What's up with Gibson Firebird prices?

pumpkin · Post by **pumpkin** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 3:20 pm

I own a 2006 Gibson Firebird. I got it a couple of years ago, a first Anniversary present from my wife. She paid â‚¬900 used.

The stock ceramic pickups fucking suck. It played "okay", I took it to a luthier for a setup, some frets replaced, neck adjustment, it now plays great and it's my number 1 most played guitar.

However, the pickups still sound like shit. Even after various height adjustments, etc.

I bought these last week, going in this weekend.

http://www.guitarfetish.com/Liverpool-M ... _1943.html
http://www.guitarfetish.com/Liverpool-M ... _1948.html

I was worried if they would fit, they'll fit, matched up exactly with the pickups that are in it now.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 3:39 pm

Thread about mine here.

Remains a fantastically daft guitar. I put Zhangbuckers in mine, and I love them to bits. It remains my most comically Fender-sounding guitar (moreso than my tele, my strat or my Jazzmaster).

The standard reissue pickups are stuck on CAPS LOCK ALL THE TIME STOP SHOUTING NO NUANCE WHATSOEVER AAAARGH.

speedfish · Post by **speedfish** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 11:22 pm

I've always longed for a Firebird and the current price for the 2016 T was too good to pass up. I added an SKB case, as i have little faith in gigbags beyond keeping scratches off, and with the 15% cyber Monday rebate got the pair for $1170.00 and no interest for 36 months. I'll have it paid off long before then, but it's nice to have the wiggle room in case the AC or fridge decides to go out.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 12:04 am

Ooh - well done. What colour?

speedfish · Post by **speedfish** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 12:11 am

benecol wrote:Ooh - well done. What colour?

Thanks. Would've loved cherry like yours, but unfortunately Gibson is only offering the traditional sunburst. Still a beauty though.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 7:59 am

See, I prefer sunburst on a Firebird, but I hate it on everything else.

Dillon · Post by **Dillon** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 1:45 pm

It's not just the Firebird; Gibson are price dropping all of the "Standard" level 2016 models since the 2015 didn't sell very well. I'm expecting the 2017 model will return to the 2014 formula or similar. Why they thought they could make such dramatic changes as a wider fretboard and automated tuners all across the board is beyond me. I actually like the fretboard, and the height-adjustable nut is great, but most people probably follow the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mantra when it comes to Gibson.

plopswagon · Post by **plopswagon** » Fri Dec 11, 2015 5:13 pm

seems like the mini-humbucker has individual pole pieces over the magnet and a Firebird has bar magnets inside the wire coils.

Brandon W · Post by **Brandon W** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 10:18 pm

Nobody argued that. I said that in one of the first posts. Gibson named them firebird mini humbuckers. That's the fucking name of the pickups. Hilarious to see morons argue the schematics of blah blah when my statement "I love firebirds and their mini humbuckers are rad" is 100% accurate. You can say "oh it's not a telecaster if it's a hollow body" for a thinline but fender calls it a telecaster so too bad for you. You can't change the fucking name of the pickup Gibson gave their guitar. Because it's smaller probably. Who really cares? Snobs

So like it or not, Gibson calls them firebird mini humbuckers and I will also. If you don't like it, well too fucking bad. You probably don't even play your firebird anyways. Pretend guitar players are awesome.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 10:29 pm

Well, y'see, quite often people say:

benecol wrote:Mini-humbuckers:

for Firebirds, which is confusing because Firebirds tend to contain:

benecol wrote:Firebird pickups:

...and that can be confusing, because people also describe:

benecol wrote:Mini-humbuckers:

as

benecol wrote:Mini-humbuckers:

...which are a whole different sort of pickup, and usually found in a whole different guitar. But you're right Brandon, apart from their external appearance, their internal construction, the way they sound and the guitars they are found in, they are exactly the same thing, and you are in no way clinging onto a bizarre semantic argument because Gibson don't give much of a shit about their sales copy.

Brandon W · Post by **Brandon W** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 10:36 pm

I already said how they were different in one of the first posts. Their name is firebird mini humbuckers. If this bothers you this much maybe call Gibson and tell them they can't name them that since it's misleading. You're arguing over me saying I like firebirds and their mini humbuckers are rad. That's the name of them, is it not? I posted several links from gibsons page and for the pickups, Gibson calls them "firebird mini humbuckers" so..

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 10:50 pm

No. No, you fucking dufus.

