Custom Color 90s Firebirds are pretty cool - let me know if you see one for sale! 🟢My Website: www.troglysguitarshow.com 🔴Reverb: reverb.com/shop/troglys?_aid=growsumo&gs_partner=Trogly ❓Private Help Sessions: troglysguitarshow.com/help-appraisals/ 👕 Merch: teespring.com/basic-logo-4245?pid=211
The snakeskin is done with a stretch fabric used as a stencil. Fishnet stockings were an old standby for "python style snakeskin". This is a tighter weave fabric, and black was sprayed across it in varying densities of spray with an airbrush or a detail sprayer. Easy peasy!
When you take a celluloid pickguard off a guitar, immediately screw it down to a piece of wood so it doesn’t shrink to the point of not fitting. You should totally sell that guard to me though.
I have a 2019 Firebird V Reverse in the sunburst finish. It has the Grover mini-tuners so no risk of snapping the head in the case. It is my favorite guitar. Very easy to play and the tone is insane. It’s the 9 piece walnut/mahogany neck-through build that gives it the unique tone with the Firebird pickups. Sustains for days. Plays so much easier than my Les Paul Studio. I’ll never sell it.
I did not used to like Reverse Firebirds until I heard Dave Gregory play one. Mind you, that way madness lies as he has an insane collection and everything sounds good!
One of the best sounding guitars I've heard on your channel bro. I'd keep that just to play if I were you. Just hang it on the wall in a humidity controlled room, no worries about gassy pick guards and I bet laying eyes on that gorgeous beast will make you pick it up everyday
With the super high reading you got on the bridge, I believe it is a newer style ceramic half pole mini humbucker. Those were standard on most Gibsons Fbirds until 2019. Seeing how there was globbed solder or epoxy on the back of the bridge pup to secure the cover tells me that pickup was replaced at some point with a more modern hotter ceramic mini. I could be wrong though. That also explains why you were surprised at how bright it was when playing.
This is crazy. Never knew that one would even have to worry about their guitar being destroyed by a component of the guitar itself. Also never had any visual love for the Gibby Firebird.... That too has changed.
Many of the 1940s and '50s Gretsch Guitars suffer from the celluloid binding Gretsch used. It is not uncommon to see old Gretsch guitars that have had the binding literally rot and fall off the guitar due to them being stored their cases for long periods of time. I saw one Gretsch Archtop where the floating Celluloid pickgaurd bubbled up the lacquer finish that was under the pickgaurd. And that pickgaurd was mounted floating about 3/8" above the finish! Some of the early plastics will age poorly and crack or shrink however it is only the celluloid parts that off-gas and destroy everything in their surroundings.
Greetings Austin! Very nice acquisition! This is a wonderful example of how great a Firebird could look with a great color scheme and the right finished hardware to set it all off. The gold hardware really goes well with that paint job. The pick guard also helps to complete the look, I hope you can find a good replacement one to match, there are quite a few businesses that specialises in pick guards, but to get an actual authentic replacement, you may have to get in touch with Gibson. Matching the color along with the trim and the logo might be tricky. It sure looks awesome, and it sounds great too. This guitar was a great find for you! Many years ago when I was playing in my first band, I played a Firebird and a Flying V, which were owned by our drummer, Fred. The Firebird had great sustain, but also, the Flying V did as well, however, I suspect this attribute was derived from different construction features of each instrument, the Firebird, because of the neck-through design, and the Flying V, because it is essentially built like a tuning fork. Thank you for posting these videos and keeping us informed about the various guitars that have been, and are being produced! Please have an excellent and awesome day! ✨☀️
Robbim had a literal ton of Jackson Firebirds built for him, Including the very first Jackson Firebird in 1985. In the meantime he did own a few Gib Firebirds, And had Gibson build a few Firebird Custom Shops after he left Charvel/Jackson in '88. A couple of his Gibs have actually come up for sale after his passing but were snatched up hella quick. My favorite of them was a 3 pickup Firebird with Dirty Fingers w/Floyd Rose he had built in '87 or '88.
I have tried flattening out a warped celluloid pickguard and can report just having it clamped under pressure for a 4 months does nothing. Springs right back.
Celluloid is just unstable stuff, and since it was used for film stock for decades a lot of movies have been lost because it either degraded, or self-ignited .
@@joermnyc yeah and really unstable, I remember once I was modifying a celluloid pickguard and took my Dremel multitool to it and got a small puff of smoke in my face. Exploded a bit just from the friction heat.
Back in my college days in the late ‘60s, I played with a rhythm guitarist who had an early ‘60s solidbody Höfner that was covered in white vinyl and had a black celluloid pickguard. He had to remove the pickguard to fix something, and when he was putting the pickguard back on, he thought he’d save some time by clamping a screwdriver into his electric drill. The friction from turning the screws caused that pickguard to smoke, catch fire, and crumple up. He wound up having to replace all the wiring, the pots, and the pickup switches, plus the pickguard. Interestingly, the pickups still worked-their metal covers were just discolored a bit!
What it looks like to me is that they took some wide, fishnet style fabric and draped it over the guitar after the red paint was laid down and then randomly sprayed black paint in spots to get that texture. It’s definitely a masking job.
