Thunderbird Club

[GBassNorth]

Just wanted to pick the collective brain here on one of the most active clubs on TB. Generally speaking....I can't for the life of me figure out why the newer Thunderbird NR has so many negative reviews. I understand it may not be everyone's cup 'o tea, but it seems to get a thumbs down more often than not by YouTube reviewers. For those of you that have 'em, does your experience line up with the disdain for this model? I definitely dig mine. Looks amazing, sounds thick, and has great clarity, IMO. Here's a pic of my NR with my '79 bicentennial bird:



I know there are gonna be folks in this particular club that obviously like the NR. I'm trying to figure out why the consensus of most YT reviewers seem to feel similarly. I do tend to wonder if the same would hold true if there were a different name on the headstock. There's a couple vids (I think several folks from here) that are actually favorable, but otherwise it seems heavily slanted towards negativity.

I have an assortment of Gibson and other brand Tbirds in both reverse and non reverse layout, as well a numerous other Fender, Spector, Warwick, Alembic, etc other brands of basses. First and foremost, I’d say to enjoy or appreciate a Tbird of any type you have to like the sound that humbuckers bring to the table. It’s not a single coil sound by any stretch. It’s very much in the P bass family of sound but IMHO a bit more on the bottom and the top. Within the Tbird family is the new NR. It does bring a couple of notable differences to the mix - the body shape and associated ergonomics and a slightly different sound somewhere between the aggressiveness of an Eppi VP Tbird and the smoothness of a modern Gibby Reverse Tbird.

I just received my NR a couple of weeks ago as a gift from my wife (she’s a keeper, so’s the wife). Build, fit and finish and Quality Control are top notch, haven’t found any flaws anywhere. Hardware and electronics are top notch, nothing cheap feeling or looking about the tuners or bridge or other parts. Ergonomics while sitting are better than any Fender I own, perfectly balanced, no neck dive sitting, and none standing. Weight is fairly light for a twin pup bass at about 8 pounds. Reach to first position isn’t noticeably better or worse than any other 34” scale bass I own. Sound wise, it’s thick and bold, a perfect bass for driving a solid foundation for the band, not as in your face as the VP, but certainly no shrinking violet.

This bass can do anything a Fender P bass can do and then some. Which begs the question - at $2200 for, in essence, a vintage reissue of an iconic 1960’s bass, is it priced right? Compared to a newly released Fender American Vintage II Precision Bass at $2100…
Fender American Vintage II 1960 Precision Bass - 3-tone Sunburst
it’s in the right ball park. Both are American made and considered flagship basses by their respective companies. My only complaint about the NR is it didn’t go far enough down the vintage reissue path. They could have installed the two part bridge from the Eppi VP to complete the look and they could have used the exact same pickup locations from the original to complete the vintage sound. Both are relatively easy aftermarket fixes if you want, but by no means are they a necessity.

That’s my lobster review! And BTW, I pay zero attention to YouTube reviews unless the bass is owned by the reviewer. It’s too easy to write off a good bass that has bad strings or is connected to a bad amp or is reviewed by a person with a bad opinion. Give me an owner that has spent some time with it, changed the stock strings, tried it through a couple of different amps and played it side by side with competitors offerings and I’ll listen to what they have to say.

Obligatory pic…

 

[KaraQ]

I don't know if they were putting the serial number on the neck plate before or after 2018. My 2018 has the serial number stamped into the back of the headstock. Unfortunately, the picture is too small to read the serial number.

I wonder when they made the change?

I'll have to go looking through Reverb & eBay postings when I get the chance, see if I can figure it out.....

From what I was able to figure out by going through a bunch of old reverb & ebay listings, it looks like the s/n change for the bolt-on 'birds - from neck-plate to back of headstock - happened for the 2011 model year.

Could have been some change-over in late 2010, but up through 08/2010 at least was neck-plate serial number.
Headstock s/n started from at least 01/2011




Afaik

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Me in Utah 40years ago.........

My buddy Blair's shot, god what I would give to go see this train again - If I could go back in time.

YES! Yes!!!

 

[Engle]

Golf is too posh for my tastes.

Funny, I don’t think of it that way.
If I’m going to spend time honing a skill, music is much more rewarding.

