Any Byrdland players out there?

[charliechitlins]

Not that I have any money, but I might some day!
And I've always had a soft (hard?) spot for that guitar.
I have small hands and like a short scale.
Any comments on the round vs. pointy cutaway?
Thanks in advance.

[BenderR]

... even with very small hands I find that a 25.5" scale feels better to me. BTW, the rounded, Florentine cutaway gets my vote every time.

[RHP335]

I've got a blonde '77 florintine that I dearly love. Got it new in '77 and it's been a favorite ever since. I don't have that small of hands but the scale allows some great reaches. I use flatwounds on it and it sings.

James Blood Ulmer is a Byrdland player you might want to hear if you're curious just what kind of tones you can squeeze out of a byrd.

[byrdland]

Howdy! Ahh, the Byrdland. I had one for several years, a blonde '76 with Venetian (that's the rounded one) cutaway. It was a thing of beauty. Unfortunately, I found I really didn't play it all that much and eventually sold it. I bought it from Jim Reynolds, Kansas City, at the Indiana Guitar Show.

Terry Straker, at Guitar Works, Ltd., in Evanston, IL, made a comment to me that really came true. He say, "You'll either play the Byrdland all the time and sell your other guitars, or you won't play it much, then sell it."

The short scale just wore on me after awhile -- and I don't have large hands. I actually think PRS got it right with their 25" scale, between Fender and Gibson usual scale lengths. The Byrdland is just too short ... even though Hank Garland, may he rest in peace, was an intense and wonderful player, my hunch is that most of the rest of us cannot make it work.

That said, I believe that both Russell Malone and Anthony Wilson played Byrdlands with Diana Krall. Since they are both way better than I'll ever be, maybe it was just me?

Finally, the Byrdland sounded great, but seemed especially sensitive to that mojo that happens between some guitars and amps. It was GREAT through my Princeton Reverb and I played it once through a friend's Roland JC and that was terrific. Wish I could have put it through a Twin Reverb, but never did. I believe that is what Anthony Wilson used on the Diana Krall "Paris" CD and DVD. Check it out!

[RogerGLEwis]

I like all 4 of my Gibsons very much but its the 68 Byrdland by a whisker over the others, just tone and playability and sheer gutsy balls I suppose. The 335 and les paul are awseome and the p90's on my 64 ES 330 really give that one a certain other dimension. I'm really on this forum as I am looking for a 12 string Byrdland, the 68 was my dream purchase, My friend and Bristol Guitar guru Steve Treble www.treblerock.com imported it from Texas for me.
But the 12 string is now what I covett above some of the others that would be nice to have like an L5, or an SG .
I do love those Archtops.

http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/qq338/RogerGlyndwrLewis/gearpicsjuly08002.jpg



I cut and pasted this post from the Gibson Forum where I have started a thread on Famous Byrdland Players. In the UK if one mentions the House of Commons in the House of Lords one refers to the other place, I don't know if there are such customs in the US senate and House of Representatives, and I also don't know if I am breaking with convention being both in this and the Gibson Forum. In any event heres to the en tente cordial for the future.
CHeck out the Thread over there, also I'm told the Epiphone elitist Byrdland is quite a guitar, Roger McGuinn ex Byrds plays one and seems very happy with it.:arrow:


I got my Byrdland back in July its a joy to play
Awesome tone, playability , looks, workmanship. What I'm now after is a twelve string Byrdland, they only made 20 of them but must be the last word in Playability for a twelve string, short scale, thinner neck, all that tone wow.

[indianation66]

I'm not a Byrdland player, but a Byrdland seeker...it's only a matter of time!
The Motor City Madman and Roy Clark garnished my desires...I love the "sharpness" of one cut over the other!

...wisdom

[RogerGLEwis]

I'm not a Byrdland player, but a Byrdland seeker...it's only a matter of time!
The Motor City Madman and Roy Clark garnished my desires...I love the "sharpness" of one cut over the other!

...wisdom

Good luck with your search, they truly are exceptional guitars, the short scale I think is a great practice tool for more challenging stretches, they always seem so much more achievable on my longer scale guitars once i've mastered them on the Byrdland.