I got 6 of my 9 Gibsons back in the 90's. I've kept them all because they're all fantastic guitars & have been what I've always played throughout my time as both a player & a gigging musician. You can't go wrong with a Gibson from that era as far as I'm concerned & that Firebird is a friggin' beauty!
The Firebird pickup is quite a bit different to the standard mini humbucker. In particular their magnets inside are of a different configuration. This may be why you like these pickups whilst not normally a fan of mini humbuckers, because these aren’t really mini humbuckers 😉
Wow! That’s gorgeous! Red Firebirds are surely the very coolest guitars on the planet! I have a wonderful sunburst ‘91 Firebird V that l picked up from a guy in North London in the early 2000s for a LOT less that you apparently paid Trogly. :) l love it to bits, but l ALWAYS wanted a red one - with or without the snakeskin patterning. The finish and gold hardware aside, though, my sunburst Firebird is essentially this very guitar. It sounds very similar and the neck profile your describe is pretty dead-on. The pickups read about the same, too. I’m happy to report that mine no longer neck-dives though. Early on, I swapped out the banjo tuners for Steinberger Gearless tuners, which have a similar look, but tune much more smoothly and crucially, weigh about half as much as the Klusons. I actually did this years before Gibson started fitting them…mine don’t have that rather ugly locking T-piece. They lock with a collar with ridges, and a pair of flats that fit a small spanner. Anyway, no more neck dive! It’s a great guitar that I’ll never sell, even though as a gigging proposition the size makes it fairly impractical. With a car full of amps and PA gear, it’s often hard to squeeze that huge case in, and it’s not a guitar you’d want to trust to a gig bag!
It’s not a true Firebird without banjo tuners, and the Steinberger gearless tuners qualify since it preserves that look. I wish the USA Firebirds would go to the Steinberger tuners as their standard.
@@georgeoh-well8116 I think so. They are effectively locking tuners, so that plays a part, too. They also tune much more smoothly, because it is one continuous motion. And yet, straight string pull is always a very good idea for tuning stability, especially if you bend a lot or use a trem.
@@ArchieOnEarth I agree, though the more recent Steinbergers with the T-locking pieces don't look as neat. I think at some stage during the noughties Gibson must have bought Steinberger, which is one of the reasons they started using them on Firebirds and occasionally other guitars. (I recently bought a secondhand set for a FB I'm building from a guy who had a set on brand new Les Paul and had swapped them out for something more traditional.) Sadly, I don't think the Gearless Tuners are being made any more. Nobody ever seems to have them in stock, not even Gibson USA, who has them listed on their parts website, but never seems to have any.
@@timaves1504 Thanks for the reply. I personally love most things about Les Pauls, except the headstock design. When I asked the question, I had in mind the 2015 Joe Bonamassa ' bonabyrd ' . I wish Gibson would persevere with a production version. Maybe once people overcame dislike of the difference with the benefits of the design, it could be part of the regular production lineup.
In my opinion they put a peice of fabric as a stencil..we do that on our rifles .spray a base then camouflage with the laundry bag and it leaves a snake skin effect..jst a guess tho
the RED is really beautiful! I was unsure how it might look, but this really works! This example IS a Firebird I would enjoy myself... and I'm not much of a Firebird fan... This one, YES!!
Firebirds are awesome guitars. This one sounds similar to my 2002 Cherry Red Firebird V, those Firebird pickups are like a perfect marriage of a Les Paul/SG and a Telecaster, soundwise.
The Firebird PU's have a blade type magnet going thru each bobbin unlike a mini HB that has a single magnet lying flat across the bottom of the two bobbins. They have a bit of a Strat vibe to them.
Totally correct, the blade magnets within each coil do give them more of a Fender sound with no single coil hum. I've played a few Les Paul guitars with Firebird pickups in the neck position. A Firebird pickup in the neck position of a Les Paul is a sure cure for muddy neck tones, they sound fantastic.
Get a piece of plywood where you drill the pickguard holes and screw the original pickguard to that. You could even get a nice Walnut or something and have it on display(hidden from direct sunlight ofcourse)
1:04 "This is a big ol case" have noticed some unboxings recently are in the new place, bigger table, padded, just looks and feels much more comfortable for these unboxings!
Hmm maybe thats some kind of photo finish like these Japanese Fender Strats got? You know, the ones with the Hamburglar neck? Very prone to finish checking as well, kind of reminded me of this. Really not my style this one, would love to see more firebirds here though, super interesting guitars.
WHAT?! I just thought "that thing looks more like it got run over by a truck than snakeskin" and, barely ten seconds later, Austin mentions his wife's first comment. Dude! Twinsies! ;-)
That finish was not done with a roller. The guitar was sprayed with a red base coat then a netting-type fabric was stretched across it. The black and grey areas were then sprayed on (which the netting "masked off") and finally one or more thick clear coats were sprayed over the whole thing once it was touch dry and the netting had been removed. It's a painting technique used by car customizers since at least the early 1950s but usually using lace, i.e., embroidered fabrics.
