Gibson Firebird
| Gibson Firebird | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Gibson Firebird V, built in 2009 |
|
| General | |
| Type | Electric guitar |
| Manufacturer | Gibson ; United States |
| production | 1963–1969, 1972–1979, since 1990 |
| Construction and materials | |
| Scale length | 24.75 inches (628 mm) |
| Body | Solid body made of mahogany |
| neck | Full , neunstreifiger neck of mahogany and walnut |
| Fingerboard | Rosewood , 22 frets |
| saddle | Corian |
| Mechanics | 6 × "Steinberger Gearless"; capsuled |
| Footbridge / bridge | Two-piece Tune-O-Matic metal bridge with individual saddles and tailpiece |
| Pickups and Electronics | |
| Pickups |
2 × humbuckers |
| Tone control | passive
|
| Unless otherwise stated, the data come from the manufacturer's website (as of June 8, 2014) | |
The Gibson Firebird is an electric guitar model first introduced in 1963 by the American musical instrument manufacturer Gibson Guitar Corporation . Its outer shape was designed by the US automobile designer Raymond Dietrich . The designer gave the guitar model exceptional for that era flavor forms of body and headstock as "the wrong way" ( English : reverse ) are described. Moreover, that was Firebird one of the first electric guitar models with continuous neck (ger .: Neck-thru ). This first generation of the model was offered in four differently equipped versions. From 1965 the Firebird was manufactured with the "right-sided" body and headstock. Because sales were too low, the production of this non-reverse model was discontinued for the first time after a short time in 1969. From the 1970s to the present, Gibson has launched several new editions and further developments of the Firebird .
history
prehistory
Since the early 1950s the company Gibson, one since 1903 established manufacturer of guitars and other had plucked instruments , increasing competition by the then novel electric guitars with fully solid wood body ( solid body ) out. The main competitor in this area was the Californian manufacturer Fender Musical Instruments , especially with its Telecaster (since 1951) and Stratocaster (since 1954) models, which were increasing in popularity . Gibson's first solid-body electric guitar, the Gibson Les Paul , introduced in 1953, failed to meet sales expectations in the first decade after its introduction.
As early as 1958, Gibson, under the direction of managing director and developer Ted McCarty, had made another attempt to distinguish itself as a manufacturer of modern electric guitars and thus assert itself against competitor Fender. Under the leadership of McCarty, the company had developed the Modernistic series, which initially consisted of the three electric guitar models Explorer , Flying V and Moderne . Their expansive, straight body shapes with pointed corners were too far ahead of their time. Only a few copies of the first edition of the Explorer and Flying V could be sold in the first few years, and Gibson only built the modern series in small editions about 20 years later.
Development and market success of the Firebird
In 1963 Gibson made another attempt to assert itself as a manufacturer of modern instruments in the electric guitar market. Ted McCarty commissioned the Detroit automobile designer Ray Dietrich to design a new electric guitar model, the Firebird . Dietrich's design was based on the "reversed" design of the body of the Gibson Explorer, which he transferred to the headstock of the newly designed instrument. At the same time, Dietrich gave the reverse design of the guitar a more pleasing appearance than the Explorer with its more pronounced curves than the Explorer . Gibson contributed to the design of the model with a through neck newly developed for this model and also newly developed pickups . The vibrato system of the first Firebirds was the same as that developed in 1961 for the Gibson SG guitar model.
With the launch of the Firebird in the fall of 1963, the model was announced as "Jazz Guitar", was suspected since that the open to new, progressive forms regarded as jazz guitarist would interest most likely for an instrument that is largely dispensed with a traditional appearance. Similar to Gibson's earlier electric guitar models, sales of the Firebird also fell short of expectations. Production of the first generation of the reverse version of the Firebird was therefore stopped again in May 1965. Shortly afterwards, they were replaced by the first non-reverse versions of the model with the "right-sided" shaped body and headstock as well as with a glued-in instead of a continuous neck. The production of these versions was also temporarily stopped in 1969 due to the lack of market success. Only the Firebird model series, reissued by Gibson in the following decades, were able to achieve greater sales success. Since then, the model has been played mainly by blues-rock and rock guitarists.
