Looking for a new guitar for the road...

[shupe13]

Take your Firebird on the road man! I would never imagine touring with a second choice guitar.

Well, I know , my post does not help a lot.. sorry

I agree. How else will you get free ones from Gibson when you make it big?

[bclaire]

Yeah +1 to bringing the Firebird.

To be honest, when I see a band playing a Squier or Epiphone or some other such second level guitar, I immediately dismiss them. Not very open-minded on my part, but I guarantee I'm not the only one.

[WAWBanks]

I'd spend the money on a good quality road case for your firebird. I couldn't stand leaving my favorite guitar at home and playing something else - regardless of cost. I tour with a '66 jaguar and it doesn't get damaged as long as it lives in the case when not being played.

[Borderline Productions]

You have to find a second guitar that you like to play almost as much as you enjoy playing the firebird. I've seen very good guitarist tour with epiphones, but when talking to them the selection process was extensive. My second guitar is an old Yamaha SGB200, which was designed for Santana back when he played a Yamaha. Great player. They go on e-bay for about $300. Dropped some Sheptones in it because I love the way it plays and it deserved better electronics. I would be very hesitant to take my favorite (and most valuable) guitar on the road. I would feel that way if I had a firebird. Don't get a road guitar just to have a road guitar. It should be a guitar you would not want to lose, but not as much as you would not want to lose the firebird.

[Zachohh]

One thing to keep in mind when upgrading cheaper guitars is the upgrade costs. After the upgrades, is the guitar going to cost as much as just buying a better guitar and also if you decide to ever sell it, you're probably not going to get near whats it's worth with the upgrades. I've bought a couple Epiphones that I've upgraded with better electronics, tuning keys etc.. I always make sure I keep the old parts to return it to stock if I want to sell it. The parts are worth more on their own.

Yeah, that's a very good point. It's like when I see all these kids upgrade their beat up honda hatch backs and want to sell them for like $4000. I'll have to keep this in mind though. Thanks!

A fellow firebird owner! FINALLY!
....Ahem...

A good alternative I've found is the gibson LPJ/SGJ range. They're pretty cheap (Not to start a price debate) and depending what sort of sound you're looking for, pretty tonally similar to the Firebird, but with a little bit more umf to em, not that you can't replace the pickups. Because you can. Great road kit, and I'm actually very surprised with how well they're built. Up until recently I never would have expected the name "Junior" to signify anything of quality.

Yay for being firebird owners! Don't they sound and play beautifly? My favorite. I could have sworn I've seen one or two more on here, but I can't remember for sure. I've played some of those series, but unplugged. It seemed to be fine, I just wasn't able to hear how it sounded! I'll have to check it out next time I'm around one of the local music stores!

They did a reissue go the les paul deluxe back in 2012, I have seen them go for $1200-1600. They have the mini hums

Oh sweet! I'm looking to spend a little less than that. There was a 70s reissue silverburst with mini hums for 600. That's tempting.

Yeah they have the studio 70s lps that are under a grand brand new, I don't think their still in production but probably some out there

Yeah, I've never seen one in any of the shops around here, but if worse comes to worse, theres always guitar centeres used site.

Take your Firebird on the road man! I would never imagine touring with a second choice guitar.

Well, I know , my post does not help a lot.. sorry

Take your Firebird on the road man! I would never imagine touring with a second choice guitar.

Well, I know , my post does not help a lot.. sorry

I agree. How else will you get free ones from Gibson when you make it big?

I really want to. I haven't played a guitar I like more than my firebird yet. If I can find a good case, I might just do that! I've been wanting to find one of the 70's reissue firebirds in silverburst too. If I can find one of those before tour I'll take that, otherwise I'll probably just invest in a case. Getting a free one from Gibson would be a dream come true...
My bands CD is releasing March 1st, so hopefully I'll have something to show you guys then!

Yeah +1 to bringing the Firebird.

