Thunderbird Club Pt III

[NOLA Bass]

I got mine last year for Christmas. Its a 5 string version of what you got. It is one of my 4 birds...

I love this bass, put on the new stainless pickguard, and fret LED's, but otherwise it is stock and sounds awesome. The LED's really help out with my eyes on those dark stages.

Nice collection! Where did you get your LED's done?

 

[butter_fingers]

Hey all
New to the forum. Just got my hands on a used Epi T-bird for dirt cheap! Was hardly played, still had shipping film on the access plate on the back of the bass. Wanted something new and fun to mess around with. Wondering if you guys have addressed neck dive before? I noticed some threads regarding repositioning of the strap buttons, does that address the dive? It seems that under the neck, screwed in underneath the neck plate might be a good way to go?
Have been trying to find some chrome hadware, will post a pic when it's futher along.
Also discovering that black pickguards are seemingly impossible to find with a T-bird logo on it!!
Great forum.

American P-Bass, Epi T-bird, 70' Gibson J50, Traynor Monoblock II w/ Traynor TC410

 

[ThaCoast]

Hey all, wondering if you guys have addressed neck dive before? I noticed some threads regarding repositioning of the strap buttons, does that address the dive? It seems that under the neck, screwed in underneath the neck plate might be a good way to go?

Well, I like many others have repositioned the strap pins. But, I eventually put them back to their original placements, only because i hang my bass low, so there is neck dive but not as much as if it were held higher above my waist. Search all the thunderbird clubs Pt I, II and this one. You'll get more info out of all 50 pages in the 1st 2 clubs. A lot of nice basses along the way as well.

Also, discovering that black pickguards are seemingly impossible to find with a T-bird logo on it!!

You can make one from scratch. Tbird58 did for his newly acquired burny thunderbird bass although he made a zebra pattern, you can easily trace the original guard from your bird onto what ever material for a new pick guard and add the decal of the thunderbird onto it. Good luck and Enjoy your bass.

 

[juankidiaz]

Here are a couple of pictures from a gig I went to on friday night:

(not taken my by btw)​

That's Jaime "James" Valderrama from Don Tetto, one of the biggest rock bands right now in Colombia

He is endorsed by Gibson/Epiphone and only uses TBirds when playing live.

None of them changed their instruments on the 15 song gig so I only got to see his black bird this time.

 

[TBird1958]

Here's a little more PG fun on my Burny.

 

[Chris V]

The distance between the bridge and tailpiece and the location of the bridge saddles. If your bass intonates properly the bridge has to have been moved. The entire run of 60's TBirds and Embassies had the bridge 1/4" too far from the nut making them impossible to intonate. The two center holes and screws in your tailpiece appear to be different than the original 3 and the distance between the tailpiece and bridge should be approximately 1/2". I've never seen an original Gibson tailpiece with more than 3 holes.

Here's John Entwistle '64 IV. Notice how close the bridge is to the tailpiece and where the saddles are in an attempt to intonate it. JAE had Peter Cook get the bridges positioned correctly when he built his FenderBirds. Godofthunder's BadBird bridge also fixes the problem.

I'm waaaay late in checking back in on this thread, but thank you for the info! I did not know this stuff! I really don't care about the resale value, since it's not for sale at any price. It was actually the re-finish that made it affordable for me in the first place, ($1,100.00 in 1994) and I bought it to play, so I'm glad it's been modded for proper intonation.

 

[butter_fingers]

Just ordered some gold bell hats with silver inserts.
Can anyone tell me if there are some affordable clover leaf tuners out there that look like vintage Gibson ones? I read elswhere that 3/8" Hipshots work, but the best I found was $33 each!

 

[cubanbass]

Here's a little more PG fun on my Burny.

Me likey!

 

[TBird1958]

Love that white Tbird! I'm also rockin a curly cable. Here's a vid from one of our SXSW shows. Front pickup solo'd, action on the high side. Epi Silverburst w/ Thundertrons.

My Pet Dragon - Moonshine - SXSW 2012 - Molotov - YouTube

Thanks Mario,

I meant to say this is a fun vid from SXSW, was the Silverburst with Thundertrons new or? I seem to recall that a fellow TBer had one done the same.

 

[cubanbass]

I got this from a TBer over a year ago. I bought it as an inexpensive backup to my Warwick. I sold the Warwick shortly after getting the Epi.

 

[godofthunder59]

This makes #3 ! I have a bunch of 60's NRs but these come really close. Both fitted with my repro pgs and soon to be sporting Thunderbucker pups

 

[butter_fingers]

Do you guys know if these tuners will work on the mighty TBird? They are 3/8" post, I just don't know if the clover leafs will overlap? There are no dimesions indicated for the clover leaf. They are Gotoh TK-0908-001's


Also, may I join the illustrious ranks of the Thunderbird Club? (photo posted a few threads back)
(don't have live pic with Tbird yet, as it is new, but here's one with the Pbass)

Cheers.

 

[Dadagoboi]

Do you guys know if these tuners will work on the mighty TBird? They are 3/8" post, I just don't know if the clover leafs will overlap? There are no dimesions indicated for the clover leaf. They are Gotoh TK-0908-001'

Cheers.

I just checked my bolt on Epi with a Squier P of mine that has those Gotohs, the plates are too big for the TBird headstock.

 

[TBird1958]

Do you guys know if these tuners will work on the mighty TBird? They are 3/8" post, I just don't know if the clover leafs will overlap? There are no dimesions indicated for the clover leaf. They are Gotoh TK-0908-001's


Also, may I join the illustrious ranks of the Thunderbird Club? (photo posted a few threads back)
(don't have live pic with Tbird yet, as it is new, but here's one with the Pbass)

Cheers.

Welcome here butter_fingers. Thanks for the gig shot too, number 237 is all yours. That $33 each price for the Hipshots seems a bit high, but it's about two years since I bought some -perhaps some other will chime with better pricing.


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[ThaCoast]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if upgrading the jack output would make a difference tone wise to the bass. If it does or not i don't really care, but i'm planning on switching it for something better. What do you guys recommend?

Btw, i'm going to be installing the new jack on the bottom like a gibson and i have a telecaster style jack plate, so i guess the gibson style output is out of question.

thx a bunch

 

[Nocturnal]

I would replace the jack with a better quality one. Maybe a Switchcraft?? It may not be necessary, but if you're upgrading parts anyhow it wouldn't hurt to change that too.

 

[ThaCoast]

I would replace the jack with a better quality one. Maybe a Switchcraft?? It may not be necessary, but if you're upgrading parts anyhow it wouldn't hurt to change that too.

Which switchcraft cause there are many different types.

 

[Nocturnal]

I really don't remember which type I bought last time. Is there a special jack needed for the tele socket?

 

[Dadagoboi]

I really don't remember which type I bought last time. Is there a special jack needed for the tele socket?

Tele socket uses 1/4" bushing jack.

For top mount through wood you need 3/8" bushing jack. That's the original Gibson Thunderbird jack location.

 

[ThaCoast]

Tele socket uses 1/4" bushing jack.

For top mount through wood you need 3/8" bushing jack. That's the original Gibson Thunderbird jack location.

So my epiphone stock output jack is a 3/8" since it's on the face of the body. And which switchcraft 1/4 cause they have many models: 2 conductor or 3 conductor open frame? I'm guessing 3 conductor cause it looks similar to what i have.