The Gibson Firebird Guitar

A Tribute to a Fascinating
American Guitar and All Firebird Musicians

A new "Hey" to all Firebird friends from around the world. Thanks to you, we are now the number one Firebird web site. Keep those e-mails pouring in (stevemoore,gu "at" gmail.com) and I'll do my best to continue improving these pages. Thanks and enjoy the site.  Steve Moore (updated 10/18/2011) 
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Visit My Band Site: The Razors

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LETTERS, WE'VE GOT LETTERS:

In a message dated 01/05,

Steve,
I wrote to you a while back and wanted to send you an update.I now have my website up and running and there's a couple pics of my #1,an Orville By Gibson white Firebird.The one on the top of the home page says it all.There's also a picture of my Firebird tattoo.Yes,I know one guy had the logo tatooed on his arm,but I got the guitar itself on my right bicep.It's on the Music page. Last but not least I want to put an end to the mis-information regarding "Freebird."It WAS recorded on a Fireird!It was a one pickup model with the pickup moved to the,I assume,customized front position,and a P-90 replacing it in the rear.The P-90 had what looked like a metalic cover,so I'm assuming it was an Epiphone.That was Allen Collin's main guitar on all five of the six albums they cut from '73-'76,"Pronounced","Second Helping","Nuthin' Fancy","Gimme Back My Bullets",and the live album "One More From The Road."After the live album he switched to the Explorer that is seen in "Freebird;the Movie".So while he's commonly associated with Explorers,the Firebird is what you hear on most records.Judging by the photos inside the vinyl "First...And Last" he got it in '69 and customized it within a year. Because I'm a Blues guy most people think I started playing Firebirds because of Johnny Winter,but actually it was Allen Collins.He was a MOTHERF**KER. Keep up the good work on the site and feel free to use my photos if you like. J.J. Vicars

In a message dated 02/05 , Bruce writes:

Hello-

I just got turned on to your site. Fantastic! As a kid in 1968 I bought an early F1 in a funky music store in Los Angeles. I had owned the guitar for just a couple of years when, who else, the drummer in my band tripped over the cord leading from the guitar to the amp, pulling the guitar on the ground and snapping the headstock off. All before my eyes! I had the guitar repaired, but sold it shortly afterwards because I felt the sound was a bit too "thin" for what I wanted. Not a smart decision in the long run, eh? I've enclosed a photo of me posing with it shortly after buying it. The posters on the wall verify the era - don't they! Thanks and keep up the great work1

Bruce Reed
Ventura, CA

(Steve's reply: Thanks Bruce. Those posters really take me back)

In a message dated 06/04 , Larry writes:

Hey,

I'm yet another guy with a Firebird (though I have to admit that after about 5 years of being No.1 guitar, it's since been relegated to supporting role). Mine's a '65 non-reverse with 2 P-90s. I can't remember whether that makes it a model I or model III... ah, no matter. When I got it (1979) it had a Bad ass bridge on it. I replaced that with > the original style wiggle stick around 1984. That was a mistake -- it made the guitar virtually unplayable due to tuning problems. In the early 90s I put a Bigsby on it. It's a pretty cool combination.

Anyway, the Bigsby brings me to the reason I'm writing: in a way, you can add Neil Young to your list of Firebird players. "Old Black", his
signature Les Paul, has a Firebird pickup in the neck position. So... Neil Young's famous and inimitable tone comes from a Firebird (pickup).

You may be pleased to know, though, that two months ago I cleaned up the
old Firebird and it's made its way back into my first tier of guitars.

Thanks and take care, Larry Bailey

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In a message posted 9/04:

Hi, I was checkin' out your Firebird page and thought you might
consider adding another entry. Steve Clark played guitar for Def
Leppard on their first four albums (On Through The Night, High 'N' Dry,
Pyromania and Hysteria).

Here's a link to a site I found that's all about him:
http://www.steveclarkguitar.com/maindirectory.html

another link with some more info about his guitars, including the
firebirds: http://www.steveclarkguitar.com/StevesHysteriaTourGuitars.html

Rock on,
Mike

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Someone sent me a great letter and this pic of a young Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top playing a Firebird 1. However, I lost the letter, so please contact me so I can add your name etc. Thanks.

