The Epiphone Thunderbird Club

[HUnt49]

Does anyone play flats on an Epi-Gothic?
Any comments... ?

I have TI flats on my Epi -- but I have swapped in Nordstrand Big Splits and a Supertone bridge.

With the stock pickups, I'm not sure you're going to get a good tone with flats. Maybe someone can tell me otherwise, but I would expect they'd be a bit muddy. The stock pickups weren't much for definition, at least fingerstyle. They were decent picked.

 

[lel95]

my goth, i do love it but i must get a hipshot bridge as soon as possible, i hate this OEM one

 

[Vylad1966]

I have an Epiphone Thunderbird Goth, I had the knobs removed and a switch put in, the neck pick up in 1/4 inch closer to the neck than all the others I have looked at, it has a beautiful growl...
I have an Epiphone Thunderbird Sunburst, again had the knobs removed and just a switch put in, this bass sounds great, not the same growl as the Goth, much smoother...
Today I purchased the Epiphone T-bird pro, it is stock, all that has been changed is the strap locks...
I look forward to playing it more...

 

[BREWTAL]

I just sold my Ibanez 5 string SR and ordered my EPI Thunderbird. I quit a band that I bought the five string for and after quitting i realized that i had no other use for that bass, and that it wasn't fun for me to play anymore. I wanted a new four string and after jamming on a Thunderbird at GC i was sold. I had wanted to try one out for a long time anyhow. Ill have to post a pic up after i get it.

 

[billiam5billion]

My T-bird and Ampeg.

 

[billiam5billion]

By the way, does anybody know if there are bridge and pickup covers available for the Epi T-bird IV?

 

[portaflexer]

Go to eBay and search for Thunderbird Bass Cover. There are a couple of guys selling them.

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m570&_nkw=thunderbird+bass+cover

 

[billiam5billion]

Go to eBay and search for Thunderbird Bass Cover. There are a couple of guys selling them.

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m570&_nkw=thunderbird+bass+cover

Yeah, but those are for Gibsons-do they fit on Epi's?

 

[portaflexer]

True, but all the 3 point Gibson/Epi bridges are interchangeable. So... what fits one bridge should fit them all. I would imagine it would fit, but if you have doubts, I'm sure you could email the seller and ask him to measure it (in fact he might just know off the top of his head). Then you could measure the bass for yourself.

 

[portaflexer]

Okay guys. I finally got around to finishing up my T-bird project. The last step was the custom-made pickup rings. Here's a pic with them installed.

I'll get some better overall pics this weekend and post some better shots.

 

[Nocturnal]

I like the rings! Where did you get those?

 

[portaflexer]

I had them custom made by [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. They really complete the look and they were really reasonable. I'm super happy.

Here is how she started (the color never shows up right in pictures, but she's metallic red):

And here is the list of mods:
-swapped white pickguard for goth pickguard (a swap with another TB'er)
-installed Hipshot SuperTone bridge in place of the std 3-point (HUGE improvement)
-instaled Hipshot Ultralite tuners in place of the stock tuners (another HUGE improvement)
-swapped Epi truss rod cover for Gibson truss rod cover (it just looks cooler)
-dump the stock pups and installed SD SSB-4 pickups (oh yeah!)
-installed pickup rings (to complete the look)

Here she is today:

I have one more minor thing I want to do... swap out the knobs.
I'm also toying with the idea of installing a graphite nut.
She's part vintage and part modern, part Epi and part Gibby, part SD, part goth, part Hipshot... but all Thunderbird.
She's my ultimate bird.

 

[Nocturnal]

Looks really good! I'm in the middle of a MAJOR overhaul on a Goth right now. I'll post pic's when it's all finished.

 

[portaflexer]

Thanx. I LOVE modding basses. I think its so fun. I like looking at other people's mods too. I can't wait to see yours Tender Prey.

 

[jordy_on_bass]

so......does the nikki sixx blackbird count for me to be a member of this prestigious club?

cheers,
Jordan

 

[logicman69]

Just ordered my Epi Tbird Pro IV in Trans-Black.. pics when it arrives

 

[Xavier Knox]

so......does the nikki sixx blackbird count for me to be a member of this prestigious club?

cheers,
Jordan

Of course it does, that's now the only Thunderbird-ish bass that I have.

