In honor of Mick Rock, each Johnny Winter 1964 Firebird V guitar will come with a signed Johnny Winter print, see image above.Īmerican singer and guitarist Johnny Winter was renowned across the globe for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances. Mick provided iconic Johnny Winter photos, as well as the cover art for Winter’s Captured Live album.
From the plugged holes and removed Maestro Vibrola, to the faded Firebird logo on the pickguard, right down to the missing reflector on the rhythm tone knob, this 1964 Firebird V in Murphy Lab custom-aged Polaris White finish brings Johnny’s original 1964 Firebird V to life for a new generation of players.įor the release, Gibson teamed with legendary, late photographer Mick Rock to include key photos in the guitar package. The Johnny Winter 1964 Firebird V has been meticulously crafted for fans to experience worldwide at authorized Gibson dealers and on The Johnny Winter 1964 Firebird V isn’t just a reissue, it’s a complete replication of an iconic guitar. Only a guitar as cool as the Firebird could keep up with the rip-roaring power and lightning-fast licks of the legendary guitarist Johnny Winter. It’s not often that a guitar captures the essence of an artist, but Johnny Winter’s 1964 Firebird V perfectly matched his style and persona. Today, Gibson Custom Shop is proud to pay tribute to a true guitar hero with the release of the Johnny Winter 1964 Firebird V, based on Johnny’s personal and most well-known Firebird guitar. NASHVILLE, TN (December 9, 2021) For the past 127 years, Gibson–the iconic American instrument brand–has been synonymous with creating and shaping sound across genres of music and generations of players. Gibson Johnny Winter 1964 Firebird V info: HERE. The Wineomatic bridge features six large knurled knobs fanned out at the rear of the guitar that make it easy to tune the Lazer precisely.Photo credit: Mick Rock, ©19 by Mick Rock Johnny Winter photos: HERE, guitar photos: HERE. Unlike other headless beasts that require double ball-end strings, the clamp lets you use ordinary guitar strings. The secret to the Lazer’s compact size is an ingenious string-clamp at the end of the neck and the multi-purpose Wineomatic bridge and tuning system, both adorned with heavy-duty, industrial-strength chrome plating. Weighing in under six pounds and only 31 inches long, the Lazer features a full-sized, 25.5-inch scale, 24-fret neck, a humbucker and a single-coil pickup, master volume and master tone controls and three-position pickup selector switch. I can put the same effort into a Gibson and get back twice as much. If I pull the strings, I don’t get as much out of it as I put into it. I like the sound of a Strat, but just can’t play one. Johnny once described his main ax, the Lazer, as follows: “It’s really the closest thing I’ve found to sounding like a Strat and feeling like a Gibson. I was never a big fan of humbucking pickups, but the mini humbuckers on the Firebird have more bite and treble.” It feels like a Gibson, but it sounds closer to a Fender than most other Gibsons. “When I played it, I discovered I liked the way it sounded too. “I was initially attracted to the Firebird because I liked the way it looked,” Winter told Guitar Aficionado in early 2014. He performed the album’s stunning guitar work using a 1966 Fender Mustang, but the following year he adopted what would become his main guitar for many years: a 1963 Gibson Firebird V that he purchased in St. Winter came to the forefront of the electric blues scene in 1969 with the release of his major-label debut, Johnny Winter. But it is, of course, the guitars that will, in all likelihood, be the stars of the event. The auction is a significant trove of Winter’s personal effects, offering a rare opportunity for fans to see and purchase relics from the career of the celebrated electric blues guitarist.Other personal items include notebooks of handwritten music, a pair of purple velvet bell-bottom pants with a matching button-down jacket, a rattlesnake hat, a pink dragon kimono and, oddly, beard clippings. Zelinsky prototype, respectively-will be included in the auction. Gibson Firebirds, Erlewine Lazers and even Winter’s very first and last guitars-a ukulele and a Dean B.