Steve,
   Your web site is fantastic. I've been waiting for something like you have created for over 30 years. I bought my first Firebird, a FBIII in 1963 and still have it. I was 16 years old and had my own garage band in southern Illinois. We didn't see many instruments there but a buddy of mine showed up at a gig with this exotic and beautiful guitar, a FB III.
   It wasn't but a few months I was ordering one myself but my love of Firebirds didn't stop there. Later I acquired a 1963 Firebird I, a 1964 Firebird VII in rare SG cherry finish, A 1973 reissue Firebird V with the medallion on the top bout, and a strange Firebird 7 with a cherry tiger stripped maple top. It is very different than the real firebirds but interesting in itself. Then in the 80s, I acquired a black Firebird which had seriously been altered. It belonged to Duane Roland of the original 'Molly Hatchet' southern rock band. It had an applied neck instead of the straight through body original design and it has an ebony fingerboard with hex pearl blocks. It had a BADASS bridge replacing the original. I tracked Duane down in central Florida and asked him to explain how the Firebird got that way. It was originally a 64 Firebird III. He explained that in the early 70s, he stood it against his mother's piano and somehow it fell, shattering the head stock. He had it reconstructed, the luther doling and pegging the original head stock to the new neck and also slotting it for the body like the non reverse models. it was then painted black. it is distinctive to say the least and comes from the days when the banjo tuners were not manufactured anymore and very hard to replace. Duane replaced the e string tuner with a gold one from a Firebird VII. So it has one gold tuner and five nickel original ones.
   Well, that's my story, I play all of my Firebirds. I've ended up collecting them but spent hundreds of ours in bands over the years playing them. There is nothing like a Gibson Firebird.
   All the best
   Larry Haley
   Lake Park, Fla. (Oct. 5, 2003)

Hi, Steve.
I'm a fellow "reverse bird'' owner. While reading your article, I noticed that you said the reverse birds were made as far back as 1960. The first reverse birds to come off the assembly line were in 1963, and continued till mid 1965. However, in 1964 the "reverse" head stock was reversed and looked like a Fender! So this reversed the tuning keys also.

How would you like to own one of each "reverse" style? You'd never get used to the tuning order! I don't know why they did this, but it only lasted for one year. The "non-reverse" birds came along in late '65 and fizzled out biyearly '69. Talk about cheap attributes, the late '60's birds didn't even have neck binding (Firebird VII included). The V had dot inlays, and the body was an unsculpted slab of mahogany. For a top of the line Gibson that's pretty damn cheap!

Looking at the shipping totals for reverse birds, it seems that they made many more I's and III's than they did V's and VII's. That's a shame as I've always been an inlay and neck binding lover. To me, that's what set Gibson apart was their attention to hand craftsmanship. It took extra time and ability to create those better models. Anyway, I hope this gives you a bit of insight.
Ed Meyers, Nov. 24. 2001 (P.S. DON'T LET THAT HEADSTOCK GET BROKEN!
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In a message dated 12/15/02 , Mike writes:

Did you know that one of the most famous if not the most famous rock solo ever was played on a Firebird? That would be "Freebird" and the soloist was the late, great Allen Collins,. Allen switched to an Explorer later but the Firebird was used on the early albums including the "Pronounced..." album that Freebird was on. Anyway, just thought you might want to know.

Mike

Thanks Mike. Does anyone have a picture of Allen Collins playing a Firebird?

In a messge dated 02/14/03, "Jpoe9" writes "Here's one of my favorite pictures of Allen on his Firebird. Hope you like it."

BUMMER: In a message dated 06/16/03 , Anthony writes:

Steve

On your Firebird tribute page you have a letter from a fan regarding the "Free bird" solo. This letter alleges that the solo was recorded on a Gibson Firebird. Sorry to bust your bubble, but in Issue #46 of Guitar World ("Special Collector's Issue: The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos," page 16), they interview Gary Rossington and summarize his words as "On the studio version of the song, which appeared on Skynyrd's debut album, Collins played the entire solo himself on his Gibson Explorer, with Rossington playing rhythm on his Les Paul, "Bernice," and adding slide fills on his SG."

Sorry to be the one to tell you, but it looks as though the Firebird didn't make an appearance on "Free Bird."

Anthony Jones

BUMMER ANTIDOTE

In a message dated 7/16/03 , Ian writes:

The story that Allen played the Explorer on the first recorded version of Freebird is not true. He used the Firebird V when he did this one on the first album. He did not own the Explorer then. I know this because I lived with the man and that same guitar in the picture is the Firebird. I glued the neck back together on it and restored it to its case in one piece. Allen had left the guitar leaning against the back of the car after retrieving it from the trunk forgetting it and backed over it !!!!!! This guitar was restored to a playable condition to play Freebird once again.
Thanks for the story !!!!!