The way to differentiate III and V is to look at the fretboard. Dot inlays mean III, trapezoid V. And since people like to mess with pickups the fretboard is the best source of information. No binding means Firebird I. Block Inlays and ebony fretboard mean VII. I do not think the pickups should be called mini humbackers. They are hum cancelling and smaller than typical humbacker... But they are designed differently with rails instead of bars, Therfore, no individual height adjustment nor space for the wire. Due to differences , In my opinion they should be simply called Firebird pickups.
100% agree My goal is to own a solid body guitar with each of the different pickups designs. I've so far covered Les Paul w/Humbuckers, Stratocasters and Telecasters. What is left are the P90, the Fender WRHB Telecaster and then the Firebird. Once I get those last three guitars I will stop making purchases (for the record that is what I tell my Wife).
Hello from Florida. Liking the channel alot as I am a huge Gibson fan. Not a big fan of their pricing, but then again who is? People with good credit and plenty of cash, I suspect. Anyway I have not read all of the comments but I'm just giving you a heads up to where I got a pickguard a few years back. A place called pickguard heaven. At the time was located on the west coast of FL. But now the website I had saved is 'unreachable' and a new Google search tells me that the company is now a division of chandler guitars. When I say located, I mean that was where I sent my template to. So anyway look them up they did a great job on my g&l legacy pickguard and their selection of finishes is practically endless. Sorry for the long rant, hope this helps
Lurker here - this is the favorite guitar you have reviewed. makes me miss my early 90's burst Firebird V...traded it for a Hamer Mirage because I wanted a tremolo and a PRS style body. 😬
Your missus was right! It DOES look like it’s been run over by a truck! The best snake skin and crocodile skin look I’ve come across, are on *JAMES TRUSSART* guitars! Those things are a true work of art, and my personal dream guitars!
I know that in custom car and motorcycle painting the snake skin is done using mostly wrapping in fishnet stocking material and sometimes a gauze material. the tighter you stretch it the larger the scales appear. I love that paint job.
Every Firebird I've heard sounds great. Too bad about the pick guard. It's very pretty, and suits the guitar perfectly. Celluloid is a thermoplastic, and is easy to bend or flatten under heat (hot water). But, apparently once it starts to degrade, there's no way to stop it.
It's also a fire hazard. Sometimes it doesn't take much for celluloid to start on fire. Even being under stage lighting for an extended period of time can be enough.
I'd imagine Gibson could fabricate a replacement. Considering the worth of the guitar you can spend a bit more for the Gibson component and still not be underwater on it.
@@hkguitar1984 You certainly could, I mean not sue how expensive it would be. wd was like about 100. But, for sure gibson could could cut it out and sell it to him, if they would want to from the custom shop.
From what I understand, Firebird pickups aren't actually mini humbuckers, they are rail pickups that are the same size as mini's. That was one of the things about the Nighthawk's the neck was a Firebird pickup and the bridge was a slanted mini humbucker, obviously if you had the SP3 the middle was a single coil
Great episode! This Firebird sounds just as good as the “inspired by Gibson” Epiphone Firebird you reviewed last year. Which says a lot positive about the Epi I suppose.
Agreed, true Firebird design pickups are completely different that regular humbuckers due to there being no pole pieces in one of the humbucker bobbins, they instead use a flat bar of metal that stretches across the width of the pickup. That unique design gives them their own sound (a good sound too).
@@hkguitar1984 Since the late 80’s until 2019, Gibson used cheaper, hotter ceramic mini humbuckers in all their standard Firebird guitars. Each pickup on one side has poles and the other has the blade. However most custom shop or special editions have genuine 60’s reissue alnico firebird pickups.
@@_Arkenzie I was wondering why the tones were in such quality on this thing, I thought it must be the aging wood but now that you have explained, I see it´s all about the hardware.
@@abusamadresjones6452 Don't let hype fool you. The tone of an >electric< guitar is very minimally impacted by the wood of the guitar. Check out Tim Sway's "tonewood test" videos for a great demonstration of this.
Take a blank piece of wood and drill the pilot holes from the pickguard into it and screw it in. I have done that with a ‘63 tort Jaguar guard when I was refining the body!
The reverse firebird, in Kerry Green, is an object of lust for me. The tone, the shape,... Any model (1, 3, 5, 7. ) will do but a 7 is the dream. Its the monster-mash.
I recall in the late 80 / early 90's there were a bunch of Hamer snakeskin finished guitars at my local music store. Maybe that was a fashionable thing then.. Nice Firebird & great info!
I am not a Firebird fan, but this one was nice ... I am a little disappointed that we didn't see this one under black light ... I was kinda looking forward to seeing that serial number.
The unique sound coming from the firebird pickups is the coils are laying on their sides ,take a look under the covers & you'll see how the pickups are mounted !
I'm glad you mentioned Play and Trade. I never liked Firebirds until that green 1990 they gave away at 2,000 subscribers! Now I love Firebirds. That guitar changed everything for me. Congratulations on this beautiful red snake skin. I'm on the lookout for the right Firebird. It may be the only guitar I'm willing to drop real money on.
'Regal Roadkill' or 'Scarlett Snakeskin', however you see it, awesome and beautiful Firebird and sounds great! The paint template looks like a woven fabric like a coarse burlap or cheesecloth, the waves look like fabric folds. Clever finish. Pickguard deterioration sucks.
