Anybody get any cool new gear??

gimmesometruth27

Hey guys, I know that i have been on this "i don't need to get anything new", "my band does not play enough to justify buying anything big" etc kick the last year or so, but i stumbled upon something that i could not pass up and i thought you guys might get a kick out of it.

i went to guitar center yesterday and i noticed hanging on the wall a 1976 Gibson Firebird, bicentennial edition, in natural finish. i had always wanted one but never found one that felt right, played well, and sounded great, until i saw this one yesterday. I plugged it in and immediately knew i had to have it. they were asking $1799 for it. I knew i did not have that cash. So instead we worked out a deal where i traded in a few lower end guitars and amps and pedals that i have not used in 10+ years. i was able to trade all of that stuff in, plus $200 in cash, and i came home with the guitar. I know i could have gotten more money selling the gear individually, but i am moving in a few months, and i really did not want to take 11 guitars and 6 amps, and a shit ton of loose pedals with me. it would just take up too much space. so i ended up with an incredible guitar, 3 less guitars, 2 less amps, and several less pedals that i need to move. i would say that just given that, i came out ahead in the deal.

here are a couple of pics. it had a crack in the headstock at some point, but that was repaired so well that you can barely see it. also, the bridge pickup that is installed is not original, but the original came with it in the original case.





anybody else stumble on to any cool new gear??

All Those Yesterdays

Awesome bud. How do you like the weird balance?

Now more importantly, whats the story on the posters/ paintings in the background. Inquiring minds want to know...

BHealy

Cool trade!! Looks like an awesome axe. Those are Karl Haglund's prints. They look great.

gimmesometruth27

All Those Yesterdays wrote: »

Awesome bud. How do you like the weird balance?

Now more importantly, whats the story on the posters/ paintings in the background. Inquiring minds want to know...

the balance is really weird. this one has 2 strap buttons on the neck side. one on the back of the guitar where the neck and body meet, and one in the front that you can see in the pics. the balance is different for each one. it is kind of like a flying v in a sense that it is really neck heavy. it is going to take some getting used to, that is for sure.

those are prints by karl haglund. he paints famous guitars. i have the 4 pearl jam ones, which you can see jeff's bass, ed's tele and stone's les paul. i have mike;s famous '59 strat that is not in the picture. he has done pretty much everybody that you can think of. they are like $20 each, and i have seen the 4 pearl jam ones all on one print. super nice guy. if you email him he can get you whatever you might be looking for.

here is his website- http://www.karlhaglund.com/

DewieCox

Dude!!!! That is a sexy beast. So classy, yet something kinda trashy about them. Love the reverse headstock. Those things are so much cooler in person too, when you can notice all the little curves and details. Definitely on the guitar bucket list.

Those prints are pretty sweet. Putting an addition on the house and getting a pretty decent sized gear room. Probably get some show posters framed and check out his selection. Be kinda neat to get a few painting of heroes' axes.


The last year was kinduva gear binge. A Dr. Z Remedy at the beginning of last year, gobs of pedals and new Callaham setup after snapping the stock trem off in the block. Gotta slow down significantly til we get the addition done, but a Duesenberg Starplayer and a really nice Martin are next on the list, and definitely gonna unload some old gear to get one or the other.

gimmesometruth27

that is EXACTLY how the gal i was with at the store described it. she said it is so sexy, but at the same time it is so wal mart haha...

i love the curves too. i mean, how could anybody choose a regular firebird over the reverse? the reverse should have been the primary, and the primary should have been the reverse one. i really like the junction where you can see where the 3 body pieces come together.

if it is on your bucket list, there are many at guitar center, and most of the new ones cost less than the vintage ones.

haglund has pretty much anybody you can think of. he even has paintings of some of the local music legends here in st louis. it would be awesome if he painted mine, but mine really haven't accomplished too much haha...

i'll bet the dr z sounds amazing. i would love a starplayer as well

All Those Yesterdays

Wait I love the non reverse Firebirds and T Birds! LOL

Dog Loyal

I looked at your guitar and immediately thought of Johnny Winter. I had the great good fortune to see him live and up close at the Mystic Music Festival in CT 19 days before he died. He was playing something very similar and I loved its sort of primitive proportions, to say nothing of the sound he was getting out of it. That is one cool guitar you've landed.

gimmesometruth27

Dog Loyal wrote: »

I looked at your guitar and immediately thought of Johnny Winter. I had the great good fortune to see him live and up close at the Mystic Music Festival in CT 19 days before he died. He was playing something very similar and I loved its sort of primitive proportions, to say nothing of the sound he was getting out of it. That is one cool guitar you've landed.

Thank you.

This guitar is pretty much synonymous with Johnny Winter. He was known to play them pretty much exclusively.I saw him playing a red wine colored on way back in the day. i did some research on these and from what i read, these are gibson's answer to a fender strat. the mini humbucker pickups clean up really well like a single coil, but has the crunch of a humbucker. also of note, this guitar was designed in the early 69s by an airplane engineer, not a guitar designer/builder so that would explain the weird weight balance. sounds pretty sweet though.