During the 1960s, Gibson made several different versions of its Firebird electric guitar design as it vied to master the offset’s recipe, and a transitional build from the heart of that period is making a return as the Firebird Platypus.
In recent years, Gibson has frequently dipped into its archive to bring new and forgotten designs to the fore. The Theodore, a sketch made by former President Ted McCarty in 1957 and finally realized in 2022, proves that, while its Superstrat experiments and the Victory, from the same era, have been recently revived.
The Firebird Platypus continues that trend curiously. After the Gibson Les Paul had dominated the '50s, Fender clawed back momentum as the next decade began, leaving its fierce rival to look for a new design to challenge the Stratocaster and Telecaster. Its Explorer and Flying V designs were initial attempts at that, before McCarty hired car designer Ray Dietrich to ensure that three times was the charm, and he set to work adding curves to the Explorer's template.
It was Gibson's first neck-through design, with reverse headstocks and banjo-style tuners, key features of the early designs. The Platypus was the first radical step away from that aesthetic, marrying a reverse body with a non-reverse headstock for the first time, and the headstock was much flatter than its holly veneer siblings and featured six-in-line tuners for the first time. Thus, it proved a vital stepping stone to the Firebird design that, six decades on, remains hugely popular.
It takes its name from the bill-like visage of its headstock and was launched in 1965. Yet, while most Firebird designs can ultimately fall under "reverse" and "non-reverse" categories — its body shape was contorted into both varieties during this period — the Platypus draws from both equally.
The reverse-style body features the raised center section on top, a staple of Firebirds for many, but it also has the classic Gibson set-neck construction like the non-reverse iterations.
The newly reissued build features a mahogany, glued-in set neck and the appearance of a traditional neck-through Reverse Firebird body, but with some select, modern-minded tweaks.
The Platypus-style headstock, for one, has been “slightly modified to provide a straight string pull for less friction and improved tuning stability,” while a SlimTaper neck with a 12-inch radius has been employed for a more effortless playability.
Elsewhere, there’s a rosewood fingerboard with 22 frets and Acrylic Trapezoid inlays, an aluminum Nashville Tune-o-matic bridge, Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners, and a white three-ply pickguard with the Firebird's iconic crest hot-stamped onto it.
There's no hint of modernity from its pickups, though, as Gibson goes for historical accuracy with its Firebird Mini humbuckers. Equipped with Alnico 5 magnets, the Platypus delivers a “bell-like chime when played clean, and great rock and blues tones when pushed,” and plenty of articulation to boot. Each pickup gets a dedicated volume and tone dial, and there's also a three-way pickup switch.
For Gibson’s master luthier Jim DeCola, the humbuckers are central to the guitar’s resurrection.
“The pickups utilize black mounting rings topped off with the traditional chrome trim rings for classic sound, looks, and improved performance,” he explains. “Mounting rings under the trim rings keep the pickups parallel to the strings to provide improved output and balance. We feel the new Firebird Platypus has the ‘best of’ Firebird features, aesthetics, sound, and playability.”
“We had discontinued the Firebird at Gibson USA for a few years,” adds Mat Koehler, vice president of product. “When we brought it back, we wanted to do it in a way that we’ve never done before – at least not since 1965. To me, that’s my favorite incarnation of the Firebird because you’ve got the tuners on the top side.”
Tobacco Sunburst, Ebony and Vintage Cherry colorways are all on offer and are priced at $2,499 apiece.
Head to Gibson to learn more.
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