Thunderbird Club

[5StringBlues]

Why do the kids look terryfied?

Judging by the look of Mom, they know it's back to the meth farm after picture time is over.

 

[JIO]

You got me checkin.
My Korean Goth does in fact have the serial number on the neck plate.
However both my China Goths have the serial number stamped into the wood on the back of the headstock.
So maybe it’s more a function of origin.
PA90’s post does clearly show the neck plate with a serial number on it. So that answers the serial number question.
Still puzzled about the scarf joint.

I'd like a definitive way to determine where Epi Goth necks were made based on the hs scallop/bevel on the face. I've seen a few different versions. None of them look like the original T-bird hs.

Flat bevel creates a soft 'V' peak on each side - neck is a fat C-profile

Flat bevel stops before transition - neck thickness is shallower, more a soft-C

This one had a thinner, slightly rounded bevel that creates a long pointy 'peak' -

'64 II hs face is routed 1/16" into the face - not beveled at all. I like both varieties but it seems like Epi doing the Goth's differently must come down to being made in different factories over many years.

 

[JIO]

Ampeg's are one of several amps that have their own distinct sound and you can't get too far from that in terms of versatility. They either fit what a person wants or they don't, and if it's not a tone one wants, EQing really won't fix that. But for me, when it works, it's wonderful.

I record with my '76 B-15N (mic'd & d,i.'d), but live I use my Ashdown twin-tube pre 550 Spyder head powering the Ampeg JBL 15" cab. I've used the Portaflex 30w head live, but the Spyder sounds great (warm & tube-y) and is less fragile & less valuable. Once I heard my B15N - it was the sound I wanted to hear.

 

[JJR58]

I record with my '76 B-15N (mic'd & d,i.'d), but live I use my Ashdown twin-tube pre 550 Spyder head powering the Ampeg JBL 15" cab. I've used the Portaflex 30w head live, but the Spyder sounds great (warm & tube-y) and is less fragile & less valuable. Once I heard my B15N - it was the sound I wanted to hear.

View attachment 4839807 View attachment 4839810

Your B-15 is one of the best, if not best sounding i've ever heard/played through.

 

[KaraQ]

........ Such warm, versatile heads. But you know this! And darn near indestructible.

It's true

I'm going to have to open mine up again in the near future, the vol. pot on channel A acts like it might need cleaning.....


At some point, I'm gonna need to get the problem with channel B looked at/fixed - even though it's not really a problem, it needs to get fixed at some point, I think.

 

[JIO]

Your B-15 is one of the best, if not best sounding i've ever heard/played through.

It sounded very good with the original Eminence speaker when I bought it over 8 yrs ago but it was transformed by the late '60s JBL D40R I installed in it 3 years ago. Night & day. Dark chocolatey tone is the best I can do attempting to describe it.

 

[Ringhammer]

Really looking forward to your thoughts and hopefully some samples! And maybe some installation tips.

I tried to resist but the gear/tone obsession won and I ordered the Lollar T-Birds this morning. At least it wasn’t a buzzed-Saturday-couple-of-beers-later decision.

I also committed myself to listing my ‘69 B-15n with JBL D-140f on local CL. I don’t actually expect it to sell, and that’s ok too, but I don’t actually use it, I can’t use it live in any band I’m currently in, and for recording the PF20T (or PF50T I will have when I sell the 20) with its fantastic DI outs is probably better. So if it sells for what I’ll take, then ok. If not, I may also be happy later on when I catch up on all this spending and (hopefully, when I’m another 10 years on) find myself playing in more chill bands.

 

[JIO]

I tried to resist but the gear/tone obsession won and I ordered the Lollar T-Birds this morning. At least it wasn’t a buzzed-Saturday-couple-of-beers-later decision.

I also committed myself to listing my ‘69 B-15n with JBL D-140f on local CL. I don’t actually expect it to sell, and that’s ok too, but I don’t actually use it, I can’t use it live in any band I’m currently in, and for recording the PF20T (or PF50T I will have when I sell the 20) with its fantastic DI outs is probably better. So if it sells for what I’ll take, then ok. If not, I may also be happy later on when I catch up on all this spending and (hopefully, when I’m another 10 years on) find myself playing in more chill bands.

If anyone knows what you have - you'll sell it.

 

[TBird1958]

I tried to resist but the gear/tone obsession won and I ordered the Lollar T-Birds this morning. At least it wasn’t a buzzed-Saturday-couple-of-beers-later decision.

