SOLD! - 1976 "super rare first run" Limited Edition Bicentennial Gibson Firebird

Recently picked from a “private collection" we are selling this wonderful, super light (3.3kg) and extremely rare (read below) Gibson Firebird Bicentennial “Limited Edition” from 1976 with no breaks or repairs!

We have seen about 4 of these worldwide (this one included) and all are in the early serial number range with early '76 pot code dates. Like the 1976 Explorer, the Firebird had several production runs and it seems that only the very first handful were with these GIBSON PEARLOID TUNERS... Talking about rare....

So what is this all about? In contrast to the standard rare FIREBIRD Bicentennial and the even more rare LIMITED EDITION Bicentennial models, this LIMITED EDITION Bicentennial Firebird has a two-tone Black/Mahogany headstock (instead of an all black headstock), a big 2-piece neck just like the old ones in 1963 (instead of the later 7-piece mahogany-walnut construction), but it also has hyper rare original Gibson banjo tuners with pearloid buttons!! Now these are not installed afterwards as there isn't a single mark on the front or back of the headstock that shows signs of Kluson Banjo Tuners have been installed previously. Not in daylight, not under UV light!

That does make it a unique collectors guitar for sure and it is in great condition for it is almost 50 years old as well. Completely original, without repairs or refinishes, including the amazing sounding pickups (N: 6.25k, B: 6.34k), early '76 pots (1 pot is dated '93, the original 1976 week 05 pot is in the case), electronics, plastics, knobs, tuners etc etc. We could put the original pot back but it sounds so damn good now that we rather leave that up to the next owner. The big chunky neck fits perfectly in your hand, feels smooth and is easy to play with the well-preserved original frets and RW fretboard. The all-through 2 piece mahogany construction resonates like crazy and rings even without amplification. Straight into my Marshall 18WATT, this beast soars like wildfire. When played gently you'll hear bells and harmonics and so much clarity, it is just mesmerizing! Comes in the original rectangular Gibson hard shell case with purple plush lining.

Despite the rarity and collector's appeal, this is an outstanding live guitar as well and you will love it either way.

The Bicentennial Firebird was released by Gibson in 1976 for the 200th anniversary of the USA and was the first official reissue of the Reverse Firebird in over 10 years, based on the minimalist Firebird III. Gibson Bicentennial Firebird guitars used two different designs for the neck and the bridge pickups. The neck pickup was the standard 1965-1969 design and the bridge pickup was a unique Bill Lawrence “sidewinder” design utilizing two mini hum size bobbins positioned 90 degrees from the original angle. Windings face upward to top of pickup. This pickup had a single thick ceramic bar magnet slipped between bobbins also 90 degrees from normal bar magnet position. Bottom plate is stamped with pat number. Furthermore it came with dot inlays and no neck binding on a big C-shape 2-piece Mahogany neck, ABR bridge and stop tailpiece, gold hardware and a bi-color firebird embossed pickguard.

There were 2,847 Gibson Firebird Bicentennials made between 1976 and 1979. In total 1,277 were finished in ebony black, 1,254 in natural, 199 in tobacco sunburst and 117 in white. In 1976 only 25 were made in Tobacco Sunburst and only a very small number Limited Editions with

Yr // Ebony // Nat // Tobacco // White /// Total
1976 // 222 // 268 //  25 //  27 /// 542
1977 // 259 // 215 // 160 // 67 /// 701
1978 // 796 // 644 //    0 // 16 /// 1,456
1979 //    0 // 127 //  14 //  7 /// 148

Serial number types:
LIMITED EDITION over 00232xxx and 00233xxx serial with Pearl Banjo Tuners (only a handful to start with)
LIMITED EDITION over 00233xxx serial with Kluson Banjo Tuners (just a couple more, almost there...)
FIREBIRD over 00234xxx serial and higher with Kluson Banjo Tuners (this is it, the final run)