I cant stand the Thunderbird. I cant play comfortable finger style or slap. Definitely not a bass for me.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
epiphone thunderbird hate?
- Thread starter sirspoogesalot
- Start date
Sirspoog-
I have an Epiphone Thunderbird and while it's not my primary instrument, it is a well made bass with it's own unique voice. (Part of my 60's catalog) You'll definately want to play it a little bit if you haven't already done so. And give it a good long test because it's ergonomics take some getting use to. Might alter your slap/pop technique. But they do look pretty cool....and what a sound.
I have an Epiphone Thunderbird and while it's not my primary instrument, it is a well made bass with it's own unique voice. (Part of my 60's catalog) You'll definately want to play it a little bit if you haven't already done so. And give it a good long test because it's ergonomics take some getting use to. Might alter your slap/pop technique. But they do look pretty cool....and what a sound.
i posted this pic once before and im going to post it again.... and this is to show how much neck dive gets eliminated once the strap lock is removed... my 7 year old cousin...
ok well this thread is now starting to get very tbird "hateful", so let me just add my 2 cents in here:
1000 comments from 800 threads say " garbage guitar", and worst p.o.s ever made....crappy pups, neckdive devil
WHATEVER
I can accept that 100%, but comparing the Epi to a Gibson is like comparing a Fender to a Squier. lets see how many people take offense to someone saying Squier sucks, all it is is a cheap joke compared to a REAL Fender.
to me the Epi's ALL OF THEM not just the birds, are just a cheap knockoff of the real thing, the same as any SX Squier or anything else that resembles the real deal.
thats the sad thing. you get "ohh ohh I just bought a squier for 300 bucks it is the greatest thing I ever bought, and now I must add 300.00 more into it before I can play it because the pickups suck, and warmoth sells a better neck.
so I ask thse people the same thing...then why did you buy it in the first place instead of the "real deal"?
throw another neck and pickups in the EpiBird, and you get the same result, a cheap toy that you now have more money invested in it than it will ever be worth.
1000 comments from 800 threads say " garbage guitar", and worst p.o.s ever made....crappy pups, neckdive devil
WHATEVER
I can accept that 100%, but comparing the Epi to a Gibson is like comparing a Fender to a Squier. lets see how many people take offense to someone saying Squier sucks, all it is is a cheap joke compared to a REAL Fender.
to me the Epi's ALL OF THEM not just the birds, are just a cheap knockoff of the real thing, the same as any SX Squier or anything else that resembles the real deal.
thats the sad thing. you get "ohh ohh I just bought a squier for 300 bucks it is the greatest thing I ever bought, and now I must add 300.00 more into it before I can play it because the pickups suck, and warmoth sells a better neck.
so I ask thse people the same thing...then why did you buy it in the first place instead of the "real deal"?
throw another neck and pickups in the EpiBird, and you get the same result, a cheap toy that you now have more money invested in it than it will ever be worth.
i dont think neckdive is an issue anybody should ever bring up, because its turned into such a big deal.... its a quick and free fix that takes 5 mintues......
and as for pick ups... listen to how thick this thing sounds...
Link Removed
and as for pick ups... listen to how thick this thing sounds...
Link Removed
how do you mean grind?
whos to say everybody is looking to hit anything higher then the 17th fret?
are you playing JAZZ on a tbird that it is necessary to do so?
are you playing in a symphony with sheet music on a tbird that requires 17th to 21 fret access?
are you playing "showboat" solos so intense that you do not have another bass specifically meant for upper fret access...?
why would you need to pay past the 12th fret, let alone the 17th fret for anything the tbird was made famous for?
OR: did you just want to start a one-way argument about what types of music the tbird is good for....if so start another thread.
i got my thunber bird the other day and as soon as i plugged it in i loved it!!
love the sound, the feel of the neck and the body. as for cheap, i think the overall finish of the beast is lovely! fair enough neck dive was a little bad on it but i sorted it in about 5 to 10 minutes with a drill and just moved the strap lock.
i wouldn't advise it for someone who wants to play a slap style, but i play with my fingers sometimes and mostly with a pick. the sound i can muster up is way more powerful than my other basses.
but in all fairness, its like marmite, either love it or hate it.
