NEW! Epiphone Classic-IV PRO Thunderbirds!!

[Peepaleep]

I think the main issue was the nut. When I get a bass I set it with the same amount of neck relief as my others. Seems odd that this was the case though - I'd imagine that the nuts are cut by machine and are pretty much identical.

Whatever it was in the end that they fixed, they did a great job. This is one hell of a bass.

[vjvesa]

Here's my Classic T-Bird. I've been mostly playing with the P-Bass so I have nothing to compare. I really surprised of excellent building quality.

[wvbass]

Originally Posted by vjvesa

Here's my Classic T-Bird. I've been mostly playing with the P-Bass so I have nothing to compare. I really surprised of excellent building quality.

Love the sticker!

[TBird1958]

Originally Posted by Peepaleep

Got my T-bird back from Sweetwater a couple of weeks ago and they did a great job on the mods. They didn't have to countersink the hole at all, but they did some other tweaks to lower the string height. Great service.

Hey Joe,

I'm glad to read this, nice to read that Sweetwater took good care, but also that the bass plays better too. Congratulaions

[Peepaleep]

Originally Posted by TBird1958

Hey Joe,

I'm glad to read this, nice to read that Sweetwater took good care, but also that the bass plays better too. Congratulaions

Thanks. Yes, it certainly does play better now. I have a light touch and don't play with a pick unless the music absolutely calls for it (translated: "I suck at pick-style") so I prefer lower action than what most people play with.

What I really liked about Sweetwater's service was the way they told me that my suggested fix was not the problem (I suggested that the front hole for the bridge be drilled a bit deeper and countersunk to fit the ferrule). They explained that doing so would void the warranty and that they could get the bass to where I wanted it without having to do that. They paid shipping both ways also.

I don't buy new gear often, but when I do it will be through them because of their fantastic service.

[TBird1958]

I think our playing styles are opposites, I'm very heavy handed with a pick playing live, around the house I play fingerstyle to keep my chops up and learn, I'm not good at it ;(

[Peepaleep]

Originally Posted by TBird1958

I think our playing styles are opposites, I'm very heavy handed with a pick playing live, around the house I play fingerstyle to keep my chops up and learn, I'm not good at it ;(

You move around on stage too - I kind of stand there like a statue. I'm about as exciting to watch as a bowl of luke-warm oatmeal.

[marq1965]

Igot my classic IV last week it was a beautiful instrument and my first epiphone... I was very leary about buying epiphone. when it arrived I noticed the nut was all jacked up on the E side and I could even slide my fingernail under it and it was cut so deep my E and A strings practically layed on the first fret. The end action was high so there was no room for adjustment. This was my first experience with the Les paul style slanted neck and that through me a bit. I did like the bass very much but didnt want to settle for less than I wanted so I sent it back. now after reading all these things about the nut and the bridge issues I have cancelled my order completly. I dont know if I have been to hasty but I was feeling less than satisfied and afraid I would end up with hundreds of $ in repairs before it was even gig ready....

[wvbass]

Problems filter to the top pretty quickly on the internet...and without a real reference point. My Epi bird (both the classic and the pro) are almost as good as players as my plek'd instruments. Of course, that is without a reference point too. You might spend five minutes with them, declare them unplayable, and swear to never own an Epi again.

TB is a funny place. If you believe what you see here is a good barometer of reality, you have problems. I have played and owned a variety of low- and midrange- priced instruments. Some of them have had issues, and I am sure there is some inconsistency in the product lines, but all of them have been giggable instruments with only normal setup work.

In my experience (and it is beyond the two I mentioned), Epiphone instruments are a great bargain in terms of price v. quality, which is kind of funny coming from Gibson. Are they perfect? Of course not - you aren't paying for perfect.

[jogi68]

Googling for T-Bird pics I just came across this thread. Which is funny in a way, because I took those photos on the first page that TBird1958 reposted from Dannster. But hey - no hard feelings!

