unloved Greco Firebird - would you touch it?

markblack

Spotted this on ebay... I'm a sucker for an unloved, battered guitar.

Do you think this would be a world of pain?

More pics >>> 

I REALLY can't buy another guitar, but...

olafgarten

I can't stand Steinberger Tuners

Shark_Eyes

I'd buy it and strip it back to wood then put some mini-hums with surrounds in it. That's it.

WezV

I love the steiny tuners, so much better than the originals from this, which were harvested because they are so hard to buy.

Thosen neck cracks are the deal breaker for me

Still some value in the vibrola

markblack

@WezV i have a 70's SG with similar damage and its never effected the guitar. But 'can of worms' springs to mind.

HarrySeven

markblack said:

But 'can of worms' springs to mind.

or "Dogs dinner"

And yet...I do know what you mean...it is mildly tempting.

However...seriously...this is one of those guitars with so many small and large issues that you really need to either a. snag it for a super-cheap price or b. really, really want it...

Problem is...it's not a super-cheap price, is it?

ennspek

Not at that price. Would at the right price though, great potential.

octatonic

£50, no more. It needs about 6 hours works with someone who knows what they are doing.

ICBM

Definitely salvageable, but as already said it's so much work that you need to get it for no more than the value of the hardware. The value of the woodwork is only down to whatever time the repairer needs to put into it.

I also much prefer the Steinberger tuners on Firebirds, I can't stand the originals.

For what it's worth I bought a real '76 Thunderbird for £100 many years ago for the same reason - the neck was smashed and needed completely rebuilding. OK £100 then is closer to £200 today, but it wasn't even damaged in the body like this one... and it was a genuine Gibson.

WezV

it reminds me that I have an old CSL bolt-on firebird in pieces in the workshop - must get that back together at some point, it has lost a lot more of its original parts but still has all the original plastics

unfortunately, these are a great source of replacement tuners for proper gibson firebirds

57Deluxe

It's difficult to be sure, but looks like they keep their edges trimmed and paths weeded... no sign of a collapsing trampoline and UV faded kiddies Cozy Coupes.... you prob safe...

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/11427223_1450332968618589_4051215051086536316_n.jpg?oh=4ec9557016838458e848999da06df81f&oe=55E6DFEF

ICBM

WezV said:

unfortunately, these are a great source of replacement tuners for proper gibson firebirds

Unfortunate in the sense that it allows the owner to avoid having to replace all the tuners with better ones?

I actually think the original Firebird tuners are a significant contributor to the number of broken headstocks - they're so heavy they add a lot of inertia to the head and increase the whiplash if the case gets dropped, and they make the guitar even more head-heavy than it is anyway so making it more likely you'll bump it on something.

The Steinbergers are a massive upgrade.

markblack

I moment has passed it's needs some love... but at £350 I'd have to really love. Good job it wasn't a BIN, late night on ebay is a dangerous place...

Thanks all.

WezV

yes, unfortunate that these old ones are rarely left original, and unfortunate that anyone still bothers putting the banjo style tuners on anything.

here is the state my CSL was in when I got it

I redid the whole bridge area

and it was looking significantly better for a while (note its got the original style of steinberger tuner, and the pile of wood below has the newer style

I then took it apart again due to the cracks in the neck pocket being pretty unstable, its not been put back together yet.  that was about 5 years ago

markblack

@WezV - I love the firebird shape... had a quick Google on CSL firebirds - this came up.

http://simnettguitars.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1940.0

Amazing work.

markblack

@WezV - Pink?

http://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/hugh-manson-custom-reverse-gibson-firebird-with-emgs-in-pink-by-muse-luthier/1119879102

ICBM

WezV said:

I then took it apart again due to the cracks in the neck pocket being pretty unstable

I'd be inclined to glue that in permanently with recessed screws, fill over them, shape the neck joint and do the whole guitar in a solid colour. (Or maybe a very heavy sunburst that would cover that area.) Firebirds just aren't meant to be bolt-on...

Corvus

I'd be tempted at a lower price, but don't like that colour, looks like the Studio finish. Would have to sunburst it or white depending how it looks after doing something about those cracks.
Steinies are good, Gibson ones are notchy, shame they leave screw holes though. Apparently the first birds didn't fit in their cases properly, no allowance for the extra m/c protusion ... causing snaps. That, the lack of stands, and the better quality of red leb in earlier times probably added to numbers of breakages.

WezV

ICBM said:

WezV said:

I then took it apart again due to the cracks in the neck pocket being pretty unstable

I'd be inclined to glue that in permanently with recessed screws, fill over them, shape the neck joint and do the whole guitar in a solid colour. (Or maybe a very heavy sunburst that would cover that area.) Firebirds just aren't meant to be bolt-on...

nah.  I did try a more invasive fix.   it essentially has two CF rods making a V shape pointing towards the neck. it all holds the bottom of the neck pocket more firmly to the wings.  I inserted both the rods through one relatively small hole so it just needs plugging and you would never know they are in there.   Then life got a bit crazy and I never got around to finishing it - may go pull it out the pile and have a look

WezV

markblack said:

@WezV - I love the firebird shape... had a quick Google on CSL firebirds - this came up.

http://simnettguitars.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1940.0

Amazing work.

yeah, that is probably the most requested build in my emails... but i have done it now,  I don;t like making the same thing over and over again

HarrySeven

@Wez - been looking for a Firebird project for a while - is yours up for grabs?