\m/....
....\m/
love the sound, the feel of the neck and the body. as for cheap, i think the overall finish of the beast is lovely! fair enough neck dive was a little bad on it but i sorted it in about 5 to 10 minutes with a drill and just moved the strap lock.
i wouldn't advise it for someone who wants to play a slap style, but i play with my fingers sometimes and mostly with a pick. the sound i can muster up is way more powerful than my other basses.
but in all fairness, its like marmite, either love it or hate it.
\m/....
....\m/
Gave them a fair chance and I can't say I was a fan. For straight pick-driven rock it's great, almost as good as a Stingray, but for jazz it's horrible, IMO. That and the thing's too bloody heavy. The neck dive has been addressed, but it's just a heavy bass in general.
The two main factors are "do you like its tone" and "will it work for [your] music?" If the answer to both of these questions is "yes," then I say get it. However, I'd say you save up and get the Gibson instead; I have more faith in their electronics than I do Epiphone's.
The two main factors are "do you like its tone" and "will it work for [your] music?" If the answer to both of these questions is "yes," then I say get it. However, I'd say you save up and get the Gibson instead; I have more faith in their electronics than I do Epiphone's.
I have one that I plink around on from time to time, I definitely like it better than the MiM fenders. It's a one trick pony and only does it sort of well, but we're not talking about a $1000 bass here. For an entry level bass it looks cool, sounds decent and doesn't play horribly. It's certainly better than the first bass I had.
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
I don't have a t-bird but I do have a couple of Fender-birds ... They both suffered from neck dive. I found a straplok extension on the internet. It looked like a simple piece of hardware so I reverse engineered it and installed it on both of my Fenderbirds.
i owned one before my gibson - 'ethel' - in comparison to my gibson it was no where near the same. in comparison to the gibson studio thunderbird its a bit closer.
neck dive is only a problem if you like complaining about things, the amount of people that go on about neck dive like its the end of the world is just depressing, you just have to hold it. its not a massive problem.
On an epiphone your not going to play funk on it, it doesnt really work tonally.
my epiphone sounded pretty good but it was beat up, had a lot of mid, had powerful bottom end and a bit of crisp at the top. but there was alot to improve on.
they look good.
they differ alot between each one.
if you can save up for a gibson, there so much better. if you really want one then get one but you can get em cheaper than £200 on ebay. just wait and watch, i got mine for £100, but as i say it was beat.
neck dive is only a problem if you like complaining about things, the amount of people that go on about neck dive like its the end of the world is just depressing, you just have to hold it. its not a massive problem.
On an epiphone your not going to play funk on it, it doesnt really work tonally.
my epiphone sounded pretty good but it was beat up, had a lot of mid, had powerful bottom end and a bit of crisp at the top. but there was alot to improve on.
they look good.
they differ alot between each one.
if you can save up for a gibson, there so much better. if you really want one then get one but you can get em cheaper than £200 on ebay. just wait and watch, i got mine for £100, but as i say it was beat.
what a stupid, and insignificant comment to the thread?! plenty of young musicians can do this.
were talking about thunderbirds and epi's.
While many talk about neck dive, my issue is the weird position it occupies. If you pull it up, where I normally put a bass, the first few frets are WAY to the left. If you sling the body low, there will some learning in order to accomodate for the awkward position that you now wear your bass in.
This is an issue with any t-bird due to where the upper horn extends to, dive or no dive. Unless it's the non-reverse t-bird, which might be a little better, but i am a reverse guy all the way!
This is an issue with any t-bird due to where the upper horn extends to, dive or no dive. Unless it's the non-reverse t-bird, which might be a little better, but i am a reverse guy all the way!
I've picked them up in stores a few times, and my observation is that they sound wonderful through some amps (for example a GK 1001RB w/ 4x10 cab), and horrible through others (solid-state ampeg w/ 1x15 cab). Really, i've never encountered another instrument that was SO dependent on the amp.