They spray it with a light color red... let it dry wet sanded...etc... then lay a fabric on top that has holes in it... like a lace type material... They hen spray it with a darker red and do random strips of black.. then take off the cloth... do final wet sand and a lot of clear coats... At least, that is how I have seen it done before several times.
Basically Firebird I is a parallel to the Les Paul Jr III to the Special V to the Standard VII to the Custom (This last one was mentioned) of course there are variations & Firebird distinctives
Agreed, the first time I wore/played a Firebird it became instantly clear why so many have headstock repairs, those headstocks seem much bigger/longer in person.
Back in 1977 my friend brought his brand new RD to band rehearsal, wow! All I remember was the 25.5" scale length and +10 Lbs of maple body, neck and fingerboard, it was pretty awesome.
I have a 2015 Firebird that has been re done by Historic Makeovers. I believe it's the only Firebird ever done by HM. Silver frost. Some 60s vintage parts. Custom wound pickups. Brazilian rosewood board. It's my #1. Nothing else sounds like it. Except maybe another great Firebird. lol.
I added a Gibson TP-6 fine tuner tailpiece to my Firebird, it saved me from having to crank the banjo tuners that much to keep it in tune, works great.
Gibson put out the Firebird in 1963 to attract Fender players. The closest thing to a shredder in 1963 was Dick Dale, and he played a Strat. Or Joe Maphis, who played hot country on a custom Mosrite. Or Les Paul, who was retired at that time. Shred was not even a thing in ‘63, not in rock’n’roll anyway.
Been playing guitar since 1999 and i just bought my 1st electric last month thanks to ur epiphone review. Proud to own a firebird. It is a different and unique beast.
The checking really see on the back of head stock and the numbers filled in would support that the nitrocellulose finish coat dry film build is maxed out and some. Short of too thick. Still the checking is cool.
Custom Color 90s Firebirds are pretty cool - let me know if you see one for sale!
🟢My Website: www.troglysguitarshow.com
🔴Reverb: reverb.com/shop/troglys?_aid=growsumo&gs_partner=Trogly
❓Private Help Sessions: troglysguitarshow.com/help-appraisals/
👕 Merch: teespring.com/basic-logo-4245?pid=211
Not firebirds but there’s a couple of cool looking voodoo guitars on eBay. An lps juju and an SG.
The snakeskin is done with a stretch fabric used as a stencil. Fishnet stockings were an old standby for "python style snakeskin". This is a tighter weave fabric, and black was sprayed across it in varying densities of spray with an airbrush or a detail sprayer. Easy peasy!
if you ever get a vintage style reissue firebird V with the vibrola
i simply must purchase it
I think it looks awesome. Ask Jonny Winter about firebirds.I lost a portion of my hearing from just one concert.
Holy crap, the tones on that Firebird are great - totally kicks ass!
Definitely has a great core tone with plenty of bite but a little playing with the tone controls and it gets really fat.
Probably one of the coolest guitars you've unboxed this year! Keep em coming. God bless and Merry Christmas 🎄🎸😎
I'm going on my second year of guitar and your show has helped me understand so much about guitars
When you take a celluloid pickguard off a guitar, immediately screw it down to a piece of wood so it doesn’t shrink to the point of not fitting. You should totally sell that guard to me though.
I have a 2019 Firebird V Reverse in the sunburst finish. It has the Grover mini-tuners so no risk of snapping the head in the case. It is my favorite guitar. Very easy to play and the tone is insane. It’s the 9 piece walnut/mahogany neck-through build that gives it the unique tone with the Firebird pickups. Sustains for days. Plays so much easier than my Les Paul Studio. I’ll never sell it.
I have that guitar, too in the same year. It's really great. I slapped a vibramate/Bigsby on mine. They're awesome guitars.
I did not used to like Reverse Firebirds until I heard Dave Gregory play one. Mind you, that way madness lies as he has an insane collection and everything sounds good!
I think it's created by spraying paint over some gauze that's stretched out . That was a common airbrush technique in the 70's, 80's, etc
I said cheese cloth but yeah
Some kind of netting like that, yeah. Sprayed red first, throw the netting on, and sprayed with some black to create the random pattern.
Yes, all those are correct. I've even seen Fishnet Panty Hose used to create the snake skin pattern!
@@allezjohn just did that with a laundry bag that had the pattern.
i’ve grown to really love firebirds, looks and sound-wise.. haven’t owned one yet. that bridge pickup on this one sounds so good
One of the best sounding guitars I've heard on your channel bro. I'd keep that just to play if I were you.
Just hang it on the wall in a humidity controlled room, no worries about gassy pick guards and I bet laying eyes on that gorgeous beast will make you pick it up everyday
In total agreement about the sounds, definitely some of the best tones that the channel's featured!
With the super high reading you got on the bridge, I believe it is a newer style ceramic half pole mini humbucker. Those were standard on most Gibsons Fbirds until 2019. Seeing how there was globbed solder or epoxy on the back of the bridge pup to secure the cover tells me that pickup was replaced at some point with a more modern hotter ceramic mini. I could be wrong though. That also explains why you were surprised at how bright it was when playing.
