Presented for your consideration is a vintage 1965 Gibson non reverse Firebird VII with a lyle tailpiece.  We bought this guitar from a retired studio musician and it has been used on quite a few recordings.  It's clear that the guitar has been refurbished at some point.  We have had our luther go through it at great expense to make absolutely certain that it is on the straight and narrow and, given the age of this guitar, safe.  It has a lyle tailpiece (and does have an OEM whammy bar that is not in the photos because the pulled the guitar out of its case for photos and forgot to put it on!) but also has threads for a stop tailpiece.  The pick guard is not original, and it has grover tuning keys which are not original but, frankly, hold the strings in tune considerably better than the stock tuning keys.  We're pretty sure that the finish is not original, but it certainly is a beautiful color and beautifully aged.  It has its original ebony fretboard. Best of all, there is no evidence of any neck damage which most Firebirds of this age suffer from because their necks are so thin.  Since it is not all original, we have priced it at a steep discount from an original.Gibson has reissued non reverse Firebirds and they are considerably cheaper than this guitar.  That being said, there are five reasons to buy this guitar instead of a reissue. - even if the reissue is a Gibson Custom Shop guitar.  First, the neck is considerably thinner and therefore considerably faster.  Second, it has three pickups instead of two and has a greater tonal range than the reissues.  Third, the wood of this guitar was procured well before environmental and import regulations restricted the kind and quality of wood Gibson could import.  Unlike the reissues, this guitar is made of vintage mahogany which gives it a much richer sound than a reissue.  Fourth, this guitar was made in Gibson's Kalamazoo, Michigan plant before its ownership changed hands to a conglomerate.  Accordingly, it does not have any of the quality issues that conglomerate produced Gibsons unfortunately had.  (Gibson is again an independent company, and we love their Custom Shop guitars these days.)  Finally, this guitar will appreciate in value unlike a mass produced reissue.This guitar is a player.  It is scorching hot on some settings and chimes like a vintage stratocaster on others.  It is a very easy guitar to play given the thin neck.  We also like the lyle tailpiece, which is an original Gibson tailpiece (not a repo), but all you would need to do to convert it to a stop tailpiece is to unscrew the lyle tailpiece and screw the stop tailpiece in~!  (Vintage lyle tailpieces go for $350-$500, so if you wanted to recoup part of the cost of this guitar you could).Free professional packing and shipping in the continental United States by UPS ground at buyer's cost.  Unfortunately, we cannot legally ship this guitar overseas because of the wood used to make it!  If you live overseas, you'll have to come over to pick it up or have us ship it to a continental United States address.  We will NOT falsify any Customs documents, so don't ask.  Insurance, which we highly recommend since shipping is at your risk, is extra and will be charged at cost.Thank you for reviewing our solicitation.  Please feel free to contact us with any questions.  We will be glad to take and send you additional photographs.