I also committed myself to listing my ‘69 B-15n with JBL D-140f on local CL. I don’t actually expect it to sell, and that’s ok too, but I don’t actually use it, I can’t use it live in any band I’m currently in, and for recording the PF20T (or PF50T I will have when I sell the 20) with its fantastic DI outs is probably better. So if it sells for what I’ll take, then ok. If not, I may also be happy later on when I catch up on all this spending and (hopefully, when I’m another 10 years on) find myself playing in more chill bands.

You might look for some dense foam for underneath the pickups, the repros are much thinner than the black Gibson ones.

 

[Ringhammer]

You might look for some dense foam for underneath the pickups, the repros are much thinner than the black Gibson ones.

I asked Lollar if my ‘95 Gibson would need the shims they sell for installing them the Epiphone models and they said I wouldn’t. No big deal, I have a bunch of dense foam for doing Fender pups in all them Fenders I got. Even found some foams with springs in them, but I haven used them yet because the are magnetic and I have wondered if it interferes with the tone of the pups they would be under.

 

[JIO]

I didn’t realize they made those with a scarf joint for the headstock.

Most (last few decades) set-back hs necks have the scarf joint. My luthier makes all my custom necks incorporating one. It's stronger than one cut from a single piece of wood and wastes less wood.

 

[PillO]

I tried to resist but the gear/tone obsession won and I ordered the Lollar T-Birds this morning. At least it wasn’t a buzzed-Saturday-couple-of-beers-later decision.

But this is how the best decisions are made!

 

[dagrev]

Yeah, this is a great combo.


View attachment 4839688

I bet it does! The first amp I got to use around '79 was a friend's B-15. I should have begged him to sell it.

 

[Engle]

Most (last few decades) set-back hs necks have the scarf joint. My luthier makes all my custom necks incorporating one. It's stronger than one cut from a single piece of wood and wastes less wood.

My 75 Marauder has one. So Gibson knew how to do it back then

 

[Engle]

I asked Lollar if my ‘95 Gibson would need the shims they sell for installing them the Epiphone models and they said I wouldn’t. No big deal, I have a bunch of dense foam for doing Fender pups in all them Fenders I got. Even found some foams with springs in them, but I haven used them yet because the are magnetic and I have wondered if it interferes with the tone of the pups they would be under.

I don’t think springs under the pickups would have any noticeable effect.

 

[dagrev]

I record with my '76 B-15N (mic'd & d,i.'d), but live I use my Ashdown twin-tube pre 550 Spyder head powering the Ampeg JBL 15" cab. I've used the Portaflex 30w head live, but the Spyder sounds great (warm & tube-y) and is less fragile & less valuable. Once I heard my B15N - it was the sound I wanted to hear.

View attachment 4839807 View attachment 4839810

It's been decades since I've got to play through one.

 

[JIO]

It's been decades since I've got to play through one.

Amps, like basses, like strings ... are all subjective. We all are on a life-long journey as bass-players to link-up all the particulars over time that result in what we personally translate as bass nirvana. It manifests itself to each of us individually and sometimes aligns with others and sometimes not. Key is enjoying the journey and continuing to fine-tune our ears to discern such nuanced differences. When I first started as a 13yr old in 1966 - I was totally clueless. It's taken decades to hone my ideal bass sound and I'm as close to it as I can be right now to simply be able to accept it and focus on being creative on bass.

 

[Blazer]

Now if we rewind the clock back 30 years, we find that Alternative rock was pretty much dominating the land scape. But it wasn't the only underground music which became successful.

Back in my native The Netherlands, bands who were more inspired by the Red Hot Chili Peppers started to pop up. And S#*t was getting funky. As showcased by THIS band named GOTCHA!



But GOTCHA! was more into Gogo than pure P-funk. Note also bass player Eric "Bone" Boon, who, with his airtight finger style playing on a Vigier built bass, held the castle together.

In a salute to him, the others of the band named a song after him, "Bone song"

 

[MCF]

shag frets, they act all innocent but they are constantly plotting the downfall of humanity…

FretlessThunderbirds are a non starter. Just saying. As a friend.

 

[MCF]

Now if we rewind the clock back 30 years, we find that Alternative rock was pretty much dominating the land scape. But it wasn't the only underground music which became successful.

Back in my native The Netherlands, bands who were more inspired by the Red Hot Chili Peppers started to pop up. And S#*t was getting funky. As showcased by THIS band named GOTCHA!



But GOTCHA! was more into Gogo than pure P-funk. Note also bass player Eric "Bone" Boon, who, with his airtight finger style playing on a Vigier built bass, held the castle together.

In a salute to him, the others of the band named a song after him, "Bone song"

It would be interesting to know where those guys are now that they’re in their fifties.