Gibson basses. When Burt calls.

[A9X]

Yep. Because they make great basses.

I'll respectfully disagree.

If the Tbird wasn't awesome people wouldn't be copying it still.

Sounds fine, but the ergonomics are awful, to me at least.

 

[ajkula66]

Sounds fine, but the ergonomics are awful, to me at least.

Well, one could always buy a Bass IV for a ThunderBird sound without the Bird ergonomics......that's what I've done anyway.

As for the thread topic...Gibson will do what they have done over the 65+ years of building bass guitars - and under 4 different ownerships - which is to treat them as an afterthought 80% of the time and spend next to nothing on marketing them.

While I'd like to see another run of short-scale Birds, I'm not holding my breath. For everything else, I'm good with my current stable of old Gibsons.

I wish the entire Gibson workforce well, but am not expecting any groundbreaking decisions from the management when it comes to basses.

My $0.02 only...

 

[A9X]

Well, one could always buy a Bass IV for a ThunderBird sound without the Bird ergonomics

I'd never seen that bass before, but it certainly looks like I'd enjoy playing that more than the TBird.

 

[ajkula66]

I'd never seen that bass before, but it certainly looks like I'd enjoy playing that more than the TBird.

They were only made for about 18 months (late '86 to early '88) and vast majority of bass players are completely unaware of them. A great bass if you can live with the headstock design which is...peculiar, shall we say.

I own both the IV and the V - which is the 5-string version - and consider them to be one of Gibson's finer moments when it comes to bass guitars. Obviously, YMMV.

 

[A9X]

They were only made for about 18 months (late '86 to early '88) and vast majority of bass players are completely unaware of them.

That explains it, and I bet there are no more than a couple on the entire continent, but a lot of basses never made it here except as a private import.

A great bass if you can live with the headstock design which is...peculiar, shall we say.

I like that much better than the TBird 4IL headstock.

 

[KaraQ]

....
Sounds fine, but the ergonomics are awful, to me at least.

Personally, I prefer the Thunderbird ergonomics to any others I've tried; I just find them so much more comfortable to play



But, I also like the three-point bridge, so grain-of-salt, personal opinion, we're all built & sized a bit different, etc.

 

[A9X]

^^ Sure, I agree.

 

[jamro217]

Like this one?
View attachment 4325124

This is the one I want...
View attachment 4325125

Are those the kits from China? I've never seen an authentic Gibson model like either of them.

 

[MAJOR METAL]

 

[lug]

Gibson Releases Thunderbird Short Scale Bass

Holy cow! Never heard of them before!

 

[sleddogn]

yeah those shorty birds are super rare, i know of a few others here daily searching for one...wish they would do them again

 

[TBird1958]

As someone that knows and follows Gibson basses it continually surprises me at how little most people that post about them know....wow.
Want to know about Gibson basses? Start here: https://www.thegibsonbassbook.com/

Written by our fellow TBer @Basvarken, it's a great reference with pictures of at least 80 different Gibson basses.

 

[droo46]

Ok, I read through every post and I can't believe no one has said this: Ditch the awful 3 point bridge and replace them with the Hipshot equivalent. There's no way Gibson is going to do half of what people are suggesting, but I think doing a minor quality of life update to their existing basses would be a perfectly reasonable ask. Tradition be damned, put a decent bridge on your basses!

 

[Goatrope]

As someone that knows and follows Gibson basses it continually surprises me at how little most people that post about them know....wow.
Want to know about Gibson basses? Start here: https://www.thegibsonbassbook.com/

Written by our fellow TBer @Basvarken, it's a great reference with pictures of at least 80 different Gibson basses.

Truth. I didn’t even chime in because I figured too many folks are stuck at “Gibson makes basses?”

I know only a little, but man, some folks are missing out, big time.

 

[ajkula66]

Are those the kits from China? I've never seen an authentic Gibson model like either of them.

No.

The top picture is the EB-750, a rare and fairly expensive model from the early '90s. The lower one *should* be EB-650, the less expensive version.

Here's an old Reverb listing for the EB-750, expect to pay *at least* twice as much nowadays

Super Rare 1992 Gibson EB-750 Bass | BW shop | Reverb

And another one for the EB-650

1992 Gibson EB-650 Gloss Wine Red | BW shop | Reverb

 

[cdef]

Howzabout a fanned-fret (multiscale) 5-string Victory Artist, with Nordstrand Big Singles? And available in Pelham Blue?

 

[DDXdesign]

yeah those shorty birds are super rare, i know of a few others here daily searching for one...wish they would do them again

Yep. I lucked out and ended up buying my former one back from the guy I sold it to on Reverb! I lived on the east coast when I sold it and the guy is in Arizona - and now, I live close enough to AZ that I went and picked it up in person. This thing has been rode hard and put away wet (from even before I owned it the first time), but it still sounds the business, and plays pretty well too even if it needs a little TLC.

 

[DDXdesign]

After thinking more, I think a new EB-2D would be nice, too.

 

[KaraQ]

..... Ditch the awful 3 point bridge and replace them with the Hipshot equivalent. There's no way Gibson is going to do half of what people are suggesting, but I think doing a minor quality of life update to their existing basses would be a perfectly reasonable ask. Tradition be damned, put a decent bridge on your basses!

I honestly don't understand this sentiment - I see it often here on TB, and other places.


Why do people hate the 3-point so much?

I can see disliking it, or it's not your cup-o-tea; and, if someone likes to incessantly adjust string-height, or likes some unique string-height adjustments that don't follow the fretboard radius, definitely not the best choice - but outright hate, that I see so often? Why?



Izzit perfect?
No.
Could it use some revisions/modernization?
Maybe?


But, I think it's a much better design than nearly (aka, almost) all factory & aftermarket bridges.



If someone could help me understand why so many people despise it, that would be great!

None of the arguments I've heard thus far are very convincing....
(other than the string-height thing mentioned above, and that really shouldn't warrant hatred....)

 

[TBird1958]

Yep. I lucked out and ended up buying my former one back from the guy I sold it to on Reverb! I lived on the east coast when I sold it and the guy is in Arizona - and now, I live close enough to AZ that I went and picked it up in person. This thing has been rode hard and put away wet (from even before I owned it the first time), but it still sounds the business, and plays pretty well too even if it needs a little TLC.

You might come by the Thunderbird Club and post this, you still have #770.