circa US$238) + GST$34.86. This appeared to be an extremely good price, as the writer had been monitoriing this type of guitar for a couple of year, and they usually reated online around the Aus$560 mark. This guitar was on sale, down from a "normal" price of Aus$830.59. Whilst the item was advertised as the "last one", a couple of hours after the sale another four appeared, though the price had rise by almost $60 to Aus$406.99, claiming to be 50% off. Ordered on 31 March, it arrived on (estimated 15 May) in a foam package. This was the third guitar ordered from China since 2022, with the previous two being of high quality and no problems in transit or thereafter. One was a Les Paul and the pickups were replaced; the other was a Telecaster copy and it was left as is. Both were left-handed models, as the writer is a leftie. 

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4. References

Bacon, Tony, Flying V, Explorer, Firebird, Hal Leonard Corp., 2011, 160p.

Brewis, David, How I discovered Jimi Hendrix's psychedelic Flying V, Reverb, 3 January 2019.

Five Watt World, The Gibson Flying V: A Short History, Five Watt World, 18 June 2020, YouTube, duration: 26.14 minutes.

Fjestad, Zachary R. and Larry Meiners, Gibson Flying V, 2Blue Book Publications, 2008, 104p.

Jimi Hendrix and the love drops story: The magic Flying V, The Flying V Documentary, 27 December 2027, YouTube, duration: 8.33 minutes.

McGuinness, Tim, The amazing story of how one of Jimi Hendrix's famous guitars ended up in a Newcastle music shop, Chronicle Live, 17 November 2020.

Meiners, Larry, Flying V: The Illustrated History, Flying Vintage, 2001, 72p.

Organ, Michael, Jimi Hendrix psychedelic Gibson '67 flying V, blogger.com, 25 September 2021.

Rock n Roll Hall of Fame exhibition 2012, featuring the restored original Hendrix 1967 Flying V. Duration: 2.12 minutes.

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Jimi Hendrix: Catfish Blues | Flying V 1967 | Flying V 2026 | Martin Sharp poster |

Last updated: 31 March 2026

Michael Organ, Australia