PLMGuitars

Hmmm...But surely it is the front strap button that is the balancing point and the issue. In a strat or LP this is approaching the 12th fret. Moving the button further back may shift the guitar further to the left, but to me is would seem to make it worse? Or have i got that wrong. The firebird is a great guitar, the eagle beak headstock is one of it's coolest features in my opinion...the balance typically not so great. Bigsbys being aluminium don't add that much weight back there, but perhaps that's why a real firebird used to hanve those big old long ornate steel side action gibson temolos on there (also one of the "cool features of an original (not so great as a tremolo though)) You might consider making a fake tailpiece kind of thing to get that weight and the look... pete alternatively, you could try attaching a helium balloon to the headstock at gigs to keep the neck up! just to be clear...i was referring to moving the button on the end of the guitar, NOT the neck one, which should be on the upper horn and not behind the heel. kind of hard to explain in writing.

WELL...if you don't mind playing with a strap while you're sitting, the button move just might work for you. even if you rest it on your knee, the strap may hold it in the right place if you adjust the length accordingly. Probably depends on how tall you are and you're playing posture. hope this helps!

Remember...measure FIVE times, cut ONCE! lol

the strap button move won't help for a sitting position, very true. It does seem backwards to move the end button instead of the neck one but it actually works. I know it's hard to belive but I've done it on a few custom shaped guitars and it works great. it might not work for a firebird though, i don't have one in front of me to try it...it doesn't work as well on SG's (they can have the similar neck dive problem) and i'm guessing it's from the body shape and size. moving the neck button towards the neck (under the heel) can actually make it much worse on many guitars (i know from experience), it's a very strange thing... When i design a new body shape or get a custom request from a customer for their own body shape i warn them that the end button may need to be relocated to have a good position, it does shift the center of gravity the opposite way you would think. I can tell right away from looking at the design now-a-days... many acoustic guitars have the same problem of neck dive when the neck strap button is at the heel...not as easy of a fix on acoustics because you want it to be screwed into solid wood (heel/end block) not a thin side. don't knock it till you try it! I've been reading this forum for years and build guitars professionally...I haven't posted until today but when i read the topic to the post i knew right away what he was dealing with and thought this could help him or maybe someone else from my experience since it does seem so backwards. trust me...I've drilled new button locations before thinking 'oh yeah! it'll TOTALLY work if i put it HERE!' just to find out I've made it worse...not the greatest feeling when it's a customers new guitar and they have 3-4 strap buttons in very strange places. I actually had to build a whole new guitar for a understandably unsatisfied customer when he saw what i had done! It was hard to sell that botch-up after too, people don't want to see 4 strap buttons all over the place !

All you need to do is put the strap button on the end of the guitar in a different place! I've done this on many guitars with odd shapes and it works GREAT! here: move the button (NOT the neck one) to back or edge of the guitar on the upper wing where it comes to kind-of a point. I don't have a firebird in front of me but this will almost definately work! If you have one or go to the store and hold one try this...hold the guitar from the neck strap button and end button, it feels like it wants to dip neck down,right? now try this,,,hold the neck button and pinch the upper wing body point, it should tilt into a more traditional playing position...it may work better if you put it on the back instead of the 'side' and move it in alittle so it doesn't push the neck too far from you making you stretch you left hand to get towards the nut, but rather hangs where it should . give it a try, it might or might not work but it's worked for me in the past!