GUITAR TRASH OR TREASURE
Firebird Folklore
Hello Zach,
I have a 1981 Gibson Firebird II that has
active electronics with two micro switches,
and two tone controls that go 5-0-5
instead of going from 1-10 like the volume
knobs. I know the tone knobs cut or boost
something, but I am not sure exactly what.
I also have no idea what the two switches
do. Can you give me some background on
the guitar, what the value is, and what the
two micro switches do?
Craig Parlee
Hey Craig,
Before we get into your guitar, let’s take
a look at Gibson’s past president, Ted
McCarty, and the origins of the original
Firebird. After McCarty’s modernistic
designs in the late 1950s (Explorer, Flying V,
Moderne) were initially regarded as failures
and discontinued, he tried one more radical
solidbody design before he resigned from
Gibson in 1966. Instead of designing this
new guitar with help from within the company, McCarty hired longtime automotive
designer, Ray Dietrich, who was retired and
living in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Introduced in mid-1963, the original
“reverse” Firebird featured several designs
that had never been used on other guitars
up to that point. The body was vaguely
similar to the Explorer, with extended lower
treble and upper bass bouts, but the corners
were more rounded and not as extreme.
Gibson also used a long, one-piece neck that
ran the entire length of the body. Instead of
Gibson’s normal square headstock, a backwards, Strat-style headstock was used. The
tuners on a headstock like this would normally face the treble side of the guitar, making
it awkward for the player to tune the guitar.
However, banjo-style tuners that pointed
straight down were used to make tuning
more accommodating. A new humbucker
pickup, which was smaller than Gibson’s normal humbucker and lacked pole pieces, was
used on these guitars; it soon became known
as the “mini-humbucker” and would be used
on several other Gibson guitars in the future.
The automotive connection between Gibson
and Dietrich went beyond just the design
as they named the guitar the Firebird and
the matching bass guitar the Thunderbird
(Ford already had a Thunderbird model in
production and Pontiac would introduce
the Firebird in 1967). The Firebird was
also available in four different trim levels,
similar to its Les Paul and SG counterparts.
However, instead of using Junior, Special,
Standard and Custom designations, Gibson
used odd Roman numerals: I, III, V and VII
(the Thunderbird basses used even Roman
numerals II and IV).
Unfortunately for Gibson, Fender had
received a patent for the similar Jazzmaster
in 1959. Although the patent contained no
specific elements of Fender’s guitar, the
drawing did show an asymmetrical-style body
with offset body waists. Fender contacted
Gibson concerning infringement of their
design patent, but rather than go to court,
McCarty redesigned the entire Firebird line
in 1965. The new Firebird (often referred to
as the “non-reverse” models) featured an
even less extreme body with slightly longer
upper bass and lower treble bouts, a standard set neck and P- 90 pickups on various
models. The non-reverse Firebirds lacked the
flair of the reverse models and the guitar was
discontinued in 1969.
Your guitar, the Firebird II, seems to be a mutt
of sorts, with aspects taken from various other
Gibson guitars of the same era, specifically
the Explorer II and Flying V CMT. The Firebird
had already appeared with reissues during the
1970s, and by then they had reverted back to
the reverse body style that had been so popular. The flame maple top was used on the
Flying V CMT and the TP- 6 fine tune tailpiece
was used on the Explorer II.
Your guitar features the original reverse
offset double cutaway maple body, a figured bound maple top, three-piece maple
neck, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with
dot inlays, reverse headstock with black
overlay and pearl Gibson logo, six-on-the-other-side tuners, Tune-o-matic bridge, TP- 6
fine tune tailpiece, white pickguard with
red Firebird logo, two Series IV humbucker
pickups, active electronics, four black barrel
knobs (two Volume, two Tone), 3-way pickup
switch, two mini switches (one to switch
between standard and active electronics and
one for brightness), chrome hardware, and
an Antique Fireburst finish. The 5-0-5 tone
knobs utilize cut and boost for treble and
bass like most normal active electronics, as
opposed to 0-10 Tone knobs found on passive electronics. Today, this guitar is worth
between $1800 and $2250 in excellent to
mint condition – definitely a treasure!
Zachary R. Fjestad
is the author of the Blue Book of Acoustic Guitars, Blue
Book of Electric Guitars, and the Blue Book of Guitar
Amplifiers.
Questions can be submitted to:
Blue Book Publications
Attn: Guitar Trash or Treasure
8009 34th Ave. S. Ste #175
Minneapolis, MN 55425
800-877-4867
bluebookinc.com
guitars@bluebookinc.com
