I always loved the look of the Jackson Firebird in part because of my love for this classic Gibson design and in part because of how cool Robbin Crosby looked when he played his Jackson Firebirds. While I like the look of Jackson firebirds, I have only seen a few that have really caught my eye. Noting my preference for a single pickup, volume only layout and a flame-top body with binding, and the fact that Jackson only made a very small number of Firebirds, my chances of finding a used one was not good. In fact, besides the one I purchased I have only seen three others that I lusted for and would have loved to have been able to add to my collection. Two were custom orders by fellow Jackson collector, Dave H that featured single pickup and volume only layout, faded cherry burst finish and body binding and the other showed up on eBay after I had already purchased this one. It was a close call as nothing beats a cool Firebird except two cool Firebirds.

In late 2002, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) purchased Jackson guitars and soon after this, Jackson announced that they would no longer be offering guitars which had Gibson body styles. As a result the Jackson Firebird, Jackson Explorer and Jackson Round Horn V models were now a thing of the past This was very bad news as it meant that you could no longer custom order the Firebird shape and consequently the values of Jackson Firebirds (both used and new old stock (NOS)) increased by 400 to 500%. Firebirds that were typically selling in the $2 – 2.6k range before the news, were now selling for $4k!!!!

The good news was that Lee (GMW) had received a batch of Firebirds (the last batch produced at the Jackson factory) and this killer flamed top, single pickup, volume only beauty was in the shipment. It was love at first sight and soon after being posted for sale on GMW’s classified section she made her way to eBay with a $4200 buy it now (BIN) price tag. Ouch, that price was hard to swallow and after trying unsuccessfully to haggle with Lee I gave in and paid the ransom fee, lol. I really wanted this particular guitar since it had all the features I was looking for. In fact, if I had custom ordered a Jackson Firebird it would have been this very guitar, so I said screw it and have not regretted my decision since. Well that is not 100% true, I did slightly question my impatience when a similar Jackson Firebird appeared on eBay a few weeks after I purchased this guitar. However, I quickly got over it when I saw the sellers reserve was $3.9k and it had the Jackson style Floyd Rose tremolo. I much prefer the Firebird I purchased, so I was once again happy with my decision.

This guitar is an awesome player and while the neck profile is a little thinner than my Charvel necks, I can switch between the two profiles with ease. The only change I would make if I ordered this Firebird today, would be to request that the neck be left unfinished, that is oiled but not painted like the necks on my Charvels. Fellow Jackson fan, Ian brought over a few of his Jackson Firebirds for me to try out and I instantly fell in love with one that had an oiled versus painted neck. Other than this small preference I would not change a thing about her.

She is equipped with jumbo frets, Floyd Rose tremolo, killer flame top, reverse headstock and sports full body, neck and headstock binding. She sounds as good as she looks and despite poor timing on my part (increased pricing) I am very happy to have a Jackson Firebird in my collection.