Gibson Thunderbird vs. Epiphone Thunderbird

[SteveHeissner]

Has anyone else experienced this? I own a Gibson Thunderbird, paid $1400 for it new at Guitar Center minus the trade allowance for my Epiphone T-bird. I've been playing the Gibson for about a year now and have concluded that my $300 Epiphone was superior to my $1400 Gibson in many ways. The Epiphone build quality was better. The Gibson paint is already peeling and it spends most of its time in the case - I don't abuse it. The Gibson tone is, of course, preferable to the Epiphone but only marginally better. The only problem I had with the Epiphone was neck dive - which I fixed by adding a new strap button. I also added a hipshot bridge to the Epiphone for about $90 and I've gotta say that $300 bass really kicked ass. I've come to the conclusion that the Epiphone is preferable to the Gibson in many ways. Has anyone else experienced this disappointment?

 

[GM60466]

I played the Epiphone one time. I found so many construction flaws I was amazed that the dealer had the instrument on display. The last Epi TB I saw looked about the same --bad neck angel misaligned bridge- poorly cut nut.
You must have the one perfect bass that left the factory

 

[RickenBoogie]

I loved my Gibson, never held an Epi that was it's equal. You may have a dud. Every maker has those.

 

[Sahe_Bassist]

I own an epi t-bird and i really like it.

Mine also had horrible neck dive but adding a new strap button behind the neck fixed that - along with some straplocks and a nice big strap.
I also have made the Hipshot switch for that 3-point and its a HUGE improvement!

My epi, i think, sounds better than any $300 bass on the market right now(esp after that hipshot bridge replacement) and even dare-i-say better than more expensive instruments rom a lot of different companies.

for me its just comfortable and fun to play on.
as compared to a gibson, i imagine there are obvious differences but it really up to the player which one is "better"- its pretty relative to what you like

 

[mongo2]

I've played a few Epiphone Pro IVs in stores and found them to be very nicely made and very good sounding but too heavy for me.

 

[zachoff]

I do not love any Epiphone bass I've ever played aside from the Jack Casady. I've absolutely loved the couple of Gibson T-birds I've played.

 

[TBird1958]

Has anyone else experienced this? I own a Gibson Thunderbird, paid $1400 for it new at Guitar Center minus the trade allowance for my Epiphone T-bird. I've been playing the Gibson for about a year now and have concluded that my $300 Epiphone was superior to my $1400 Gibson in many ways. The Epiphone build quality was better. The Gibson paint is already peeling and it spends most of its time in the case - I don't abuse it. The Gibson tone is, of course, preferable to the Epiphone but only marginally better. The only problem I had with the Epiphone was neck dive - which I fixed by adding a new strap button. I also added a hipshot bridge to the Epiphone for about $90 and I've gotta say that $300 bass really kicked ass. I've come to the conclusion that the Epiphone is preferable to the Gibson in many ways. Has anyone else experienced this disappointment?

Epi's have their own legit tone, quite different froma Gibson - no big surprise here as the share no common parts or construction. My experience is the opposite of yours, I've has two standard Epi's - the first one I flipped after about a year of really trying to like playing it. The neck's profile just did not work for me, I don't fault the bass tho, as my hands are small. Also to me the pick ups just didn't have any spark to them so getting my *tone* never quite happened.
I bought a second one a couple years ago with the idea of using it to make a poor man's Fenderbird out of it, with that in mind, it made a fine starting point for the project.

 

[SteveHeissner]

Thanks for the feedback. Maybe I did get the one good Epiphone out there! I'll keep the Gibson for now.

 

[stiles72]

The Gibson paint is already peeling and it spends most of its time in the case - I don't abuse it.

Something to note - Gibson birds have a Nitro finish, not Poly like the Epiphone. A Poly finish can look brand new after years of use, where a Nitro finish will start to show signs of wear as soon as you start playing regularly. All of my birds have wear marks on the back of the neck where my thumb anchors around the 3rd fret, and also on the raised section of the body near the neck pickup where my other thumb rests. The tails of my basses show signs of my strap rubbing, and the bottom edge of my birds are worn through from coming into contact with my leg.

For some folks having an instrument that will always look brand new is important - and others like the look and feel of a "broken in" instrument.

 

[Kingkananga]

Something to note - Gibson birds have a Nitro finish, not Poly like the Epiphone. A Poly finish can look brand new after years of use, where a Nitro finish will start to show signs of wear as soon as you start playing regularly. All of my birds have wear marks on the back of the neck where my thumb anchors around the 3rd fret, and also on the raised section of the body near the neck pickup where my other thumb rests. The tails of my basses show signs of my strap rubbing, and the bottom edge of my birds are worn through from coming into contact with my leg.

For some folks having an instrument that will always look brand new is important - and others like the look and feel of a "broken in" instrument.

