Firebird

Hi All,

Any of you have any first hand experiance with Gibson Firebirds? I really like the various styles and pickup configurations.

30+ years ago I played a reverse Firbird V like Johnny Winters and it struck me to be a bit uncomortable with the extended neck. Lately I have been looking at pictures of these and noticed the neck scale size is similar to Guild. Gibson tends to mount the neck completly off the body like on the SG, ES335 and Firebirds.

I have a basement full of Guilds but feel tempted to add a Firebird or two.

Any advice on the Firebird?

M

My neighbor down two doors has a '74 TransAm. He spends as much time tuning it as I do my G-312. :shock:

A friend of mine had a beautiful twin pickup firebird, a white one. Sounded pretty good, but had terrible, horrible balance "strapped on", and the neck attaches in such an unfamiliar place that your left hand never quite grabs the fret position it's aiming for without looking.

I love the looks, like the brightness of the pickups compared to a lot of Gibsons, but hated the ergonomics, as did my buddy, who ended up selling it.

All of the above. Pretty characterful sound, but the tuners (at least on the recent ones I played) are horrible, and it's the opposite of ergonomic. Very weird balance, neck position, body shape etc. I used to really like the look of the three pickup / vibrato version, in those custom colours, but I think tone wise, the III version is all you need. Those vibrola's are usually pretty horrible, and middle humbuckers are mostly in the way of my playing position.

Gibson made a 'studio' version recently with grover tuners, normal set neck, ceramic humbuckers etc. It sounds and looks as bland to me as any LP Studio, and it's neck-heavy as well. I think production of that (like most 'nutty' new models from gibson) has already ceased.

I love my 'bird. Beautiful sounds come from that thing, which is amazing, considering how bad I suck! :lol: But, I have to agree...while it is very comfortable to sit and play, hanging around my neck on a strap, it is very neck heavy.

Well All,

Thanks for the input. I got cold feet from some of the comments. I am going to have to hold one of these in person again if I am going to decide.

Guild Thunderbirds are strangly shaped guitars but I find them to be very comfortable to play sitting or standing. I was anticipating a similar situation with the Firebird.

I know I usually don't find guitars with extended necks to be very comfortable. That is something I struggle to get used to.

Hammer, The Firebird is a classic beauty. I always liked the way Johnny Winters handled his Firebird V. it didn't look uncomfortable when strung over his shoulder when he was young. I have seen him play a couple times in the last few years. He is to frail to handle the firebird these days. Someone usually brings it out for him to do one song during the show. He'll sit on a stool and let her rip!

M

M

'sickma,

I love Firebirds. The only reason I don't play them is that, when you're built like the Pillsbury dough-boy, you don't want a guitar that looks like a shish-kebaber!!

Seriously, I like the way my hands fall on the neck, when I play them standing up. I'm not discounting what people say about the neck weight, but it seems to me that I've been able to control the weight with pressure from my right lower arm on the body while I play. I betcha' Firebirds are a guitar that not everybody can get used to the feel of.

The tuners take some getting used to, as well. The trick is to avoid putting any sideways pressure on them as you adjust them. Make sure your fingers are directly behind the tuning knob as you turn it. Also, turn down below pitch and 'tune up to' the note.

StewMac sells a better tuner that's almost a drop-in fit (not quite, but the mod is probably invisible when 'reversed'), but they're expensive. Available in Chrome, Black and Gold. They may be a little lighter, too. Steinberger design.

Final thought. A Gibson/PRS lovin' friend of mine, played his way through college in a blues band with a 'bird and a Marshall Combo. He always thought of them as the Gibson medium-scale equivalent of a Telecaster.

He still buys 'em, but he gets the Custom Shop versions from '99 and '03 (?) with the single pickups and the combination bridge-tailpiece (no tuneamatic). He likes the sustain better with the single bridge-tailpiece unit.

Good luck, gilded