DAVE MUSTAINE’S EPIPHONE FLYING V CUSTOM & FLYING V PROPHECY
2023 marks the 150th anniversary of Epiphone, a leading innovator in instrument design. Epiphone is proud to announce its first-ever partnership with Dave Mustaine, the legendary guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and founder of the multi-platinum selling and GRAMMY® Award-winning band, Megadeth. Epiphone and Dave have unveiled the Flying V Custom and a limited-edition Flying V Prophecy.
“I have to admit, I knew nothing about the Epiphone Flying V when I was offered my ambassador role with Gibson guitars. I’m happy to say I know a lot more now about Epiphone, the manufacturing, the playability, and the incredible sound that they offer. I am 100% certain the Epiphone signature Dave Mustaine Flying V is a badass guitar! We made the guitar to my exact hand specifications, identical to my Gibson Flying V. My favorite is the red antique model, but we’re just getting started. It’s mind-boggling to think, ‘if I didn’t look at the headstock, I couldn’t tell this guitar apart from my Gibsons’.” – Dave Mustaine of Megadeth
Dave demands excellence from any instrument and the new Epiphone Dave Mustaine Flying V Custom delivers the powerful, heavy sound and exceptional playing performance with every note. The 24.75” scale mahogany neck has a gloriously agile ebony fretboard with 24 medium jumbo frets, an Explorer style headstock with Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners, and a Graph Tech nut. The mahogany Flying V-style body is equipped with a LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge, string-thru Flying V tailpiece, and Dave’s signature Seymour Duncan Thrash Factor pickups that deliver all the high-output mayhem you’d expect from a Mustaine signature axe. The pure metal looks are rounded out with a Black Metallic finish offset with a white binding on the body, neck, and headstock, along with black nickel hardware. A hardshell case is also included.
Above (L-R): the Epiphone Dave Mustaine Prophecy Flying V in Aged Dark Red Burst and the Flying V Custom in Black Metallic.
The Dave Mustaine Flying V Prophecy is for players looking to set new standards in speed, sound and technique. Front and center a pair of Fishman Fluence pickups that are custom voiced for the Epiphone Prophecy Collection deliver three distinct tones- a warm “Patent Applied For” vintage humbucker; a hot modern humbucker; and a shimmering, optimized single-coil sound, all accessed by push/pull Volume and Tone pots. A limited-edition model, the Dave Mustaine Flying V Prophecy also includes Grover locking Rotomatic tuners, Epiphone’s LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge and Stop Bar tailpiece for added sustain, and a Graph Tech nut that boots harmonic content and increases tuning stability. The mahogany neck boasts an ebony fingerboard with 24 jumbo frets and Dave’s custom “D” profile, and is built for the kind of speed and precision that he’s renowned for. With a AAA flame maple veneer top and sinister Aged Dark Red Burst finish, complemented by crushed black nickel hardware for the ultimate metal look. A hardshell case is also included.
Epiphone is honoured to be working with Dave Mustaine, who formed Megadeth at the dawn of the American thrash metal movement. Renowned worldwide and synonymous with metal guitar, Dave Mustaine founded Megadeth in 1984 and less than a year a later debuted with the release of Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good! in 1985. Megadeth has gone on to sell more than 50 million albums worldwide, earning many accolades along the way, including a GRAMMY Award for the title track from their album Dystopia, along with 12 additional GRAMMY nominations, as well as five consecutive platinum/multi-platinum albums. Megadeth has headlined many of the biggest stages in the world and the most recent “Crush The World” Canadian tour where they headlined hockey arenas. Also, a New York Times bestselling author and sought after speaker, host, and commentator, Mustaine has remained a standard bearer for metal and heavy guitar rock, combining a musical and technical standard with the punk and rock n’ roll ethos and attitude.
As vital as ever, Megadeth debuted at the top of the charts with their new album The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!. The new album premiered at #1 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums, #1 on Top Rock Albums, #1 on the Top Hard Rock Albums, and at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 marking the highest charting Megadeth album of all time and the eighth Top Ten album of their career. The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! released via Ume, features twelve new tracks, and is available on CD, vinyl, and cassette, as well as digitally through all online partners, HERE.
