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65ri Pelham Blue Firebird questions

77CUSTOM

Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2003
Messages
478
Hey guys/ladies!

I recently purchased a 65ri Pelham Blue Firebird. It came without a C.O.A. I'm trying to determine the year of the guitar. It was sold to me as a 2002, I believe it to be a 2002. The serial number is 020385, but someone at gibson customer service said it was a 2012 Vintage Sunburst originally shipped to Japan.

Here are some of the things that lead me to believe it is a 2002: It has rounded fretboard inlays and the caps are small orange ceramic caps. All the solder joints are original.

I have found a 2010 Firebird with the serial # beginning with 010xxx and a 2012 with 020xxx, both of these have the sharp corner inlays. I have also been trying to determine when Gibson switched the volume pots for the reissues to the plain back pots as opposed to the Gibson embossed volume pots. I believe this will help me narrow down the year of manufacturing.

I sent an email with pictures to Jon Sutherland at Gibson Customer service. I'm hoping he can come back with some solid info. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Ed
 
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