Yeah, well mine was definitely made by him AT the Gibson West Coast Custom Shop.
That alone makes it unusual, as the shop wasn't there long and had a couple of name builders, headed by Roger.
I was built with 70s electronics and PUPs. I believe the finish is not a typical Gibson Thunderbird burst.
I could be wrong on this but it looks unusual to me. An odd burst for a Gibson TBird, plus it is only busted on the front, not the sides or rear.
It DOES have a Gibson SN# on the back of the headstock and a Gib Cust Shop logo. Otherwise black truss cover and pickguard w/o Gibson of TBird on them. Also, looking at it close, as you turn it slowly, you can tell it was hand finished. It is not like a typical Gib mass produced TBird.
The action is low and it plays better than other Gibson TBirds I have played, which are many.
I also have emails from the original owner and Giffin confirming he built it at the Gibson West Coast Shop for my friend. So, there is not question it is an official Gibson West Coast Custom Shop build and it was personally built by GiffIn. A third mutual friend who was a Hamer endorser and used to play with Daxx Neilsen (Cheap Trick drummer) also knows the bass and Giffin and verified all this.
I know Giffin had a sort of love/hate relationship with Gibson, like many of the famous builders who passed thru Gibson over the years (Ned Steinberger, Mike Tobias, etc.) so possibly that explains the lack of Gibson logos on the front.