waynereed Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 UPDATE: heal plate has the following . . . Hand crafted in Korea by Epiphone The Epiphone Company Nashville, Tennessee USA 0 17246 ~ Note: The "0" is stamped into a slightly etched rectangle. The 17246 is on a white sticker. ~ I have a pristine Firebird. The head stock has a gold painted Gibson logo. The heal plate on the back says Made by The Epiphone Company of Tennessee, made in Korea. On the back of the headstock is stamped "USED". No other markings or numbers. I'm trying to find out at least approximately when it was made. And approximately when. I did a lot of Net searching. This does not look like the cheapie Firebirds selling on ebay for $400. It's a rich looking sunburst. Gold hardware. Looks and sounds great. Plays great as well. Heavy as Hell! LOL Any ideas or comments would be much appreciated! Thanks, Wayne Reed thenettrainer@yahoo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Martin Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 If it has a "heel plate" it is indeed an Epiphone. On Firebirds, the truss-rod cover (which features the logo) can easily be replaced with one with the Gibson logo. Without a serial number, you probably won't find much on when it was made... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynereed Posted December 10, 2008 Author Share Posted December 10, 2008 Thanks for your reply! The logo isn't on the truss rod cover. The logo covers most of the headstock. Gilded gold Gibson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 It could be a prototype, I have heard of Epi Firebirds not having a serial number at all. Who knows why. The reason it could be a prototype is that like Ian said Firebirds usually have the logo on the truss rod cover. I know that Gibson stamps guitars as "used" when they were floor models, demos or they put them on "sale" at the Gibson showcase. Do you have pics? if you send one to Gibson customer service they will respond and give you some idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynereed Posted December 10, 2008 Author Share Posted December 10, 2008 I've looked the Net over. I haven't found a Firebird with a heal plate. Not even the Epi's. I know it's made in Korea. With a bold on, not a neck-thru. But I haven't found a pic of a bolt on anywhere. Hmmmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Martin Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 I've seen quite a few on eBay in the past with bolt-on necks. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find any photos of any at the moment. I'm thinking they are an older (but not like, "vintage" or "valuable" by any means) model (or perhaps a budget model) as the newer ones have set necks. 100% it is not a Gibson, it's an Epiphone for sure. Someone poser painted Gibson on the headstock to look cool I'm thinkin'. The guys over at the Epiphone forum may be able to help you out more on identifying the year. http://forums.epiphone.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 100% it is not a Gibson' date=' it's an Epiphone for sure. Someone poser painted Gibson on the headstock to look cool I'm thinkin'. The guys over at the Epiphone forum may be able to help you out more on identifying the year. http://forums.epiphone.com +10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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