MEGADETH's DAVE MUSTAINE Adds GIBSON Custom Shop Flying V EXPs To His Collection

For 128 years, Gibson has shaped sound across generations and genres of music, becoming one of the most relevant, played, and loved guitar brands around the world. Gibson Custom Shop has unveiled the latest addition to the Dave Mustaine Collection, the Gibson Dave Mustaine Flying V EXP Limited Edition in Red Amber Burst and Ebony VOS. To create the new Limited Edition Flying V EXP guitar, Gibson Custom Shop luthiers collaborated with Dave Mustaine, the legendary guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and founder of the multi-platinum selling and Grammy Award-winning band MEGADETH. The entire Dave Mustaine Collection is available now at select global dealers and on Gibson.com.

The Gibson Dave Mustaine Flying V EXP Limited Edition delivers the powerful, heavy sound and exceptional playing performance on the stage and in the studio that Dave demands. The 25.5" scale mahogany neck has an ebony fretboard with 24 frets, Mother Of Pearl inlays, an Explorer-style headstock with Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners, and a Graph Tech TUSQ nut. Mustaine's signature is reproduced on the truss rod cover, and Dave's silhouette is featured on the back of the headstock and on the included hardshell guitar case. The mahogany Flying V-style body has a maple cap (figured maple on the Red Amber Burst version) and is equipped with a Tune-O-Matic bridge, a string through body Chevron tailpiece, and a Dave Mustaine signature Seymour Duncan Thrash Factor pickup set. The Red Amber Burst nitrocellulose lacquer finish is complemented by gold hardware, while the Ebony VOS finished model is equipped with nickel hardware. Only 75 of each color have been crafted by the expert luthiers of the Gibson Custom Shop as part of this very special limited run.

The Dave Mustaine Collection is currently comprised of seven models and continues to be a global success — the Flying V RIP electric guitars, and the Songwriter (signed) acoustic guitars immediately sold out upon release. Expect more Dave Mustaine Collection releases in 2023.

The Dave Mustaine Collection is available at select dealers and the following models are available worldwide on Gibson.com: Gibson Dave Mustaine Collection Dave Mustaine Flying V EXP (Antique Natural and Silver Metallic),the Songwriter acoustic (Ebony) and the new Gibson Custom Shop Dave Mustaine Flying V EXP Limited Editions (Red Amber Burst and Ebony VOS).

Gibson is truly honored to be working with Mustaine, a guitarist, songwriter, and bandleader who formed MEGADETH at the dawn of the American thrash metal movement. Mustaine has sold 38 million records worldwide, earned six platinum albums, and is a Grammy Award winner, cancer survivor, and a certified first degree black belt in Ukidokan Karate, and Songahm Taekwondo, an honorary fourth degree black belt and Goodwill Ambassador in the World Taekwondo Federation, and is currently on the way to a first degree black belt in Gracie Barra Jiu-Jitsu.

In February 2021, Gibson officially announced a new partnership with Mustaine, who joined the company as a Brand Ambassador. The new Dave Mustaine Collection will span acoustic and electric guitars across Gibson, Epiphone and Kramer.

Ranked No. 1 by Joel McIver in "The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists" book, Mustaine godfathered fast-heavy-metal guitar generations, first as the original lead guitarist for METALLICA, and then as the founder of legendary MEGADETH.

In 1983, Mustaine founded MEGADETH, and the band released its first album two years later, established Dave and his bandmates as pioneers in the thrash metal movement. The band has since sold 38 million albums worldwide, including five consecutive platinum or multi-platinum albums in the U.S., while garnering 12 Grammy nominations. MEGADETH also landed a 2017 Grammy for "Best Metal Performance" for "Dystopia", the title track of the band's 2016 album.

Prior to MEGADETH, Mustaine was an early member of METALLICA. Before leaving the band in 1983, he had co-written a half dozen songs that would appear on METALLICA's first two albums.

In the video game arena, Mustaine composed the Grammy-nominated MEGADETH track "Sudden Death" for the 2010 release "Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock". The game also featured two other Mustaine-composed MEGADETH songs: 1990's "Holy Wars… The Punishment Due" and 2009's "This Day We Fight!"

MEGADETH's 16th studio album, "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!", came out in September. The LP sold 48,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked MEGADETH's eighth top 10-charting album. Of "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!"'s 48,000 units earned for the week, album sales comprised 45,000, SEA units comprised 3,000 and TEA units comprised a negligible sum.

MEGADETH's previous top 10 entries on the Billboard 200 were "Countdown To Extinction" (No. 2, 1992),"Youthanasia" (No. 4, 1994),"Cryptic Writings" (No. 10, 1997),"United Abominations" (No. 8, 2007),"Endgame" (No. 9, 2009),"Super Collider" (No. 6, 2013) and "Dystopia" (No. 3, 2016).