Epiphone Firebird - Thoughts?

[Mokaccino]

I'm thinking about getting one as a beater guitar. I know it's gonna be cheap but are they generally reliable? I'm interested in the faded one. Talk to me about the stock pups, the pros and cons, etc. It got great reviews but I wanna have feedback from guitarists that actually played the damn thing.

Thx!

 

[Mokaccino]

Hahahaha!

I know it's no Suhr but somebody in here must have had some experiences with an Epiphone Firebird!! They cannot be completely thrash!!

 

[EXPcustom]

Meh pass,

The best beater guitars are the ones put together from quality parts IMO.

 

[JTyson]

I've played the gibsons with the mini-super humbuckers and really liked the tone, but have no exp with the epi's

 

[UltraGary]

Don't give in to the temptation of the curves.

 

[hunter]

I had an Epi which played and sounded great, but the truss rod wasn't doing it - on a new guitar

They are veeery long so you gotta make sure you stand on the left side of the stage or your singer's eyes are in danger

 

[Mokaccino]

I had an Epi which played and sounded great, but the truss rod wasn't doing it - on a new guitar

They are veeery long so you gotta make sure you stand on the left side of the stage or your singer's eyes are in danger

Hahahahaha!

Well I got told that the neck was a bit big, so big turn off to me. I mean I don't like Wizard necks but I don't want a baseball bat either. My LP has a 50s neck, one of the main reason why I bought it. I'll probably look for something else. I was checking out those LTD EC500 but they don't come up (used) often.

 

[IntenseJim]

btt

 

[joepete77]

I always thought that the firebird looked so cool especially on stage etc so I jumped at the oppurtunity to pick one up on ebay years ago. It was a gibson firebird 7, it had the vibrato which was terrible as it couldnt even be used without going out of tune, I had a schaller wrap around bridge to bypass the vibrato but I didnt want to hack up the guitar and kill its resale value. Also, u dont realize how big and awkward they are untill playing one in person, that an combined with the high action made me decide to sell it. PS. if u decide on the epi u can always install a gibson truss rod cover in place of the epi branded one and many wont know the differance.

 

[RockStarNick]

Honestly, I'm a super Gibson snob, and usually I HATE the Epiphone counterparts. But I really dig the faded firebird Epi. I played a used on at GC and almost bought it.

 

[boost]

I have an older Epi Firebird VII. Sunburst. Many you see are that awful cardinal red. The stock mini's don't sound too bad but you have to remove the rear pickup and cut the springs in half in order to adjust the pickup higher to get some balls out of it. I was going to swap pickups until I did this and they sound pretty good. Lollars will sound better, but outfitting them in this guitar would cost more than the actual guitar. Seymour doesn't make a gold one and Dimarzios probably won't sound that different from what's in there. It's a unique sound and I dig it. the trem works fine for a little Gilmour type of bends, and mine stays in tune fine. Grover tuners.

One of the coolest looking guitars ever made IMO.

Have not played the model you're looking at, but some things cross over.

1. It's big, make sure you get a case in the deal or you'll be spending some looking for a case. They can be hard to come by sometimes.

2. Higher registers are hard to get to similar to a LP even though the body is quite a bit thinner than a LP.

3. Neck dive. You will have this.

The guy I got mine from went out and bought the Epi studio version with humbuckers. He said the neck was way thinner and he didn't like it. The one I mine has some girth, but is not baseball bat big.

If you got to have a humbucker you don't really have a choice. If you can hang with the mini's, look for a used VII. I've played new Gibson Firebirds and while there is a difference, it isn't as great as you might think. Also a new or slightly used VII will run you a good chunk of change. If it falls off the stand you're fucked. If it's an Epi, you're still fucked, but with a little lube maybe.

 

[shreder75]

I'm thinking about getting one as a beater guitar. I know it's gonna be cheap but are they generally reliable? I'm interested in the faded one. Talk to me about the stock pups, the pros and cons, etc. It got great reviews but I wanna have feedback from guitarists that actually played the damn thing.

Thx!

I think epi (and other 'lesser' brands like squire, etc, etc) get thrashed for no good reason these days...they're not sheik and they're not expensive..so they must be bad, right?

wrong....it's like like it was 15 years ago where $400-500 would get you a piece of particle board with a warped neck...

