| Firebird |
Thesam120
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Hey all! I was kicking around the idea of selling my strat in favor of buying a Firebird. Probably epiphone seeing as how I'm a broke college kid lol. What are your opinions of the these guitars? Do you think they're worth it? Thanks in advance.
I once broke a G string fingering A minor.
| Post Date: 11/2/2009 @ 11:51 am |
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RE: Firebird |
lvo57
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Have you played one yet? Your opinion is the one that matters most. I've played one and it definitely a guitar I would not mind adding to my gear, The the Steinberger tuners are great, I liked the sound of the Alnico classic humbuckers. And of course it just looks cool 
Guitar World also rated it very favorably , though Gibson-Epiphone has jacked the price up considerably from where it was when they first came out, still not a bad deal though.
Louie
Not 2 old 2 rock
League of Pentatonic Players
Specializing in Jurassic Rock
| Post Date: 11/2/2009 @ 12:18 pm |
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RE: Firebird |
Zug-uitar
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I don't know how they sound or feel, but they do indeed look cool imho. It's also nice to have something which is different from the standard fare. Try 'em and see if you like them.
...there is no emoiticon to express what I'm feeling...
| Post Date: 11/2/2009 @ 12:55 pm |
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RE: Firebird |
Thesam120
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Very true, thanks! I'll let you guys know what I think when I try/buy one.
I once broke a G string fingering A minor.
| Post Date: 11/2/2009 @ 8:17 pm |
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RE: Firebird |
guitarguy3773
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Yeah dude, just make sure you don't get caught up in the beauty of the guitar, rather you should look at it's playability/tone/etc. I only say this because some of those Epiphones/Gibsons are quite unique and pretty
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| Post Date: 11/4/2009 @ 9:03 pm |
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RE: Firebird |
texas_rocks
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and always look for used first!
" I dont have pet peeves, I have major psychotic f%^king hatreds" - George Carlin
| Post Date: 11/4/2009 @ 9:38 pm |
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RE: Firebird |
Knucklehead
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I don't know if this applies to the instruments that are available today, but WAY back when, the first guitar I ever owned was a 1966 Firebird, non-reverse, with three P-90 pickups and the "trapeze" tremelo. It was the same exact instrument that Brian Jones was pictured playing on the cover of "Got Live If You Want It." And that thing was a DOG, impossible to keep in tune. I ended up destroying the collectors' value by having a Tune-A-Matic bridge, stud tailpiece and Schaller gears installed, the nut properly replaced and slotted, the frets dressed and replaced where necessary, and it still wouldn't stay in tune.
They're nostalgia instruments today, and there are good reasons that the originals didn't stay in production for more than a few years. It might not be true of the re-issues. All I'm saying is, try it out REAL good before you buy.
I have both kinds of guitars - Fender AND Gibson.
| Post Date: 11/6/2009 @ 1:51 pm |
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RE: Firebird |
janosfia
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Back with the original Firebirds, didn't the case that came with them contribute greatly towards breaking of the neck? I thought I'd read that somewhere.
Anywho, I'd certainly like to try a Firebird. Way cool looking guitars, IMHO. This is the one I'd get if I could:
| Post Date: 11/6/2009 @ 3:15 pm |
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RE: Firebird |
Knucklehead
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Yeah, that's more like the one Johnny Winter had that made the reverse style famous. The original reverse models were neck through the body, so I dunno about the case issue. Gibson went through an extended period of making funny-looking guitars in response to the Fender designs, specifically in response to the Stratocaster. Outside of the SG, none of them lasted for more than a couple of years before being discontinued, and then later reissued. I think the Firebird lasted for six years, but the first three were as a reverse, and then the next three were non-reverse. You could always look it up.
