Fenders are another story as we all know but getting a "cheat" in a Gibson can save you thousands. I also prefer having a guitar like the Burny that I don't worry about than the equal $5000 over-priced custom shop Gibson. But close enough and better than any off the rack one that I have seen since the 60's. As I said before, I have owned some serious vintage Gibsons and this is not on that level. No it is not nitro but a very nice finish. Same finish, I think lemon drop it is called that I have. Pickups can be another story though mine are stock and fine.
![burny guitar catalog burny guitar catalog](https://www.vintagejapanguitars.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Fernandes-Burny-Catalog-2009_vol2-pdf-image.jpg)
I'm betting big time that you will be stunned how good it is, at least as an instrument. As I said before, it is unfortunate that so few people have a clue out there and are shelling out big bucks for vastly inferior "Gibson style" instruments. Looks to be a real nice rosewood board and first rate mahogany. Make sure you report back especially as it looks to be the exact same quality as mine. I saw the thread(a zombie it turns out) and geez, there I am in it, no surprise. If that is the case, then this Burny is very likely one of the Mitaka Firebirds.Way to go Guitarman. According to the blog, Mitaka Musical Instruments custom ordered about ten of these from Burny. Unfortunately there were no details as to its specifications, but it does look like they were made together. It’s a model that doesn’t appear in any catalog and was very likely a limited run, custom order done by one of the Japanese music stores. I happened to stumble onto a Japanese blog dedicated to the Firebirds and it shows a Burny Firebird VII from the early 90’s that looks just like this one. This Burny made Firebird VII is a great find and built to a very high specification. Pickups have a unique voicing, making for some great tones.
![burny guitar catalog burny guitar catalog](https://www.vintagejapanguitars.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Fernandes-Burny-2012-cat.jpg)
Hardware is finished in gold and the guitar has its original case, which in a nod to the optional Gibson Flawless Case, is black with a yellow interior.Ī worthy effort inspired by the original. Pickups are triple mini humbucker, switching is the same as the original (N, M&B, B) and it has a Deluxe Maestro Vibrola with engraved Burny cover. It has a set neck, made from one piece of mahogany, rather than laminated through neck, but it is mounted into a beautiful one piece mahogany body. It has the correct reverse headstock with Banjo style tuners and an ebony fretboard with block markers made from mother of pearl. So back to the Burny, which was made in March of 1990 and appears all original. By June of 1965 Gibson had come up with new revised Firebird models that were much less costly to produce. Firebirds started production in Late October or early November 1963 and ended in 1965. These were expensive and complicated guitars for Gibson to produce, so it wasn't long before they changed them. Gibson offered an optional Faultless Case for the Firebird, black with a yellow lining. Hardware was nickel plated on all models, except the VII which was gold-plated.Īt the time, the Firebird VII was the most expensive single neck solid body Gibson sold. The V and VII came with a Deluxe Gibson Maestro Vibrola featuring an engraved cover. All models came with newly designed mini-humbuckers, I with a single, III and V with two and the VII with three pickups. Fret markers were dot on the I and II, crown on the V and block on the VII. On the Firebird I, III and V, the fretboard was rosewood with pearloid markers, while the VII was made with an ebony fretboard and mother of pearl markers. Headstock was a unique reverse style with banjo style tuners. Through neck ran the length of the body, with mahogany wings attached to the wide center section.
![burny guitar catalog burny guitar catalog](https://www.hotroxuk.com/media/catalog/product/cache/22a235cd5003bb1f417f229113fa2d78/r/l/rlc_85jp.jpg)
![burny guitar catalog burny guitar catalog](http://www.oldguitar.jp/catalog/fernandes/burny13.jpg)
The guitar featured a through neck design, with the neck being five piece, using mahogany and maple. To get an entirely new and innovative design, Gibson hired Ray Dietrich, who was a famous designer of automobiles, whose firm had done work for Lincoln, Packard, Duesenberg and Ford. In 1963 Gibson introduced a new guitar model line, the Firebird which came in four versions, the Firebird I, III, V and VII. Before I get into the details of this guitar, its worth going over a bit of history on the original Gibson model it is based on. Fernandes also owns Burny, a brand for Gibson replicas. As the company grew it expanded production to include electric guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers, and accessories to become one of the biggest guitar manufacturers in Japan. It’s a model that doesn’t appear in any catalog and was very likely a limited run, custom order done by one of the Japanese music stores. Fernandes Guitars is a Japaneseguitar and accessory manufacturer, that originated in 1969, building flamenco guitars. This Burny made Firebird VII is a great find and built to a very high specification.