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In 1978 I traded a guild 212 for a '76 gibson bicentennial firebird. Loved that guitar- incredible sound, but lost it to our most deadly enemy- PAWN BROKERMAN- for pennies on the dollar. When I started looking for a replacement I wasn't surprised to see them at $4000 or more. Then I discovered zZounds, and even better, the slash firebird. Arrived within days,and opening the box was like Vince looking into Marcellus Wallace's briefcase. Exceptional finish- nicely setup- and banjo tuners! (always 3x more expensive than mini grovers) all for under $700. When neck dive is the worst thing you can say about it I think you've got a great guitar! I run thru a vox ad50,and mini super beatle 10" cab and it screams ( I guess a firebird would schreeeck?). If you've been hoping for a firebird you could afford go with an Epi. you will be happy with it. Zzounds has been great to deal with - ive also acquired an Epi les paul ultra 3 ( whole other wow)always been able to get good product info, advice and tech support, and the play as you pay program is fantastic- when quality instruments have become so cost prohibitive, it gives young players an avenue to enjoy great guitars, drums,etc...,that us old cobs grew up with. Kudos all around, for zZounds!

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I've been on the fence about getting this guitar since it was released last year. Finally decided to get it when zZounds dropped the price almost $300!This is my first Epi, and I gotta say that I'm pretty impressed so far. After a very close inspection right out of the box, the finish is flawless, the setup is great (action is very low but with no buzz at all), sounds awesome after a quick tuneing. The only issue, and I knew about it beforehand having played Gibson Firebirds, is the neck dive. I wasn't very keen on the banjo tuners when I've played them before, but I think that they'll grow on me over time. Also a minor issue was that this didn't even come with so much as a gig bag, let alone a HSC. Because I'm picky that way, I went ahead and ordered the Epi HSC at the same time. And again I gotta say I'm impressed with the quality of the case as well. I think it's a little odd looking with the rounded corners compared to other cases, but other than that it's just as nice as my other cases from Gibson and Fender. Being my first Epi, I've looked at reviews and posts about them and have seen both good and bad, but mostly positive with the more expensive models (like over $600-700 range). As I said earlier, I'm very impressed so far. If I took the truss rod covers off of this and a Gibson and played them side by side, I'd honestly be hard pressed to tell them apart.All this being said, this is actually my 2nd guitar of this model from zZounds. The first one arrived in 2 days (awesome!), but there were a few issues with it out of the box. First, it was obvious that it was a prior return and not factory sealed. You could see that the product box had been taped more than once. Plus once opened, you could see it had been re-packed and not factory packed. That didn't bother me too much, but the other issues did. The finish on the guitar had a ding in the upper horn of the body on the edge. Looked like it was probably done by whomever had it first. Other than that, the rest of the finish and hardware looked great. After plugging in and going through all the settings and controls, the pickup selector in the middle position didn't play both pickups. It acted more like a killswitch, which while not bad, was not how this was supposed to be set up from the factory.I contacted zZounds and they were AWESOME! I explained to them the issues and they immediately sent me a return shipping label. They also said that they would be sure to send a factory sealed replacement. Another great thing about their customer service is that once the returned guitar is scanned by UPS when I dropped it off, they released the replacement one and ship it before they received the return! Don't know of anyplace else that does that. I actually received my replacement before they received my return, how about that! As promised, my replacement was factory sealed and I'm happy to say that this one was flawless out of the box. Thank you, zZounds! I'm extremely happy with my purchase and my experience with your customer service. I will definitely shop with you again in the future and will pass on my experience to all I know who buy musical equipment.

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I've had the pleasure of buying through zZounds in the past and they don't disappoint. Shipping is fast and on time. Straight out of the box the firebird was on point, no damage or imperfections over all, she's a stunner. The guitar plays very well, it's just as good if not better than the Gibsons I've owned in the past. The neck is a beefy 59 and very comfortable in my hand, frets are slinky and smooth on the edges. The action is amazing and fingerboard is beautiful. The pick ups are kick ass, clean tones are very nice, when running dirty this guitar really shines, warm and growls. The only issue is the neck dive, it's brutal. I moved the strap behind the neck and up about 1.5 inches on the body, way better. Over all this is an amazing guitar for the price, it's definitely a keeper. I'm very happy with this purchase and Epiphone stepped it up on this one. Now for the Amos Flying V.

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Build quality and finish was equal or better than the 2015 Gibson Firebird. I love that the Strap Button is on the top horn instead of on the neck joint from the factory. I didn't have to scar it up to do so! Also came with strap locks as well. The full size humbucker pickup look a little unorthodox on a Firebird, but my eyes quickly accepted it. The pickups sound great and rolling the tone up or down really showcases the Orange cap resistors for the pickups. I love the authentic Kluson Banjo Tuners. I played it for a full gig right out of the box and it did great! Wish it came with a hard case. Love the Translucent Black finish. It holds it own very well if not better than my Gibson at half the cost.

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