Gibson Reverse Firebird V 2002 / Channeling Johnny Winter

Here is a beautiful example of a Gibson Reverse Firebird V, made in 2002 and in Excellent Condition.  It plays with a lightning fast action through a set of Dual Coil Alnico V mini humbuckers, and possesses a bite and snarl just perfect for that “Texas Twang.” A model played by numerous rock and blues luminaries, the Firebird V is perhaps most closely associated with the legendary Johnny Winter.

The Firebird V was introduced by Gibson in 1963, having been designed by automotive engineer, Ray Dietrich. Gibson’s intent was to create a solid body design to compete with those of Fender, but more streamlined than the earlier Flying V or Explorer.  The original Firebird V line was discontinued in 1965, reintroduced on a limited basis in 1972 and then re-established in the Gibson catalog in 1990.  

Here are the important specs:

Scale: 24 3/4”

Neck: 9 ply Mahogany and Walnut / Neck-Thru design

Body: Two Mahogany wings attached to the neck

Fretboard: Rosewood / 10” Radius

Nut Width: 1 11/16”

String Spacing at Bridge: 2”

Stop Tailpiece with Tuneamatic Bridge

Pickups: Dual Coil Alnico V Mini-Humbuckers

“Banjo” tuners

3-Way pickup selector switch

Independent Volume and Tone Controls for each pickup

Action at 12th fret: 3/64”, both sides

This example, built in 2002, came to us from Texas, where it was almost certainly used as a regular, gigging guitar.  The case has plenty of scars, but the guitar itself appears to have been absolutely babied. There are a few, and only a few, very light scratches on the guitar, but otherwise it appears almost new. The Alnico V mini-hum buckers have a very bright tone, great for hard rock and blues.

Coming into the shop, this guitar needed little more than a proper set-up.  On arrival, the action was actually higher on the treble side than on the bass, leading us to think that it may well have been used, Johnny Winter style, to play slide.  We reset the action, adjusted the pickup heights, set the intonation and gave it a bit of a cleaning, and it was ready to go. We’ve set it up with a fresh set of D’Addario Half Round Lights (.010-.046) and it sounds and plays, great!

Please be sure to check out the photos carefully and zoom in for detail.  You’re going to love the look of this guitar, and love the fact that the prior owner took such great care of it.

This Gibson Firebird V is sold, AS IS, and is not returnable unless it arrives in a condition other than as described or photographed, here.

Serial #: 00652537

Price: $3500.00 plus $175 shipping (Lower 48 USA, only)