1963 Firebird VII - The Brood Mother.

sangandongo · Oct 10, 2017

JJ Blair said:
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.

That's crazy cool. Have you lifted the neck pickup to look underneath? There were a few prototypes out there that actually had set necks instead of neck-through. I know one guy on MLP (who's probably on this forum as well) who has a '62 set neck Firebird.

What's your serial start with, out of curiosity? Mine is 144xxx with pots reading 33rd week of '63. My '63 III has a 145xxx serial with pots from 34th week of '63. I'm not fully convinced the III is a '63, though it's weird to think that all four pots matching so closely would have held it back from getting sprayed by another 20 weeks.

JJ Blair · Oct 10, 2017

sangandongo said:
That's crazy cool. Have you lifted the neck pickup to look underneath? There were a few prototypes out there that actually had set necks instead of neck-through. I know one guy on MLP (who's probably on this forum as well) who has a '62 set neck Firebird.

What's your serial start with, out of curiosity? Mine is 144xxx with pots reading 33rd week of '63. My '63 III has a 145xxx serial with pots from 34th week of '63. I'm not fully convinced the III is a '63, though it's weird to think that all four pots matching so closely would have held it back from getting sprayed by another 20 weeks.

144688. Maybe it's not that much earlier after all. It's neck through for sure, though. You don't even need to look for a tenon to see.

Interestingly, Gabriel at Echopark is making me a korina FB, and he talked me into doing a LP jr. type tenon, because he said that with neck through, the wings wouldn't transfer vibration as much. We'll see. My '63 isn't the most resonant guitar, but I've played FBs that are.

Pot dates can be misleading. My '60 Burst has late '58 pots in it.

sangandongo · Oct 10, 2017

JJ Blair said:
144688. Maybe it's not that much earlier after all. It's neck through for sure, though. You don't even need to look for a tenon to see.

Interestingly, Gabriel at Echopark is making me a korina FB, and he talked me into doing a LP jr. type tenon, because he said that with neck through, the wings wouldn't transfer vibration as much. We'll see. My '63 isn't the most resonant guitar, but I've played FBs that are.

Pot dates can be misleading. My '60 Burst has late '58 pots in it.

Dang! Mine is 144682. Very close numbers! Is your control cavity painted?

The scalloped heel is definitely an interesting feature. It reminds me of an SG from that era, in a way. The set-neck prototype that BCRGreg has made me think it might be from the same bunch.

Oh, I know pot codes can be misleading. One reason I thought the III was a '63 was that it had a Poker Chip at one time long ago (you could see a shadow). Either way, no big deal, as it's a beast.

My VII rings out for a long time and is very resonant. The sustain on it is crazy good, especially given that it has the long vibrola, which on some instruments doesn't do the best job at transmitting vibrations. My III, with a TonePros locking bridge doesn't do as good a job as the VII in this area, and is a much darker sounding instrument to boot.

AA00475Bassman · Oct 10, 2017

I have Learned so much on this forum very good information in this thread thank you sharing.

JJ Blair · Oct 10, 2017

sangandongo said:
Dang! Mine is 144682. Very close numbers! Is your control cavity painted?

The scalloped heel is definitely an interesting feature. It reminds me of an SG from that era, in a way. The set-neck prototype that BCRGreg has made me think it might be from the same bunch.

Oh, I know pot codes can be misleading. One reason I thought the III was a '63 was that it had a Poker Chip at one time long ago (you could see a shadow). Either way, no big deal, as it's a beast.

My VII rings out for a long time and is very resonant. The sustain on it is crazy good, especially given that it has the long vibrola, which on some instruments doesn't do the best job at transmitting vibrations. My III, with a TonePros locking bridge doesn't do as good a job as the VII in this area, and is a much darker sounding instrument to boot.

Cavity is painted.

It sustains great. It's just that the tone is midrangey and nasal compared to my other mahogany bodies Gibsons. The middle position makes it one of the best funk guitars I own.

This was actually my first collectible vintage Gibson that I bought. I've had it since I was 19. One owner, and he put Teisco knobs on it, which I changed out. Here it is in 1990.

AA00475Bassman · Oct 10, 2017

Great photo !

garywright · Oct 10, 2017

Cool pic JJ ..that firebird fits you perfectly :salude

sangandongo · Oct 10, 2017

JJ Blair said:
Cavity is painted.

