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1963 Firebird VII - The Brood Mother.

sangandongo

sangandongo

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Mar 27, 2009
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140
I acquired, through trade, one of the twenty Firebird VIIs made in 1963. This is my own personal holy grail. I considered owning a '63 VII so far fetched that it never even crossed my mind until it flew across my radar last Wednesday.

This thing is unbelievable.

yidFmTU.jpg



qC4orxz.jpg
 
sangandongo

sangandongo

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140
Arch D. Bunker said:
Just stunning - does it have a known history? Looks hardly played. :salude
Click to expand...

I'm in the process of figuring that out. I found that it had previously been listed by Gary's Classic Guitars some time ago, so I sent them an email asking for more info if they had it. The person I bought it from didn't have any provenance at all.
 
OKGuitar

OKGuitar

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Jan 20, 2011
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It appears to have the body that lacks the multiple laminates of the later ones. Can you post a photo of the back? I have a client who has one like this that he wants to sell and I hadn't seen one like it before so I couldn't authenticate it. Thank you.
 
sangandongo

sangandongo

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OKGuitar said:
It appears to have the body that lacks the multiple laminates of the later ones. Can you post a photo of the back? I have a client who has one like this that he wants to sell and I hadn't seen one like it before so I couldn't authenticate it. Thank you.
Click to expand...

You are correct. This is a two piece center block, which was common on the earlier '63s. By late '63, the birds had between 3 and 9 pieces of center laminate.

a8CbiY8.jpg
 
OKGuitar

OKGuitar

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Does the FBVII have the usual shielding paint in the control cavity? The one I'm trying to authenticate does not.
 
sangandongo

sangandongo

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OKGuitar said:
Does the FBVII have the usual shielding paint in the control cavity? The one I'm trying to authenticate does not.
Click to expand...

No. I was literally just having this conversation. It's not a refin, but it doesn't have shielding. I found another example of a '63 III without the shielding. I think that in the early birds, Gibson were either unaccustomed to doing this, or it hadn't been made policy. We know how consistent they were... ;)

What's the nut width on yours? Can you show me a photo?
 
AA00475Bassman

AA00475Bassman

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Apr 26, 2016
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3,776
Thanks for posting such a rare guitar congratulations on getting this very cool guitar !
 
sangandongo

sangandongo

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140
sangandongo

sangandongo

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140
latestarter said:
Refret time?
Click to expand...

I don't know. I'm getting used to it. I want to see if I can keep it unmolested, you know?

If I can't get the feeling for it within a month or two, then I'll consider a refret. I just know that very few "Custom" style boards have gone unmolested.
 
garywright

garywright

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other than strings, I wouldn't change a thing on that beauty :salude
 
JJ Blair

JJ Blair

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Wow! So clean! I have a '63 VII, but mine's a little earlier, I think. No bird on the guard, and there's the black RT ring. But mine also has the weird scallop at the base of the neck that a few early ones have.

bA1R80N.jpg
 
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