Gibson Firebird VII JIM CARA Relic! 2011 - Heather Poly

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This is a 2011 Gibson Custom Shop Firebird VII in Heather Poly that was sent to Jim Cara in Philadelphia for one of his Road Replica relic jobs. It came back looking like a guitar that's been gigged for fifty years. In person it really does read as a vintage Firebird, not a new guitar with some scratches on it.

It's barely been played since. There's virtually no fret wear. So you get the look of a road-worn '60s bird with the frets and playability of a guitar that's hardly left the case.

Heather Poly is one of the rarest of the original Firebird custom colors, and an original in that finish is a five-figure guitar. This one gets you the look without the vintage price tag.

The Guitar

Underneath the relic job is a Gibson Custom Shop build, and you can feel it the second you pick it up. The neck-through construction runs one piece of wood from the headstock to the tail, so there's no heel joint to get in the way and the whole guitar resonates together. Strum it unplugged and you'll hear it ring.

The neck has a chunky, full profile that fills your hand. If you like something to hold onto, this is it. It feels like a vintage neck too, which fits the look.

The Firebird VII is the top of the Firebird line, with three Gibson mini-humbuckers. They're a big part of why people chase these. They sit between a single coil and a full humbucker, so you get bright, glassy chime and a lot of clarity, with more punch and output than a single coil. Chords stay clear even with some dirt on them, so you can hear every string. Into a cranked amp the bridge pickup has a raw, biting midrange that cuts through a band, and the neck pickup is round and warm for blues leads without getting muddy. With three pickups there's a wide range of sounds on tap, from jangly clean to snarling rock.

The fit and finish are what you'd expect from the Custom Shop. Everything is tight and well put together, and it plays easily.

About Jim Cara

Jim Cara runs Jim Cara, The Art of Guitars, out of the NextFab facility in Philadelphia. His shop says they've done nothing but guitars since 1979, and they only work on solid body electrics. He's best known for two things: the lighted and special-effects guitars he's built for rock players, and his Road Replica relic work.

On the effects side, Jim's lighted guitars have been used by Gene Simmons and Ace Frehley of KISS. He built the lighted "Sinner" Telecaster for John 5 (Rob Zombie, Mötley Crüe), presented it to him at the Rainbow Backyard Bash in Hollywood in 2022, and that guitar ended up on the cover of the July 2024 issue of Guitar Player. His site also lists guitars for Brad Gillis of Night Ranger, Lita Ford, Punky Meadows, and a signature Hellfire model for bluesman Joe Louis Walker.

On the relic side, he's turned out Road Replicas of guitars like SRV's Number One, Clapton's Blackie, John Mayer's Black One, and Buddy Guy's polka dot Strat, and he says he's done hundreds of them over the past 20 years. His SRV replicas got enough attention that Fender reached out to him back in 2002.

What sets his relic work apart is how much attention goes into the details most people skip. On this Firebird that means:

• Lacquer checking only in the spots where it would really happen with age
• Aging and patina matched to the actual metal on the nickel, chrome and gold parts
• Pickguard plastic and printing aged to look like a real vintage part
• Areas covered by hardware and plastic show different, lighter wear than the exposed areas, the way an old guitar actually looks when you pull the parts off

You can see this exact guitar on Jim's website here:

And more about Jim and his work at caraguitars.com.

Condition

Heavy relic finish by Jim Cara, with aged hardware throughout. Very little playing time since the work was done, with virtually no fret wear. Plays as good as it looks.

Includes

• Original Gibson hard shell case
• All the original paperwork

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