Brandon W · Post by **Brandon W** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 11:11 pm

brandonwinmill wrote:
benecol wrote:...except that Firebird pickups aren't mini-humbuckers. Link.
hmm not sure why i thought they were.. but i'm sure i'm wrong
" The mini humbucker was first made available in several Gibson-made Epiphone models of the late 1960s, and the Les Paul Deluxe in 1969. Today, it is best known as the pickup in the Gibson Firebird,..."
Gibson
Gibson Firebird
Neck width: Historic 1 11/16" neck width
Nut: TekToid nut
Tuners: Steinberger Gearless tuning keys
Pickups: Traditional Firebird mini-humbuckers
Body: Original neck-through-body construction
Bridge: Tune-o-matic bridge with stopbar tailpiece
Finish: Nitro Vintage Sunburst finish
9 ply mahogany-walnut neck: Classic nine-ply mahogany-walnut neck construction
Inlays: Traditional trapezoid inlays
Comprehensive setup: Comprehensive hand-finished setup

ahh what do they know anyways

Is it reading that is difficult or comprehending? Is anybody with you that maybe can simply read to you the name of the pickup? Maybe a neighbor? How about an actual guitar player? Ask an actual guitar player, instead of a collector like yourself, what is the pickup in a firebird. Most will probably say a firebird mini humbucker.

Brandon W · Post by **Brandon W** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 6:07 pm

let's try pictures...

In 2012, Gibson released a '70s Tribute line of guitars, offering inexpensive mini-humbucker variants of the Les Paul Studio, Firebird,[3] and SG Special; these use the Firebird style of mini-humbucker pickup. Mini-humbuckers were also used in some models of the Nighthawk.

Notable users

Johnny Winter has used a Gibson Firebird guitar since the late 1960s. His tone is centered on the Firebird mini-humbucker.

Firebird style minihumbuckers are made to stop hum and are narrower than full size humbucker... hence the word MINI

plural minÂ·is
Full Definition of MINI
: something small of its kind:

from your article you posted..
Gibson made three other humbucking pickup designs most people will be at least vaguely aware of: the mini-humbucker, the Firebird and the Johnny Smith. Pickups in the mini family have a different tone than the larger PAF for various reasonsâ€”some apply to all the smaller buckers and some are specific to each design. All of these secondary pickups are smaller: 2-5/8" x 1-1/8". The narrower width of these pickups (1-1/8" compared to 1-1/2") sense a shorter length of string vibration, containing only the higher harmonics generated by the string and giving you a slightly brighter and more focused sound.

again because i know you aren't very quick.. from this article that you posted link

Pickups in the mini family

can't fix stupid apparently

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 6:48 pm

benecol wrote:...you're right Brandon, apart from their external appearance, their internal construction, the way they sound and the guitars they are found in, they are exactly the same thing, and you are in no way clinging onto a bizarre semantic argument because Gibson don't give much of a shit about their sales copy.

Brandon W · Post by **Brandon W** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 9:18 pm

brandonwinmill wrote: Firebird "mini-humbuckers" uses rail magnets and the les Paul deluxe uses one single magnet but they are both mini-humbuckers. I like the firebird mini-humbuckers better, hence why I said I like them in a firebird thread. Gibson/epiphone can call them whatever they want since they invented them, and not Tim. I can't even count the different type of humbuckers they have now but they're all referred to as humbuckers. I wanted one in the neck of a tele and I told them I want a "firebird mini-humbucker" and surprisingly they knew exactly what I meant. 😉

This argument was started by you because you're a worthless bored jerk who enjoys contradicting me. I said much earlier that there were different types of mini's and that was also in the article you posted. So again, they have many types of "humbuckers", "mini-humbucker", etc.. countless variations actually.. You would know this if you played guitar.

Gibson made three other humbucking pickup designs most people will be at least vaguely aware of: the mini-humbucker, the Firebird and the Johnny Smith. Pickups in the mini family have a different tone than the larger PAF for various reasonsâ€”some apply to all the smaller buckers and some are specific to each design. All of these secondary pickups are smaller: 2-5/8" x 1-1/8". The narrower width of these pickups (1-1/8" compared to 1-1/2") sense a shorter length of string vibration, containing only the higher harmonics generated by the string and giving you a slightly brighter and more focused sound.

can you define what mini-family means in the link you posted as some sort of evidence that a firebird minihumbucker isn't actually a mini? When it clearly says that three pickups make up the mini-humbucker family.. the firebird, the johnny smith, and one simply called mini-humbucker. the article you posted about minihumbuckers says there are 3 types of mini.. duh

If that's too complicated just elaborate on what is meant by the part i put in red please. thanks

luciguci · Post by **luciguci** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 12:46 am

are you fucking nerds really arguing about this STUPID bullshit holy shit

Brandon W · Post by **Brandon W** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 1:38 am

nah this has little to do with the pickups, obviously. I was right the whole time and he knows it. This is more that we just hate each other.

luciguci · Post by **luciguci** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 2:58 am

some dumb old nerd shit

Brandon W · Post by **Brandon W** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 3:32 am

daftsupernova wrote:some dumb old nerd shit

Yea totally 😂😂😂😂