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I fixed my Tbird some more (we do a little trolling)

why did you do this?

  • Total voters
    75
#42
Embrace the hack!

Pissed me off that my formerly unplayable beater 12-string, given a life extension as a 6-string acoustic lap steel, wouldn't fit into a gig bag with that big-ass headstock, so...
FullSizeRender.jpg
 
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#43
Engle said:
your rear strap button location is a good idea, but I would have put it at the back.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I follow. Would you also describe the rear strap button as the "bridge strap button" as opposed to the "neck strap button"? I think that's what you're saying.

My bird always rotates forward, and moving it to the front was also partly about correcting that.
 
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#44
@BtaylorTheRogue very nicely done. I am well aware of the divey rotatey miracle that is the 5 string epi tbird pro... I don't still have mine, i got an offer i couldn't refuse. I had relocated the "neck/upper/front/whatevs" button to behind the neck heel, and would use the "rear/back/bum/tail" button with the strap pulled across the front to counteract the roating forward... and it still wasn't enough. I fully support your mods, though I'd carefully chamfer(sculpt?) the headstock to match itself.
 
#48
BtaylorTheRogue said:
I would love to hear the difference between moving something vs screwing something in.

It kinda sounds like it's only 'neatly relocated' if it's where you would put it.
Click to expand...
Not at all, and please don't think I'm here to feed your desire (in your words) to be a troll. There is absolutely nothing wrong with what you did, and if you are looking to pick a fight, you won't find it here. If you like your bass, then the changes you made are positive. I am not arguing against you doing what you want to do to your bass.

In my opinion, screwing a strap pin into the front of a bass is completely different from relocating a strap pin to a recessed location on the rear of a bass. On your bass, the strap position is very distracting. On my bass, it will hardly be noticeable. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong.

Appearance matters. If it didn't, basses wouldn't be available in different shapes and colors.

As to the bass, I have an Epi Pro Thunderbird IV. It is a great playing bass with an embarassingly bad preamp. If you want to improve it, I hope you started there.
 
#51
BtaylorTheRogue said:
I'm not sure I follow. Would you also describe the rear strap button as the "bridge strap button" as opposed to the "neck strap button"? I think that's what you're saying.

My bird always rotates forward, and moving it to the front was also partly about correcting that.
Click to expand...
To me the rear is the end closest to the bridge.
Yeah Tbirds tend to rotate forward. Somehow it doesn't bother me. I work it into my rock poses:D
 
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#56
BtaylorTheRogue said:
Some of you may recognize me as the person who occasionally posts funny comments and pic-a-tures. Or the person liking your cat photos and telling you to tell them that I love them (it's important that they know).

Well, the world has been too filled with unrest, so I decided to do something that could bring us ALL together: Once again, I have decided to correct Gibson's mistakes.

If any of you have ever been played by a Thunderbird, you'll know they're stubborn beasts. They have neck dive. They're heavy. They're unwieldy. They're not exactly gut-friendly either, with no cutaway.

Well, I could deal with that in my younger and less vulnerable years. But I still needed to carry my primary and a backup, and I used a Mono Dual case, but the TBird did NOT like it. Not one little bit.

So I corrected Gibson's lack of foresight by adjusting the headstock ever so slightly.

View attachment 4610380
Pretty grand, ne?
I can't imagine how anyone wouldn't like that. 10/10. Love it. Would eat here again.

And for a time, the world had peace. But not all was well. As I mentioned earlier, it still balanced poorly, and had a tendency to lean forwards.

Now, I've heard that neck dive can be sorted by moving the strap button. We all know what they're talking about, but why not share a photo.

View attachment 4610390

My Thunderbird's strap button is already located where the neckplate would be. But everyone talks about how it fixes neck dive, and mine still neck dives. Now what else could I do that wouldn't cause anyone any ire?

I grabbed my saws and hammers, and after 4 hours and 2 lost fingers, I accomplished this:

View attachment 4610394
Gibson, if you're reading this, first make more 5 strings. Yes this is an Epiphone. Tell them to make more 5 strings too!

Also, feel free to utilize my ground-breaking, heavily researched corrections when updating to next year's models!

