Gaskell Firestarter (lefty Firebird) 2008 - 2012, 2023

The Gaskell FIRESTARTER is inspired by a guitar that many still call "The original Rock guitar." For 50 years that guitar was never offered as a production left handed guitar. It wasn't until 2010 that Gibson finally released a left handed Firebird, calling it the "70's Tribute" model. However, they didn't even make it properly! Theirs was a slab body guitar with a bolt-on neck! That is not a Firebird! Real Firebirds have three-piece bodies. Firebirds are not Telecasters!

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I introduced the Gaskell FIRESTARTER in 2008. At that time left handed Firebirds were impossible to get elsewhere. No other guitar brand made them either.

 

The Gaskell FIRESTARTER was always built with the proper three-piece body. The first models were made with mahogany bodies and maple necks as per the 1970s originals. Eventually they were all mahogany and came standard with full-sized humbucker pickups, different from the originals. Instead of banjo tuners, the Firestarter uses standard tuners. 

 

From 2012 I discontinued factory manufacturing and the FIRESTARTER became an individual Custom Shop build only, 100% made in Australia.

 

After an absence of 11 years, in 2023 I experimented with factory guitars again, whereby guitars were built at a factory and finished here at Custom Shop in Australia. Although we sold quite a few in 2023 the venture ended up being not viable and I have discontinued these "hybrid" builds. I do have some leftover Firestarters but once they are sold there will be no more.