So I've wanted a Firebird forever, but just never found one when I was flush with cash that appealed to me. So I'm sitting at the shop one day, and a guy comes in with 4 guitars and a bag of effects to trade on a Telecaster we have on the wall (Fender Thinline).
He pulls out a Fender Kingman Elvis (was very nice), a Fender Mexican Tele Std. (white), a Jackson Dinky Reverse (Eerie Dess), and a Firebird Worn Cherry Studio. He then pulls out a Boss RC-3 Loop Station, and a Bogner Burnley pedal, and says I want to trade this stuff for that Tele (marked at $800). We began ciphering, and with the Jackson, he was definitely on the plus side. Told him the usual, "You can get more if you sell it yourself, rather than trading...", but he insisted. Wanted the Tele and a Floyd equipped guitar. We told him keep the Jackson and he gave use $100.00.
So, start looking over the Firebird, and it played great. Not a huge fan of the worn cherry, but hey.... It came with a hard case (as did the other guitars), so I asked "How much do we have in the Firebird?". :-D
$175 was my cost. So, it's got Steinberger 40:1 tuners, which are neat....a bit of a learning curve there. The pickups, especially the neck, are pretty nice too. Ceramic HB's, and they sound very SG-like. I know I'll want a real Gibson 'Bird with mini humbuckers, but this was dirt cheap for a Mahogany, set neck guitar. It may have the lowest action of all my guitars. A soft breeze will fret the strings :-D
Anyway, it had the Gibson truss rod cover, and that "satin/worn" finish, so I gave it a bit of a polish to add some shine and I like it better. I've had a few guys over who played it through the 5150, the VL-503, and the Shiva, and it sounds great through all three; better than a cheap Epi should, IMHO.
So here she is...sometimes being a bottom feeder pays off.
He pulls out a Fender Kingman Elvis (was very nice), a Fender Mexican Tele Std. (white), a Jackson Dinky Reverse (Eerie Dess), and a Firebird Worn Cherry Studio. He then pulls out a Boss RC-3 Loop Station, and a Bogner Burnley pedal, and says I want to trade this stuff for that Tele (marked at $800). We began ciphering, and with the Jackson, he was definitely on the plus side. Told him the usual, "You can get more if you sell it yourself, rather than trading...", but he insisted. Wanted the Tele and a Floyd equipped guitar. We told him keep the Jackson and he gave use $100.00.
So, start looking over the Firebird, and it played great. Not a huge fan of the worn cherry, but hey.... It came with a hard case (as did the other guitars), so I asked "How much do we have in the Firebird?". :-D
$175 was my cost. So, it's got Steinberger 40:1 tuners, which are neat....a bit of a learning curve there. The pickups, especially the neck, are pretty nice too. Ceramic HB's, and they sound very SG-like. I know I'll want a real Gibson 'Bird with mini humbuckers, but this was dirt cheap for a Mahogany, set neck guitar. It may have the lowest action of all my guitars. A soft breeze will fret the strings :-D
Anyway, it had the Gibson truss rod cover, and that "satin/worn" finish, so I gave it a bit of a polish to add some shine and I like it better. I've had a few guys over who played it through the 5150, the VL-503, and the Shiva, and it sounds great through all three; better than a cheap Epi should, IMHO.
So here she is...sometimes being a bottom feeder pays off.
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