School me on Firebirds

[chille01]

Thinking of buying one.  Not a reverse, just a regular one.  The triple mini-bucker variety.  A Korean knockoff (Dillion), not the real deal... but in general, what are the pros/cons/opinions on Firebirds.  I've never actually tried one.  Love the look, but don't know really how they feel or sound.  I of course WILL be trying before I buy.

[mortlock]

its like anything..you really have to try it.. i personally dont like them..

[The Shocker]

Thinking of buying one.  Not a reverse, just a regular one.  The triple mini-bucker variety.  A Korean knockoff (Dillion), not the real deal... but in general, what are the pros/cons/opinions on Firebirds.  I've never actually tried one.  Love the look, but don't know really how they feel or sound.  I of course WILL be trying before I buy.

I love the look too, especially the ones with banjo tuners, but like you have never played one.  I always wonder how comfortable it is to play seated.

[Jake]

I've got an Eastwood Stormbird, and here's the biggest thing about it that is different compared to playing other guitars. Everything is shifted to the left (which is actually very playable and comfortable). What I mean by that is that because where the bridge sits in relationship to the body, the strings/bridge/pickups are positioned much further toward your left when compared to a Les Paul or Tele or something. Makes for nice access to the upper register. I've never played one, but I suspect it might be this way on like a Flying V or an Explorer as well.

Personally, I love non-reverse Firebirds. The reverse ones, not nearly much.

[The Shocker]

I always get confused on which one is the reverse with Firebirds...

[Jake]

The non-reverse are the originals, which look like an offset Fender.

[chille01]

Sounds interesting guys, thanks. I'll be checking it out after work tonight, and will report my findings for tue class.

[xayk]

I have Jackson's Firebird... homage... the FB2.  MIJ, stop tailpiece.  It's amazingly constructed, looks tremendous, and the Armstrong pickups are just awesome.  But it's got this deep, thick neck that I just cannot get used to, so it sees almost no play time, sadly.

I picked it up on a whim from eBay, which is probably what I get for not playing it first.

[VOLVO)))]

Neck Dive!

[RageofKlugman]

I'm fairly sure that the reverse firebirds were the first ones made by Gibson. The non-reverse ones (the ones shaped like an offset Fender) were introduced a few years later because the reverse ones weren't selling so well.

[The Shocker]

I'm fairly sure that the reverse firebirds were the first ones made by Gibson. The non-reverse ones (the ones shaped like an offset Fender) were introduced a few years later because the reverse ones weren't selling so well.

That's what gets me.  The original is the reverse.  Weird.  Somebody post some pictures of both to end the confusion...

[RageofKlugman]

Yep, the whole reverse/non-reverse thing is weirdly confusing. The standard/original firebird is the reverse one - reverse in the sense that its the other way round from most guitars (i.e. has a longer treble bout, reversed headstock, that sort of thing). The subsequent non-reverse is a more 'normal' layout, so it looks vaguely like some of the Fender designs.

I think the non-reverse firebirds were withdrawn by Gibson in the late 60s after some sort of lawsuit with Fender... I wouldn't swear to it, but it sort of rings a bell.

[grimniggzy]

I'm fairly sure that the reverse firebirds were the first ones made by Gibson. The non-reverse ones (the ones shaped like an offset Fender) were introduced a few years later because the reverse ones weren't selling so well.

That's what gets me.  The original is the reverse.  Weird.  Somebody post some pictures of both to end the confusion...

non reverse


reverse

[The Shocker]

So what are y'alls opinions about mini humbuckers?  Scott Gorham played Les Pauls with them, so I'm not complaining.  Are all of them fairly low output?

[MikeyT]

   

They usually sound pretty bluesy. I like the tone. Some great players have used them.

[Jake]

Although I personally have very little experience with minibuckers, I've heard that they can be somewhat trebley.

[chille01]

So I bought it, and am digging it.  Seems that I was also confused about the reverse/non-reverse thing in my first post.  It is a reverse, as in the typical/normal Firebird config.  Probably the thing that is going to take the most getting used to is the tuners.  It doesn't have the banjo tuners, but they are on the treble side.  And the bass strings are longest.  That'll take some getting used to.  Other than that, it plays pretty nice, with some good access to the higher frets.  Tonight will be my first opportunity to plug it in to anything other than a little solid state practice amp, so I'm looking forward to that as well.

And that is my report.

[The Bandit]

Dude, post some pics.  Also give us a report after you jam with it tonight.

[chille01]

No pics yet... but it looks much like the sunburst one posted above, except with three minibuckers.  As far as the sound... I think the stock minibuckers won't cut it in the long run.  I was able to get something workable with a little amp/pedal tweaking... but not anything that really blew me away.  And they squeel like a bitch at even moderate gain levels.  I'm eyeing up some of the GFS minibuckers for an easy swap out.  Love the way it plays, still on the fence about the way it sounds.

[The Bandit]

GFS makes some awesome pickups for very reasonable prices.