1988 V90 Info????

Hey, my friend has a 1988 V90 Flying V.We want some info on it.

I've done a search about it and all I can find is that a user, snakecharmer, owns one.That's about it.

Is there any info on how many were made or specifications, anything ya'll may have?

I'm pretty knowledgable about LPs, but when it comes to Vs and everything else Gibson, I'm pretty lost.Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Years they were built, woods used, options, and anything else.Here's some pics he provided me.






EDIT: The serial is:

83008708

There were 2 models of the V90. The V90 Single and the V90 Double. The Double had a Humbucker at the bridge and a single coil at the neck. It had a push/pull volume knob to split the humbucker, which was one of those circuit board type humbucker. They came optional with either the string through V shaped tailpiece, or with Gibson's basicly worthless Trem system. The necks are slim tapered, most did not have binding, although a few did have. Ebony fretboard. Split diamond inlay's. Finishes were black, white, and yellow. They also had 24 frets. The V90 Single had all the above features except only the one circuit board humbucker. They were made in 88-89. The body style was that of the 58 Korina's, with some of the edges cut out for comfort. They also had the Steinberger kickstand. The ones that I have had or played, the necks seemed to me to be a tad wider than normal. That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

Thanks Veeman.I knew I could count on you.lol

The help is appreciated.

Anyone else with any info on these guitars would be greatly appreciated.Like I said, I'm pretty knowledgable about LPs, but Vs, I'm just starting up and my friend is lost.

Hello one, hello all.

I am the aforementioned friend, and owner of that there geetar. From my under-the-pickguard oscopy procedure, I've determined that it would appear to be a mahogany body, but the thing barely weights 5lbs.


By the looks of things, it would appear this guitar was orginally intended to be a double. Or someone got a little crazy with the saw.

That's a V90 Single. What I see in the picture is the neck tenon. The singles had smaller pickguards because the doubles had a tone pot, making for a longer route below the bridge. The singles did not have a tone pot.

So that goofy half-circle cut is a neck tenon? Pardon my ignorance, but what's a neck tenon?

Hey guys - Cowtown Guitars in Vegas has a '88 V90 single in Banana yellow. The owner isn't listing a price. Since you never see these for sale, maybe he's asking high.

Sixstringhotshot said:

So that goofy half-circle cut is a neck tenon? Pardon my ignorance, but what's a neck tenon?

Click to expand...

The neck tenon is basically the neck's joint going into the body.Gibson Historics have the long neck tenon.People claim its better, more resonance and sustain, more solid.

Gibson USA has a regular neck tenon.

Simply put Ben, imagine taking a piece of wood, cutting a hole in it, then stick another piece into that hole, making a solid bond between the two.That is very exagerated.

Simply put, I have no idea wtf you just said LOL

The neck tenon is actually part of the neck, the extend part beyond where the fretboard stops. The body of the guitar is routed out for the neck to be set/glued in place. What's in that picture you posted, where the "goofy half circle" is, is the end of the neck tenon.

Oh. Well. What a lame manufacturing technique. I'm sure if that wasn't visible, they wouldn't have put a pickguard on it. And Gibsons without pickguards are the best kind.....damn the luck.

A sort of Turquoise green is a common color of those Vs and their sister models the SG 90s.

The SG90's, yes. The V90's, no. Only Yellow, Black, and White for the V90's.

In ’88 and ’89 Gibson made the 90 Series guitar models, the Flying V 90, the Explorer 90, and the SG 90. These were 24 Fret guitars with a push down volume coil tap. Each came with Bill Lawrence pickups. The color choices varied with each model and the Explorer 90 did not have a pick guard.

The V90’s and V90 Doubles were made in ‘88 and ‘89. Some say they were made as late as ‘92 but I have only seen ‘88 and ’89 models. The guitars were 25.5 scale, 24 fret, ebony fret board with split diamond inlay. The body was mahogany with a maple neck, MOP Gibson Logo, bell shaped truss rod cover and weighed approx. 9 lbs. They came in 3 colors only, Alpine White, Nuclear Yellow and Black. The V-90 had neck binding but the V90 Double does not. String thru body was standard but an optional tremolo bar with a lock down nut was optional. The very early models offered a Steinberger Tremolo that proved to be problematic and was quickly replaced by a Gibson, Flyod Rose patented, tremolo. In ‘89 Gibson offered the V90 Double, 2 Pickups. 3-Way Pickup Switch, Bill Lawrence single coil HBL-4 in the neck and HBL-8 humbucker at the bridge with split-coil. The single coil was mounted at a slanted angle like a Fender Stratocaster pickups and was not aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Some guys removed them and enlarged the cavity to fit a regular Humbucker. I have also seen single pickup V90’s with a humbucker added to the neck position. The body was the 1958 V style but was 10% smaller than a normal flying V and the back top of body has a “V” shaped (belly) contour cut. A Fender type jack socket was mounted under the top wing. All hardware was black. The humbucker is mounted on a printed circuit board with 4 wires and the single coil is mounted to the pick guard, not the body. The volume button is located under bridge pickup making easy access to volume control while playing. Both models have a fold-out Steinberger Leg Rest on the lower bottom wing for easier playing while seated.

NOTE: There are very few V 90’s left with the original Bill Lawrence HBL-8 bridge pickup. These were used in Les Paul’s, 335’s and other models and have a beautiful warm tone. Sadly, most guys quickly switched these out for DiMarzio, Seymour Duncan, or EMG. Finding a Bill Lawrence HBL-8 is a challenge and will command a premium price. Although most V 90’s still have the original HBL-4 single coil neck pickup, some have been replaced with a stacked hot rail humbucker. Because of the complex wiring involved this is not as common of a change. Although the neck on these guitars are really wide they are also very thin and flat so it plays like a much thinner neck. V90’s are also quite neck heavy and the paint used in those days tend to fade and crack.

I bought a white V90 Double with a Floyd Rose on eBay several years ago. It was trashed out, missing the 3 way pickup switch and all of the wires were cut or missing, but the body and paint were in very good condition. The original bridge pickup had been replaced and the Floyd was broken and into 3 pieces. I bought an original Floyd, replaced the pickups with a DiMarzio humbuckers (EVO2 Bridge and Air Norton Hot Rail at the neck). I re-wired with new wire and saved the original HBL-4 neck pickup. Later I was able to find an original HBL-8 on eBay giving me the option to make it all original again. The push down tap volume control was old, wore out and cumbersome so I also replaced it with a newer style push/pull control. I also changed the strap buttons to strap locks for convenience.

These guitars are real shedders and great for hard rock/metal sounds. Having said that, these guitars are very collectable, very rare and very pricey. Not a guitar you want to take to gigs.

:frank:

Necro-post!