Epiphone Thunderbird Vintage Pro vs Classic Pro

[Spidey2112]

Thank you. "Snappy" and "Aggressive" are definitely words I'd use to describe the tone I'm looking for. From what I've heard online, the Classic sounds a bit darker. Not quite as "hairy." I know these are all subjective terms, but I think we're in the ballpark.

I'd swear these are the same adjectives used to describe an angry Sasquatch...

 

[blacktocomm]

"Dukeorock" summed it up this way:
". . . I have spent a fair amount of time with the Embassy Pro (supposedly the same #760 pickups as the VP Bird) and I have two Gibson’s from the 2,000’s (supposedly the same pickups as the Epi Classic Pro). The Gibson pickups are more muscular and dark (not in a bad way) and the #760’s are a little more open and snappy. That’s about the best I can do and some might even disagree with that little contribution."

I have an Embassy Pro with the Thunderbucker pickups and owned an Epi Tbird a few years back. I think Dukeorock pretty much summed it up. The Thunderbuckers aren't quite as dark and have an airy clarity. They sound great with a little dirt.

 

[Dadagoboi]

I have an Embassy Pro with the Thunderbucker pickups and owned an Epi Tbird a few years back. I think Dukeorock pretty much summed it up. The Thunderbuckers aren't quite as dark and have an airy clarity. They sound great with a little dirt.

The pickups in the Embassy Pro are ProBuckers.

ThunderBuckers™ are custom wound in the USA by Steve Soar of ThunderBucker Ranch. There is definitely a difference between the two when it comes to clarity and transparency.

ThunderBucker/ProBucker Shootout.

Same player, same bass, same strings, same recording technique.



1 & 3 ThunderBuckers™

 

[dukeorock]

The pickups in the Embassy Pro are ProBuckers.

ThunderBuckers™ are custom wound in the USA by Steve Soar of ThunderBucker Ranch. There is definitely a difference between the two when it comes to clarity and transparency.

ThunderBucker/ProBucker Shootout.

Same player, same bass, same strings, same recording technique.



1 & 3 ThunderBuckers™

I think the poster confused #760’s for Thunderbuckers

 

[BurnOut]

Growing up watching my older brother playing Thunderbird's for the first 20+ years of my life. I'm not a big fan of the 3 point bridge, his always had more of a fender high mass looking bridge. Please excuse my lack of knowing the proper Gibson name for it. I definitely like the bridge on the Vintage Pro, just looks classier I think. The 3 points look cheap to me, and I've heard a lot of people saying they had to go Babicz to be happy with em.
That's sorta why I picked my Jackson KellyBird over the Epi's I was looking at, the bridge reminded me of the bridge I grew up with, plus it's a sweet mashup of other cool things, like monster EMG's, 3 band eq, and maple fretboard with block inlays.
My 2 cents and sorta plug for Jackson.
Peace N Chicken Grease

 

[blacktocomm]

I think the poster confused #760’s for Thunderbuckers

That I did. I was definitely talking about the Epiphone Probuckers.

 

[Dadagoboi]

That I did. I was definitely talking about the Epiphone Probuckers.

I thought you might be, just wanted to clear things up. The sound difference is subtle but it's there IMO. Dial in some dirt, add a pedal or two and who could tell.

The VP is a helluva bass!

 

[blacktocomm]

I thought you might be, just wanted to clear things up. The sound difference is subtle but it's there IMO. Dial in some dirt, add a pedal or two and who could tell.

The VP is a helluva bass!

Going by the clips you posted, the Thunderbuckers have a richer, fuller sound to my ears. Very cool to hear a direct a/b comparison. It's posts like that that makes TB such a great resource.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I'm running mine through a dirty Orange and Ged 2112 so that helps alot but it still is better sounding to me than my previous Gibsons were.
View attachment 2868630

On a side bar, I’m going to assume you are using the Ric-O-Sound out which IMO is one of the best Bass sounds of all time. Maybe not a classic Entwhistle sound, but dang, does it rock. All I know is back in the 70’s I sure attracted a lot of bassists using a rig like that.

