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Show Me Your Thunderbird Bass

#341
Some quick shots of the Greco - An actual sunny day in Seattle!

Set neck heel joint, showing proper placement of strap pin on all reverse Thunderbirds
MrGreco003.jpg


Angle of the headstock, much more so than my Gibsons
MrGreco004.jpg


One very hot nickle plated pup!

MrGreco005.jpg


It may get refinned, if so it gets this bridge, a beautiful 2 point conversion made by fellow TBer Scott Dasson (God of Thunder59).
MrGreco006.jpg


And its Japanese brethern, a refinned Orville with a Gibson TRC
converted to a 2 point as well......Surf's up!
MrGreco008.jpg
 
#345
Hey Mark, I am looking at those "vintage style" 2 point bridges lately... y/n? I don't have a problem with my 3 point but there is something cool that I like about those old ones. But I have read that they have problems with intonation.

Also, I have no interest in a Badass, so before someone suggests it..... no.
 
#347
$Lindz$ said:
Hey Mark, I am looking at those "vintage style" 2 point bridges lately... y/n? I don't have a problem with my 3 point but there is something cool that I like about those old ones. But I have read that they have problems with intonation.

Also, I have no interest in a Badass, so before someone suggests it..... no.
Click to expand...


A modern version of the original Gibson two point is what you're after Linds, the Surf Green Orville did have a 3 point to start with, and was modified with parts available from Scott Dasson (TBer God of Thunder59) or from Mike Lull. Not a cheap proposition tho, as you'll need to fill a hole and likely refin the bass too.
 
#351
RedLeg said:
Quick Q for all you Tbird guys. I am thinking about building a Warmoth Fenderbird with a Rickenbacker 4003 bridge. Consensus, will that bridge fit on it? From the pics on this thread it looks she just might fit.
Click to expand...

I don't see why it wouldn't fit, just buy an body with out any routing and do it yourself...........The neck pocket nowhere near the right place anyway, and use some Lull pick ups if you want the best vintage tone.
 
#352
TBird1958 said:
I don't see why it wouldn't fit, just buy an body with out any routing and do it yourself...........The neck pocket nowhere near the right place anyway, and use some Lull pick ups if you want the best vintage tone.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the response. Warmoth said "send us the bridge, and $45 later, you'll have your bridge routed". Now for the pickups, I am going for dual darkstars wired vol vol tone with 500K pots, a push pull to put them stars in series, and finish it out with a tonestyler for a tone knob
 
#353
Mark, thanks man. I don't think I wanna refin the ebony bird. It's already getting too much character to "mod" it like filling holes etc.

Maybe when I get an alpine white bird. Hehe.


On another note I hate to admit to you but I kinda like the chrome hardware SOMETIMES but not if it is brand new. Does anyone make nickle 3pts? Or do you have any dirty nasty chrome bridges?

What is happening to the world when I am talking to you about chrome!?
 
#354
The bass has yellowed a bit and you can tell as the areas that do not get direct sunlight are whiter looking. With that said , this photo makes the bass look whiter than reality. I like this much more than the current Gibsons. Why Gibson doesn't make a reissue with these nickel pickups is beyond me.
tbird.jpg
 
#356
nellie48 said:
The bass has yellowed a bit and you can tell as the areas that do not get direct sunlight are whiter looking. With that said , this photo makes the bass look whiter than reality. I like this much more than the current Gibsons. Why Gibson doesn't make a reissue with these nickel pickups is beyond me.
tbird.jpg
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more.........

That's one beautiful Thunderbird!
 
#358
That 1987 ESP Cutom Shop TBird I scored awhile back...dug up more info on it. It was ordered by Charlie Sextion thru his ESP endorser account. The guy I got it from had the original paperwork that backs that up. No SN# on it...since ESP put its SN#'s on the neck plates and this one is a set neck with no plate, I guess no one bothered since it was for a celeb endorser.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Sexton

What's cool about the bass is that it has a large 60s style Gibson headstock...and it only weighs 7.5 lbs! Lightest TBird I've ever come across. Plays and sounds really good.

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Also picking this Hamer custom FBIV TBird up from a friend this weekend (also recently sold my black Hamer FBIV to a TalkBass member in Germany.) This one was originally made for the guy in Blackfoot and then owned by the bassist of LA Guns. Great playing Hamer TBird. Ebony fingerboard, thinner neck profile, drop D tuner, custom stacked pot electronics...

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#359
Big update...

TBer "thejrace" found me a sweet ass Alpine White Bird, but lately I've fallen for my Ebony bird all over again. Found her in my bed and took some dirty pics....


OCT202.jpg


OCT204.jpg


OCT228.jpg


OCT216.jpg


OCT220.jpg


OCT222.jpg


OCT224.jpg










She's got some scars from hard work, which I just love to death...


OCT230.jpg


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OCT218.jpg


OCT226.jpg


OCT227.jpg



Enjoy!


I'm still thinking about the Alpine bird. I'd love to get it, but I truly only NEED 1 right now. Still, bad decisions are usually the best ones, so we'll see. Gotta sleep on it....
 

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