To be honest, when I see a band playing a Squier or Epiphone or some other such second level guitar, I immediately dismiss them. Not very open-minded on my part, but I guarantee I'm not the only one.

That's funny. I'm the same way. I've only seen a few instances when I've actually liked it, and it sounded great... I think I felt like I just maybe had enough self confidence to make it work.. Not going to lie though, the 4-500 for a Epi Firebird VII is a lot easier to swallow than anywhere between 2-5 grand for a Gibson! haha.

You have to find a second guitar that you like to play almost as much as you enjoy playing the firebird. I've seen very good guitarist tour with epiphones, but when talking to them the selection process was extensive. My second guitar is an old Yamaha SGB200, which was designed for Santana back when he played a Yamaha. Great player. They go on e-bay for about $300. Dropped some Sheptones in it because I love the way it plays and it deserved better electronics. I would be very hesitant to take my favorite (and most valuable) guitar on the road. I would feel that way if I had a firebird. Don't get a road guitar just to have a road guitar. It should be a guitar you would not want to lose, but not as much as you would not want to lose the firebird.

Nice! I'll have to check that out just to see what it is! Yeah, this brings me back to getting the 70's reissue one. My dad and I were going to order one until I found out it didn't come with a case, so we ordered the Firebird V instead. Both played nicely. That way with the silverburst (maybe I'll settle for something else, I see a black one on the used GC site right now) it'll still be very similar, but not as close to my heart as the firebird I currently have. I'll love both though! The only reason I'm so protective over the V is because it's probably the closest thing to having an instrument being handed down to my by a family member. My kids are going to be so dang lucky.

[Vertikal]

Good evening, Zach.

If you don't want to spend too much, not worry about if it'd get worn or damaged etc. you probably won't go wrong with a Squier, especially the latest models, they're really nice instruments apart from the Tremolo systems. Failing that, Gibson do some wonderful Guitars (USA Made too) for a price not much more expensive than, (can I say a "Top Squier"?, I think so...), maybe even the same price, say an SG which go for around £450+ in some places, in the UK at least.

I play a black Fender Telecaster Classic Series '72 Deluxe (ain't that just the longest name for a Guitar, takes ages to type), great Guitar, solid as a rock. Only let me down once and even then that was down to me breaking a string, my bad. I've got a Cherry(ish) Red, White Squier Stratocaster (1988) that I sometimes take as a backup, and was my very first Guitar, & it's a very good instrument, never let me down, reliable, sounds very nice, although the Tremolo system is cr*p, it's good enough for what is expected of it. I've had a lot of compliments for my playing while using this little work horse.

It's no match for my Tele or 7 String Ibanez, and it's far from the greatest instrument, but I wouldn't part with it for the world. It's been a good mate and it's taught me a lot, especially when I first started playing.

[Karloff]

check out Gibsons 2014 Melody Maker. mahoghany body, 50's neck profile, 2 P90's. less than $600

[Vertikal]

check out Gibsons 2014 Melody Maker. mahoghany body, 50's neck profile, 2 P90's. less than $600

Indeed! Gibson '14 models do look very nice, much better than '13. However, I really don't like the 120 Years Anniversary Inlay.

[Randy Bass]

Yeah +1 to bringing the Firebird.

To be honest, when I see a band playing a Squier or Epiphone or some other such second level guitar, I immediately dismiss them. Not very open-minded on my part, but I guarantee I'm not the only one.

Didn't Oasis use Epiphones?

[Thinline_slim]

Take your Firebird on the road man! I would never imagine touring with a second choice guitar.

Well, I know , my post does not help a lot.. sorry

That's my vote too.

Instead of putting the money into a new guitar I'd put it into insuring all the stuff (Firebird included) that you're taking on the road. Then if something happens to the Firebird you're covered.

[Zachohh]

Good evening, Zach.

