Vinnie1971 Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 (edited) Thanks to those who gave me the right advice. I managed to track down a Gibson Firebird V in the UK and the seller took my a Epiphone Firebird III and Fenix by Young Chang Stratocaster ( which I go great trade values for) the bird is a 2009 model and it surpasses my expectations ( I played a Gibson 2016 LP standard that left me disappointed - too many little QC issues ) and it’s flawless. but I’m inclined to agree with the general consensus about the pickups- I would not say they’re horrible - after adjustment they sound ok. But they’re too compressed snd have a harsh clanky sound too them especially clean. They break up well though. the Bill Lawrence designed OBL (made under license in Korea) pickups in the Epiphone are much better and do sound more like proper Firebird pickups. I have some Firebird themed pickups ( on the outside look like Firebird pickups on the inside there twin rail mini humbuckers with a magnet in the base like the older Gibson 70s tribute Firebird pickups) which measure between 7k and 8k which are nicely made in all other respects- I’ll pull out the blades and magnets and put alnico 2 Firebird magnets in the bobbins and a steel plate on the bottom and report back. I’ve done this before on a Telebird using artec mini humbuckers as a base - they are 6.k alnico 5 and sound authentic- certainly better than the 495s in my Gibson. edit - added more pictures Edited January 11, 2020 by Vinnie1971 Added more pictures 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 (edited) Damn. That is a beauty. Edited January 10, 2020 by Sgt. Pepper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wmachine Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 1 hour ago, Sgt. Pepper said: Damn. That is a beauty. Absolutely. Those 9 piece necks are a work of art. Now you can feel confident you have a proper bird. Congrats! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 Congrats man super cool looking bird you got there! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 Nice 👌 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie1971 Posted January 10, 2020 Author Share Posted January 10, 2020 47 minutes ago, Wmachine said: Absolutely. Those 9 piece necks are a work of art. Now you can feel confident you have a proper bird. Congrats! thanks. its a real work of art. I just wish the pickups were better. But that’s easy to resolve. I even contemplated getting the Gibson’s pickups wound to 6.5k to 7k with 42 gauge wire and then replace the magnets with Alnico 2 but I’ll try my conversion project first. and I love the banjo tuners Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eades Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 12 hours ago, Vinnie1971 said: the Bill Lawrence designed OBL (made under license in Korea) pickups in the Epiphone are much better and do sound more like proper Firebird pickups. I totally agree with this, i kept my old epiphone pickups and one day will swop them over 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky Forrest Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Fantastic! Congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Gibson Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Congrats,they're great guitars, just hate the case tho,big enough to bury a human. I ordered a good heavily padded gig bag for mine,should be here Monday. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wmachine Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 On 1/11/2020 at 2:11 PM, Mr. Gibson said: Congrats,they're great guitars, just hate the case tho,big enough to bury a human. I ordered a good heavily padded gig bag for mine,should be here Monday. Hey, I like the hard case. It doubles as a coffee table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 congrats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FemmeParallell Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 Whoaa! Congrats, im glad you were able to find the firebird V you wanted! Pickups can be changed to your liking, sigh firebird are beautiful guitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tx-ogre Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 Very nice. Congrats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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