I wanted to wrestle the prototypes from Ryan´s hands at the Messe right there and then... They weren´t even on display, but Ryan - then brand manager who has moved on to Breedlove since - saw my T-Bird tattoo and got them for me. I was very happy with the vintage look the chrome hardware gave - I am not really unhappy with black. Especially on the white one I think it looks cool.

I had to wait until earlier this month to get a white T-Bird. The sunburst ones came in a little earlier and are easy to get here in Germany, but the white ones seem to come in in batches of one.
What can I say? It´s been worth the wait!

I also own a ´77 T-Bird, which is a totally different animal, and a ´91. The Epi is very similar to that one - but not a twin.
The body is just a tad different (you have to put them one on top of the other to really notice). Both pickups are a little closer to the bridge on the Epi. Also, on the Epi the bridge is located farther from the body´s edge. The end of the bridge roughly aligns with the second volume knob, whereas on the Gibson it "touches" the tone pot.

Plugged in, again they are very similar but still noticably different. My Epi has even more mids than the Gibson and sounds fuller and more aggressive at the same time, while the Gibson sounds more "woody".
Both are instantly recognizable as Thunderbirds, though, and I can´t say I prefer one over the other. Vive la difference!
I have rehearsed and gigged with the Epi and it gave me exactly what I expected - great rock-solid rock tone. And then some.

With regards to the build quality, mine was set up very well. I love my action really, really low and I was able to take it down to where I prefer it without any mods. It´s pretty much as low as the bridge can go but that´s fine with me. I had to readjust the neck a few times now, which may be the weather. Anyway, there´s no buzz, the nut is perfect and it plays like a dream.
The finish on my Epi is absolutely ok, not perfect, but there´s nothing I would really call a flaw.
The only thing I felt I had to change were the screws to adjust pickup height. Even with the right screwdriver and careful turning the head of one was ruined immediately so I swapped them for high quality screws.

So there you go - I´ll take it to rehearsal again tonight and have fun.

[SturmUndDrang]

jogi68, you say the Epi classic IV pro places the pickups closer to the bridge? That makes me think they are closer to the placement of the 60's Tbirds. This is good news to me. I have a mod in mind for this bass. I've always wanted a Tbird II with a single pickup. So I was thinking about getting one of these Epi's, stripping it down including paint, filling in the bridge pickup and vol pot, refinish the bass in a custom opaque color and replacing the neck pickup with a 60's repro and getting a hipshot bridge and other chrome hardware. What does the Talkbass community think? Is this possible to achieve without showing the wood mods?

[takeout]

Two questions, while I wait for my Classic Pro:

1. Can I replace the black pickup covers with nickel?
2. Is there a cloverleaf-style tuner that fits the smaller headstock?

[DethByDoom]

Made a new pick guard. Thoughts? I may make a solid black one.

[Mark4]

Originally Posted by DethByDoom

Made a new pick guard. Thoughts? I may make a solid black one.

Looks good. I could totally see that with a matching truss rod cover.

[PatQ]

Originally Posted by takeout

Two questions, while I wait for my Classic Pro:

1. Can I replace the black pickup covers with nickel?
2. Is there a cloverleaf-style tuner that fits the smaller headstock?

So far I've only found one chrome/nickel cover for Tbird pickups, the one you can get on eBay. We discussed that topic in a german forum and someone ordered them to find out that those have the same dimensions as the pickups itself. So you have to CAREFULLY cut down the black plastic. The electronics are glued in.

It's possible, but a little work has to be done.

[TBird1958]

Originally Posted by takeout

Two questions, while I wait for my Classic Pro:

1. Can I replace the black pickup covers with nickel?
2. Is there a cloverleaf-style tuner that fits the smaller headstock?

Mike Lull has covers correctly sized for original Gibson Thunderbird pickups, they're the correct corner radius and are available in chrome, polished nickel, raw nickel, black and gold. Using them with any plastic coated pickup involves removing the outer plastic casing, it's not difficult with the right tools, I prefer a Xuron cutter, the procees takes a little courage and about two minutes each. The pics show some polished nickel covers and pickups for a Burny Thunderbird, but the process is the same for Gibson pups, I've done them as well.





