thinking of buying a gibson thunderbird 76 reissue

[joe21]

i am thinking of buying a thunderbird and have been looking at a 76 in my local guitar shop.
its in perfect nick with no damage headstock repairs etc. Currently play an old p-bass. Recognise the tbird willl be v different just wondered what other peoples experience of them are, also are the 76 models desirable, collectable or am i better off getting a new one.

 

[Phalex]

A '76 was made in Kalamazoo Michigan. There's a definite market for Kalamazoo guitars, I would imagine it would extend to basses as well.

Oh, reissue....... Nevermind.

 

[lambro]

A reissue from 1976 is a collectible bass

the great thing about them is also their weakness, the headstock

the length and mass contribute to the tone but the skinny nut area and lack of tenon make it pretty fragile.

they tend to have some neck dive as well

however if you look as some Enwistle clips circa 1972, that should clear everything up, and soon you'll be at home with your new baby

 

[Barkless Dog]

They have been going for $2500 depending on condition. All are collectable.

With T-bird folk, many consider he 70's ones the weakest sounding bird. They actually have side winder pickups and do not really cut through / compete in the mix well. They seem better suited in bands that can give them some air (not three guitarists!)

At the bottom of the page has sound clips from all years of Tbirds, so you can compare.

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Also Tbirds hold there value really well so down the road you should be able to get your money back or make some depending on how much it costs and it's condition.

 

[RickenBoogie]

The newer models come equipped with TB+ Ceramic Humbuckers. Greatness. Very deep, dark, and yet not so muddy it gets lost in a mix. If you're like me, and used to single coils, the difference is huge, but it's a good thing.

 

[faivy]

I have one of the last of the bicentennial reissues, a '79
I use it with Flats and love the sound
Very organic and rootsy
Not as metalllic as I expected

 

[TBird1958]

I have a '76 (unbroken headstock) and two '77's both with broken headstocks. As long as breaks are professionally repaired I wouldn't hesitate to buy one that's suffered a break. Mine both sound and play great! True 76's are a little rarer with only about 600 made IIRC, production between 77-79 was at least twice that, later examples (mid 77) are easily indentified by their stamped serial # instead of decals. Neck profile is much like a J bass, and if you wear a leather strap and locate a pin at the neck heel the bass will play fine with no neck dive issues. Soundwise I love mine! I play in a one guitar band with a GK1001RBII so no trouble standing out in the mix........And playing a 'Bird will get you noticed too!

Give in...................

 

[emblymouse]

I'm gonna run out to get some milk....OHDEARLORDAAAAAAAHHHHHHGGGGGG!!!!!!!

 

[Thornton Davis]

You can easily tell the difference between a 76 and a 77 by the prefix in the serial number (located on the back of the headstock). The serial number will also tell you the date of manufacture and which factory the instrument was made in.

A 1976 will start with = 00

A 1977 will start with = 06

If the bass is Ebony (Black) or Natural, far fewer of those were made. Brownburst was the most common finish. That's not to say they made a lot of them, because they didn't.

TD

 

[Barkless Dog]

I play in a one guitar band with a GK1001RBII so no trouble standing out in the mix........And playing a 'Bird will get you noticed too!

I don't think you have any trouble standing out with those basses. I love the Green & Purple ones. Chrome looks so good

 

[lowend1]

I've bought my black '76 used in 1979. It is still the only bass I've owned that truly lived up to my expectations. I don't take it out da house much anymore because of the sentimental value it holds, but every time I pick it up, I can feel the magic. Yeah, the pickups might be a little underpowered, but that's what the volume knob on the amp is for. That bass through my '71 Ampeg V4B head and '72 SVT cabinet is pure heaven.

 

[gweimer]

I almost wish I hadn't sold my '76 Thunderbird. I got it brand new for $750. It's the only bass I ever ordered new. It suffered from headstock disease after only a year, and I fixed it myself (sturdy, but dirty) and eventually sold it for $325 to a friend.

 

[Ray C Parrish]

In the early days everyone around here had to have one. The body shape was just never comfortable for me. Love the look though!

 

[amimbari]

FenderBird/Gibson-EPIBird/DillonBird/JacksonBird/SpectorBird, it seems over the years a lot of companies wanted into the T-Bird game.

I wish I had a collection of them, like some people have, but owning just one, would satisfy me enough to keep it for a long time.

I ended up with 2 of them. Both unique in tone an playability, but I'm a sucker for the Bodyshape, pickguard or not. I always liked the 79, for the red/white/blue bird on the guard, and the unique birds from the other manufacturers, as well as some people adding their own design twist to the original bird, as TBIRD1958 has done with his.

Although many people don't feel this way about T-birds, I get GAS everytime I see another high end "Whatever"-Bird and know at this moment in time I can't add to the collection.

 

[heatheroo]

I've been playing my '77 since...............'77. Except for a few brief flings, it's been my only bass. No broken headstock issues and it has definitley caught it's share of bar room ceilings. I run Dean Markley Blue Steel light gauges through a Roland SIP-301, QSC RMX850, 2 EVM 15'snd a GK 15. I can get a sweet Motown P sound all the way to a Chris Squire Rick sound. About the only area it is weak is slapping. It will pop but it sounds.........eh.

 

[TBird1958]

I've always felt that there's something out there for all of us in terms of a bass that feels right. For me it's 'Birds, I've tried other basses, but for me nothing else seems to work as well.

 

[gweimer]

I fully understand the ergonomics of the Thunderbird. That was partially why, when I went looking for a Thunderbird to replace the '76, I found myself looking at Epiphone Embassies. Back then, they were all over where I was looking (Ax-in-Hand in DeKalb, IL). He had no fewer than 4 of them, along with a handful of Thunderbirds. One Embassy just called my name. I wasn't alone. I found that it had been owned by Tom Petersson, Jon Brandt (his replacement, but Jon never knew that Tom owned it once), along with nearly every well-known bassist in Chicago during the late '70s.

My new project bass, the Bettie Page, is almost a mix of the sound of Gibson with the balance of Fender. It's basically a Fender Precision with a Novax fanfret neck. The body is mahogany. So the body, along with the long-scale E come very close to that Gibson depth that Fenders can't quite reach. The short-scale G reaches into EB-3 territory.

 

[lowend1]

I would LOVE to have another '76, but can't justify that kind of money for another agoraphobic instrument.
After I got mine, I remember that the Sam Goody chain was getting out of the MI business and was selling stuff off dirt cheap. My buddy got a new Ampeg V4 for $150. As a broke 19-year old, I had to stare longingly at a leftover TSB '76 Bird that sat on the rack for weeks at $250 - I still wake up in a cold sweat over that one...

 

[TBird1958]

I guess I'm lucky 76's don't turn up here in Seattle too often, I'm very weak about not buying any that I find in person.......I guess that's bad G.A.S.