New 2021 Gibson NR Thunderbird!

[WillyW]

I'm still waiting on mine from L&M here in Canada. Seven months and counting, but who's counting?!

I have forgotten how many months I waited for my inverness green, but it was totally worth it... 7-9 month wait.... maybe...

I waited 13 months for my wanderlust green embassy.

both of my burgundy's were blems... (case handle damage on the NR and missing blend knob reflector on the embassy) I just snatched them up when I saw them...

 

[Sandman64]

Ay, I've heard that line a few times! Even spoke to the distributor in my country about it. He said they keep getting told stuff is on the way, then having it show up and its like, 1/10th of an order...

I'm hoping that's not the case! Either way, I'm not giving up on this one. I ordered one of the last versions and they cancelled my order two months into it as Gibson quit making them.

 

[H K]

I'm hoping that's not the case! Either way, I'm not giving up on this one. I ordered one of the last versions and they cancelled my order two months into it as Gibson quit making them.

OOoooof, rough! Yeah I was actually looking at buyer an older version/epiphone when they announced the new one! Got me super stoked. Now I've been waiting so long I've considered cancelling and buying 2nd hand or through reverb/ebay. But I am still getting it for the price it was when the shop preordered, and thats actually less than what it would cost me 2nd hand, atleast here. So I'm holding on!

 

[Haans]

I noticed Thomann deleted the green one and says the burgundy is not in production anymore. Did they already cancel the whole line or are they just changing colours?

 

[Sunnampeg]

i ve got mine here in UK 4 months ago

 

[Sandman64]

Speak of the Devil, guess what finally arrived!

First impression was "that's a pretty chunky neck", but it looks so nice. Second impression after some tweaking and a different set of strings was "she plays and sounds awesome and it's super light".

It took me about twenty minutes to get comfy with it as I'm usually a Fender guy, but after that it felt right. I love it and my collection is complete. Fender, Rickenbacker and now a Gibson. Worth the wait!

 

[Goatrope]

Speak of the Devil, guess what finally arrived!

First impression was "that's a pretty chunky neck", but it looks so nice. Second impression after some tweaking and a different set of strings was "she plays and sounds awesome and it's super light".

It took me about twenty minutes to get comfy with it as I'm usually a Fender guy, but after that it felt right. I love it and my collection is complete. Fender, Rickenbacker and now a Gibson. Worth the wait!View attachment 4665241

Suh-weet!

 

[Haans]

That's one lovely bass!

 

[Sandman64]

Ok second impressions are pretty much the same. It sounds awesome, it's got super nice playability, build quality is excellent and it only weighs in at 8 pounds. Now as you can see from these current pictures, I've made a few changes. I switched out the standard 3 point Gibson bridge with a Babicz three point bridge. I'm simple not a fan of floating bridges or the Gibson design etc. The bass played fine as purchased, but it plays better now as the action is lower and I love the fact that the bridge is sitting on the body and isn't floating around like some off shore oil rig. It's also got a new set of Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt strings 45 to 105 on it.

So the wait was worth it and I'd do it all over again!

 

[Goatrope]

Ok second impressions are pretty much the same. It sounds awesome, it's got super nice playability, build quality is excellent and it only weighs in at 8 pounds. Now as you can see from these current pictures, I've made a few changes. I switched out the standard 3 point Gibson bridge with a Babicz three point bridge. I'm simple not a fan of floating bridges or the Gibson design etc. The bass played fine as purchased, but it plays better now as the action is lower and I love the fact that the bridge is sitting on the body and isn't floating around like some off shore oil rig. It's also got a new set of Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt strings 45 to 105 on it.

So the wait was worth it and I'd do it all over again!

View attachment 4668024 View attachment 4668025

Cool! I hadn’t changed out the bridge yet on my NR. Maybe won’t. I have the Babicz on my Reverse, and love it. I added a strap button at the heel of the NR neck to give it more of a vertical hang, that I prefer. I’d thought about a pup swap, but I like this NR set a lot.

