“You put a Flying V next to a Les Paul, next to a Strat, on the floor, it won’t do anything. It becomes something with the person who picks up the guitar”: Michael Schenker reveals the story behind his longstanding love affair with Flying Vs

German guitar hero Michael Schenker has had his fair share of projects. After debuting with the Scorpions, he joined the English classic rock group UFO, making a name for himself as a hard rock and heavy metal player before breaking out on his own with the Michael Schenker Group.

One constant throughout his illustrious career, however, has been his penchant for Flying Vs. Turns out, his love affair with this distinctive model began early – as far back as his school days in Germany.

“I had never seen a Flying V, but when I was at school, doing this project, building something out of wood, I wanted to make a guitar and ended up building a triangle guitar, which is similar to a Flying V,” he tells Total Guitar.

While his preference for Flying Vs is, by now, well-known, Schenker admits that what makes any guitar special is the player's skill and attitude.

Michael Schenker visit Matt’s Guitar Shop and Gave us Electricity ! - YouTube

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“You put a Flying V next to a Les Paul, next to a Strat, on the floor, it won’t do anything. It becomes something with the person who picks up the guitar,” he imparts.

“That’s what that guitar becomes. I found the Flying V by coincidence. Like many things in my life, it happened by itself. So maybe I was meant to have that guitar. I discovered that guitar by accident.

“I liked the combination of my amplifier with that guitar. It was closer to the sound I imagined, and I found that I was able to do a really good vibrato by putting the V between my legs, so that the neck would not wobble around. I was able to lock it in and so that was one of the main reasons why I felt good about that guitar.”

As befitting a Flying V aficionado, the electric guitar virtuoso recently signed with Gibson, and revealed a new signature guitar (we can safely assume it's a Flying V) is in the works.

For more from Michael Schenker, plus new interviews with King Gizzard and Yungblud, pick up issue 389 of Total Guitar at Magazines Direct.