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Thunderbird Club Pt.IV

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#321
SlingBass4 said:
Question for both Cubanbass & TBird1958: What kind of bridges are on your basses? Both look substantial (in a good way), NOT stock, and are something unfamiliar to me as a newb regarding later model (after '70) T-Birds. Enquiring mind wants to know :D
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The one one my Jackson is a Kahler - it and the whole bass are so solid, it's a smallish looking but heavy bass.
 
#322
The PU placement on those new Epi T Birds (burst and white) look to be a lot closer to the bridge than my Gibson T Bird IV. Interesting. I wonder if that is on purpose so they won't be JUST like the US made T Birds.
 
#323
Cubanbass & TBird1958: Thanks for the responses! Having just ordered an Epi Classic IV PRO - I was worried where they cut corners to bring it in at that price point (other than made in China or Indonesia). Tuners, bridges, pots, in fact...guts in general are common places for manufacturers to save.

Cubanbass: Hipshot and I have a long history. Tuners are a MUST on my Fender/Warmoth instruments, and even though aluminum will be a departure from the brass bridges - I think it probably worthy of serious consideration. I'm leaning that way.

TBird1959: Your knowledge I regard highly, and all your basses are apart from each other, yet special in an effort to achieve any possible look and tone a T-Bird might have to offer. BTW: Your Jackson looks killer (headstock included). I can't phantom you or quality every being out of style :D
 
#324
SlingBass4 said:
Cubanbass & TBird1958: Thanks for the responses! Having just ordered an Epi Classic IV PRO - I was worried where they cut corners to bring it in at that price point (other than made in China or Indonesia). Tuners, bridges, pots, in fact...guts in general are common places for manufacturers to save.

Cubanbass: Hipshot and I have a long history. Tuners are a MUST on my Fender/Warmoth instruments, and even though aluminum will be a departure from the brass bridges - I think it probably worthy of serious consideration. I'm leaning that way.

TBird1959: Your knowledge I regard highly, and all your basses are apart from each other, yet special in an effort to achieve any possible look and tone a T-Bird might have to offer. BTW: Your Jackson looks killer (headstock included). I can't phantom you or quality every being out of style :D
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Be sure to post some pics when you get it! :)
 
#326
Well, the new to me 'Bird arrived yesterday while I was at work. It needs strings, which was expected, and it's got some wear, which was also expected. It's lighter than I thought it would be, and it sounds very good. I missed having a 'Bird in the hand. I had forgotten how long the are! It's an Epi Pro IV with a burst finish. The finish looks great except for a couple spots where it's worn, and even those spots look fine. It will take a while to figure out what to do with the eq and active pickups. There's no switch, and there's no apparent way to turn one pickup on and the other off, unless I'm completely missing something. The knobs seem to be a three band eq and a single volume knob. Figuring out what it can really do and what it's really good for is going to be fun.
 
#327
Gaolee said:
Well, the new to me 'Bird arrived yesterday while I was at work. It needs strings, which was expected, and it's got some wear, which was also expected. It's lighter than I thought it would be, and it sounds very good. I missed having a 'Bird in the hand. I had forgotten how long the are! It's an Epi Pro IV with a burst finish. The finish looks great except for a couple spots where it's worn, and even those spots look fine. It will take a while to figure out what to do with the eq and active pickups. There's no switch, and there's no apparent way to turn one pickup on and the other off, unless I'm completely missing something. The knobs seem to be a three band eq and a single volume knob. Figuring out what it can really do and what it's really good for is going to be fun.
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If I am correct, The controls are: Volume, Blend(Vol. is closest to the strings & the fingerboard, the Blend is closest to the strings & the bottom of the bass), Treble & Bass.

I have one of these myself, but it is not with me at the moment.

