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Looked at the Gibson Historic site...

Sam Blob

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Jul 15, 2001
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500
...and realized that Trans-Amber is not an option on the Firebird series.

Does this mean I can't get a Firebird Trans-Am? :lolspin
 

Sam Blob

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Jul 15, 2001
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In which case, DICK...

...I will really need a Firebird Trans-Am. A Honda seeking missile won't bother me if it thinks I'm Burt Reynolds... :lolspin

Ed, how many times must I tell you, a shotgun fired in Texas means nothing to someone living in Jamaica! You'll need at least a 30-06... :)spin
 

Sam Blob

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Jul 15, 2001
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On a more serious note...

...do you know of any plans for Historic Reissues of the '63 Thunderbird or the EB-3? A Jack Bruce Signature model, maybe?
 

Plankspanker

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Jul 16, 2001
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EB-6

I have a 1965 EB-6, I bought from Gil Southworth many moons ago. It is a Baritone guitar and has a 30.5 scale. With all the
off the wall things Gibson has come out with, I'm surprised that they have not re-issued this model. It is an SG body and has elephant ear tuners, and 2 Patent # Humbuicks. Actually sounds
great for studio. I don't think many were made.
 

Sam Blob

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Jul 15, 2001
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Basses

'Spanker, I have not replied because I don't know anything about the EB-6. The designation would lead me to believe that it's a bass, maybe a 6-string bass.

Until the Thunderbird, Gibson designated their basses EB-something. The EB-1, their first bass, was solid, violin-shaped and had a detachable spike to allow it to be played upright. The EB-2 was a semi-hollow that looked like an oversized ES-335, the EBO and EB-3 were overgrown SGs (the EB-3 was a deluxe version with 2 HBs that was made famous, if not popular, by Jack Bruce of Cream).

Most of Gibson's basses were short-scaled, humbucker equipped, and not very popular. The major exception was the Thunderbird. Long-scaled and with a laminated through-neck similar to the Firebird guitar, this was the most serious challenge Gibson had to Fender and Rickenbacker.

That's all I really know about Gibson basses, except that the Thunderbird IV, the Nikki Sixx "Blackbird" signature model, the Les Paul Standard Bass and the SG-Z Bass are the current production basses.
 

Sam Blob

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Jul 15, 2001
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500
...and Historic Firebirds

While the only production Firebird made today is the Firebird V reissue ( http://www.gibson.com/products/gibson/Designer/FirebirdV.html ), the Historic Division offers the entire series (I think): I, III, V and VII ( http://www.gibsoncustom.com/historic/designerlist.html ).

Now as to WTF they were thinking at the time: The original Les Paul series had ended, the futuristic Modernist series had bombed, and Gibson believed it was embracing the future with its SG series, which was thinner, lighter, and consequently more Fender-like (I wonder what Kreig is going to use against me for that statement...) than the previous Les Paul model.

With one eye on Fender and another on its own history, McCarty came up with a new idea (new for Gibson, at least). He came up with a smoother, smaller Explorer-like guitar with the help of the car designer Ray Dietrich. This guitar would have high-powered mini-humbuckers and laminated through-neck construction. It would have a Bigsby-Travis/Fender/Explorer-type headstock, but in the "wrong" direction, similar to the Explorer body but unlike the Explorer headstock.

The Firebird I looks very familiar. If Firebirds had conventional Gibson model designations, the I would have been called the Firebird Junior. No binding at all, a bridge mounted mini-HB and a wrapbridge identified this model. The I was the only Firebird model not available with a Maestro vibrola.

The III is the Special. 2 p/u's, single neck binding, dots, simple bridge and short Maestro.

The V is the Standard: 2 p/u's, single neck binding, trapezoids, ABR and Deluxe Maestro.

Finally the VII, obviously a Custom: 3 p/us. gold hardware, Mother of Pearl block inlays into an ebony board, etc. etc.

But the Firebird series did not sell well and the bean counters took the show over. By '66 or '67, Firebirds were victims of cost cutting, with glued-in necks, P-90s, and more convential styling ("reverse-reverse", I guess).

These days, a production V (w/out Maestro) is available as a production model and the entire line-up is available Historically.
 
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