“To surprise me, they put my name on the headstock in gold lettering – but they spelled it wrong”: The Cars’ Elliot Easton on the Flying V that Tim Shaw built him – a “gorgeous” guitar (even if Gibson slipped up on his name)

We have had all kinds of electric guitars on the cover of Guitar World, but are there any cooler than a Custom Shop korina Flying V?

Elliot Easton of the Cars thought so when he grabbed his most photogenic six-string for the cover of our September 1984 issue. We caught up with the icon of rock and pop to get the story behind it – and hear about his regrets that he no longer owns it.

Where and when did you buy this guitar?

“I got it from Gibson. This was when they reintroduced the Korina Flying V [a limited run from 1981 to 1983]. Tim Shaw, who I was working with very closely and who was at Gibson at the time, had it built for me. It was a gorgeous guitar.

“The funny thing is, to surprise me, in gold lettering, they put my name on the headstock [just below the Gibson logo] – but they spelled it wrong! They spelled Elliot with two T’s. [Laughs]”

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What did you like about it, and did you modify it?

“I didn’t modify it at all. I played it straight, just the way it came from the factory. I just set it up. I liked a few things about it. It basically had the same sort of wiring as most Gibson solid-body guitars.

“It had two humbuckers, 24-3/4” scale and, in this case, two Volume knobs and one Tone; it had only three knobs. But that didn’t matter because I rarely used the Tone. I liked the weight of it, and I liked the tone of the Korina. It was different from a Les Paul or an SG – and certainly from an ES-335. It seemed to have a different tone and high-end to it.

Did you use this guitar on any notable recordings or tour with it?

“I toured with it. There are photos of me playing it, I think, at the 1982 US Festival. You can find pictures of me playing it, so I definitely toured with it – but I don’t recall recording with it. Or I might have, and I’m just not remembering.”

Why did you choose this guitar for your Guitar World cover shoot?

“Probably because it was brand new and I was just digging it. [Laughs] And, you know, I’m a big Albert King fan. I always liked the look of the Gibson Flying V, and since it was for the cover of the magazine, I thought maybe I’d do something a little flashy.

“And, like I said, it was a new toy, so I just pulled that one out. There wasn’t a whole lot of thought to it!”

Do you still have this guitar? If not, what happened to it?

“I think I sold it in the early ’90s. I was living in New York and Connecticut, and there was some guy who really wanted it, and he was offering, like, stupid money for it. I wasn’t really playing it and I figured, ‘I guess I could get another one,’ which I didn’t! [Laughs] So I sold it to him.

“We all have ones we sold and we regret… it’s just the way it goes. That one was nice. They’re really nice guitars. I wouldn’t mind getting one again – but I don’t want to pay $10,000! [Laughs]”

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.