Moonshine :bassist:
 
#328
Gaolee said:
Well, the new to me 'Bird arrived yesterday while I was at work. It needs strings, which was expected, and it's got some wear, which was also expected. It's lighter than I thought it would be, and it sounds very good. I missed having a 'Bird in the hand. I had forgotten how long the are! It's an Epi Pro IV with a burst finish. The finish looks great except for a couple spots where it's worn, and even those spots look fine. It will take a while to figure out what to do with the eq and active pickups. There's no switch, and there's no apparent way to turn one pickup on and the other off, unless I'm completely missing something. The knobs seem to be a three band eq and a single volume knob. Figuring out what it can really do and what it's really good for is going to be fun.
Click to expand...

try turning the knobs and on the same time tap with something metal (like a screwdriver) on one of the pickups.
when your plugged in to a amp.

by doing this you will know were the blend knob is.

good luck and have fun with you nice t-bird.
i have one like yours:P:bassist:
 
#329
RedNeckBBQ said:
try turning the knobs and on the same time tap with something metal (like a screwdriver) on one of the pickups.
when your plugged in to a amp.

by doing this you will know were the blend knob is.

good luck and have fun with you nice t-bird.
i have one like yours:P:bassist:
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I didn't think of that. It has a bright, warm sound, with a bit of scoop when it's set all flat. I haven't decided whether to defret it yet or not. I think it would sound good that way, and it would be unique. The frets are bigger than I like anyway. I'm getting pickier with age, apparently, but I'm still very happy to have got it. New strings are waiting for it in the van, along with its very own strap.

It really is a great looking instrument, and it feels like a 'Bird. I'm really amazed at how light it is for how big it is. The one I had before was quite a bit heavier. It wasn't a neck-through and didn't have near the sustain, either. This one is a very different animal, and I'm liking it a lot already.
 
#330
My band has a 40+ day European tour coming up in the Fall. I would really like to take my Epiphone Elite Thunderbird along to use on the tour. However, the headstocks on Thunderbirds are notoriously fragile and, while the matching case I have for it is pretty durable, I worry that I will arrive overseas only to discover that some dumbass baggage handler has smashed my bass. It's too large to carry-on, so that isn't an option. So, I'm thinking about investing in an ATA-approved flight case, preferably under $200. Any suggestions?
 
#331
snowblinder said:
My band has a 40+ day European tour coming up in the Fall. I would really like to take my Epiphone Elite Thunderbird along to use on the tour. However, the headstocks on Thunderbirds are notoriously fragile and, while the matching case I have for it is pretty durable, I worry that I will arrive overseas only to discover that some dumbass baggage handler has smashed my bass. It's too large to carry-on, so that isn't an option. So, I'm thinking about investing in an ATA-approved flight case, preferably under $200. Any suggestions?
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$200 isn't an investment, it's a lottery ticket. Better to have a custom case made by a reputable supplier, especially if it's going to be your only bass.
 
#332
Hi fellow TBers,

Last night I had an interesting telephone conversation with Kev Zell, ex Marionette, about Thunderbird basses. He's the guy who owns one of Overend Watts Thunderbirds. He said that he first saw a picture of a Thunderbird bass on the cover of The Runaways "live in Japan" album. Jackie Fox is pictured with a white Thunderbird. This seems to have a non-standard bridge and tailpiece. It looks very like that found on a Les Paul. By coincidence I have the same bridge setup on the Thunderbird body that I purchased from Kev for my Fenderbird project.

Although I realise that my Thunderbird body is not a genuine Gibson body does anybody know if Gibson actually offered a Thunderbird with a Les Paul style bridge and tailpiece?

If anybody knows the answer to this question I'm sure it will be somebody here!

Thank you.
 
#333
CiceroProfundo said:
Hi fellow TBers,

Last night I had an interesting telephone conversation with Kev Zell, ex Marionette, about Thunderbird basses. He's the guy who owns one of Overend Watts Thunderbirds. He said that he first saw a picture of a Thunderbird bass on the cover of The Runaways "live in Japan" album. Jackie Fox is pictured with a white Thunderbird. This seems to have a non-standard bridge and tailpiece. It looks very like that found on a Les Paul. By coincidence I have the same bridge setup on the Thunderbird body that I purchased from Kev for my Fenderbird project.

Although I realise that my Thunderbird body is not a genuine Gibson body does anybody know if Gibson actually offered a Thunderbird with a Les Paul style bridge and tailpiece?

If anybody knows the answer to this question I'm sure it will be somebody here!

Thank you.
Click to expand...

yeah they did along long time ago.
this is one from 1964 (its like a tune-o-matic)
gibsonbass-222792305321965261.jpg
 
#334
Thank you RedNeckBBQ.

It's a pity that my Fenderbird project has MM sytyle humbuckers. Kev updated the ones that were on it when he bought it to ones from Wilkinson. He preferred the look of the all black ones.

I hope to have it finished by August and I'll post pics then.
 
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