Product: Gibson Acoustic Firebird Custom
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted
08/30/2004
at
01:11pm
by
Eddie Choi
Email: eddiechoi<at>gmail dot com
Features
:
10
2001 Gibson Acoustic Firebird Custom built by the Custom Shop
20 frets, 24.75" scale,
square shoulder, solid sitka spruce top,
incredible quilted maple back, sides, and neck stained dark red,
ebony fingerboard and bridge, tall thin frets,
6-ply bound top, 4-ply back, bound neck,
beautiful abalone and MOP flame inlays - bride, fingerboard headstock,
gold grover tuners,
tortoise hummingbird pickguard with flames engraved.
Every feature is elevated to a pinnacle. The result is absolutely amazing.
Sound
:
10
The combination of the square shoulder hummingbird body, coupled with a brighter sounding maple back & sides and crisp sounding ebony on the fingerboard give this guitar a great, unique sound - different from the classic hummingbird sound. The guitar has a bit more bite over the mahogany rosewood fingerboard hummingbird known for its warmth.
It's got a deep, huge thumping low end and a edgy crisp Taylor-like high end to it as well. Overall, tone-wise it's got a great balance and ring to it. Volume-wise, it's a cannon without being at all harsh (or muffled-sounding for the matter, the way some Gibson's can be - I've owned several models). I have full confidence in performing with this guitar no matter what style, genre, or method. It sounds superb for strumming, flat-picking, or fingerstyle - it really delivers under any circumstance.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
The guitar is absolutely stunning. The flame in the quilted maple stained red is beautiful and like nothing I've ever seen before.
This guitar plays better than any other Gibson acoustic I've ever played. The action is effortlessly low and the feel is very comfortable. The nitro lacquer finish is aging nicely - already you can see it soaking into the grain of the wood. There was one flaw I noticed where the finish over the binding (which is scraped off by hand) went partially over the line (I'm being really nit picky here). Otherwise, it would be absolutely flawless.
Reliability/Durability
:
No Opinion
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
9
I've been playing guitar for almost 10 years, along with this guitar I also own a Fender Relic '65 Time Machine Strat.
If you're like me, you probably skip through posts that put 10s down for everything. Well, I have to give this 10s in all aspects because it's simply true with all the guitars I've every played. As mentioned earlier, I've owned several Gibson acoustics in the past and have played/am familiar with just about all of their line - and this guitar eclipses all of them.
I'm not going to say it's a 10-fantastic value, because at this price, you get what you pay for (and it's not a cheap guitar).