I have both kinds of guitars - Fender AND Gibson.
| Post Date: 11/6/2009 @ 9:55 pm |
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RE: Firebird |
jap strat sq
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if you just want a firebird for looks epiphones are fine if you want it for the sound you have to get a neck through body thats the magic of a firebird the incredible amount of tone and sustain cant hardly be matched by any guitar i love my strats but my next major purchase will be a gibson or orville neck/body firebird theres a reason people still play them after all these years its the sound and they are actually quite comfortable to hold and play good luck im almost jealouse i
| Post Date: 11/8/2009 @ 3:46 am |
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RE: Firebird |
jap strat sq
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if you want to see something funny ask the guy at the music store to tune up your reverse headstock firebird 20 minutes later they prob will have given up thats the most awkward thing about firebirds but well worth it
| Post Date: 11/8/2009 @ 3:50 am |
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RE: Firebird |
Julia_343
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This one will probably do the job for you:
New they're around $1400
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--- Julia
How about a Costa Rican flag?
| Post Date: 11/8/2009 @ 1:46 pm |
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RE: Firebird |
Thesam120
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Thanks for all the responses and sorry for the late reply lol. I checked a few reviews on the firebird and it seems people really like them (avg. 4.5 stars outta 5) I'll have to dive deeper to see if there's an issue with the tuning still. Also Julia, that esp looks really nice! do you know the model name?
I once broke a G string fingering A minor.
| Post Date: 11/16/2009 @ 1:03 am |
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RE: Firebird |
TheoDog
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Firebirds are very cool and sound like nothign else. As a main guitar, it is a little hard to justify in my opinion since it is like wielding a battleship on stage. It is a relatively big guitar which could become an issue at some gigs/practice rooms.
He who can keep his head when all around are losing theirs... Probably does not understand the situation
Mod Junkie of the International Boutique Pedal Coalition
| Post Date: 11/17/2009 @ 7:48 pm |
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RE: Firebird |
zachyweezer
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I've yet to play a Gibson Firebird, but I once owned an Epi Firebird V. It was a pretty smooth sounding axe once I gutted the stock pups and replaced them with mini Duncans. The tuners were crap. If you go the Epiphone route, I'd certainly consider some better quality tuners (be careful, however. When replacing mine, it completely slipped my mind to remember the reverse headstock.).
As odd as this might sound, that guitar had a very strange smell...kind of like rotten wood. Everything appeared to be fine, however, and no problems came about as a result, so I didn't worry myself too much.
Also, my guitar had a bolt on neck. Perhaps Epi had a higher end Firebird V with a neck-thru design, but I'm not completely sure.
In the end, the old Bird had an amazing tone and very good playability. It was a bit on the "cheap" side though. Epiphone seems to be paying a little more attention to detail these days. I believe my model was a 97.
Good luck.
| Post Date: 11/19/2009 @ 8:52 pm |
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RE: Firebird |
lvo57
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zachyweezer said:
I've yet to play a Gibson Firebird, but I once owned an Epi Firebird V. It was a pretty smooth sounding axe once I gutted the stock pups and replaced them with mini Duncans. The tuners were crap. If you go the Epiphone route, I'd certainly consider some better quality tuners (be careful, however. When replacing mine, it completely slipped my mind to remember the reverse headstock.).
As odd as this might sound, that guitar had a very strange smell...kind of like rotten wood. Everything appeared to be fine, however, and no problems came about as a result, so I didn't worry myself too much.
Also, my guitar had a bolt on neck. Perhaps Epi had a higher end Firebird V with a neck-thru design, but I'm not completely sure.
In the end, the old Bird had an amazing tone and very good playability. It was a bit on the "cheap" side though. Epiphone seems to be paying a little more attention to detail these days. I believe my model was a 97.
Good luck.
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With the state-of -the-art Steinberger 40:1 tuners and Alnico Classic humbuckers that come on stock on the model he is looking at, good chance he won't have to change a thing.
Louie
Not 2 old 2 rock
League of Pentatonic Players
Specializing in Jurassic Rock
| Post Date: 11/20/2009 @ 12:11 pm |
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