mystixboi1
Kick Henry Jackassowski
Gibson's rendition of the 1964 Firebird III captures all the flair and panache of the original model circa 1964. It is still made in the labor-intensive through-neck style, with its mahogany and walnut neck/body section and mahogany wings dressed in a Vintage Sunburst finish. A Maestro Vibrato tailpiece partnered with a wrapover bridge with compensated saddle ridge provide stylistic versatility, while Gibson's Firebird Mini-Humbucking pickups remain true to the tone of the originals. Each Firebird III comes complete with a Custom Shop case and a Certificate of Authenticity.
Body
Seeking sleek new looks amid the competitive solidbody electric guitar market of the early 60s, Gibson went right to the source of marketing style and hired automotive designer Ray Dietrich - designer of the Duesenberg car, among others - to take the standard vision of the instrument back to the drawing board. The result was a guitar that was clearly ahead of its time: the new Firebird had a body that appeared to be the reverse image of other solidbody styles on the market, an upside-down six-in-line headstock (using banjo tuners to avoid spoiling the lines of the phoenix-head profile), and a solid integral neck/body section with glued-on wings, a rarity in guitar manufacture at that time.
Hardware
In addition to the increased resonance and sustain given to the Firebird by its through-body construction, a new style of Gibson Mini-Humbucking pickup (two of them on the Firebird III) lent the model a bright, stinging tone. Although they look much like the Mini-Humbuckers that Gibson acquired from Epiphone, they are actually an entirely different design, employing a pair of alnico bar magnets with the pickups coils wound directly around them.
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