gpcustomguitars Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 Hi, This is my almost finished Firebird, should be done in a few days. I'm at the filler/sanding stage, hope to stain it and give it first coats during the weekend. Will finish it in poly for extra durability. I opted for the non standard tuners, as on originals, but instead of banjo ones I'm using Steinbergers. It will have 2 mini hums, slightly hotter than standard and LP wiring. Ebony fboard, 12' radius, abs inlays, hot rod, and the wood is red fir. This was a sort of an experiment, I like fir and want to see how this will work. Center piece is laminated from 3 pieces for stability, and the wings are not. VERY light guitar, cca 2kg without the metalic parts. Made it for my wife Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
govtmule Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 Awesome ! I'm looking forward to seeing progress shots on this one. Looks great so far ! I love Firebirds. A Firebird is next on my list of builds. At my current pace though it won't be started until late this year probably. I'm anxious to hear how the Steinberger tuners work out. Those are the tuners that I am planning to use on the Firebird and I have a set right now for my current build that I haven't installed yet. When I got them I was surprised how big and heavy they were. Looking forward to more progress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted February 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 Thanks! They are kinda bulky, but I just didn't want to compromise with changing the headstock to standard tuners. It's a big part of Firebird appeal for me, and also I didn't want to spend unreasonable kind of money on very hard to find original tuners just to have tuning problems they are famous for. The decision to go with Steinbergers was made after seeing a pic of an Firebird with them on StewMac. They don't look that big on it IMO. BTW we seem to have the same favorite band! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
govtmule Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 Thanks! They are kinda bulky, but I just didn't want to compromise with changing the headstock to standard tuners. It's a big part of Firebird appeal for me, and also I didn't want to spend unreasonable kind of money on very hard to find original tuners just to have tuning problems they are famous for. The decision to go with Steinbergers was made after seeing a pic of an Firebird with them on StewMac. They don't look that big on it IMO. BTW we seem to have the same favorite band! I couldn't agree more. I think the Firebird headstock is the biggest part of the appeal. I like the body but I love the headstock. I was a bit surprised to see how the Steinbergers worked once I got them. Since the tuning action is accomplished by pulling the string through the headstock versus the common winding around a peg, there doesn't seem to be much room for detuning. I can't wait to get to find out for myself ! You're a Mule fan ? Excellent ! Warren and the boys put on a heck of a show !! For my money Warren and Derek Trucks are the best fiddle players out there today. My wife can't understand why I'd want to see the same band as often as I see Gov't Mule. Different setlist every night, frequent guest appearances, spending a good three hours smiling from ear to ear........duh, it's a no brainer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_tone Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 Looks great! As a fellow firebird lover, I'm pleased to see someone paying proper tribute to its fabulous design. Not sure yet, but my next build is going to be either a firebird or a washburn idol. As for the tuners, the steinbergers came stock on my Epiphone firebird studio, and they're amazing. not like those garbage banjo tuners on the originals. keep up the amazing work, bro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted February 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 Thanks guys! Here are the new pics - finished filler sanding, stained with vintage amber & dark tobacco, sealed with nitro, bursted with rattlecan black, sanded flat and left to dry completely. It's as good as polished, only thing left to do is one coat of poly. I like it a lot!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
govtmule Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 Looks great !! Keep it up !! The black burst on the back of the neck looks great !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 (edited) Awesome ! I'm looking forward to seeing progress shots on this one. Looks great so far ! I love Firebirds. A Firebird is next on my list of builds. At my current pace though it won't be started until late this year probably. I'm anxious to hear how the Steinberger tuners work out. Those are the tuners that I am planning to use on the Firebird and I have a set right now for my current build that I haven't installed yet. When I got them I was surprised how big and heavy they were. Looking forward to more progress I just installed a set of the Steinberger tuners on my Explorer (Not yet completed) and I love 'em. They have a real nice feel to them and the precision is fantastic. A little on the expensive side though, especially in Gold. http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...30&start=30 Edited February 25, 2008 by guitar2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
govtmule Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 I just installed a set of the Steinberger tuners on my Explorer (Not yet completed) and I love 'em. They have a real nice feel to them and the precision is fantastic. A little on the expensive side though, especially in Gold. Great to hear that they are nice. I have a headstock design that I want to start using that requires tuners like this. If I ever get back into the shop hopefully I can start making some progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2008 Hi! It's been finished for a while now, but I just got around to taking some pics! Sounds great, very light guitar, very resonant and alive. I LOVE it! We tested it trough VOX 30W and H&C 50W combos. It nails the Clapton's Crossroads sound when overdriven, and sounds a lot like strat neck pup on clean channel. No neck problems with red fir so far. Strung it with 9s. Pickups are GFS Little crunchy Minihums. Cheers! Goran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
govtmule Posted November 11, 2008 Report Share Posted November 11, 2008 Looks great !!! How are those tuners working out ? Hi! It's been finished for a while now, but I just got around to taking some pics! Sounds great, very light guitar, very resonant and alive. I LOVE it! We tested it trough VOX 30W and H&C 50W combos. It nails the Clapton's Crossroads sound when overdriven, and sounds a lot like strat neck pup on clean channel. No neck problems with red fir so far. Strung it with 9s. Pickups are GFS Little crunchy Minihums. Cheers! Goran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2008 Thanks! The Steinbergers are great!!! Too expensive to use on all my guitars, tho... If I make more FBirds, I'll definitely use them again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 what a beauty.....love the tobacco burst you went with. is that tremelo scavanged from something or did you source it some place and where if I may ask. I'm looking for a Maestro to do an SG at some point and haven't found an aftermarket version yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 Thanks Traveler! The Vibrola is new, found it at Allparts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToneMonkey Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 Thanks! The Steinbergers are great!!! Too expensive to use on all my guitars, tho... If I make more FBirds, I'll definitely use them again. I have them on my Firebird and I'm fairly impressed. Look really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 Thanks Traveler! The Vibrola is new, found it at Allparts. I couldn't find it on their site....do you have a part # maybe I could reference? thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted November 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 Rechecked, sorry - http://www.guitar-parts.com/categories/34/...-Tailpieces.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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