Watch and share the Dave Mustaine interview from the Gibson TV’s series “Icons,” HERE.
DAVE MUSTAINE’S KRAMER VANGUARD
Kramer, the original Made To Rock Hard guitar brand has been setting trends with premium, performance-focused instruments since 1976. Kramer is proud to welcome Dave Mustaine, the legendary guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and founder of the multi-platinum selling and GRAMMY® Award-winning band, Megadeth, to the Kramer Artist lineup with the release of the Kramer Dave Mustaine Vanguard. The new Kramer Vanguard guitars arrive in Ebony, Silver Metallic, and a limited edition “Rust In Peace” in Alien Tech Green.
“While on our recent ‘Crash, the World Tour,’ when I’d take the stage for our first number, ‘Hangar 18’, my adrenaline is racing. I’m not nervous, I’m pumped! I get handed my guitar each night by my guitar tech and I head out onto the stage to do my job. Imagine my surprise when I was a few songs into our set and I realized I was not given my Gibson signature Flying V, I was given my new Kramer signature Flying V. The playing ability of this guitar is superb and if I didn’t look at the legs on this beauty, I would never have known the difference. An excellent guitar from an excellent company; this is a serious metal weapon.” –Dave Mustaine of Megadeth
With its Original, Modern, and Artist Collections, Kramer offers entry-level and intermediate options, as well as guitars for professional musicians and continues to be the guitar of choice for today’s rock and metal legends. The Kramer Dave Mustaine Vanguard delivers the powerful, heavy sounds and exceptional playing performance on the stage and in the studio that Dave demands. The Vanguard is equipped with a symmetrical mahogany Vanguard body, a 25.5” scale mahogany neck with a medium C Dave Mustaine custom profile, an ebony fretboard with 24 jumbo frets, black chrome hardware, and Dave Mustaine’s signature Seymour Duncan Thrash Factor pickup set. The Vanguard is available in Ebony and Silver Metallic, as well as limited edition Rust In Peace version in Alien Tech Green. For all Kramer Dave Mustaine models, a custom Dave Mustaine hardshell case is included.
Above: The new Kramer Dave Mustaine Vanguards in Ebony, “Rust In Peace” Alien Tech Green, and Silver Metallic.
Kramer is honoured to be working with Dave Mustaine, who formed Megadeth at the dawn of the American thrash metal movement. Renowned worldwide and synonymous with metal guitar, Dave Mustaine founded Megadeth in 1984 and less than a year a later debuted with the release of Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good! in 1985. Megadeth has gone on to sell more than 50 million albums worldwide, earning many accolades along the way, including a GRAMMY Award for the title track from their album Dystopia, along with 12 additional GRAMMY nominations, as well as five consecutive platinum/multi-platinum albums. Megadeth has headlined many of the biggest stages in the world and the most recent “Crush The World” Canadian tour where they headlined hockey arenas. Also, a New York Times bestselling author and sought after speaker, host, and commentator, Mustaine has remained a standard bearer for metal and heavy guitar rock, combining a musical and technical standard with the punk and rock n’ roll ethos and attitude.
As vital as ever, Megadeth debuted at the top of the charts with their new album The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!. The new album premiered at #1 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums, #1 on Top Rock Albums, #1 on the Top Hard Rock Albums, and at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 marking the highest charting Megadeth album of all time and the eighth Top Ten album of their career. The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! released via Ume, features twelve new tracks, and is available on CD, vinyl, and cassette, as well as digitally through all online partners, HERE.
Check out the new Kramer Vanguard guitars in the Dave Mustaine Collection:
Above: the new Dave Mustaine Kramer Vanguards in Ebony, and Silver Metallic.
Above: The new Kramer Vanguard Rust In Peace” in Alien Tech Green.
Above: the new Kramer Vanguard in Silver Metallic.
Kramer guitars are available worldwide on www.kramerguitars.com.
Epiphone and Kramer distributed in Australia by Australis Music Group