Makes sense.
This is crazy. Never knew that one would even have to worry about their guitar being destroyed by a component of the guitar itself. Also never had any visual love for the Gibby Firebird.... That too has changed.
Many of the 1940s and '50s Gretsch Guitars suffer from the celluloid binding Gretsch used. It is not uncommon to see old Gretsch guitars that have had the binding literally rot and fall off the guitar due to them being stored their cases for long periods of time.
I saw one Gretsch Archtop where the floating Celluloid pickgaurd bubbled up the lacquer finish that was under the pickgaurd. And that pickgaurd was mounted floating about 3/8" above the finish! Some of the early plastics will age poorly and crack or shrink however it is only the celluloid parts that off-gas and destroy everything in their surroundings.
Try a cheap Floyd Rose it’ll destroy itself in record time
@@hkguitar1984 0
My 1964 type three came with both volume on top and the tone pots down below
Greetings Austin!
Very nice acquisition! This is a wonderful example of how great a Firebird could look with a great color scheme and the right finished hardware to set it all off. The gold hardware really goes well with that paint job. The pick guard also helps to complete the look, I hope you can find a good replacement one to match, there are quite a few businesses that specialises in pick guards, but to get an actual authentic replacement, you may have to get in touch with Gibson.
Matching the color along with the trim and the logo might be tricky. It sure looks awesome, and it sounds great too. This guitar was a great find for you!
Many years ago when I was playing in my first band, I played a Firebird and a Flying V, which were owned by our drummer, Fred. The Firebird had great sustain, but also, the Flying V did as well, however, I suspect this attribute was derived from different construction features of each instrument, the Firebird, because of the neck-through design, and the Flying V, because it is essentially built like a tuning fork.
Thank you for posting these videos and keeping us informed about the various guitars that have been, and are being produced!
Please have an excellent and awesome day! ✨☀️
Definitely a great addition to your collection. That purple bass you showed a picture of was also drool worthy.
Looks like a template spray. Did snakeskin on walking sticks using a folded red mesh onion sack. Worked great.
Looks like something Robbin Crosby would play. Love it.
Nice!!!!
Robbim had a literal ton of Jackson Firebirds built for him, Including the very first Jackson Firebird in 1985. In the meantime he did own a few Gib Firebirds, And had Gibson build a few Firebird Custom Shops after he left Charvel/Jackson in '88. A couple of his Gibs have actually come up for sale after his passing but were snatched up hella quick. My favorite of them was a 3 pickup Firebird with Dirty Fingers w/Floyd Rose he had built in '87 or '88.
King. I just found out that he was the artist for which the Jackson "King" V was created. Great guitarist and cool guitar.
It sounds killer. I love it. It was designed originally to try and get Strat guys. Hence the PU's
I have tried flattening out a warped celluloid pickguard and can report just having it clamped under pressure for a 4 months does nothing. Springs right back.
Celluloid is just unstable stuff, and since it was used for film stock for decades a lot of movies have been lost because it either degraded, or self-ignited .
@@joermnyc yeah and really unstable, I remember once I was modifying a celluloid pickguard and took my Dremel multitool to it and got a small puff of smoke in my face. Exploded a bit just from the friction heat.
Back in my college days in the late ‘60s, I played with a rhythm guitarist who had an early ‘60s solidbody Höfner that was covered in white vinyl and had a black celluloid pickguard. He had to remove the pickguard to fix something, and when he was putting the pickguard back on, he thought he’d save some time by clamping a screwdriver into his electric drill. The friction from turning the screws caused that pickguard to smoke, catch fire, and crumple up. He wound up having to replace all the wiring, the pots, and the pickup switches, plus the pickguard. Interestingly, the pickups still worked-their metal covers were just discolored a bit!
A beautiful guitar. Firebirds always remind me of Paul Stanley around 74-75. Too bad he used his mainly as a stage prop...lol
That's a beauty!
The black parts make me think they put a burlap bag over it and painted over the bag.
The effect is still awesome on it though.
What it looks like to me is that they took some wide, fishnet style fabric and draped it over the guitar after the red paint was laid down and then randomly sprayed black paint in spots to get that texture. It’s definitely a masking job.
I got 6 of my 9 Gibsons back in the 90's. I've kept them all because they're all fantastic guitars & have been what I've always played throughout my time as both a player & a gigging musician. You can't go wrong with a Gibson from that era as far as I'm concerned & that Firebird is a friggin' beauty!
Not usually a fan of mini humbuckers, but wow - that thing really does sound ace !!! Mind you, for nearly 10 grand it ought to lol
The Firebird pickup is quite a bit different to the standard mini humbucker. In particular their magnets inside are of a different configuration. This may be why you like these pickups whilst not normally a fan of mini humbuckers, because these aren’t really mini humbuckers 😉
Screw the pick guard upside down on a flat wooden board after removing the toggle switch, and use a hairdryer medium heat to make it flat again.
That bridge pickup has a Neil Young Crazy Horse sound. Great review of Gibson’s Firebird!
