Thunderbird Club

[PillO]

Thai/Siamese

Siamese? You are showing your age!

 

[BklynKen]

Thanks to @Engle, the RNR now has a proper pickguard. Now it's pretty much complete.

 

[69'Vette]

View attachment 4671746 View attachment 4671740 I need a little help for a friend. They are selling thier deceased husband's 90's Thunderbird. I know he chromed it out. Pickups have chromed covers and the back look a bit like TB plus. Thoughts?

Scott, that's my old bass. I bought it in 2002 with black hardware and the original MOT pick guard and ebony board. This was when I lived in NYC, and I took it in to the repair guy at Matt Umanov's because the trussrod couldn't get the neck where it needed to be. He put in in a heat press and that did the trick. I asked him about a post '87 bird they'd sold with chrome pickups, and he said it had been his. He said he'd worked at Gibson and had a stash of chromed out TB plus pickups from a special project they'd done at some point (in the 90s, I think). He sold me the last two he had and did the conversion for me. Bill always loved that bass so when I decided to sell it, he got first choice.

FTR (when it went to him), the pickups were genuine Gibson TB Plus, the bridge was off a Japanese Rivoli (from the early 90s), and I can't remember what the tuners were. Hipshot, I think, but I can't swear to it. It's a beautiful bass.

 

[dagrev]

Thanks to @Engle, the RNR now has a proper pickguard. Now it's pretty much complete.

View attachment 4672061

Looks great! What remains to get it where you want it?

Well done Irv!

 

[JJR58]

Looks like the stock bridge to me.

Again, I'm not well versed on TBirds.
I don't even know what model that is.
Can't even recognize the bridge.

 

[BklynKen]

Looks great! What remains to get it where you want it?

Thanks! What remains is seeing if I can thin out the neck a bit, closer to the Reverse profile.

 

[godofthunder59]

Scott, that's my old bass. I bought it in 2002 with black hardware and the original MOT pick guard and ebony board. This was when I lived in NYC, and I took it in to the repair guy at Matt Umanov's because the trussrod couldn't get the neck where it needed to be. He put in in a heat press and that did the trick. I asked him about a post '87 bird they'd sold with chrome pickups, and he said it had been his. He said he'd worked at Gibson and had a stash of chromed out TB plus pickups from a special project they'd done at some point (in the 90s, I think). He sold me the last two he had and did the conversion for me. Bill always loved that bass so when I decided to sell it, he got first choice.

FTR (when it went to him), the pickups were genuine Gibson TB Plus, the bridge was off a Japanese Rivoli (from the early 90s), and I can't remember what the tuners were. Hipshot, I think, but I can't swear to it. It's a beautiful bass.

Thanks George! I've passed this on to Barb.

 

[JJR58]

Thanks! What remains is seeing if I can thin out the neck a bit, closer to the Reverse profile.

Shave some of the back off?

 

[Engle]

Thanks to @Engle, the RNR now has a proper pickguard. Now it's pretty much complete.

View attachment 4672061

Glad I was able to help you finish it Ken!
That’s a unique bass for sure.

 

[JJR58]

My tribute to Tube Tuesday.
This one’s for @Chucky Stiletti

 

[PillO]

Again, I'm not well versed on TBirds.
I don't even know what model that is.
Can't even recognize the bridge.

It is a Pro-IV - one of the active Epiphones. They did not have a 3 point bridge.

 

[Engle]

Looks great! What remains to get it where you want it?

Well done Irv!

Thanks Donnie! Ken wanted to get it a little closer to the 60’s shape, so I tweaked the lines a bit.

 

[BklynKen]

Shave some of the back off?

Yup

 

[KaraQ]

That looks like a Kahler bridge on there, but hard to tell.

Looks like the stock bridge to me.

Agreed about it being stock, from what I can tell in that pic, looks like the bridge on my Pro 5

 

[RedVee]

DC bird body arrives Friday....

Not sure what color to paint it.

I have three neck choices, a rosewood/maple VM Squier fretless jazz, a goncalo alves reverse telecaster fretless, and If I dismantle my jazz a paduk/sapelle fretted jazz.

If I use the jazz the headstock is already painted a 7enderish daphne blue, so that makes the color choice easy.


my new shoes arrived yesterday...

View attachment 4671494

Shoes from one of “the 9”?

Sorry LOTR reference

 

[JJR58]

Agreed about it being stock, from what I can tell in that pic, looks like the bridge on my Pro 5

View attachment 4672371

Ah, ok. At least I know now.

 

[JJR58]

Yup

Honestly, I'm not a fan of chunky necks.
So I say go for it.

 

[KaraQ]

Ah, ok. At least I know now.

The Epiphone Pro 4 & Pro 5 Thunderbirds are pretty much their own thing, just happen to be shaped like T-birds.

Special 4-wire pickups, active electronics (4 knobs), a unique bridge, and iirc (not at home atm), a regular stereo output jack on a jack plate on the rear edge (same place modern 'birds have a barrel jack)

 

[BklynKen]

Honestly, I'm not a fan of chunky necks.
So I say go for it.

Thanks. Then you have your mission. I and others are having trouble finding out where the trussrod cavity is in the neck, so slimming the neck down from the back won't hit it, ruining the neck.

 

[WillyW]

Shoes from one of “the 9”?

Sorry LOTR reference

dunno, they were evil, not necessarily fashionable.