Ian

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In a message dated 1/15/03 , DP writes:

Thanks for this page. I bought the Firebird that I owned used in 1969 for $160.00. I have yet to play another guitar that sounded so smooth at the higher registers. Unfortunately because of financial problems I had to let that guitar go. I have always kept my eye's open for another but never came across one until I was in LA a few months back and visited the Guitar Center on Sunset Blvd and went down into their vintage guitar area. I had never seen my model because it was a 1965 with the black pickups and I didn't realize it was a limited run. They had 2 '65's there but I didn't have the money right then but I do plan on going back soon.
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In a message dated 1/31/03 ,Trevor writes:

Hi Steve,
I saw your auction go off. That rocks! Interestingly enough, I ordered my bird on the exact same day. I got her from AMS for just $420 w/ free shipping and they even extended my warranty by a year. You should put something about that on your website, it's a really good deal compared to the Musician's Friend offer. American Music Supply (Steve's reply: "Thanks for telling me about the eBay auction and the AMS suggestion .)

At any rate, my bird.. Man alive Steve, it plays me. Short story for the website (edit as necesary):
When I was 13 years old a friend's dad handed me an Epiphone catalog. Out of curiosity, I began flipping through it looking at the guitars. My eyes instantly fell to the Firebird VII. I had never seen anything so beautiful. I went home that afternoon and instantly told my mother that I wanted a guitar for my 14th birthday which was a month away. She laughed and mocked the idea that I could learn an instrument saying that I didn't have the patience to learn to play the guitar. When my father came home that night, I asked again, making perfectly clear that I was serious about this. They talked about it and came to the agreement that they would buy me an acoustic guitar and that if I could learn to play that, we would progress from there.

They gave me a Yamaha(I still love that guitar). I began taking lessons and soon discovered that I was extremely partial to rock 'n' roll. I asked my parents in November, after only playing for a month, if I could have an electric guitar for Christmas. They took me as seriously as they took me the first time and jokingly said that if I could learn fifty songs before Christmas, they would buy me an electric guitar. Within 2 weeks, I had a complete list of 50 songs ranging from Christmas carols to church music to the Rolling Stones. That Christmas I got an early 90's Squier Bullet(the most flat toned conglomerate of wood and strings in existence). At any rate, now, six years later, I've finally acquired my Firebird. The connection between this guitar and myself is both amazing and completely satisfying. Playing it now, I remember back all those years ago. Somehow I just knew.
(I'll send a picture from a show at a later date)

OK, so that was more of a short book. Don't know if you really want to add all of that to your site, but I thought you might find my story interesting. I'm glad I could help you finally come back to your bird. I still need to buy a case for mine, but I saw how much you paid for yours so if I have a few bucks extra, I'll send them your way, just hit me with an address. Listed below is the URL for my band's site. I hope to have some pictures of me playing my bird up there pretty soon. Once again, I'm glad I could help you come back to your bird. Have a good one and I'll talk to you later.

Trevor Quinby, www.bullettrane.cjb.ne

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In a message dated 2/21/03, ,K.M. writes:

Absolutely love this site!!!! Just came across it. I only own Firebirds. I have been devoted to them since seeing The Allen Collins band play in early 80's here in Florida. I reckon you could say I collect them, but also I have used a Gibson Firebird II all over the world gigging. I was in the US Army in Europe in the late 80's and played in a killer band. The Germans always commented on the beauty of my guitar. I love Lynyrd Skynyrd and was hugely influenced by them. Especially Allen Collins. The logo on the pick guard has been tattooed on my arm for many years now. I wonder how many other Firebird devotees tattooed the flaming bird somewhere on their bodies? I like the Epiphone re-issues also. They sound good. Love this site. Thanks a lot. K.M. (Steve's reply: "Thanks K.M. Any other tattoos out there?)

