Firebird neck question

[Velouria]

I've recently ordered a Gibson Firebird V in white and although I'm very excited to get the guitar, a friend of mine who researches gear ALOT more than I do keeps trying to tell me that the necks on most recent production firebirds eventually warp. This got me worried enough to look online and there are a few complaints about this that I found quite easily through google. So basically I'm looking for some Firebird owners here on the forum to set my mind at ease...any guitar can have a neck warp right? And I would have though a neck through body style guitar would be the most solid design? Any thoughts? Thanks!

[iSoto]

First of all, I'm neither a Firebird owner (yet) nor a luthier/guitar pro/etc. If I understand it right, warped necks are somewhat askew (compared to not warped necks, duh) and they kinda bend upwards or backwards. I think that this happens when the neck doesn't have a truss rod (super vintage instruments) or when the neck setup is done poorly (I think that can happen e.g. when you use super heavy gauge strings and you need to re-adjust the truss rod so that heavy string tension won't affect the neck, again I can't be 100% sure). So, if all that is right, then yes, any guitar neck has the chance of warping. I don't know if there is something that makes the necks of Firebirds prone to neck warping (e.g. a manufacturing mistake, although that seems unlikely with high quality guitars), and I don't know what the people who owned the other Firebirds with warped necks have done to their instruments. Sorry, if I just wasted your time, but this is all I have.

 

One love

[Shaker]

I do own a '95 Firebird V and its neck is ok (of course, this does say not anything about yours, however). The 9 ply neck design used in recent FBs is supposed to prevent any warping, in principle.

[Velouria]

Cool, thanks for the input guys.

[joekts]

I got my firebird in early January and the thing about them is because of how long the head stock is + the hollowed out hole for the truss rod makes the connection point between the neck and the head stock very weak. so u have to be careful these are words from my guitar luthier he also said the it can break inside the case if it were to fall so keep it flat on the ground. i am not trying to discourage you it is the best guitar i own and it has the most unique sound ive ever heard so get it hang on to it and play it but be careful with it.

[Rick Rose]

I've got an 81 reverse made up from left over parts of the 76 Bicentenial model run. No neck issues. The necks tend to be kind of thick but once I got my hands used to it this guitar is a part of my identity.

 

There was a big issue with the original case. The low E tuning peg sat on the bottom of the case such that it wore a hole in the case down to the plywood. I built up the neck support and reglued the fabric. The insturment sits fine in the case now.

[Oringo]

Just to throw in my 2 cents...I haven't heard of Firebird necks warping more than other guitars, but they are prone to breaking more than others because of the length of the headstock, and especially the big protuding banjo tuners. In the old days, they'd bottom out in the old cases (before the brown/purple super thick cases from the 1990's) and break or crack the headstock just during ordinary transport. Of course, a little fall from a guitar stand is usually fatal.