Wow! That’s gorgeous! Red Firebirds are surely the very coolest guitars on the planet! I have a wonderful sunburst ‘91 Firebird V that l picked up from a guy in North London in the early 2000s for a LOT less that you apparently paid Trogly. :) l love it to bits, but l ALWAYS wanted a red one - with or without the snakeskin patterning. The finish and gold hardware aside, though, my sunburst Firebird is essentially this very guitar. It sounds very similar and the neck profile your describe is pretty dead-on. The pickups read about the same, too. I’m happy to report that mine no longer neck-dives though. Early on, I swapped out the banjo tuners for Steinberger Gearless tuners, which have a similar look, but tune much more smoothly and crucially, weigh about half as much as the Klusons. I actually did this years before Gibson started fitting them…mine don’t have that rather ugly locking T-piece. They lock with a collar with ridges, and a pair of flats that fit a small spanner. Anyway, no more neck dive! It’s a great guitar that I’ll never sell, even though as a gigging proposition the size makes it fairly impractical. With a car full of amps and PA gear, it’s often hard to squeeze that huge case in, and it’s not a guitar you’d want to trust to a gig bag!
I'm curious. Does the straight string pull lead to better tuning stability? Assuming you have or have owned a Les Paul for comparison.
It’s not a true Firebird without banjo tuners, and the Steinberger gearless tuners qualify since it preserves that look. I wish the USA Firebirds would go to the Steinberger tuners as their standard.
@@georgeoh-well8116 I think so. They are effectively locking tuners, so that plays a part, too. They also tune much more smoothly, because it is one continuous motion. And yet, straight string pull is always a very good idea for tuning stability, especially if you bend a lot or use a trem.
@@ArchieOnEarth I agree, though the more recent Steinbergers with the T-locking pieces don't look as neat. I think at some stage during the noughties Gibson must have bought Steinberger, which is one of the reasons they started using them on Firebirds and occasionally other guitars. (I recently bought a secondhand set for a FB I'm building from a guy who had a set on brand new Les Paul and had swapped them out for something more traditional.) Sadly, I don't think the Gearless Tuners are being made any more. Nobody ever seems to have them in stock, not even Gibson USA, who has them listed on their parts website, but never seems to have any.
@@timaves1504 Thanks for the reply.
I personally love most things about Les Pauls, except the headstock design. When I asked the question, I had in mind the 2015 Joe Bonamassa ' bonabyrd ' .
I wish Gibson would persevere with a production version.
Maybe once people overcame dislike of the difference with the benefits of the design, it could be part of the regular production lineup.
In my opinion they put a peice of fabric as a stencil..we do that on our rifles .spray a base then camouflage with the laundry bag and it leaves a snake skin effect..jst a guess tho
the RED is really beautiful! I was unsure how it might look, but this really works! This example IS a Firebird I would enjoy myself... and I'm not much of a Firebird fan... This one, YES!!
Oblique lighting might help you see those serials. Cut the lights and use a flashlight. Love ya man
Firebirds are awesome guitars. This one sounds similar to my 2002 Cherry Red Firebird V, those Firebird pickups are like a perfect marriage of a Les Paul/SG and a Telecaster, soundwise.
The Firebird PU's have a blade type magnet going thru each bobbin unlike a mini HB that has a single magnet lying flat across the bottom of the two bobbins. They have a bit of a Strat vibe to them.
Totally correct, the blade magnets within each coil do give them more of a Fender sound with no single coil hum.
I've played a few Les Paul guitars with Firebird pickups in the neck position. A Firebird pickup in the neck position of a Les Paul is a sure cure for muddy neck tones, they sound fantastic.
@@hkguitar1984Exactly!! What is cool is you can setup your bridge PU to be really fat and when you switch to the neck 'bingo' it is a clear as a bell.
Get a piece of plywood where you drill the pickguard holes and screw the original pickguard to that. You could even get a nice Walnut or something and have it on display(hidden from direct sunlight ofcourse)
1:04 "This is a big ol case"
have noticed some unboxings recently are in the new place, bigger table, padded, just looks and feels much more comfortable for these unboxings!
Hmm maybe thats some kind of photo finish like these Japanese Fender Strats got? You know, the ones with the Hamburglar neck?
Very prone to finish checking as well, kind of reminded me of this.
Really not my style this one, would love to see more firebirds here though, super interesting guitars.
Nice sounds. Nice playing too. Love to hear Matthew Scott thrash that thing.
Ditto
WHAT?! I just thought "that thing looks more like it got run over by a truck than snakeskin" and, barely ten seconds later, Austin mentions his wife's first comment. Dude! Twinsies! ;-)
That finish was not done with a roller. The guitar was sprayed with a red base coat then a netting-type fabric was stretched across it. The black and grey areas were then sprayed on (which the netting "masked off") and finally one or more thick clear coats were sprayed over the whole thing once it was touch dry and the netting had been removed. It's a painting technique used by car customizers since at least the early 1950s but usually using lace, i.e., embroidered fabrics.
Imagine that neck pickup running through a cranked Sunn Model T. Doom for eternity.
I have a 1990 firebird v and I love it. Has an amazing sound to it
I had a 63 firebird III it got me hooked on them but this one is a keeper so beautiful!
