Epiphone Dave Mustaine Flying V Prophecy review – the most versatile Mustaine model ever made
The Megadeth main man has three mid-priced signature Flying Vs on the market, but none can deliver the remarkable range of tones summoned by this Fishman-loaded monster
The most versatile Dave Mustaine signature ever made? You'd better believe it, and it comes with an Aged Dark Red Burst finish unique to this guitar. That might just be enough to convince you that this is the pick of Mustaine's signature Vs, even if the Custom remains hard to beat.
Pros
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Those Fishman pickups offer a lot of different tones.
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Top build.
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Unique finish option.
Cons
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At this price you might be tempted by Gibson USA models.
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No left-handed models.
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Epiphone launched the Prophecy Series back in 2008 in a bid to reimagine some of the best-selling Gibson designs for the new millennium with modern appointments such as higher-output pickups and added tonal options. In that regard, this latest addition, one of two Dave Mustaine Epiphone signature guitars released this year, delivers on its promise.
The most noticeable upgrades are the AAA flame maple veneer glued on top of its mahogany body, locking tuners and the inclusion of two Fishman Fluence humbuckers in place of the passive Seymour Duncans.
The active pickups were custom-voiced, boasting three modes: a warm PAF-style humbucker, a more scooped modern option and a shimmering single-coil sound, as well as coil-splits – making this the most versatile Dave Mustaine signature ever made by quite some margin.
(Image credit: Epiphone)
Aged Dark Red Burst is also a new finish designed just for the metal legend, so there’s a lot to like here. Interestingly, this model features no string-through tailpiece; instead, it’s fitted with the same kind of bridge and stopbar setup found on Les Pauls and SGs.
There are benefits to both – some say there’s increased opportunity for the strings to ‘excite’ the wood and therefore sustain when resonating from within, while others might argue a stopbar allows for more control over tension and tone.
(Image credit: Epiphone)
And speaking of tone, you’re almost spoiled for choice with all the voicing and splitting options – which are every bit as impressive as the Fluence units we’ve tested in the past. All in all, the Prophecy is a versatile beast that can handle just about any musical situation.
The Prophecy can certainly cover a lot more tonal ground than the Epiphone Flying V Custom and Kramer Mustaine signature range, but it’s also close enough in price to a Gibson USA Flying V for players to spend a little more and upgrade the pickups themselves – which, provided the original humbuckers are kept, will hold its value better from an investment perspective. That said, it’s the only guitar you’ll ever find in Aged Dark Red Burst…
Specs
PRICE: $1,499 / £1,599
BODY: Mahogany with a AAA Flame Maple Veneer
SCALE: 628mm (24.75”)
PICKUPS: Custom-voiced Fishman Fluence
HARDWARE: LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge and stopbar, Grover Locking Mini Rotomatic tuners, Graph Tech nut
Amit has been writing for titles like Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Guitar World for over a decade and counts Richie Kotzen, Guthrie Govan and Jeff Beck among his primary influences as a guitar player. He's worked for magazines like Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Prog, Record Collector, Planet Rock, Rhythm and Bass Player, as well as newspapers like Metro and The Independent, interviewing everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy to Slash and Jimmy Page, and once even traded solos with a member of Slayer on a track released internationally. As a session guitarist, he's played alongside members of Judas Priest and Uriah Heep in London ensemble Metalworks, as well as handled lead guitars for legends like Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, The Faces) and Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, G3).
