(see rating details)

Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

This guitar is absolutely fabulous. Out of the box, it was flawless. A single piece of Mahogany finished in beautiful Satin Vintage Sunburst. Of course, as with any new instrument, I needed to do a setup to suit my playing style and the strings were a bit heavy for my taste. I owned a 1974 Les Paul Deluxe with "Mini Humbuckers" back in the day (I bought it new) and have always loved the sound of the Mini's over the the beefcakes on the standard Paul's. I will tell you that these pick ups are an improvement over the originals...retaining the brightness, while adding a bit more crunch on the bottom end (simply wonderful to listen to).This Firebird has a bit wider neck than I am used to playing, but it is fast becoming my main guitar. The sound is superb, the look and finish are flawless and the price is ridiculously low for the quality of this instrument...A lot of bang for your buck!....BUY IT!

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

sooo...a new firebird studio... the latast one had standard humbuckers, a set neck and grover minituners. this one's got grovers and a set neck, but thank god, the mini humbuckers are back. definetely a step in the right direction. so wot's it got to show for itself to claim it's place in the firebird family tree? well, first, it's got a beautifully made maple nack, w a "clonk" on the headstock base to increase tone and prevent breakage. so far so good. the neck plays like a dream. then it's got the unmistakable reverse body shape. and since it's a set neck, we don't get a ridgein the middle, not even a fake one like on the epis. good. this one's no pretender, it's a serious contender...as for the overall craftsmanship, well, it's a gibson. no flaws. tonal balance unamplified: great.as for my amps, i've got a roland jc-160 w a palmer solid metal in front, and a epi valve special w a bloody mary dist. between'em there's very little i can't do. i'm able to get just about any tone i can think of from these, and my firebird does everything w class. you can go full-bore slayer or soft jazz clean sounds and everything in between. the new dual blade mini humbuckers delivers great volume and tonal clarity, as well as a bit more bite than the old ones. nice. actually it's very difficult to find anything wrong w this one, so i'll just adress the last typical firebird issue, (drum roll) the tuners. the smaller headstock on the studio does not accomodate banjostyle tuners, and besides they don't make'm anymore. so gibson installed a set of grover minituners instead. bummer. they're a loose fit, they rattle, they've got a horrible turning ratio and they slip. on a guitar this good, that gets REALLY annoying. this is wot's dragged the overall, features and wow ratings a bit down. good news is, you can install better ones. me i went for hipshot griplokk open gear machines, and it's well worth the money. if you're looking at one of these, consider changing tuners in the process. it's still a bargain, i paid about 150 quid for tuners and tools, and it's a real easy install as well. the shorter post on the locking machines also makes the tension over the nut a bit tighter, which increases the overall tone, as does the added mass of the tuning machines. overall, this is a great guitar that will give me lots of fun and ease my sorrows for years to come. oh yeah, by the way, the slab-bodied firebirds are even better for slinging your guitar low than the neck-throughs...;) just thought i'd mention.

(see rating details)

Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

Where do I begin? In just a few short weeks, this has become my main guitar. I have long wanted a Reverse Firebird, but they were usually out of my price range. I had planned on buying one a few years back, when Gibson released the "Studio Series", but they came and went before I had a chance. Then along comes the 70s Tribute model. It sounds amazing, both cranked wide open and clean. I've been told the mark of a good guitar is how well it sounds clean. This one delivers. The updated mini-humbuckers are a large part of the sound. From what I can tell, they have more punch and clarity than the earlier ones. The mini Grover tuners are a nice touch as well. It is also balanced - not top heavy at all, as some earlier Firebirds were known to be. The bass player in my band said, "Of all the guitars you bring, that Firebird is without a doubt the best-sounding." I have to agree. Gibson, you've done an astounding job.

Musical Background:

Musical Style: