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Epiphone thunderbird Slap,

A

anonymous278347457

Feb 12, 2005
1,833
4
#1
Im considering getting a epiphone thunderbird, i mainly play heavy metal and rock but i want to do a bit of slapping. ive played the bass at a shop but because of my poor slapping skills i didnt slap it that much(yes call me paranoid but when i hit the string with my thumb the guys at the shop turned around. :p)
Can someone who is good at slapping tell me if they think its good or not?

Thanks,


Joe
 
#3
I thin it's a horrible bass, but if it lends itself to anything, it's being played with a pick and being buried in the mix with the drums...

It doesn't sit or hang right for slapping, and tonally it's not bright enough.

For me anyway ;)
 
#7
marcusalan said:
Do you have any other instruments in mind :smug: ?
Click to expand...

well im stuck between a yamaha rbx374 and a thunderbird(i started a thread a while back). but now i still cant decide after playing both of them.......but i think the yamaha feels nicer but the epiphone feels really big and powerful. im just wondering why ive never seen any bands use the rbx374(is it because it is cheap?) but ive seen lots of people use the Gibson thunderbird(which is why i saw the epiphone in the first place.)
i think im swaying towards the yamaha because i can get it for about 180 gbp and the thunderbird is 230gbp
 
#8
thedonutman said:
well im stuck between a yamaha rbx374 and a thunderbird(i started a thread a while back). but now i still cant decide after playing both of them.......but i think the yamaha feels nicer but the epiphone feels really big and powerful. im just wondering why ive never seen any bands use the rbx374(is it because it is cheap?) but ive seen lots of people use the Gibson thunderbird(which is why i saw the epiphone in the first place.)
i think im swaying towards the yamaha because i can get it for about 180 gbp and the thunderbird is 230gbp
Click to expand...

Yamaha is a good route to go. They make pretty reliable (of course they're not going to be the greatest quality, but in terms of what you'd pay they hold up really, really well) instruments. As far as not seeing them in as much use... they really don't have the same aesthetic as the Thunderbird in a live setting so if you'd factor in the fact that they're not as stylish that could be a reason.

Another way you could go is to hunt down a solid used bass on Ebay.
 
#9
marcusalan said:
Yamaha is a good route to go. They make pretty reliable (of course they're not going to be the greatest quality, but in terms of what you'd pay they hold up really, really well) instruments. As far as not seeing them in as much use... they really don't have the same aesthetic as the Thunderbird in a live setting so if you'd factor in the fact that they're not as stylish that could be a reason.

Another way you could go is to hunt down a solid used bass on Ebay.
Click to expand...
I saw 2 thunderbirds go for 155pounds, are basses things that are likely to break? Like buying computer parts off ebay would be a bad idea because they can easily be faulty.
 
#10
I've heard that T-bird pickups and hardware are causes of lots of headaches. As far as complete crapping out... I doubt it, but the pots could go bad. I had an Epiphone SG that literally had bad pots about a month after I had gotten it.

Also, the T-bird is said to be really neck-divey. That is to say that it does not balance well on a strap at all.

I've had great experiences with Ebay, personally... I guess it all depends. I've been lucky so far.
 
#12
Bizzarley, when I played a real thunderbird, I gave it a cheeky little slap and I didn't find it to be as bad as I expected. It was certainly very different to the other bass I had down, a Streamer Stage 1 which I was doing my best Stuart Zender impersonation on. It's not really a slap bass though as has already been said. I think you could do a lot better for the money (for a real thunderbird that is), I think the thunderbird is an image bass more than anything else. It just sounded a bit odd when slapped, the action was also very high which made it hard. It wasn't that bad sounding but then I tweaked the settings like mad and had a Trace GP12 SMX half stack which I tweaked endlessly too. So I wouldn't really recommend it for slapping, it's just not a well rounded bass.
 
#13
I hear that the Tokai and Orville by Gibson copies all eat the Epiphone in sound and quality. The Epiphone isn't a bad bass though. I havent heard of the pup crapping out or anything. But Tbirds werent designed for slap, they are a tad bit too bassy, but with some eq-ing I think you could get atleast a decent slap sound out of it.

I own a '91 Gibson Thunderbird and I dont have a very bassy sound, I roll off the neck pup and some bass on my amp to get my sound, which is growly/punchy.
 
#15
I'll say what I said in the other guys thread:

Take it from someone who owns one, my Epi t-bird is amazing compared to my MIM p-bass. Each note is clear and punchy and unlike what many say, it is a very versatile bass. I dont know why people think you can get more sounds out of a p-bass, they dont know what there talking about.
Its made a lot better than the Fender, no sharp frets sticking out or cheap wood.
If you have any questions just ask.

p.s. the neck dive shouldnt even be an issue since its so easy to fix

p.s.s. I however dont slap.
 
#17
I don't know about the epi, but IMHO my Gibson smokes every other bass that I've owned. I don't slap much, but when I do, the T-bird sounds pretty good. I would suggest that you try out as many basses as possible, regardless of price, just to get an idea of what each sounds like. Obviously an epi bird isn't going to be built as well, and it may not sound as good as a $3000 boutique instrument, but at least you'll know what you like about them, and try to find something that comes as close as possible. Btw, I know alot of people say that T-birds are only good for rock. Maybe this is due to their distinct shape, but IME, I've found that they are very veritile instruments capable of many tonal options.
 

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