If anyone on Talkbass has any other ideas for further correcting Gibson's mistakes, feel free to post em here!

Jokes aside, this thing balances and handles like a dream now, and I wanna know what you guys think. If my girlfriend remembers, I'll get pics from tonight's show. If you weren't aware, this post is somewhat tongue in cheek.

edit: in retrospect, this might belong in humour? My apologies to the mods if this is the wrong spot.
Click to expand...
Well... first of all; sorry, but no "Carrot" option means no vote from this staunch Carrot Collektiv Party member...:rollno:
Next... I'm compelled - feelings for my Gibson Thunderbirds aside - to admire both your... ingenuity?... and your willingness to suffer the slings and arrows of T-Bird owner wrath. As for me? I have to admit that;
- if I wanted to stuff mine into a gig bag that they didn't normally fit into?
- If My T-Birds were uncomfortable?
- If my T-Birds were neck divers?
Then, I imagine I might have been tempted to do what you did. Am I angry? No, not really. Just - like Marvin the Martian; "Terribly, terribly hurt..." Still, it's your bass - most likely yours forever, now - so; you do you. As for me and mine?
- I'm well aware that there's more than one gig bag that an unmolested T-Bird will fit into. If I need one, I'll get one...
- T-Birds are not in the least uncomfortable - for me. Whether that's a result of whatever... deformities... allow Rickenbacker basses fit me like a surgeon's glove, or something else, I have no idea. But, no discomfort here...
- Neck dive? Mine don't - for me. As long as I don't try to play them like, say, a P-Bass, anyway. Played like a lot of people play them; slung low, with the neck up high? Mine have no neck dive at all. Very comfortable that way, as well...
As for Gibson's faults? AFAIC, Gibson's only real fault is that 1) they only make left handed basses about every 5 years or so (2018 was the last time): 2) they only make a couple of models; 3) they make very few of them when they do; and 4) they like to keep them a big secret. But, that's my problem, not yours.
Like I said; it's your bass. Do whatever makes you happy and comfortable. And, please; do something about the naked wood where the rest of your headstock used to be...:rolleyes:
 
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#57
GIBrat51 said:
Well... first of all; sorry, but no "Carrot" option means no vote from this staunch Carrot Collektiv Party member...:rollno:
Click to expand...

I wonder what would happen if you took the first letter of each poll option.......

Edit: NVM, I see And I already discovered the secret carrots!

Secret Double Edit: do you want a case that will fit an unmolested epi/gibson?
 
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#58
clockworkcorpse said:
@BtaylorTheRogue very nicely done. I am well aware of the divey rotatey miracle that is the 5 string epi tbird pro... I don't still have mine, i got an offer i couldn't refuse. I had relocated the "neck/upper/front/whatevs" button to behind the neck heel, and would use the "rear/back/bum/tail" button with the strap pulled across the front to counteract the roating forward... and it still wasn't enough. I fully support your mods, though I'd carefully chamfer(sculpt?) the headstock to match itself.
Click to expand...

At this point, I'm tempted, but I'll probably let a more skilled worker do it. As for the front strap, SAME! I almost considered just mounting a little bar to run the strap under to keep it on the front, but this seemed more interesting.

wvbass said:
Not at all, and please don't think I'm here to feed your desire (in your words) to be a troll. There is absolutely nothing wrong with what you did, and if you are looking to pick a fight, you won't find it here. If you like your bass, then the changes you made are positive. I am not arguing against you doing what you want to do to your bass.

In my opinion, screwing a strap pin into the front of a bass is completely different from relocating a strap pin to a recessed location on the rear of a bass. On your bass, the strap position is very distracting. On my bass, it will hardly be noticeable. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong.

Appearance matters. If it didn't, basses wouldn't be available in different shapes and colors.

As to the bass, I have an Epi Pro Thunderbird IV. It is a great playing bass with an embarassingly bad preamp. If you want to improve it, I hope you started there.
Click to expand...

Not at all, it just seemed like you deemed it a hack because of the location itself. If I put the bridge-side pin on the back, I might as well just slowly feed the bass into the fireplace and be done with it. I was really wanting to solve the forward tilt, and putting the button on the front has definitely fixed pretty much every problem. Except, as you say, the preamp.
 

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