Gibson unveils Firebird X
(mtebaldi | Posted 2010-10-28)
With the symbolic smashing of a SG guitar, Gibson Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz made room for the future earlier today in NYC. A crowd of 150 people including press, eager fans, and artists gathered at the famous Hard Rock Café to see (and hear) what Gibson has been hyping for the last few days as a revolution to the music industry. And what did they unveil? To sum it up, just plug your ¼ inch cable directly from your guitar to your amp and have a world of audio effects and voices. The Firebird X, the latest guitar release from this legendary guitar maker.
By jumping on the technological digital audio revolution train, Gibson is bringing their world-renowned quality and tradition of guitar making to the table and revolutionizing it to meet the needs of the modern musician, offering them effective audio crafting tools right at their fingertips. Coming with three humbucker pickups, the Firebird X features an array of built-in sound processing effects such as distortions, flange, tremolo, delay, EQ and even looping, everything right from inside its body. It also comes with 50 presets so you can experience the power of these built in effects right off the bat with minimal effort. The beauty is that the Firebird X will come with software for you to further craft your own sounds on your computer, save and dump them right back in the guitar. All the settings are also pre-programmable for further control during a performance. Ableton 8 Live and Guitar Rig 4 will also come as part of the package.
One of the most talked features during the event was the auto-tuning knob that enables the player to easily tune the whole guitar to a different key in matter of seconds. The Firebird X also features a wireless Bluetooth pedal for further effect settings control, which can become crucial, or certainly handy, during a live performance. And to run all this onboard sound processing, the Firebird X only requires to be powered by a simple rechargeable battery that lasts for about 4 hours of playing. As long as you are not trying to beat a world record for longest live jam with this guitar that is probably more than enough time.
A culmination of 15 years of work, the Gibson Firebird X Limited Edition (1,800 units were made) will hit 400 selected stores across the country this December for a price of $5,500 each.
For more information about Gibson Guitars, please visit www.gibson.com