 

[H K]

Ok second impressions are pretty much the same. It sounds awesome, it's got super nice playability, build quality is excellent and it only weighs in at 8 pounds. Now as you can see from these current pictures, I've made a few changes. I switched out the standard 3 point Gibson bridge with a Babicz three point bridge. I'm simple not a fan of floating bridges or the Gibson design etc. The bass played fine as purchased, but it plays better now as the action is lower and I love the fact that the bridge is sitting on the body and isn't floating around like some off shore oil rig. It's also got a new set of Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt strings 45 to 105 on it.

So the wait was worth it and I'd do it all over again!

View attachment 4668024 View attachment 4668025

could u provide a full body shot pls? I'd like to see how the babicz looks vs the stock on a front view perspective

 

[MCF]

Speak of the Devil, guess what finally arrived!

First impression was "that's a pretty chunky neck", but it looks so nice. Second impression after some tweaking and a different set of strings was "she plays and sounds awesome and it's super light".

It took me about twenty minutes to get comfy with it as I'm usually a Fender guy, but after that it felt right. I love it and my collection is complete. Fender, Rickenbacker and now a Gibson. Worth the wait!View attachment 4665241

Congratulations! They’re wonderful Thunderbirds. I think you’ll really enjoy it. Amazing tone that’s different than Fenders and Rics. That’ll complement your others quite nicely.

 

[MCF]

Ok second impressions are pretty much the same. It sounds awesome, it's got super nice playability, build quality is excellent and it only weighs in at 8 pounds. Now as you can see from these current pictures, I've made a few changes. I switched out the standard 3 point Gibson bridge with a Babicz three point bridge. I'm simple not a fan of floating bridges or the Gibson design etc. The bass played fine as purchased, but it plays better now as the action is lower and I love the fact that the bridge is sitting on the body and isn't floating around like some off shore oil rig. It's also got a new set of Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt strings 45 to 105 on it.

So the wait was worth it and I'd do it all over again!

View attachment 4668024 View attachment 4668025

Nice choice on the Babicz. I have one on a reverse and another on a 1’13 non-reverse. Only a matter of time until The three-point gets changed out on the ‘21.

 

[Sandman64]

could u provide a full body shot pls? I'd like to see how the babicz looks vs the stock on a front view perspective

Here you go.

 

[H K]

Here you go.

View attachment 4669142 View attachment 4669143

Ty vm!! I still find it hard to like the replacements for this bridge, wether its hipshot or babicz.. I really like the versions that just add a tailpiece tho! Or a mod bar. It solves SOME of the problem, but not all of them sadly. Bah..
Oh well, ssince it's been "on its way" for about half a year now, I guess I still have plenty time to decide what to do with mine.

Thanks again m8

 

[Sandman64]

Ty vm!! I still find it hard to like the replacements for this bridge, wether its hipshot or babicz.. I really like the versions that just add a tailpiece tho! Or a mod bar. It solves SOME of the problem, but not all of them sadly. Bah..
Oh well, ssince it's been "on its way" for about half a year now, I guess I still have plenty time to decide what to do with mine.

Thanks again m8

You're welcome!

I prefer the Babicz bridge over the Hipshot bridge. To me it doesn't look as chunky as the Hipshot does and has more of that classic style of the bridge it's intended to replace. It's also lighter which is an added bonus.

 

[H K]

You're welcome!

I prefer the Babicz bridge over the Hipshot bridge. To me it doesn't look as chunky as the Hipshot does and has more of that classic style of the bridge it's intended to replace. It's also lighter which is an added bonus.

Yeah it's definitely the better of the two!

 

[sleddogn]

maybe the heavier hipshot would help a bit of neck droop

 

[H K]

maybe the heavier hipshot would help a bit of neck droop

I've heard it does on the SG basses atleast (epi eb-3, idk if there is much on the shorter gibson ones). But again, cant stand the look of em... My casady came with one, and I'm half an inch away from taking it off XD

 

[BklynKen]

maybe the heavier hipshot would help a bit of neck droop

The Hipshot isn't as heavy as it looks. I have two of them, plus a Babicz. No big difference in weight. I prefer Hipshot for the string spacing adjustability.