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Gibson T-bird, Jazz, or Precision?

snakesandarrows

snakesandarrows

Oct 12, 2009
134
0
#1
So i'm trying to choose my next new bass between 3 basses...

1. Vintage Fender Jazz bass

2. Vintage Fender Precision bass

3. Vintage/New Gibson Thunderbird IV

I'm 100% set on choosing one of these three, no exceptions... I know it would be hard to find a vintage Gibson T-bird (ebay, music store), so if I can't find one, I'll probably just sell out and get a new one.

I already own a vintage Rickenbacker and I've heard the new ones. Personally I think that aged wood in unsurpassable in tone, so I'm kinda applying the same principles with these basses. (plus they look so much cooler!) So I'm totally set on getting vintage basses from now on.

The sound I'm going for would switch between two sounds that I'm mostly modeling off of two different bassists. The first one, would be the Guy Berryman sound (coldplay bassist) more of a dry, clean, and organic sound with a really vintage, high-mids EQ. Like Guy's sound form the "How We Saw the World" live DVD on the song "Square One" or "Speed of Sound." Guy uses a Vintage Fender P Bass.

The second one, (modeled off of Jason Followill of Kings of Leon, mostly his live sound) a mid-concentrated, light but wet distortion. Jason uses a vintage Gibson Thunderbird IV.

Anyone have suggestions?
 
#2
Im a Fender guy and as much as i want to tell you to go that route i just dont believe in having 1 . i have a jazz and a PJ and now looking for a P. so im actually going TBird on this one. sounds like that what you really want anyway..im gassing hard for a Gibson Thunderbird Pro in zebrawood on ebay right now and its killin me
 
#4
My own preference would be towards the P-bass, as I don't particularly enjoy distortion on bass, i prefer that dry clean sound your referring too.

although I'v been told that the quality of 70's, 80's fenders was a bit inconsistent and I'd hate to get one that wasn't as good as someone else's.
 
#13
Well of course I'd say get a Thunderbird, '76s are around 2K and IMO sound great. Or find a resonable used post '88 and put some Lull pickups in for less than that - and you have '60s vintage Thunderbird tone in bass you can take out anywhere.
I don't follow vintage Fenders at all so I don't know what that kind of $$$ would buy for you.
 
#15
TBird1958 said:
Well of course I'd say get a Thunderbird, '76s are around 2K and IMO sound great. Or find a resonable used post '88 and put some Lull pickups in for less than that - and you have '60s vintage Thunderbird tone in bass you can take out anywhere.
I don't follow vintage Fenders at all so I don't know what that kind of $$$ would buy for you.
Click to expand...

Vintage fenders- $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ :eek:
 
#17
'64, '76, and the current Gibson Thunderbirds all sound very different, and the cost of each are miles apart. They are all terrific instruments and, to me anyway, worth thier weight in gold. Love that slender neck; man-o-man it is sweet. ;)

I'm not crazy about the Fender P bass. I'd be inclined to lean more toward a Jazz Bass. The vintage ones are expensive and you really need to know what you are looking at because of issues that have materialized over the past several years. Speicifically, the legitimacy of the instrument and whether anything has been altered. An astute eye to detail is critical to avoid being taken advantage of, or mislead. This is especially true with respect to finishes.

Gbase.com has a number of vintage T-birds listed. I'm sure the same apples to Fenders as well, but you can probably find an ample supply here on our TB Forum.

Good luck making a decession as there are so many wonderful choices out there. :hyper:

I don't know if I was clear, but I'd go with the Bird! :bassist:
 
#20
For what you're describing any of the basses would work, depending on your rig and eq. However, the first bass I'd rule out would be a Precision, as they tend to be less mid-focused than either the Jazz or T-bird.

Have you played them both? You might find one stands out more than the other(s), given your technique, rig, etc.

One other thing to consider is the Jazzes pickups may come across as being more "focused" than the T-bird's pickups. The T-bird, OTOH, will probably bit a bit thicker sounding.

IME/IMO, of course.
 

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