Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 vs Gibson Firebird
Reasons to Get
Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 over Gibson Firebird
Reasons to Get
Gibson Firebird over Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7
Other Key Differences
Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 vs Gibson Firebird
Shared Features
Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 vs Gibson Firebird
Common Weaknesses
- Weight Relief
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Table of Contents
Price History Comparison
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Which One is Better Overall?
After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Gibson Firebird is probably the better product overall with its final score of 74 compared to the Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7's 73 score, although not by a lot.
The Gibson Firebird wins when it comes to build quality, value for the money. On the other hand, the Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 has the upper hand when it comes to sound.
If you got small hands, you'll probably feel that the Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 is easier to play.
Which One is Better for Beginners?
If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 is the better choice.
The Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Gibson Firebird meets only 4. 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.
New Player Friendliness
Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7- Comfortable shape
- Locking tuners
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
- Easy-to-use bridge
New Player Friendliness
Gibson Firebird- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
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.
Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 Overview
- From Jackson's 2021 Artist Signature series
- Misha Mansoor Signature
- Made in Indonesia
- 7 strings
- 26.5"'' scale
- 20" Fretboard Radius
- Basswood body
- Caramelized Maple neck
- Caramelized Maple fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Jackson Uncovered MM1 (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Jackson Uncovered MM1 (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 5-way Switch
- Evertune F7 Model bridge
- Speed Bolt-On neck
- 24 Jumbo frets
- Jackson Sealed Die-Cast Locking tuners
- Weight between 8.35lbs (3.8kgs) and 8.8lbs (4kgs)
- Compare Specs >
Gibson Firebird Overview
- From Gibson's 2019 Original Collection series
- Made in United States
- 6 strings
- 24.75"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Mahogany body
- 9-ply Mahogany/Walnut neck
- Rosewood fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Gibson Firebird Alnico V, Lead (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Gibson Firebird Alnico V, Rhythm (Humbucker/Passive)
- 2 volume and 2 tone Bell knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Aluminum Nashville Tune-O-Matic bridge
- Slim Taper Neck-Through neck
- 22 Medium Jumbo frets
- Grover Mini Rotomatics tuners
- Compare Specs >
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 Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7
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.
Woods Used in the Gibson Firebird
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.
Winner: Gibson Firebird.
Pickup Configuration
Both pickup configurations are HH. 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.
Pickups Quality
The Gibson Firebird pickups from a more specialized brand than the Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7. Its pickups should give you a fuller, richer sound, although it all depends on what type of music you're going to play. We recommend these pickups for Hard Rock and similar genres.
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 Firebird.
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 Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 gives you 5 switch options while the Gibson Firebird gives you 3. This means that the Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve
Only the Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 comes with some kind of pickup modification: Multi-Voicing.
Multi-Voicing means the pickups come with multiple ''voices'', which means they can change the tone and gain by a simple switch or knob. Piezo, Fishman and similar are considered multi-voicing pickups.
When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.
Winner: Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7.
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 Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 compares to the Gibson Firebird.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 is built in Indonesia while the Gibson Firebird is made in United States.
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.
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.
Winner: Gibson Firebird
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 Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 has a Plastic nut. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.
On the other hand, the Gibson Firebird comes with a Ivory Tusq nut. Ivory used to be considered the best material for guitar nuts due to its beauty, durability, and the rich harmonics and sustain you could get from a guitar with it. However, the way to obtain it is simply unethical. Enter TUSQ ivory nuts, which are made synthetically to imitate ivory. Technically, it's better than ivory because it is consistent piece-to-piece, while natural materials can vary a lot, even if they're made from the same.
Winner: Gibson Firebird.
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 Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7's brige is a Evertune. It will keep your guitar in tune and intonated until the next string swap. If you really like extremely subtle vibratos, this might not be the bridge for you because you won't be able to perform them as well. However, the fact that you won't need to tune your guitar is a huge advantage that many people will gladly pay the extra price for.
On the other hand, the Gibson Firebird's is a Fixed. It's a simple bridge that is very beginner-friendly since it doesn't require any set-up. You can swap strings easily. It might also give more sustain since it doesn't have complex moving parts that make the strings lose vibration. However, it doesn't have the same versatility as a tremolo bridge.
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: Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7.
Tuners
The Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 has the best tuners of the two because they are locking tuners. They'll help to keep your guitar in tune because they allow you to tune it without wrapping the strings around the posts. This avoids variations in the tuning due to the strings changing position at the post after a bend. They come at the disadvantage of being slightly heavier than regular tuners. Also, it makes it a lot easier to restring.
Winner: Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7.
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 Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 has a 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.
On the other hand, the Gibson Firebird comes with 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.
Winner: Gibson Firebird.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7
- Locking Tuners
- Multi-Voicing Pickups
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- Luminescent Inlay
- Strap Lock
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- Made in Indonesia
- No Expensive Woods
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Tremolo
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
Gibson Firebird
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Ivory Tusq Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Neck-Through Build
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Tremolo
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
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 Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 has the wider nut with 44.5mm (1.75'') vs 43mm (1.693''). This is a 1.5mm (0.057'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7, 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 Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 has the longest scale: 26.5". The Gibson Firebird is only 24.75" long. This is a 1.75'' (44.4mm) 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 Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 has a D type of neck. This is a thin and flat neck that is made for playing fast. If you prefer a neck that doesn't get in your way when soloing, this is the shape you should use. Guitarists that prefer to have a bit more grip won't like this type of neck.
The Gibson Firebird, on the other hand, has a C 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.
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 Firebird's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7'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 Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7.
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.
And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Gibson Firebird favors large hands more than the Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.
Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7:
Gibson Firebird:
Fret Size
The Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 has Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Gibson Firebird'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.
