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Sign me up. I have had my '79 Thunderbird now for over 10 years after playing a '97 reissue that I bought new. I got it from the original owner who claims he only played it at church every few weeks, and I believe him still. It was mint, all original, factory case, covers intact, no breaks or cracks and the playability was/is heaven. It's pretty cool to have an instrument that is nearly as old as I am.
I play it - no doubt about that, as I put every mark on it but I certainly do cherish it. I took the liberty of making a modification to the wiring, changing it from series to parallel and don't regret it one bit, as to me, the sound is improved greatly. Enough that the reissue is long gone (though I wish I could have afforded to keep both of them back then...)
After a hundred or more shows and a few independent records, it's easily been my #1 and partner for a long time. Lately I've been getting a bit more cautious with it and considering keeping it home but there's just no substitute. I bought a second '79 a few years ago, but it just didn't have the mojo and it played poorly no matter what adjustments I did. It went to a happy home, and #1 stays on active duty until I retire.
here it is!
My non-reverse arrived today also, musta' been a busy day for the FedEx guys:
My lefty Gibson Thunderbird got here Saturday (Yay!); and yes, bklynken, it's definitely lighter than a Rick. And, it's neck heavy; but I knew it would be. It's not bad, really; more 'Headstock-biased, center of balance-wise". The Kramer still holds the neck heavy title. After a close visual inspection (absolutely flawless) and function check (again, flawless), it has been put aside for the acclimation to being here in the desert. So, pending that, and a real good setup and string change afterward, am witholding final judgement (and pix). However...
Is anybody else as... shocked and surprised, I guess... at a new T-Bird case as I am? Mine seems sturdy enough, and the outside is nice; but the inside seems deliberately engineered to break the headstock off.The cutout for the body is very shallow, with enough room around the body for it to move around a lot. And judging from the marks on the inside of the lid, it has. What bothers me most, though, is that the neck, from about 3" past the body, is completely unsupported by anything. It's just... cantilevered out into space, totally untouched by anything - even the lid, as far as I can tell. Looking at that big headstock, on that thin neck, just hanging out there, is very unnerving. Are they all like this?? I sure hope not, 'cause to me, this case is about an inch away from useless, as far as protection from anything but fingerprints is concerned. Frankly, I'm not impressed; I have a cheap Eastwood guitar with a better case than this.
