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1964 Gibson Firebird III

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SN#: 179670, stamped in headstock

Scale length 24 3/4" Nut Width: 1 11/16" Neck depth, 1st/12th frets: .78/.90

Materials: Solid Honduran mahogany body and neck; solid Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, solid bone nut.

Hardware: Original nickel hardware includes twin mini-humbucking pickups; compensated adjustable wrapover bridge; Kluson Sealfast banjo tuners; Gibson vibrola; volume and tone controls with gold reflector cap knobs; 3 way pickup selector switch; engraved truss rod cover. Vintage 5ply Firebird logo pickguard installed, original guard included in case.

Notes: Prideful of its preeminent legacy of carved acoustic instruments, Gibson lagged several years behind Fender's popular solid body guitars, until finally introducing their Les Paul Model in 1952. Gibson's subsequent Flying V, Explorer and Moderne models of the late '50s failed to close the gap, so company president Ted McCarty hired Detroit automotive designer Ray Dietrich to create a new solid body line, aimed squarely at Fender's sleek Stratocaster model.

After no less than eight different prototype concepts, Gibson's Firebird series made their debut in 1963 with four models, with radical designs including the 'reverse' cutaway body, neck-through construction, newly designed mini-humbucking pickups, and a streamlined headstock with Kluson banjo tuners. Offered in no less than eleven custom colors, the original reverse body Firebirds were discontinued after just two years, becoming some of Gibson's rarest and most sought after solid body guitars.

The Firebird III was the most popular of the series, with its twin pickups, hard tail vibrola, and dot inlay fingerboard of Brazilian rosewood. This fine example has all original hardware, electronics, and finish, and features a full width 1 11/16" nut and an easygoing low profile neck. Crafted of handsomely figured Honduras mahogany with a lustrous deep sunburst finish, the guitar weighs in at a tidy 8lb, 11oz in total.

Well maintained, the instrument shows no cracks in the body or neck, and is remarkably free of pick, thumb or fingerboard wear, with playwear mostly confined to some buckle rash on the back, and some scattered finish nicks elsewhere. Electronics are 100% original as well, with the pickups reading 6.87K at the neck and 6.79K at the bridge, with original caps and harness, and CTS pots dating to 10/63. With smooth low action over a fresh high-precision setup, the solid Brazilian rosewood fingerboard shows undented period correct medium jumbo fretwork, and the body is fitted with an additional vintage Firebird logo pickguard, with the original guard included as well.

Complete with its new brown Gibson-logo plush lined hardshell case., this rare and distinctive model is a matchless addition to any collection of Gibson's rarest and finest. One only: call now.

Setup: Trussrod tension and neck relief adjusted; bridge height adjusted; bridge compensation set; bridge wheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and hand polished.

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