Seeking to up the ante available in the market battle with Fender, in October of 1962, Gibson CEO Ted McCarty requested retired auto designer Ray Dietrich to sketch some ultra-modern guitar designs. 9 days later, Dietrich introduced eight concepts, the final of which McCarty noticed and exclaimed, “That’s the one!” It grew to become the Firebird.

Epiphone not too long ago got down to construct an correct re-creation of that guitar with its Impressed by Gibson Customized 1963 Firebird V.

True to the unique, it sports activities a nine-ply mahogany/walnut neck-through physique with mahogany wings, Kluson planetary-geared “banjo” tuners, a Maestro Vibrola, and Gibson USA mini-humbucker pickups with Alnico V magnets. Different touches embrace hand-wired CTS pots, Mallory capacitors, and a Switchcraft three-way pickup selector toggle. With the exceptions of the laurel fretboard and polyurethane end as an alternative of the rosewood and nitrocellulose of the unique, the Epiphone is true to kind.

Plugged right into a low-watt all-tube combo, the mini-humbuckers confirmed the give attention to upper-midrange and treble for which they’re identified and permits them to chop by means of a combination. This explicit pair is well-balanced each in quantity and tone. With the toggle within the center place, neither one dominates. Clicking to the neck will increase the decrease mids however retains the important mid-position tone. Going to the bridge pickup raises high-end response however retains the general mid-position sound. The Tone knob for the bridge pickup may be rolled off all the way in which to 3 earlier than the sound turns into unusably muddy, simply controlling the treble output and making it very versatile.

Provided in Frost Blue, Ember Purple, Cherry, and Classic Sunburst, match and end on our tester had been (just like the Greeny Les Paul we reviewed in March ’24) flawless, with no trace of bleed on the binding or sharp fret ends. All instructed, the 1963 Firebird V is worthy of the mannequin’s legacy.

This text initially appeared in VG’s November 2024 concern. All copyrights are by the creator and Classic Guitar journal. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.