difference in thunderbirds

[schwartzbass]

i have had 5 thunderbirds in my life time. I had two early nineties versions and they both seemed to have the vintage
entwhistle growl and slim necks but I couldn't stand the look of the black hardware. I had a non reverse version for a while but it had been refinished and it didn't sound anything like a thunderbird to me. I even had a 2011 for a while and it didn't sound as good as my old ones. I now have an early nineties orville and I love the look. It has the growl but it seems overdriven and the neck is wider and fatter. My question is should I get a 76-79 gibson version? I know with all the money i have wasted in buying and selling i could have easily had one, but I never have and i just wonder if they sound that much better or should i be happy with my orville?
thanks,
martin

 

[TBird1958]

I have 3 '76s, I really them a lot, but they are each quite different from one another. The '70s era pickups are a sidewinder design found only on those years, they are very inconsistant in output, I had one that read 3.2k and another at 13K. Of my three, one is absolutely magical in tone, the other two, less so. Most Thunderbird purists consider the '70s era re issue to be the weakest because of the pickups, nowhere near as growly and hot as the '60s design ( a very flat twin coil) So if you do get a '76 you might want to be able to return it. I also own an Orville, the build quality on mine is top notch and it's neck is pretty much identical to my '70s Gibsons - and they're definately different than my post '88 Gibsons. The Orville pickups are hot, you might try lowering them a bit.
Personally, I like my Orville a lot, certainly it's every bit a Thunderbird and in some ways much better than a '70s Gibson.


One of my '76s, refinned.

 

[schwartzbass]

ok, thanks for the response. I was actually thinking of asking you directly.