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In a message dated 3/01/03 , Threedollarwatch writes:

            Just wanted to acknowledege your site and send a friendly "hello" to all my fellow Firebird owners/players. I am the proud owner of a '63 Firebird I. Having researched it by way of it's serial number, I've learned that mine is one of just 80 model I's shipped in '63; it is one of the earliest of that lot, also, as it bears no logo on the pickguard. It has some minor cosmetic flaws, but over all it is in excellent, unmolested, original condition.
            I have owned it since 1973, at which time I purchased it from some guy who just happened to walk in to a music store local to me, looking to sell out of desperation. There are times when I feel sorry for that guy; his loss was truly my gain.
            To me, the real beauty of this guitar lies not in its value as a collectible, but in it's unmatched playability and sound. A guitarist of 38 years, I've owned quite a few, and still maintain a small stable of really good instruments ( a '73 Les Paul Deluxe, '76 Stratocaster, and a '65 Hummingbird).
           At the time this photo (left) was taken, the guitar was wearing a Leo Quann "Badass" tailpiece/bridge combo. They were designed to replace the wrap-around stop tailpiece on early Gibsons, and allow more accurate intonation. No modification was required to install it; it simply slips right on to the stock tailpiece studs.Notice the original pickguard - it suffers the notorious "back corner snap-off", probably the only design flaw the Firebirds have!
           However, all things considered, my Firebird is simply the best guitar I've ever owned. It feels like silk, intonates perfectly, and stays in tune almost indefinitely; it's tonal range is phenomenal - from sweet to wicked. I've always been amazed at how a single bridge position pickup could convey such tone, and at how much natural bottom-end the guitar generates. I string it heavy by most standards - 13, 17, 22, 38, 48, 58.
             Hats off to anyone else who knows the pleasure of owning and playing a Firebird!!!

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In a message dated 4/10/03 , Jack writes:

Hey Steve, found your website.Great stuff. I've owned a 1964 reverse Firebird V with original hardshell rectangular case since 1966 when I bought it from an acquaintance for $200. It cost him around $500 at the time. It's the one with the Gibson lyre plate behind the bridge, it's the sunburst model, and I've been in love with this guitar the whole time. It seems to be the same one used by Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones that you have on your website. The guitar is a dream, and I'll never part with it. I also have a 1973 Gibson L6S that I use on gigs. I bought it because I became really uncomfortable using my Firebird in public. But the Firebird is a rare machine, beautiful to look at, and super to play. I play it through a 1981 50 watt Marshall head and 2 or 4 speaker Marshall cabinet (or through both sometimes) and WOW!!! I've had offers for it, even trade it for a Gibson SG standard, but no dice. This lady stays with me, and will be passed on. I'm feel really lucky to have it. Keep up the great website. Hope to hear from you. Jack

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Hi Steve,

My name is Jeroen Maas and I play in a Dutch pop-band. I like your Firebird-site a lot and I hereby send you a picture of me playing my new Gibson Firebird VII in Blue Mist Metallic. It's a great guitar and I get great comments on it all the time. I play it through an original 1965 Fender Super Reverb (blackface) and the two make a truly great couple! By the way, my band is called "Sun Sour Hippie Qué" and you can check our site at www.sunsourhippieque.nl Succes with your website!

kind regards, Jeroen

Thanks Jeroen, and I got your latest CD, and I thought it wa really great, especially track 4 which may have the sweetest Firebird tone I've ever heard recorded. Incredible!!!

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Hi Steve,

Love your site - I have a Black 1976 Reissue Reverse Firebird (Which I bought new when I was 15).

I recently read a book called " Without You : The Tragic Story of Badfinger by Dan Mantovina. On pages 105 and 239 there are pictures of Joey Molland (of Badfinger) playing a Firebird V and on page 237 a Firebird III. I don't have a scanner otherwise I would have sent them to you. I also spent some time on the web trying to find pictures of Molland with the guitar, but was not able to do so.

Best regards,

Gene Ferrara

Thanks Gene. Anyone have these pics to share?

Please e-mail me additional information you wish to contribute to this page, and any photos of your own Firebird, especially you playing it, and I'll post them in LETTERS, or in the Artist Gallery. Thanks, Steve Moore

If you have ever dreamed of playing serious rock guitar, then I HIGHLY recommend joining the Guitar Alliance. This is one of the the best training program I've seen, and loaded with extras and bonuses. It is a real deal. Steve Moore

Barbie's Ken playing a 1/6 scale Firebird. GO KEN. Burn it baby. (Ken says "Who needs Barbie?)

Or try the The Ultimate Guitar Search

GO HERE FOR MORE ARTIST PHOTOS

 

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