 

[byoung93888]

On a side bar, I’m going to assume you are using the Ric-O-Sound out which IMO is one of the best Bass sounds of all time. Maybe not a classic Entwhistle sound, but dang, does it rock. All I know is back in the 70’s I sure attracted a lot of bassists using a rig like that.

I do use Ric O Sound on my standard 4003 models. The one in the pic a 4001V63 doesn't have that feature, its mono only. But yes it sounds glorious!

 

[jacoby75]

Growing up watching my older brother playing Thunderbird's for the first 20+ years of my life. I'm not a big fan of the 3 point bridge, his always had more of a fender high mass looking bridge. Please excuse my lack of knowing the proper Gibson name for it. I definitely like the bridge on the Vintage Pro, just looks classier I think. The 3 points look cheap to me, and I've heard a lot of people saying they had to go Babicz to be happy with em.
That's sorta why I picked my Jackson KellyBird over the Epi's I was looking at, the bridge reminded me of the bridge I grew up with, plus it's a sweet mashup of other cool things, like monster EMG's, 3 band eq, and maple fretboard with block inlays.

I have considered a KellyBird, and might still consider one. But it's a different animal. I typically prefer the vintage, passive, woody sound (which is vague and subjective to describe) over the more modern EMG/Active preamp sound.

 

[jacoby75]

But there is something incredibly sexy about block inlays. That alone might be worth the price of admission.

 

[BurnOut]

I have considered a KellyBird, and might still consider one. But it's a different animal. I typically prefer the vintage, passive, woody sound (which is vague and subjective to describe) over the more modern EMG/Active preamp sound.

I can understand that, I was searching for a Thunderbird and the KellyBird appeared. Since my brother played Tbirds for years and I play with and for many of the same people, the KellyBird was a cool way to pay tribute to him, but be me.

 

[jacoby75]

It would be much appreciated if someone who actually has both an Epiphone Classic T-Bird and a Vintage Pro, or a standard Gibson t-Bird and a Vintage Pro, could post a video or soundclip with recordings of the two for the sake of comparison. Even if all other things aren't equal (strings, amp, recording technique, etc.). I'm about to have the money to actually buy one when a bass I'm selling ends on Ebay, and I'm still agonizing over which one to try. I'm leaning towards a classic at this point, only because it's a little cheaper (and more readily available used), and I think the darker tone might suit me better in church, if I ever actually play it there, than the more open tone of the Vintage. But I do love the look of the Vintage so much better, and the whole point is I wanted that 60's tone of The Who and other classic rock bands, which the Vintage supposed more accurately approximates.

 

[jacoby75]

Plus (and I'm basing this on next to nothing), I'm thinking the darker tone of the classic would be a "more different" sound than the Vintage to add to my bass line up right now, which consists of a rosewood P, maple J and a USA Cirrus. Which is how I'm going to attempt to justify the purchase to my wife. : ) I can approximate Entwistle a little bit (in tone alone, not playing style - dear lord) on my Lakland Jazz with a maple fretboard by playing a little more violently than I otherwise would, with a more downward plucking technique.

 

[Dadagoboi]

I can approximate Entwistle a little bit (in tone alone, not playing style - dear lord) on my Lakland Jazz with a maple fretboard by playing a little more violently than I otherwise would, with a more downward plucking technique.

ThunderBuckers™

 

[jacoby75]

ThunderBuckers™

Thanks. I have actually seen that video before, and it's a big part of why I almost bought a Cataldo, but I could never get the money together. Sounds pretty killer.

Isn't the point of the Thunderbuckers that they more approximate the classic Thunderbird pickups, or would they supposedly more approximate what to expect from the 760 pickups on the Vintage Pro?

 

[jacoby75]

This is largely what I have been trying to base my comparison on:

 

[JJR58]

I have a Classic Pro, originally had the TB's in it which were great, but i got such a deal on the bass, i put some used Lollars in. Really came to life.

 

[jacoby75]

Ooh! Shiny! I wonder how a Lollar compares to the 760 pickups. I would imagine better, or just different?