 

[Delta_Petra]

Hey everyone,

It looks like I have been on a 3 month hiatus from this thread and I see some new names posting. Let me know in thread if you want a number for the club.

Here is the long list from the last update:

Hobobob74 #1
JaySeeDoubleYou #2
Shredsled87 #3
DaBassman #4
envika #5
Johnny Crab #6
ricdiculous5487 #7
Ramstien #8
Waspinators #9
SUNNyday r. #10
Major Havoc #11
dreadheadbass #12
TheDarkReaver #13
Coward Of Reali #14
Sharp Objects #15
erigod23 #16
Grimace #17
GerManson #18
cerealkilla1980 #19
Michelob_64 #20
poomwah #21
flakeh #22
kazuya #23
xwpx #24
Mofo-Kang #25
Kano2864212 #26
Delta_Petra #27
sup3r_k #28
chromium #29
EnderZ13 #30
amimbari #31
Johnnakis #32
gremlet #33
Dasgre0g #34
davevv #35
VinnieClem #36
Stompboxx #37
TBird1958 #38
-dotzy- #39
OldSchoolBass #40
TheBogart #41
bronzehydra #42
Griev #43
WickedPissah #44
OhioBassFanatic #45
sixgunner #46
stuonbass #47
olemah #48
ThumpsAlot #49
opiumwarsvictor #50
Bting #51
Pearldiver #52
peekypoo #53
RED5 #54
OhioBassFanatic #55
Rob DWL #56
godofthunder59 #57
elplatanazo87 #58
Birdbrain #59
Gougedeye #60
vicvarado #61
Zoidberg523 #62
gonzorob #63
BaldBass #64
Justice #65
johndiz0 #66
keigan #67
poomwah #68
jzhobo77 #69
Xavier Knox #70
euronymous #71
sneha1965 #72
Dozer74 #73
Bass-desires #74
FSSmikey #75
guardian1233 #76
xMaxBASSx #77
prekabreki #78
dog1 #79
MK84 #80
JoeyZ #81
Aenima #82
BrianKrashpad #83
Demonturtle #84
$Lindz$ #85
PatAteThePaste #86
Lemoore-on #87
HUnt49 #88
fuzzfill #89
infamusblkdeath #90
theavondon #91
DRafalske #92
derekale #93
aspygr #94
Stefan B #95
Demonturtle #96
Libertad #97
Buck'Turgidson #98
bui #99
cmlax21 #100
speedkills #101
MusicBokonon #102
Marshbass #103
GR1M #104
Tender Prey #105
Southway #106
Yomo #107
brokencode #108
bassplayer8953 #109
Kestrel #110
omikin #111
xgator4u #112
fordkisskrazy #113
portaflexer #114
bfresh #115
gamester4520503 #116
ShadowRichie #117
Eldo #118
Z –Bar #119
The_Ox #120
Bass Demon #121
Fathand #122
jeff62 #123
bassinzombie #124
poorbassist15 #125
janaya64 #126
ThreeBeanSalad #127
shackled #128
Micolao #129
safleming72 #130
Lazy James #131


Again, post in thread if you want a number and I will set you up.

 

[portaflexer]

Just in case anyone is curious...

This image shows SSB-4s in a stock Epi Bird. You can see they are quite a bit smaller from side to side, but not terrible. If you can live with it... there is no need for pickup rings.

...but if you're a perfectionist like me (I know, I know)... here is the same setup with the Frets On The Net pickup rings installed. Much cleaner.

 

[Nocturnal]

I had planned on using the Bassline's in my Goth, but I was able to get a pair of Gibson TB Plus from a fellow TB'er so I went that route. I'm also going to cover the pickups with the 70's TB pickup cover that I bought on Ebay. The pickup rings will cover the extra space in the routes from the Epi pickups. How do you like the Basslines? I will probably try those out in another project down the road.