I have two lesser brand beaters..and Epi LP Ultra and a squire affinity tele....the tele is awaiting new pickups (as yet to be determined) but the build quality is great..the switch is a little suspect but the tuning stability is awesome, the guitar's heavy and the neck rocks..

my EPI LP ultra is one of my favorite guitars...got a duncan distortion in it and it brings alot of crunch....also stays in tune like a mofo..good fretwork, etc, etc...

just my two cents...for what it's worth

 

[boost]

I'm thinking about getting one as a beater guitar. I know it's gonna be cheap but are they generally reliable? I'm interested in the faded one. Talk to me about the stock pups, the pros and cons, etc. It got great reviews but I wanna have feedback from guitarists that actually played the damn thing.

Thx!

I think epi (and other 'lesser' brands like squire, etc, etc) get thrashed for no good reason these days...they're not sheik and they're not expensive..so they must be bad, right?

wrong....it's like like it was 15 years ago where $400-500 would get you a piece of particle board with a warped neck...

I have two lesser brand beaters..and Epi LP Ultra and a squire affinity tele....the tele is awaiting new pickups (as yet to be determined) but the build quality is great..the switch is a little suspect but the tuning stability is awesome, the guitar's heavy and the neck rocks..

my EPI LP ultra is one of my favorite guitars...got a duncan distortion in it and it brings alot of crunch....also stays in tune like a mofo..good fretwork, etc, etc...

just my two cents...for what it's worth

Agreed. I wish I had this type of quality in an import guitar when I started playing at these prices. There was some dreadful stuff out there.

 

[shreder75]

I'm thinking about getting one as a beater guitar. I know it's gonna be cheap but are they generally reliable? I'm interested in the faded one. Talk to me about the stock pups, the pros and cons, etc. It got great reviews but I wanna have feedback from guitarists that actually played the damn thing.

Thx!

I think epi (and other 'lesser' brands like squire, etc, etc) get thrashed for no good reason these days...they're not sheik and they're not expensive..so they must be bad, right?

wrong....it's like like it was 15 years ago where $400-500 would get you a piece of particle board with a warped neck...

I have two lesser brand beaters..and Epi LP Ultra and a squire affinity tele....the tele is awaiting new pickups (as yet to be determined) but the build quality is great..the switch is a little suspect but the tuning stability is awesome, the guitar's heavy and the neck rocks..

my EPI LP ultra is one of my favorite guitars...got a duncan distortion in it and it brings alot of crunch....also stays in tune like a mofo..good fretwork, etc, etc...

just my two cents...for what it's worth

Agreed. I wish I had this type of quality in an import guitar when I started playing at these prices. There was some dreadful stuff out there.

that ain't no lie!

my buddy recently got GAS for a LP...or derivative thereof..he's like 'oh, I'm looking to spend about a grand'...I told him he could get something WELL cheaper than that..he ended up getting an Agile that rocks at a fraction of the price...you just don't have to break the bank on guitars these days

 

[duesentrieb]

I'd look for an Orville FB or (very very rare) Japan-made Epi stuff ( I own a MIJ Epi LPC). Or at least the Epi Custom Shop stuff- and a sharp look at the serial number - indicates the Epi plant where it was built:

I = Sae In (Korea)
U = Unsung (Korea)
P = Peerless (Korea)
S = Samick (Korea)
DW = DeaWon (China)
EA = Gibson/QuingDao (China)
EE = Gibson/QuingDao (China)
MC = Muse (China)
SJ = SaeJung (China)
B = Bohêmia Musico-Delicia (Tschechien)
F = Fujigen (Japan)

 

[Gooseman]

don't do it. i'm sure you have quality guitars and really, there is little need to add a crap axe to your collection. seriously! just think about that. even if you swap out everything, it'll always creep into your mind about the actual durability and quality of the guitar itself. i wouldn't do it.

plus, with how much you'd spend for one, you could get a nice pedal(s).

 

[IntenseJim]

Thanks for the input. I played and Epi FB VII and it sounded pretty decent and felt good...for $430.
I may go for it.

 

[boost]

Thanks for the input. I played and Epi FB VII and it sounded pretty decent and felt good...for $430.
I may go for it.

Yep. I dig mine. Cannot comment on aything Studio that Gibson or Epi make. I've never cared for anything I saw with a 'Studio' label on it so I never looked further into them. Could be really nice guitars, but just not my thing.

The VII is definitely the coolest model out there!