It sustains great. It's just that the tone is midrangey and nasal compared to my other mahogany bodies Gibsons. The middle position makes it one of the best funk guitars I own.

This was actually my first collectible vintage Gibson that I bought. I've had it since I was 19. One owner, and he put Teisco knobs on it, which I changed out. Here it is in 1990.

I totally dig it, man. Here's me on my III a few years back. Hopefully I can get a follow-up on the VII at some point.

bizzwriter · Oct 11, 2017

GREAT thread guys -- LOVE these FB VII's! Been lusting for one ever since I saw Phil Manzanera with his red '63 in photos years ago...

kiwi burst · Oct 11, 2017

Great guitars- mine is 144690 and if I can figure out a Photobucket alternative will post a pic.

sangandongo · Oct 11, 2017

kiwi burst said:
Great guitars- mine is 144690 and if I can figure out a Photobucket alternative will post a pic.

Imgur.com is free and the pics stay up permanently. Create an account and you can upload individual images or albums.

sangandongo · Oct 11, 2017

bizzwriter said:
GREAT thread guys -- LOVE these FB VII's! Been lusting for one ever since I saw Phil Manzanera with his red '63 in photos years ago...

Do we know what happened to this guitar? Mike Campbell had a red Firebird VII when he was in Mudcrutch, but the most he ever says about it is that it "got destroyed." That alone is fucked, considering how few VIIs there were overall. It would be double nuts if it also happened to be Manzanera's. You can see Campbell's in the Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker's documentary called "Runnin' Down a Dream."

kiwi burst · Oct 11, 2017

sangandongo said:
Imgur.com is free and the pics stay up permanently. Create an account and you can upload individual images or albums.

Thanks - will take some pics once the smoke clears- not good here in Northern California. Mine also has no "Bird" on the pick guard. Loved mine so much I had to refret (no regrets). Also had to source a correct tuneomatic which was the missing ingredient . Had no idea that nylon saddles could sound so good.

JJ Blair · Oct 11, 2017

Mine was refretted years ago. Never regret doing that ob FB VIIS, LP Customs or SG Customs. Makes them better guitars.

Arch D. Bunker · Oct 11, 2017

sangandongo said:
Do we know what happened to this guitar?

He still owns it.

TM1 · Oct 11, 2017

I have a 2003 FB VII that I love. I installed 3 of the old Gibson made Silvertone mini-hum's, rewired it so there's a volume for each pickup and a master tone control. It's a nice variation being able to have the bridge & neck both on and then roll in the middle pickup. Mine's in Coppermist with chrome hardware & a real Ebony fingerboard(not that Richlite bullshit!).
Congrats on your `63! I would imagine that it would play better if yours had the larger frets. I couldn't imagine mine without the bigger frets..

sangandongo · Oct 11, 2017

TM1 said:
I have a 2003 FB VII that I love. I installed 3 of the old Gibson made Silvertone mini-hum's, rewired it so there's a volume for each pickup and a master tone control. It's a nice variation being able to have the bridge & neck both on and then roll in the middle pickup. Mine's in Coppermist with chrome hardware & a real Ebony fingerboard(not that Richlite bullshit!).
Congrats on your `63! I would imagine that it would play better if yours had the larger frets. I couldn't imagine mine without the bigger frets..

I had an Azuremist '02 FB VII, it was my first bird. @macg1 on this form owns it now. I also owned the Copper one like yours. Is yours equipped with the Nashville or ABR-1? The Historic program wasn't in effect for Firebirds in '02 yet, but I had one with the ABR-1, despite the majority having the Nash. There was some sort of deluxe or special edition of the birds back then that had the nickel hardware and ABR-1. Good choice switching to the split Silvertone minis, those things are amazing!

latestarter · Oct 11, 2017

bizzwriter said:
GREAT thread guys -- LOVE these FB VII's! Been lusting for one ever since I saw Phil Manzanera with his red '63 in photos years ago...

You can be cool, but you can never be as cool as Phil Manzanera holding a red Firebird wearing a silk shirt with red Firebirds on it.

garywright · Oct 11, 2017

what cho talk'n bout Willis !

kiwi burst · Oct 12, 2017

Prior to fitting correct ABR-1. Bummer will get the pic up soon.https://imgur.com/a/T7XSs

1963 Firebird VII - The Brood Mother.

Active member

Well-known member

Active member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Active member

Active member

Member

Active member

Active member

Member

Well-known member

Active member

Well-known member

Active member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Member