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Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged

Ibanez JEM77P

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Playability

75

Sound

72

Build

74

Value

59

Score

74

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Playability

73

Sound

81

Build

59

Value

66

Score

71

FIND IT ON:

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Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged vs Ibanez JEM77P

Price History Comparison

Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged Prices

• New from $7,599 >>
• New from $7,799 >>
• Used from $6,749 >>

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Ibanez JEM77P Prices

• New from $1,599 >>
• New from $1,599.99 >>
• New from $1,599.99 >>
• New from $1,599.99 >>
• New from $1,599.99 >>
• Used from $1,295.99 >>
• Used from $1,295.99 >>

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Which One is Better Overall?

After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged is probably the better product overall with its final score of 74 compared to the Ibanez JEM77P's 71 score, although not by a lot.

The Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged wins when it comes to playability, build quality. On the other hand, the Ibanez JEM77P has the upper hand when it comes to sound, value for the money.

If you got small hands, none of these instruments will make a big difference when it comes to comfortability.

Which One is Better for Beginners?

If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged is the better choice.

The Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged meets 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Ibanez JEM77P meets only 3. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.

Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.

Sound Quality Comparison

The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.

Woods Used in the Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged

Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.

Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.

Woods Used in the Ibanez JEM77P

Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.

Basswood is a lightweight type of wood that isn't as expensive as other popular choices for guitar building. It gives more power to the mid-range frequencies. Its color can vary from pale white to light brown. Find out more about Basswood.

Winner: Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged.

Pickup Configuration

The Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged has an HH configuration while the Ibanez JEM77P has HSH pickups.

Double Humbucker (HH) is the choice for people who want a fuller, more round sound with tons of mids and lows. Humbuckers also get rid of the hum noise that plague single-coil pickups. They can work out for almost any genre going from Djent to even Jazz.

On the other hand, HSH is a versatile pickup configuration that will give you the high output, full tone, and quiet sound of humbucker pickups, but with the possibility of using a single coil for cleaner tones. The disadvantage is that the middle single-coil pickup will have a noticeable lower volume, so you might want to adjust the height of the pickups. Another problem is that if you set the middle pickup too high, it might interfere with your picking hand.

Pickups Quality

Both come with very good pickups from at least one of the specialized brands in the market. With pickups like these, you probably won't need an upgrade anytime soon.

However, the Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged has a slight sound quality advantage when taking into account other factors like the type of pickups, magnet, position, etc.

We found the same or similar pickups to the Ibanez JEM77P's online:

Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.

Winner: Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged.

Versatility Comparison

Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.

Switch Options

The Ibanez JEM77P gives you 5 switch options while the Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged gives you 3. This means that the Ibanez JEM77P gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve

Neither of them come with some kind of coil split or pickup mod option. This makes both lacking in terms of versatility.

When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.

Winner: Ibanez JEM77P.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Build Quality Comparison

When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged compares to the Ibanez JEM77P.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged is built in United States while the Ibanez JEM77P is made in Indonesia.

The United States is considered one of the best electric guitar manufacturers in the world. A guitar made in this country is supposed to have world-class quality control. Nowadays, guitars made in other countries can beat some of the ones made in the US, but most of the time, this country offers the best you can get. Of course, that comes at a price.

Indonesia is becoming the most popular country for guitar building because they can make good instruments for a low price. Some people think that they're 'the new China' when it comes to build quality. But the truth is that Indonesian guitars are more consistent, although Chinese quality has improved a lot in the last few years.

Winner: Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged

Nut Material

If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.

The Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged has a Nylon nut. It used to be one of the highest quality materials for nuts (and still is), but it's rare to find nowadays because it's hard to work with. It's a very resistant material with very low friction, so it will keep the guitar in tune and will last for a long time

On the other hand, the Ibanez JEM77P comes with a Locking nut. Instead of a regular nut, this guitar has a locking system that will lock down the strings at the nut, preventing it from getting out of tune. It removes one of the disadvantages of tremolo bridges, tune stability.

Winner: Tie.

Fret Material

Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.

Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.

Winner: Tie.

Bridge

The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.

The Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged's brige is a Tremolo. Tremolo bridges give you more versatility than fixed bridges. They let you perform the intense vibrato effects that would be impossible with a fixed bridge. However, since the bridge floats and there's less contact with the body, the strings lose sustain slightly faster. They can also be a bit harder to restring and set up correctly than fixed bridges.

On the other hand, the Ibanez JEM77P's is a Edge Zero II. This is a cheaper version of Ibanez's Edge Zero bridges. It comes with the same locking stud bolts that lock down into the body and provide better stabilization, and with easier adjustment of the springs without having to remove the backplate thanks to a thumb-screw. However, the intonation in this cheaper version will require additional work.

Edge Zero IIs that come with the ZPS3 Zero Point system have two extra springs that help return the tremolo to the neutral position faster. These bridges offer tons of versatility, but they also require more work than simpler tremolos to set up.

Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.

Winner: Ibanez JEM77P.

Tuners

Both come with regular tuners. The Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged's are Deluxe Banjo Tuners while the Ibanez JEM77P's are Ibanez

Winner: Tie.

Neck Joint

Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.

The Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged has a Neck-Through neck joint. This neck is a lot more resistant and lets builders give the neck joint a more comfortable shape for soloing at the upper frets. The disadvantage is that they're more expensive and that if you damage your neck, you can't simply replace it like with bolt-on necks.

On the other hand, the Ibanez JEM77P comes with Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.

Winner: Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged.

Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:

Final Build Quality Scores

Playability Comparison

Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.

Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.

Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Ibanez JEM77P has the wider nut with 43mm (1.693'') vs 42.9mm (1.688''). This is a 0.1mm (0.0050000000000001'') difference

This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Ibanez JEM77P, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.

Scale Length

The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.

The Ibanez JEM77P has the longest scale: 25.5". The Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged is only 24.75" long. This is a 0.75'' (19.1mm) scale length difference.

This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.

This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.

Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).

Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.

Neck Profile

No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.

In this case, both have different neck shapes:

The Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged has a C type of neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.

The Ibanez JEM77P, on the other hand, has a Wizard neck. This is thinner than most C-type necks. It won't get in your way if you want to play fast solos. It's not as slim as 'Super Wizard' necks, so it might fit you better if you don't like ultra-thin necks.

Fretboard Radius

Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.

In this case, the Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Ibanez JEM77P's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the Ibanez JEM77P.

Still, both tend to favor soloing over chords, so if you're looking for a guitar for playing rhythm, you might want something else with a radius closer to a Stratocaster's 9.5''.

Hand Size Comfortability

Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.

After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both in this comparison favor small hands .

Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged:

Ibanez JEM77P:

Fret Size

The Ibanez JEM77P has Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V With Maestro Vibrola Ultra Light Aged's Medium Jumbo frets.

Some people prefer taller frets because they result in more sustain since the strings get pressed cleanly without interference from the fretboard. However, if they're too tall—like Jumbo frets—, you might change the pitch of the strings accidentally if you press too hard because you won't be touching the fretboard with your fingers. This is also why some guitarists with a heavy grip prefer smaller frets. They like to feel the fingerboard to avoid pressing down too hard and getting out of pitch.

Final Playability Scores