I bet the guys over at Kauer Guitars could make you a nice replacement pickguard! Their Banshee model has a very silimar style guard already.
Firebird's look like an explorer with all the corners rounded off.
That's easily the coolest Firebird I've ever seen.
The way to differentiate III and V is to look at the fretboard. Dot inlays mean III, trapezoid V. And since people like to mess with pickups the fretboard is the best source of information. No binding means Firebird I. Block Inlays and ebony fretboard mean VII.
I do not think the pickups should be called mini humbackers. They are hum cancelling and smaller than typical humbacker... But they are designed differently with rails instead of bars, Therfore, no individual height adjustment nor space for the wire. Due to differences , In my opinion they should be simply called Firebird pickups.
100% agree
My goal is to own a solid body guitar with each of the different pickups designs. I've so far covered Les Paul w/Humbuckers, Stratocasters and Telecasters. What is left are the P90, the Fender WRHB Telecaster and then the Firebird.
Once I get those last three guitars I will stop making purchases (for the record that is what I tell my Wife).
Camera doesn't do red very well.
This playing demo was the best ever. I could tell you were loving it. It was just needing some drums to nail everything down. Well done Austin
Hello from Florida. Liking the channel alot as I am a huge Gibson fan. Not a big fan of their pricing, but then again who is? People with good credit and plenty of cash, I suspect. Anyway I have not read all of the comments but I'm just giving you a heads up to where I got a pickguard a few years back. A place called pickguard heaven. At the time was located on the west coast of FL. But now the website I had saved is 'unreachable' and a new Google search tells me that the company is now a division of chandler guitars. When I say located, I mean that was where I sent my template to. So anyway look them up they did a great job on my g&l legacy pickguard and their selection of finishes is practically endless. Sorry for the long rant, hope this helps
I agree with your wife, it’s The Roadkill Firebird.
Lurker here - this is the favorite guitar you have reviewed. makes me miss my early 90's burst Firebird V...traded it for a Hamer Mirage because I wanted a tremolo and a PRS style body. 😬
That thing is a JEWEL!!! Beautiful 👀
Blue one would look good with your pick gaurd
Your missus was right! It DOES look like it’s been run over by a truck!
The best snake skin and crocodile skin look I’ve come across, are on *JAMES TRUSSART* guitars! Those things are a true work of art, and my personal dream guitars!
I know that in custom car and motorcycle painting the snake skin is done using mostly wrapping in fishnet stocking material and sometimes a gauze material. the tighter you stretch it the larger the scales appear. I love that paint job.
Every Firebird I've heard sounds great. Too bad about the pick guard. It's very pretty, and suits the guitar perfectly. Celluloid is a thermoplastic, and is easy to bend or flatten under heat (hot water). But, apparently once it starts to degrade, there's no way to stop it.
It's also a fire hazard.
Sometimes it doesn't take much for celluloid to start on fire. Even being under stage lighting for an extended period of time can be enough.
I would give wd custom pickguards a call, if you want something specific. They helped me with a custom pickguard for a modified tele and it was good.
I'd imagine Gibson could fabricate a replacement. Considering the worth of the guitar you can spend a bit more for the Gibson component and still not be underwater on it.
@@hkguitar1984 You certainly could, I mean not sue how expensive it would be. wd was like about 100. But, for sure gibson could could cut it out and sell it to him, if they would want to from the custom shop.
This guitar has excellent tone/pickups, you can really hear all the strings in all the different settings. Love the early 90's Gibsons.
Yeah that's definitely the coolest Firebird I've ever seen. Congrats
I have always wanted a firebird, but it has always been out of my price range/budget. I also need it to have banjo tuners.
That is a very cool firebird 👍 what are you doing with it???
From what I understand, Firebird pickups aren't actually mini humbuckers, they are rail pickups that are the same size as mini's. That was one of the things about the Nighthawk's the neck was a Firebird pickup and the bridge was a slanted mini humbucker, obviously if you had the SP3 the middle was a single coil
Man, that thing's hideous. I love it.
Great episode! This Firebird sounds just as good as the “inspired by Gibson” Epiphone Firebird you reviewed last year. Which says a lot positive about the Epi I suppose.
I have a gibson, and some epis, and i always say: i like them equally!
Agreed, true Firebird design pickups are completely different that regular humbuckers due to there being no pole pieces in one of the humbucker bobbins, they instead use a flat bar of metal that stretches across the width of the pickup. That unique design gives them their own sound (a good sound too).
@@hkguitar1984 Since the late 80’s until 2019, Gibson used cheaper, hotter ceramic mini humbuckers in all their standard Firebird guitars. Each pickup on one side has poles and the other has the blade. However most custom shop or special editions have genuine 60’s reissue alnico firebird pickups.
@@_Arkenzie I was wondering why the tones were in such quality on this thing, I thought it must be the aging wood but now that you have explained, I see it´s all about the hardware.
@@abusamadresjones6452 Don't let hype fool you. The tone of an >electric< guitar is very minimally impacted by the wood of the guitar. Check out Tim Sway's "tonewood test" videos for a great demonstration of this.
Take a blank piece of wood and drill the pilot holes from the pickguard into it and screw it in. I have done that with a ‘63 tort Jaguar guard when I was refining the body!
