Gibson thunderbird headstock series#

Six in-line banjo tuners were used on the guitars, while four in-line standard tuners needed to be used on the basses. The guitar neck/body center consisted of two long pieces of mahogany glued together, but the heavier tension of bass strings called for a 9-ply laminate on the bass neck/body. The guitars and basses had a unique neck-through construction running all the way to the bottom strap button, with asymmetrical “wings” attached on either side.

Gibson thunderbird headstock series#

The series was made up of four guitars (the Firebird I, III, V, and VII) and two basses (the Thunderbird II and IV). The new Firebird line (a name suggested by Dietrich) was introduced in the spring of 1963. In addition to its daring new offset wing look, Gibson gave the T-bird new and powerful humbuckers, made from freshly designed molds from earlier lap-steel pickups. Dietrich agreed, and developed what became known as the Firebird series. McCarty was so inspired by Dietrich’s speech on design concepts that he asked him if he’d be interested in making a guitar. While at Chrysler, he was responsible for many classics, including the Airstream.

Dietrich was known for drafting car bodies for Lincoln, Ford, Packard, and Duesenberg in the 1920s, and working for Chrysler in the ’30s. He happened to hear Ray Dietrich-a prominent car designer who had recently retired to Kalamazoo, where Gibson was based-give a lecture in town.

The SG series in 1961 had helped sales, but McCarty wanted something even more exciting. In 1962, Gibson president Ted McCarty was searching for new guitar ideas to compete with his company’s main rival at the time, Fender.