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epiphone arctic thunderbird

Indiana Mike

Indiana Mike

Nov 18, 2005
3,049
3,883
#1
I have searched high and low.
Can anyone point me to any pricing info on a epiphone arctic white "custom shop " thunderbird. ( Asian made , ? bolt on neck? )

Whats a fair price for one in 8/10 shape??

Any answers are appreciated, beside the ones telling me to use the search function:rolleyes: :D

I have searched for at least an hour and only find euro info that really doesn't help me.
 
#5
tplyons said:
Custom shop? Epiphone? Don't think so.

Epiphone Elite maybe?
Click to expand...

It has a sticker , embossment ,whatever on the back of the neck saying it is a epiphone custom shop limited , it IS made in korea. Bolt on neck .sounds and plays really nice. I remember seeing one here but it could have been a year ago .
 
#6
(damn beaten to the post hehe) no the arctic white is classed as a custom shop as its a limited color (it has a little decal on the back with epiphone custom), i would say only get it if you MUST have white as the new colors are out (there is a thread not too dead further down the list avout them) and supposedly better pickups (NO probs with the epi stocks in my standard tho).

you WILL be paying for the paint if you want a white one tho but if all else fails just get a standard they are the same bass.
 
#7
I do believe the bass is an "elitist" but as you said limited or ??? . It does say custom shop on the back.

It's in decent shape and I'm going to put a ding or a dozen in it anyway.

Opinon, would I be better off to pass, save a little cash and pick up one of the latest (epiphone) Tbirds or would an elitest be a better bass??
 
#11
I had one. They are alittle different than the current epi thunderbirds. They have different pickups and I think the woods are different. They seem to sell for about $500 used on ebay because they were discontinued awhile ago. Good bass, wish I hadn't gotten rid of mine.
 
#12
If you are talking about the Epiphone Elitist Thunderbird they are no longer made. They were made in Japan and took over from Orville who made Gibson guitars and basses under license. There was also another make called "Orville by Gibson" which was made in Japan but used US hardware and pickups. These are said to be better quality than US Gibsons and the QC control was a lot stricter in Japan. I have an Orville by Gibson Thunderbird and it sounds fantastic. I used to have an Epiphone Thunderbird and the two don't compare. The Orville is thru neck, all mahogany whereas the Epi is Alder with a maple neck.

My Orville...

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#14
yeah the gothic is the only current 'epiphone' model to feature different woods, the review in one of the mags i had about a year ago said the wood on the white was the same as epi stock T birds (i will imagine its alder or poplar with bolt on maple neck), i would go for one of the new ones given that you will be getting a brand new bass to ding up yourself,
and supposed improvements to the model plus that cool blue finish hehe
 
#16
Thanks for the replies and I have decided to pass, It sits at my local CG and they won't come down . They kept saying " It's a custom shop " line in my face and I sat there confused and in a state of denial , unwilling to buy that line.

They are so proud of it they won't budge.



It is an elitest yes , this I know now for sure, but I still think it's priced a little high . I don't want to be in it upside down if I decided to sell. I have played them in stores and love them but have never owned one or had one for any lenght of time . I am strangely attracted to them.



Thanks for pointing me to MF truckin , I think after Xmas I am gong to snag one of those instead
 
#17
I'm almost sure it's NOT an Elitist. The only thing "custom shop" about the bass, was the sticker, and the fact it was a limited color. Besides that, its a regular ole Epi Bird. I think MF blew em out for around $379 when they had 'em.
 
#19
Floating teetH said:
*totally wants a thunderbird
Click to expand...


Yes you are correct, I'm not ready to drop 16 bills for a Gibson at the moment or 10.5 bills for the studio.Not at least until I can get my hands on something similar and try it for awhile.

Anybody want to trade a Reverend 5L for thunderbird??????

cheezewiz I'm almost sure it's NOT an Elitist. The only thing "custom shop" about the bass, was the sticker, and the fact it was a limited color. Besides that, its a regular ole Epi Bird. I think MF blew em out for around $379 when they had 'em.
Click to expand...


I think you are correct sir, The more I research I do makes me feel we have a winner for identifying this bass, thank you.
 
#20
$399 new, bass of the month sometime ago. Looks great and is the same as the plain Epiphone...just a different color. Here are my clones:Brice & Epi
WhiteTBs02.jpg


Here's the sticker on mine that the music store is pushing so hard.....
EpiWtb03.jpg


There's one on eB now with a nice hunk of paint missing on the bottom:
http://cgi.ebay.com/EPIPHONE-THUNDE...oryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
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