The reverse firebird, in Kerry Green, is an object of lust for me. The tone, the shape,... Any model (1, 3, 5, 7. ) will do but a 7 is the dream. Its the monster-mash.
One of the coolest axes ever..and eventually, it will self destruct, and rise from it's own ashes!
I recall in the late 80 / early 90's there were a bunch of Hamer snakeskin finished guitars at my local music store. Maybe that was a fashionable thing then.. Nice Firebird & great info!
I am not a Firebird fan, but this one was nice ... I am a little disappointed that we didn't see this one under black light ... I was kinda looking forward to seeing that serial number.
Ask Tony from Pickguardian, his work is stellar! Could make you a perfect custom pickguard from safe materials.
Ask Phillip McKnight about correcting the pickguard warp using a standard clothing iron and cloth to protect it from melting or searing.
The unique sound coming from the firebird pickups is the coils are laying on their sides ,take a look under the covers & you'll see how the pickups are mounted !
I'm glad you mentioned Play and Trade. I never liked Firebirds until that green 1990 they gave away at 2,000 subscribers! Now I love Firebirds. That guitar changed everything for me. Congratulations on this beautiful red snake skin. I'm on the lookout for the right Firebird. It may be the only guitar I'm willing to drop real money on.
'Regal Roadkill' or 'Scarlett Snakeskin', however you see it, awesome and beautiful Firebird and sounds great! The paint template looks like a woven fabric like a coarse burlap or cheesecloth, the waves look like fabric folds. Clever finish. Pickguard deterioration sucks.
They spray it with a light color red... let it dry wet sanded...etc... then lay a fabric on top that has holes in it... like a lace type material... They hen spray it with a darker red and do random strips of black.. then take off the cloth... do final wet sand and a lot of clear coats... At least, that is how I have seen it done before several times.
Basically Firebird I is a parallel to the Les Paul Jr
III to the Special
V to the Standard
VII to the Custom (This last one was mentioned)
of course there are variations & Firebird distinctives
Its weird playing firebirds, when your used to playing strats and other shorter body guitars. The headstock seems so far away on a firebird.
Agreed, the first time I wore/played a Firebird it became instantly clear why so many have headstock repairs, those headstocks seem much bigger/longer in person.
Fender Clean 🧼 Tone, Gibson Distorted Tone🤘🏼
I love Firebirds and they really suit wild finishes. I agree with you wife that it looks a little like it has been run over but I like it!
Nice,very nice. But, we need more RD's in our lives.
Back in 1977 my friend brought his brand new RD to band rehearsal, wow! All I remember was the 25.5" scale length and +10 Lbs of maple body, neck and fingerboard, it was pretty awesome.
I don't even much care for Firebirds but that is easily the nicest looking one I've ever seen! Thanks for sharing!
wow that is beautiful
Awesome guitar 🎸 👌 😎 😍 👍 ❤️ Trogly's.
I have a 2015 Firebird that has been re done by Historic Makeovers. I believe it's the only Firebird ever done by HM. Silver frost. Some 60s vintage parts. Custom wound pickups. Brazilian rosewood board. It's my #1. Nothing else sounds like it. Except maybe another great Firebird. lol.
It's a plastic mesh / lace-type material placed on the body then sprayed with black. Kinda like the onion and potato sacks from the produce section.
I added a Gibson TP-6 fine tuner tailpiece to my Firebird, it saved me from having to crank the banjo tuners that much to keep it in tune, works great.
If my mother saw that guitar, she would have thought it was wrapped in a red Afghan!
That Firebird looks like something Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera would play!
That's a keeper. I wish that I had a firebird bass in that color. The pick ups
Those pickups sound great. She Rocks.
Those pickups sound great. If you really don’t like it, I’ll take it off your hands.
Dear Austin, 'distortion' is NOT the only effects pedal out there... Keep up the great work btw 😊
One of only a few shapes of guitar i have never tried, always felt they were for guys who liked to shred, that looked superb, a real showpiece axe
Gibson put out the Firebird in 1963 to attract Fender players. The closest thing to a shredder in 1963 was Dick Dale, and he played a Strat. Or Joe Maphis, who played hot country on a custom Mosrite. Or Les Paul, who was retired at that time. Shred was not even a thing in ‘63, not in rock’n’roll anyway.
I've owned 15-20 Gibson LP's & my 92 blk std was the best.
Been playing guitar since 1999 and i just bought my 1st electric last month thanks to ur epiphone review.
Proud to own a firebird. It is a different and unique beast.
No jk this channel is one of THE BEST findings on YT ever. And I've been here a while longer than my account admits. Thank u for existing!
The checking really see on the back of head stock and the numbers filled in would support that the nitrocellulose finish coat dry film build is maxed out and some. Short of too thick. Still the checking is cool.
Steven Stills plays Explorers. Gibson's treble bleed circuit works good. I'm looking to putting them on my stuff.
Wow that is stunning.
I get physically sick whenever I see a guitar I can't afford.
Could you clear vinyl wrap the pick guard to help with the off gassing?
Yup, sickest evar, I would rock that. That pattern does look like a rubber tyre run back and forth.
That Firebird sounds fantastic!