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epiphone thunderbird pro

#21
yeah i was seriously tempted to sell my Jaguar to raise funds for one, but having tried an Ibanez ATK, I think i want one of those instead.
I used to have the original epiphone thunderbird, i liked it alot actually, and having spoken to Justin Meldal Johnsen on here about his Thunderbird with NOS 70's pickups and a BAII bridge, i was even more convinced that i wanted a TB again.

If i ever get a chance to try one, and its a million miles away from what i've already got, i might be tempted by these new ones.
Active electronics, through neck, cool colours - would definitely be the bird for me, although im sort of dissappointed they havent re-issued a non-reverse(is that right?) thunderbird yet. They look too cool to me, and plus the regular T-bird is such an iconic shape that I think that its almost over-popular. I used to think it was the best shape ever, and now im bored of seeing people with them.

Also i sort of agree with Sarcastro83's comment- i dont quite understand WHY they've given the TB-pro active electronics. A t-bird is a T-bird, thats why people love/hate it. Im under the impression that its the rock-machine, plug it in, turn it up and just get to work, are they making it active just coz they can?

im by no means a purist, and i do believe its due time that they've updated the model, but is it still going to sound like a t-bird?
 
#22
Stub-
I own an Epiphone Thunderbird and think that Epi's are generally good value for the $. And there's a coolness factor to the TBird.
I'd recommend playing one first if you get the chance because of the balance and ergonomics of the instrument. But they really do roar. And there's the coolness factor......
 
#26
stubarura said:
yeah they look really nice, i was holding out for a gibson but i dunno what to do now
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Well I have a Gibson Tbird & intend to check these out. The Gibson is a great bass, but we all know about the neck/headstock issues. I had a straplock let go the last time I played it out, & I about sh!t as it hit the floor head 1st. Fortunately the neck & headstock were fine, a couple of finish dings were the worst of it. But for banging around in a bar, the multi-lam neck (& considerable lower cost) of an Epi might just make me double-up on my Tbird inventory...a lot will depend on the sound, which promises to be different than the "real" Tbird. The Gibson has great passive sound. If the Epi had the same tone why would they add active electronics? So I'm a bit suspicious in that regard.

In the end, the Epi will have the tone it has...& will either be worth the investment, or it won't...more when the bass is available...
 
#27
bassplayer8953 said:
The Gibson has great passive sound. If the Epi had the same tone why would they add active electronics?
um,the epi doesnt have the same tone as the gibson.thats where your wrong,havent you ever play an epi one? well,lets put it this way,the regular epiphone thunderbirds sound NOTHING like the gibson,what so ever. if you ask me id say "why WOULD'NT they add active electronics?",they are going to make them sound miles better IMO
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#28
The natural oil and the trans-black are the berries!!! Dang, I gotta agree with the earlier comment about not being pleased with the active pickups.

...ugh, now I'm reconsidering my recent purchase of a Warwick Corvette $$ that is still under the 30 mark for returns at GC...
 
#31
infamusblkdeath said:
bassplayer8953 said:
The Gibson has great passive sound. If the Epi had the same tone why would they add active electronics?
um,the epi doesnt have the same tone as the gibson.thats where your wrong,havent you ever play an epi one? well,lets put it this way,the regular epiphone thunderbirds sound NOTHING like the gibson,what so ever. if you ask me id say "why WOULD'NT they add active electronics?",they are going to make them sound miles better IMO
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um, I never said that the Epi has the same tone as a Gibson, read my post. As the owner of "the real thing" I have never felt the need to get familiar with the bolt on almost-as-good-as. But the new Epi is much closer, from what I can tell, to the real thing, construction-wise, & is probably stronger in the neck/headstock area, which is what attracts me to the new upstart. I was wondering out loud about the electronics & the tone, not stating anything, as I have not yet seen the new bass in person, much less played it. I will predict this: it won't have the great p'ups the Gibson has. And it won't have the cheapo's that the $299 Epi has either. So, we'll see what we'll see...when it hits the stores.
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#33
Oh I just realized they are active. damn I was digging the bridge. I have a problem with active. oh well maybe I'll just steal someone's bridge when they are not looking. So whatch out when you get this. U may become my next victim
 
#35
JaySeeDoubleYou said:
I don't know, I think with as thick and dark as a T-Bird sounds, it might be the prime candidate for active. I'm very curious to know how this thing will sound. However, it might've been preferable if they added, say, a defeat toggle for the active.
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true,they should have.i think its going to sound great though.
i don't get why everyone is so flattered about it being active though.
 
#36
Flattered? I'm not sure what you mean, bro.

If you meant that they're unhappy about it, I can answer that, the purist in us sees through body neck, and the gibson style "stocky" headstock, and the original gibson style humbucker covers (epis were a little different) and we all got excited! Finally, an Epiphone (T-Bird) that's built more like a Gibson, but still priced more like an Epiphone...and then....to find out it's active, well that ruins it! What the deal, yo?

I can see both sides of the argument. I think they should have both an active, and a passive version, myself. Passive for the purists, and active for those who want to spread out the dynamics on an otherwise -awesome- bass that just happens to lack in that department. ...... or best of all ....... a model that you can toggle between passive and active! That'd be best!

God Bless!

p.s. I used to own both a MIM passive, and a MIM active J-Bass. I liked the passive better. I also had an Epi T-Bird, so I could compare passive J to T-Bird (passive T). Both had strengths and weaknesses over the other, but the J-Bass edged it out (which is why I opted for the MIA J-Bass instead of the Gibson T-Bird, though the Gibson did get some serious consideration.)

All that to say this. While I like passive J better than active J, and while I like passive J better than passive T, I fully expect that I would like active T way better than active J!

I guess we'll find out when it hits the floors!
 
#39
infamusblkdeath said:
so then you were talking about the thunderbird pro when you said epi?? sorry,i still kinda don't understand what your saying at all.
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OK, let's try this again...

I have a (90's) Gibson Tbird. I like the sound it produces.

I am not very familiar with the $299 Epi now for sale. But at 1/5th the cost of a Gibson, I would imagine that it's somewhat cheaper pickups & electronics would not match the Gibson.

I have not yet seen, nor heard the new Epi Pro. My local GC does not yet have them, nor are they for sale on MF, M123, or anywhere else I look at gear.

As the Epi Pro does not seem to be distributed yet, I (as well as others here) can only guess, at this point, as to how they will sound.

Get it? Nobody knows how they sound (yet...) because they are not yet for sale...or demo'ing. All we can do is look at the pics...& discuss what they may, or may not, sound like...
 

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