In addition to the Firebird electric guitars, Gibson had developed two electric bass models based on the same construction principle, which were also first launched in 1963 under the model name Gibson Thunderbird .
Firebird construction shapes and models
Reverse models
The reverse Firebird is a guitar with a full neck and a pair on the right and left side of these glued body wings. The outline of the guitar is reminiscent of the Explorer with a longer lower "body horn". Since guitars of the time had a longer horn on the upper side that was inclined towards the player, especially to avoid top-heaviness, the early Firebird models (1963 to mid-1965) were called the reverse shape. In addition to the continuous neck, the banjo tuning machines used on the reverse models are worth mentioning .
The following models were offered:
- Firebird I : one pickup, one-piece bridge, fingerboard with dot inlays
- Firebird III : two pickups, vibrato over one-piece bridge, fingerboard with dot inlays
- Firebird V : two pickups, vibrato, Tune-o-Matic bridge and tailpiece with metal cover ("lyre-bridge") , fingerboard with trapezoidal inlays
- Firebird VII : three pickups, vibrato, Tune-o-Matic bridge and tailpiece with metal cover, fingerboard with block inlays, gold-plated metal parts
Practically all Reverse models were equipped with mini humbucking pickups with metal caps, only a few Firebird III models were equipped with P-90 pickups towards the end of production. Well-known reverse Firebird players are Johnny Winter (Firebird V), Brian Jones (Firebird VII) and Eric Clapton during his time with Cream (Firebird I).
Non-reverse models
From mid-1965 the Firebird was offered with a completely new concept and design. The continuous neck gave way to a set neck. The banjo machine heads were replaced by guitar tuning machines (six in a row). It looked like the back of the old reverse Firebird. These models introduced in 1965 are known as non-reverse . The specially developed for the Firebird mini humbuckers were some Firebird -models the new series of single-coil P-90 -Einzelspulen pickup ( single coil ) replaced.
The models of the non-reverse series:
- Firebird I : two P-90 pickups, one-piece bridge, vibrato
- Firebird III : three P-90 pickups, one-piece bridge, vibrato
- Firebird V : two mini humbuckers, vibrato, Tune-o-Matic bridge and tailpiece with metal cover ("lyre-bridge")
- Firebird VII : three mini humbuckers, vibrato, tune-o-matic bridge and tailpiece with metal cover, gold-plated metal parts
All models had point inlays in the fingerboard.
Newer generations of the Firebird
Production of the first generation of the Firebird had been discontinued by Gibson in 1969. The Firebird reverse was reissued from 1972 to 1979 and has been built by Gibson again since 1990.
literature
- Tony Bacon, Dave Hunter: Totally Guitar - the Definitive Guide . Guitar encyclopedia. Backbeat Books, London 2004, ISBN 1-871547-81-4 (English).
- Carlo May: Vintage guitars and their stories . Inside: Chapter godfather was a car designer - Gibson's Firebird series . MM-Musik-Media-Verlag, Ulm 1994. ISBN 3-927954-10-1 , pp. 24-27.
- Electric guitars . Special issue of the magazine Guitar & Bass on the history of the electric guitar. MM-Musik-Media-Verlag, Ulm 2004.
Web links
- The Firebird model from the Gibson Official Website, accessed June 8, 2014
- A Tribute to a Fascinating American Guitar and All Firebird Musicians - extensive Firebird page with information on the history of the guitar model and numerous photos (English) accessed on May 10, 2011
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b May: Vintage guitars and their stories, p. 24
- ↑ Electric guitars, p. 26
- ↑ a b Stromgitarren, p. 116 ff .: bankruptcies, bad luck, breakdowns - about the failures in guitar history
- ↑ May: Vintage Guitars and Their Stories, p. 25
- ^ Bacon / Hunter: Totally Guitar, p. 425
- ↑ May: Vintage Guitars and Their Stories, p. 27