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Abused Thunderbird IV from 1964 - worth anything?

Inte Basist Men

Inte Basist Men

Guest
Jan 29, 2018
2
2
#1
Hi!

My neighbour said he had a bass that has been in storage for a decade or two and he wants me to find out if its worth anything. The bass is a Thunderbird, and if the serial number is correct and if the bridge is original then its likely a 64'.

But... someone has:
1. Drilled a massive hole in it to make room for a neck humbucker
2. Installed active Alembic pickups and electronics
3. Drilled extra holes for the knobs that control the active electronics

So what do you guys think, is it from 1964?
Is it worth anything in this condition?
 

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#4
charlie monroe said:
Looks like the real deal to me.

You are supposed to be a Supporting Member for price checks, but I'll say my instinct is that this is worth more parted out than assembled.

The Alembic stuff gets a pretty penny and it seems to me anyone who would want this bass would restore it to spec, rendering the electronics unnecessary
Click to expand...
Oh, ok. I wasnt aware of that there was a rule for price checks, my bad!
 
#8
JIO said:
I'm usually not the one to condemn those who mod their basses, but there is a right and wrong way to do anything.
Click to expand...

Yeah you probably wouldn't do that today. But in 1980 that T-bird was just a used bass and nothing special. If it was done back then you would have been about as emotional and someone doing it to an Ibanez today. :D
 
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#11
Inte Basist Men said:
Hi!

is it from 1964?
Is it worth anything in this condition?
Click to expand...

Yes,
Yes, especially if the neck is unbroken. I don't think a proper restoration wouldn't be that difficult depending on what the back looks like.

For parts? $350 if the neck is broken. That's what I paid for this broken Neck Embassy a few years ago with all original parts, which are the same as a TBird.

SzxcGHV.jpg


But I didn't post it all over social media before I bought it, if you get my drift.
 
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#12
two fingers said:
Yeah you probably wouldn't do that today. But in 1980 that T-bird was just a used bass and nothing special. If it was done back then you would have been about as emotional and someone doing it to an Ibanez today. :D
Click to expand...

Most likely not, as I have a few basses now. Truth be told I also modded my '64 T-bird II in the late 80's, by adding a bridge pu. It was my only bass then (bought in '78) and I wanted more variety from it sonically. I found that Seymour Duncan made a pu called the "Hawkbucker" aimed at T-birds. I talked with the man himself on the phone and he mailed me a hand drawn diagram of how to wire it. (ah the days before the internet) I routed the cavity at the exact location where one would be on a IV, and added a pot/knob at the exact location in the control cavity. This is what I meant by doing a mod correctly. I personally could care less what anyone thinks of my decision to mod it, have never regretted doing so and continue to play it to this day. It's not that I was unaware of it having a certain 'worth' as a vintage bass then, it's that it was my bass and I wanted it to be the way I wanted it - simple as that.

My band "The Sean Conneries" at Winters Tavern here in Pacifica last September.
The Sean Conneries @ Winters Tavern 9:24:17.JPG

The pg is ebony w/abalone inlay that I did around 1980. Still have the original. It also has Scott's Badbird bridge, a brass nut (the orig from the factory was miss-cut) and a custom ebony/brass knob in the middle position. And yes, T-birds are everything people say about them - unparreled rock machines.
fullsizeoutput_c6d.jpeg
 
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#15
JIO said:
Most likely not, as I have a few basses now. Truth be told I also modded my '64 T-bird II in the late 80's, by adding a bridge pu. It was my only bass then (bought in '78) and I wanted more variety from it sonically. I found that Seymour Duncan made a pu called the "Hawkbucker" aimed at T-birds. I talked with the man himself on the phone and he mailed me a hand drawn diagram of how to wire it. (ah the days before the internet) I routed the cavity at the exact location where one would be on a IV, and added a pot/knob at the exact location in the control cavity. This is what I meant by doing a mod correctly. I personally could care less what anyone thinks of my decision to mod it, have never regretted doing so and continue to play it to this day. It's not that I was unaware of it having a certain 'worth' as a vintage bass then, it's that it was my bass and I wanted it to be the way I wanted it - simple as that.

My band "The Sean Conneries" at Winters Tavern here in Pacifica last September.
View attachment 2895114
The pg is ebony w/abalone inlay that I did around 1980. Still have the original. It also has Scott's Badbird bridge, a brass nut (the orig from the factory was miss-cut) and a custom ebony/brass knob in the middle position. And yes, T-birds are everything people say about them - unparreled rock machines.
View attachment 2895139
Click to expand...

I like mine the way they came from the factory, although I did change the p/g on my first '77 to black...in '77.

QAiEAsQ.jpg
 
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