Mike Lull's polished nickel cover.

[SturmUndDrang]

Originally Posted by SturmUndDrang

I have a mod in mind for this bass. I've always wanted a Tbird II with a single pickup. So I was thinking about getting one of these Epi's, stripping it down including paint, filling in the bridge pickup and vol pot, refinish the bass in a custom opaque color and replacing the neck pickup with a 60's repro and getting a hipshot bridge and other chrome hardware. What does the Talkbass community think? Is this possible to achieve without showing the wood mods?

This isn't going to happen. Not only is it cost prohibitive but there's no way to guarantee the seems wouldn't show where I filled in the bridge pickup and other spots. Guess I'll have to keep saving for a vintage Tbird II unless Gibson decides to come out with a single pickup bird in the future but I won't hold my breath.

[1stnamebassist]

Wow that looks fantastic with the chrome hardware! But then all your basses look fantastic! I just put Elixers on mine the other day and they sound and feel fantastic! One of my favorite things about Thunderbirds is the strings seem a lot tighter than on other basses. Maybe the distance between the bridge and nut is a bit longer than on most other basses? Don't have another long scale bass to compare it to at this time, but when I had my old Epi bird and my Rick 4003 both stung with elixirs of the same gauge the strings felt floppier and looser on the Rick. All in all I think this is one of the best basses I have ever owned and I have owned quite a few since the 70's! I like it a lot better than the Rick i had and that was a fantastic bass though a bit pricy! Love to compare it to a Gibson side by side someday!

[jogi68]

Finally took the time to get out calliper and tape measure. Here are the results:

• Year 1979 / 1991 / 2013
• 1. Fret 1.5" / 1.52" / 1.51"
• 12. Fret 2.17" / 2.14" / 2.13"
• 1. Fret 0.83" / 0.84" / 0.88"
• 12. Fret 1.02" / 0.98" / 1.02"
• Scale 34.09" / 33.9" / 33.9"
• Neck-PU 6.61" / 6.73" / 5.98"
• Bridge-PU 2.8" / 2.4" / 2.2"
• Headst. 0.59" / 0.65" / 0.63"
• Body 1.14"/1.56" // 1.14"/1.6" // 1.22"/1.61"
• Middle 4.13" / 4.13" / 4.21"
• Weight 10.04lbs / 9.32lbs / 8.89lbs

Couldn´t get the format I had in word across here, I hope it´s not too confusing like this.
The ´79 (not a ´77, that was another bird I had - my mistake) and the ´91 are Gibsons, the 2013 is the Epi Classic.
First is neck width, then neck thickness. I was suprised to find the scale length on the ´79 significantly longer, I thought they were supposed to be the same.
Pickup placement was measured from the end of the scale to the middle of the pickup. They move all over the place...
Headstock thickness was taken next to the E-string tuner, body thickness at the upper bout up and behind the bridge, and behind the bridge where the strap pin is.
Just for the fun of it I also measured the width of the middle section at the bridge. I think the finish makes the difference here...
My ´79 is by far the most heavy of the bunch, the Epi the lightest.

Some of these things, like the neck´s dimensions, are hardly noticeable unless you play one bass after the other. Playing, say, the Epi one day and one of the Gibsons a couple of days later you wouldn´t go "oh, that feels totally different".
The pickup placement on the other hand certainly does play its part in the sound of the Birds. The ´79 with its series wiring and different pickups has a unique sound anyway, but as I said before, each of them is still distinctly a Thunderbird.

Picture´s not all that good, but there you go:

[1stnamebassist]

Wow! Thanks for all that! My classic come in at 9lbs 5 oz. I wish I had access to other long scale basses to check the scale length compared to the classic. I know the Rick scale length is 33 1/4, so I guess 3/4" makes a big difference in string tension!