Here is one of the coolest guitars ever made - the Gibson Firebird. Introduced in 1963, the Firebird, with its neck-through design, was a radical departure from most of the guitars available at the time. The original models were referred to as ‘Reverse’ as the offset body used the opposite orientation as most guitar bodies, particularly Fender’s then-new offset-body Jazzmaster and Jaguar. These guitars also used a new, small bar-magnet humbucking pickup that is not to be confused with the mini-humbuckers used on the later Les Paul Deluxe models.
Nothing else really looks like this design, and it was quickly adopted by players like Brian Jones, Eric Clapton, Howlin’ Wolf, and later of course Johny Winter and Allen Collins of Lynyrd Skynrd.
Discontinued in 1970 Gibson brought back the "reverse" Firebird for the second time in 1976 with a Limited Edition "Bicentennial" model that celebrated the 200th birthday of the United States and included a “76” red and blue Firebird logo on the scratch plate. Not exactly a "proper reissue”, these guitars featured no vibrola and used gold hardware previously only found on the Firebird VII, but still an iconic Firebird model.
This guitar is all original and is in near mint condition, with only a small loss of the gold finish on the surround of the bridge pickup to show for its 49 years. Serial number of 00247160 and pot codes of 1377650 confirm the guitar was manufactured in 1976.
The guitar has been in the ownership of a collector since 1999 and has clearly been played very little during its life We have now had the pleasure of playing this guitar and it is fantastic – the sound from the “mini humbuckers” is superb and the guitar is so easy, and nice, to play. The guitar comes complete with its original pink plush lined Gibson hard case.
Shipping within mainland UK using fully insured 24-hour courier service @ £35.00.
Shipping to US/Canada, using UPS, is £185.00. Shipping to EU is £65.00
Customers outside of UK/EU/US/Canada should contact Vintage Rare & Retro Guitars for a shipping quotation. Free pick-up is always available at our Gullane shop.
