The Byrdland, introduced in 1955, was the first in Gibson’s Thinline series to be brought to market although there have been indications that there may have been earlier factory prototypes constructed. The idea behind the guitar was to give guitarists a smaller, lighter, less bulky hollow body guitar than Gibson’s flagship hollow body archtop, the L-5. The specs called for a body depth of 2 1/4 inches, considerably thinner than the L-5’s 3 3/8 inch girth. During the design process, the two jazz guitarists decided that a shorter scale would also be useful since it would allow fingerings that would be more difficult for most guitarists on a longer scale guitar.

The Byrdland entered production in 1955 and remained in the regular Gibson line-up until 1969. After that, it appeared in limited production runs in 1977, 1978 and 1992. There were also custom made versions made in off production years and, since the guitar didn’t usually sell too well due to the high price and specialized nature, it wasn’t unusual for them to hang on a guitar shop’s wall for years. In 1976, a 12 string model was made available to 20 lucky purchasers. Recently, the Byrdland has been available as part of Gibson’s Custom Series so the instrument at a very substantial price tag of $10,471.

The early models, from 1955 through 1958, used a single coil Alnico pickup. This was switched to the new Gibson PAF humbucker in 1958. All years featured separate tone and volume controls with the typical Gibson 500K pots. A three position toggle switch is used to activate either or both pickups.

The body style of the Byrdland varied over the years. The original version, made between 1955 and 1960, had a single Venetian cutaway. This cutaway is rounded. During the 1960’s production runs the Florentine cutaway was used which comes to a sharp point. The most common body colors were a sunburst or natural finish although a wine/burgundy and ebony colors are sometimes seen in production runs. There are rarely seen custom colors and refinishes said to be out there though.

The short scale, 23 1/2 inch, neck is made of five-piece curly maple and has a 22 fret ebony fretboard with pearl block inlays. The neck joins body at the 14th fret and has an adjustable truss rod. In the hardware department, the Byrdland features an adjustable Tune-O-Matic bridge and standard Gibson tuning pegs.

Beyond the two inventors, the Gibson Byrdland was regularly played by John McLaughlin and the guitar was a regular member of many country and jazz studio musician’s arsenal. However, the Byrdland is most associated with rocker Ted Nugent who used the guitar extensively, and often suggestively, in his acts. The Nuge is said to have liked how easy the guitar was to play during is very physical sets and continues to use it today.

A vintage Gibson Byrdland can fetch well over $10K, depending on the condition and originality of the parts. Newer production runs may go for less but they’re still quite pricey. While the Gibson ES-350T was originally intended as a low cost alternative to the Byrdland, it’s reissues have been standard scale, not short scale. Also, the Byrdland or a close match to it hasn’t been issued by Epiphone as an inexpensive choice for the budget minded guitarist.

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2. Fender Jag-Stang

The Fender Jag-Stang, as the name implies, is a blending of the Fender Jaguar and Fender Mustang electric guitars. The idea for the guitar came from Kurt Cobain, lead singer and guitarist for Nirvana. Cobain presented his idea to Fender and they created two prototypes, one in Sonic Blue and the other in Fiesta Red, in their custom shop for him. Both of these guitars were left-handed and were built by Larry L. Brooks, a Custom Shop Master Builder at the time. However, only one of these guitars was ever played by Cobain due to his suicide in April 1994.

Since the Jag-Stang never got past the prototype stage before his death, there are many details about the guitar that are sort of unfinished. Cobain was said to have been dissatisfied with some aspects of the guitar.  He did use the Sonic Blue guitar occasionally on the  In Utero tour. The Fiesta Red one had been completed and was ready to be delivered to him at the time of his death. The guitar went into production at the Fender Japan facility and had two production run periods where guitars were imported to the US from 1995 through 2001 and 2003-2005.  I’ve heard that it is still possible to purchase the Jag-Stang  in Japan but I’ve not been able to confirm this.

Fender promoted the Jag-Stang as blending old and new features into a “radical new Fender guitar.” To achieve a new look, the guitar’s basswood body mixes the curves and horns of the two parent guitar to create a new, but not entirely foreign, look.

Electronically, Fender went with a Texas Special single coil pickup in the neck position and a DiMarzio H-3 humbucker in the bridge position, both at a slant, for the prototypes. There was also a master volume and tone knob and a pickup on/off switch for each pickup as well as a phase switching feature. The slant positioning causes some subtle variations in tone as compared to a perpendicular pickup placement. The DiMarzio H-3 is a custom pickup made exclusively for Fender and not available for separate purchase although the DiMarzio Evolution pickup has a very similar sound and specs. On the production guitar, the pickups are cheaper copies of the pickups, not the Texas Special or H-3. It is recommended that you upgrade these pickups for the best sound.

The bridge was the somewhat troublesome Mustang style Fender Dynamic Vibrato. Some people have reported more problems with this than with the original Mustang bridge. Given that the stock, vintage, style tuning gears don’t do well with a trem, this isn’t surprising, especially for aggressive punk and alternative players.

The 24 inch scale neck was copied from Cobain’s own Mustang’s neck. The neck is quite thin feeling and is clearly designed for punk rhythm playing, not soloing. This is a guitar intended for a singer/rhythm guitarist, especially one with smaller hands.

The legacy of the Jag-Stang is closely tied with Cobain. Courtney Love gave his Sonic Blue prototype to Peter Buck of R.E.M.. Buck used the guitar on the video for the song  What’s the Frequency, Kenneth? and has used it sometimes in live performances of their tribute song for Cobain, Let Me In. Most people who select this guitar as their main guitar are fans of Cobain although some rhythm players simply appreciate the comfortable feel of the Jag-Stang.

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