+1

 

[electracoyote]

I think it's safe to say that if your Asian-made $300.00 Epi T-Bird plays and sounds better than your $1,500.00 USA-made Gibson T-Bird, you either got an incredible Epi, a dud Gibson, or some combination of the two. That may not be true of other brands, but a reasonable conclusion for the Gibson/Epi brands.

I've owned two Gibson T-Birds in my life, both absolutely marvelous in every respect. I just coughed up $400.00 to have one refinished, something I only do with my "desert island" basses.

Enjoy your good fortune and play that Epi to death. You might also consider taking the Gibson to a qualified tech and ask him why it's such a dog. It could be something worth tweaking, or give you incentive to cash in on it.

 

[EdHunter]

Reading these posts, I think I may have got the only other perfect Epi!

It was my first, and is still my number one ahead of the technically superior Fender I have. The tone is heavy, thick, gut-busting but also with a great range. It's something that without any change in the setup could go from playing Sepultura to Simple Simon. The neck may be a bit fat, but I have big hands so it doesn't matter to me, and the neck dive isn't the beast it's always made out to be. And on top of all this, the quality is fantastic and the looks are unbeatable.

 

[stiles72]

Epiphone did make for a while the "Elitist" range on Thunderbirds, which were set neck and relatively high quality instruments made in Japan. One of these could compare quite favorably to a Gibson, but the MIK and MIC bolt ons are totally different animals.

 

[bassmachine2112]

hiho,hard to comment as I,ve got a pro 4 epi but even with the active electronics it can do the t-bird sound and many more.neckwise it has the same feel ,very slim.
It has a different feel from the bolt on epi but you could fit a maple fender style neck easily to the bolt on which is another subject.

 

[electracoyote]

I agree with the two posts above regarding the high-end Epis. I have a Pro IV, and it does compare favorably in many ways to my Gibsons.

But the bolt on? Different animal is putting it lightly.

 

[EighthNotes]

I just bought the silverburst epi today, kind of on a whim. The build quality on this seems to be pretty good, no gaps or loose bits or anything like that. The pots aren't scratchy, the jack is solid. Tonewise, it is very dark and almost muddy but it does have an almost P-bass quality to it (I played 3 P-basses while trying the epi out at the store). I played thru a Mesa M6 head and the mud disappeared. Guess what my next amp will be? If the epi's good, play it!

 

[McSpunckle]

I honestly don't see the "quality" you guys are seeing in the Gibsons. Every one that I've seen in person (which is quite a lot) had some pretty bad flaws and really didn't play all that well. A setup would have helped, but still.

That said, I actually really loved my Epiphone Tbird. It had it's flaws, of course... but it was a $300 bass. It's more acceptable in that case. I try not to really compare cheap instruments to expensive ones in every way, but I really don't feel that the Gibsons felt any better than my Epi (or other Epis I've played). They sound totally different, though. That shouldn't even be compared.

 

[ejaggers]

I have an epi tbird iv that sounds pretty good to me, but the action is really high, and I can't get it lower. If it can be lowered I don't know how. I've noticed that people replace the bridge on these, so can someone tell me if you can really hear a difference? I'd like to change it if it will make it a better player. But sound different? Would that be true? Never played a Gib tbird, but mine is MIK, and has no flaws other than the action. The neck dive is a very minor problem that's an easy fix. Also, I haven't seen a lot of mod threads on these, I wonder why?

 

[Tim Skaggs]

I've never owned or even played an Epi bird, but I have a '93 Gibson T-bird and it's been a dud all it's life. The neck section that extends through the body was cut too thin on one side and the strings are off center of the fingerboard, even though the three point bridge is set perfectly in the center of the middle section. I sent it back to Gibson & they replaced all the bridge saddles with a set that had all the string slots cut off to one side to get the strings close to the middle of the fingerboard. The neck had a strange dip at the 3rd/4th fret which makes it very difficult to get the neck relief set at the optimum point. I replaced the bridge with an ABM designed to fit the back twonholes of the three point, but I pulled the inserts and re-set them so the strings would be centered on the fingerboard. I also changed out the bridge pickup for an Alumitone bass bar. It's a nice, and good sounding bass now, but I've got other basses that were 1/4 the price that are easily twice the quality of the T-Bird I have.

 

[Energy]

Sorry for hijacking the thread...

I bought a second one a couple years ago with the idea of using it to make a poor man's Fenderbird out of it, with that in mind, it made a fine starting point for the project.

That's exactly what I'm planning to do. i already got a pre-owned Ept T-Bird Gothic (mahogany body!) and I'm thinking of planting a Warmoth neck into it:

TBird1958,
would you mind sharing your experience and post some pics of your Fenderbird?

EDIT:
Did a search and pretty much found everything I was looking for!
Great job with the Fenderbird, TBird1958!! I particularly like the fact that it's got a lefthand neck! Very cool.