Machine Head’s Robb Flynn Shares His Passion for Flying V’s

Robb Flynn, singer and guitar player for Machine Head, was recently featured in a Gibson Artist Spotlight, where he opened up about his music and gear. He spoke about the pull he felt as a child toward being the center of attention and starting his first band as a young teenager. He also spoke at length about his love of Gibson Flying V’s.

He said as a kid he was always infatuated with the cover of Judas Priest’s ‘Unleashed in the East,’ which shows Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing holding a red and white Gibson V high over his head. That cover image led to Flynn deciding the Flying V was the guitar for him.

Flynn said he tried out a handful of other guitars, including a Gibson SG and a Gibson Explorer. He can be seen playing an SG in the music video for ‘Take My Scars.’ But they just didn’t feel the same to him as the iconic V. The guitar’s shape makes it perfect for Flynn to hook it into his leg and shred.

The Machine Head leader now has his own signature Flying V, made my Epiphone. And in order to get as heavy as he can, his V is a baritone, giving him that extra-brutal low end that is a signature of Machine Head’s sound. It’s called the Robb Flynn Love/Death Baritone Flying V.

Along with the added lower register, the guitar features two EMG pickups, with an EMG-HA in the neck position and an EMG-81 in the bridge. Gibson says these popular EMG pickups are the perfect match with the guitar to highlight the guitar’s low end.

The Love/Death Flying V is black with a custom skull graphic on the front and skull-in-heart logos on the neck. To get a closer look at Flynn’s Love/Death Baritone Flying V, visit Gibson’s website.