firebird owners? thoughts?

zenzeypher

Love em. Can't play em'

If you want the proper Firebird experience only GIbson makes em that way, flat and wide! everyone else just never kinda nails it.

Philly_Q

^

The neck on the Firebird looks really skinny!

Bonus dull response:  I don't really count cherry as red.  I don't like red guitars either but I have no objection to cherry (unless it's cherry sunburst)

Jaded

TheGuitarWeasel said:

The real ones are much nicer pickups than standard mini humbuckers ... and the only mini's I make at the moment. Gibson have naffed up as consistently making reissue Firebird pickups as badly as Fender have with their abysmal Wide Range reissues!

Sorry for the slight derail of the thread! I've got a regular mini in the bridge of a Les Paul (wound to about 6.3k I think) which is pretty harsh. Would a traditional Firebird pickup retail the twang but tame the harsh edge to it?

benecol

Philly_Q said:

^

The neck on the Firebird looks really skinny!

The angle's not ideal - makes it look thinner than it is (although @zenzeypher has a point, especially as it used to be his); the neck of that tele is 1" thick, but doesn't look it in that pic.

Don't make me get caught taking another...

littlethoughts

benecol said:

Every now and then, my wife will catch me doing something guitars-on-the-internet related, and ask me what I'm doing, before giving me a pitying look. Being caught taking this photo was one of those moments. From top to bottom: SG, 335, Firebird and tele.

Bonus dull fact: I don't like red guitars, but have somehow ended up with a cherry Firebird, a cherry 335 and a cherry SG. Even my tele is shell pink.

I know that feeling, I don't like black guitars but I have a black prs se, a black fender pawn shop 51, a black squier cabronita, a black fender cabronita bass and have in the past sold a black line6 bass, a black vester bass and a black fender strat.

impmann

I don't like sunburst guitars.

I own no sunburst guitars. 

But this thread is making me want a Firebird.

benecol

Sunburst Firebirds are the only bursts I like - it's the best FB colour.

Basher

benecol said:

the cheaper cases are Firebird euthanasia devices

Proper Firebird pickups (pedant fact: they are not mini-humbuckers) are fairly low output. A very Fender sounding Gibson.

I thought the cases remark was very funny!

I've never played a Firebird but my favourite YouTube clip of one features Dave Gregory (of XTC) jamming with a '65 non-reverse into his Matchless C30. It just sounds so clear and detailed, yet warm and chewy, which I guess ties in with the low output comment above.

benecol

If it's Dave Gregory Firebird clips yer after…

Dave_Mc

littlethoughts said:

I know that feeling, I don't like black guitars but I have a black prs se, a black fender pawn shop 51, a black squier cabronita, a black fender cabronita bass and have in the past sold a black line6 bass, a black vester bass and a black fender strat.

Yeah, same here. I don't really actively dislike black (and a few guitars actually look great in black), but in most instances I sort of feel that black is the "safe" choice- given the option I'd generally pick a different less boring colour, at least in most instances. And considering that, I have quite a few black guitars... )

OilCityPickups

Jaded said:

TheGuitarWeasel said:

The real ones are much nicer pickups than standard mini humbuckers ... and the only mini's I make at the moment. Gibson have naffed up as consistently making reissue Firebird pickups as badly as Fender have with their abysmal Wide Range reissues!

Sorry for the slight derail of the thread! I've got a regular mini in the bridge of a Les Paul (wound to about 6.3k I think) which is pretty harsh. Would a traditional Firebird pickup retail the twang but tame the harsh edge to it?

Well I am pretty biased in favour of the Firebird as the combination of twice the magnet mass (two magnets v one) plus the steel reflector plate really smooths things out.

markblack

Thanks for all this. Very good of you.

M

Handsome_Chris

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/1929535_15355571118_404_n.jpg?oh=04d824b231f507723a7f9e11e31195dd&oe=54BFDCB3&__gda__=1421705512_c5bb276f4f57d04c3900e8bd84b51912

I love my Firebird Studio.  I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to it, they don't make 'em like that anymore.