If you don't want to spend too much, not worry about if it'd get worn or damaged etc. you probably won't go wrong with a Squier, especially the latest models, they're really nice instruments apart from the Tremolo systems. Failing that, Gibson do some wonderful Guitars (USA Made too) for a price not much more expensive than, (can I say a "Top Squier"?, I think so...), maybe even the same price, say an SG which go for around £450+ in some places, in the UK at least.

I play a black Fender Telecaster Classic Series '72 Deluxe (ain't that just the longest name for a Guitar, takes ages to type), great Guitar, solid as a rock. Only let me down once and even then that was down to me breaking a string, my bad. I've got a Cherry(ish) Red, White Squier Stratocaster (1988) that I sometimes take as a backup, and was my very first Guitar, & it's a very good instrument, never let me down, reliable, sounds very nice, although the Tremolo system is cr*p, it's good enough for what is expected of it. I've had a lot of compliments for my playing while using this little work horse.

It's no match for my Tele or 7 String Ibanez, and it's far from the greatest instrument, but I wouldn't part with it for the world. It's been a good mate and it's taught me a lot, especially when I first started playing.

Yeah, I've seen some of those new squiers. Played one that looked like a tele deluxe and it was pretty nice.. That may have been one of the classic vibes. Sounds like a nice tele! And i wish I still had my first squier strat. That went a long time ago.
I'll look into it though if I decide against the firebird!

check out Gibsons 2014 Melody Maker. mahoghany body, 50's neck profile, 2 P90's. less than $600

check out Gibsons 2014 Melody Maker. mahoghany body, 50's neck profile, 2 P90's. less than $600

Indeed! Gibson '14 models do look very nice, much better than '13. However, I really don't like the 120 Years Anniversary Inlay.

I'll have to take a look at these too. They sound cool, but I can imagine I probably wouldn't like that inlay either...

Yeah +1 to bringing the Firebird.

To be honest, when I see a band playing a Squier or Epiphone or some other such second level guitar, I immediately dismiss them. Not very open-minded on my part, but I guarantee I'm not the only one.

Didn't Oasis use Epiphones?

Can't remember. I suppose any kind of endorsement would be pretty sweet. Be it Epi, Or Gibson... Or... well, anything. =P

Take your Firebird on the road man! I would never imagine touring with a second choice guitar.

Well, I know , my post does not help a lot.. sorry

That's my vote too.

Instead of putting the money into a new guitar I'd put it into insuring all the stuff (Firebird included) that you're taking on the road. Then if something happens to the Firebird you're covered.

That's a good idea. I'm just not sure where I'd start as far as insurance goes for my guitar.

[jace1]

Insurance does sound like a good idea. I've also wondered about insuring my gear. How many of you guys have your gear insured and how did you go about it?

[joeminer]

If not married buy new guitars while you still can. If married, love your current guitars (as well as your wife )

[billyclg]

My last band toured an insane amount. Like...100 days in 6 months kind of insane. We hesitated to take our nice guitars on the road, particularly the other guitarist as he has some extreme sentimental value in his les paul. In the end, though, we decided that guitars are meant to be played. Battle scars are a something to be proud of, not dreaded. They show that you put in the work. Get a good case and get musicians insurance so that your instrument could be replaced should the worst case scenario come into play, but just take the guitar out on the road and don't be a ninny about it.

[Thinline_slim]

There are a couple of musical instrument insurers out there. I've been using MusicPro insurance for a number of years (haven't had a claim yet thankfully) and there's another called Heritage insurance. MusicPro was a little more expensive but I ended up going with them since Herritage will not insure anything traveling in a trailer. They both have websites you can get a quote on. I can set the recoverable amounts with MusicPro and it's really pretty cheap.

I went this route because if you make money playing most homeowners insurance policies won't cover your instruments as they're considered "work tools" and would need a supplemental policy. I make enough money gigging/teaching etc every year that I claim all of it as income AND get to deduct all of my gear purchases as expenses or capital investments with depreciation.