 

[Engle]

From what I was able to figure out by going through a bunch of old reverb & ebay listings, it looks like the s/n change for the bolt-on 'birds - from neck-plate to back of headstock - happened for the 2011 model year.

Could have been some change-over in late 2010, but up through 08/2010 at least was neck-plate serial number.
Headstock s/n started from at least 01/2011

Afaik

My Epi Explorer had the serial number stamped into the poly on the back of the headstock. The poly is gone, so I’m going to replace the number with a foil decal.

 

[Engle]

NR’s huh.

View attachment 4863286
View attachment 4863285

At first glance I thought I saw block inlays on the red one. How sweet would that be?

 

[JJR58]

At first glance I thought I saw block inlays on the red one. How sweet would that be?

It was @Chucky Stiletti's awesome photography that got that cool effect.
Also his basses, but you probably knew that.

 

[DesolationBlvd]

So once my Thunderbird is refinished and loaded with Bartolini electronics, I'll have the old pickups lying around along with the stock bridge I ditched for the Babicz. I want to assemble a bolt-on Thunderbird to use up the parts, but with a twist - the pickups will be neck shifted and I'll add a strangle cap, like Rickenbacker. To make this easier, I'll probably have this take a standard Fender style neck - I'll take it up a notch and go for an aluminum neck. Or maybe I'll dismantle my 1989 Jackson Concert Bass so I'll have a Thunderbird with a Jackson neck.

Anyone able to suggest somebody to make such a body? No neck plate, I'd like to have the strap button on the back.

Also, I saw a show recently where the bassist had a recent NR Thunderbird he was just scraping the headstock along his amp for the ending.

 

[GonePlaid]

Me in Utah 40years ago.........

My buddy Blair's shot, god what I would give to go see this train again - If I could go back in time.

RSD's are way cool. Especially the high hood versions. IMO.

 

[Engle]

So once my Thunderbird is refinished and loaded with Bartolini electronics, I'll have the old pickups lying around along with the stock bridge I ditched for the Babicz. I want to assemble a bolt-on Thunderbird to use up the parts, but with a twist - the pickups will be neck shifted and I'll add a strangle cap, like Rickenbacker. To make this easier, I'll probably have this take a standard Fender style neck - I'll take it up a notch and go for an aluminum neck. Or maybe I'll dismantle my 1989 Jackson Concert Bass so I'll have a Thunderbird with a Jackson neck.

Anyone able to suggest somebody to make such a body? No neck plate, I'd like to have the strap button on the back.

Also, I saw a show recently where the bassist had a recent NR Thunderbird he was just scraping the headstock along his amp for the ending.

There’s a guy on eBay that makes Tbird bodies with Fender neck pocket specs. I believe you can custom order the pickup routes.

A few things to be aware of: You will need to angle the neck back to use a 3 point bridge, and a Fender-style neck is wider. You may want to consider a Fender style bridge.

 

[DesolationBlvd]

There’s a guy on eBay that makes Tbird bodies with Fender neck pocket specs. I believe you can custom order the pickup routes.

A few things to be aware of: You will need to angle the neck back to use a 3 point bridge, and a Fender-style neck is wider. You may want to consider a Fender style bridge.

I do also have the Jackson-branded Fender-style bridge I removed to be able to install the Hipshot on the Jackson Concert I mentioned in the previous post and let me top-load ultra-heavy strings for BEAD tuning.

I can do wiring. I have a feeling I'll have to splice a little extra wire to make up for the pickup positions shifting up. But I can't do paint.

If it's unfinished bodies only, I'll just go with my luthier for this project. I'll supply the short-scale aluminum neck since it uses a Mustang style pocket and not the regular scale neck pocket.

But if the bodies are available finished, I'll buy the cheaper regular-scale aluminum neck and assemble the instrument myself.

 

[WillyW]

So once my Thunderbird is refinished and loaded with Bartolini electronics, I'll have the old pickups lying around along with the stock bridge I ditched for the Babicz. I want to assemble a bolt-on Thunderbird to use up the parts, but with a twist - the pickups will be neck shifted and I'll add a strangle cap, like Rickenbacker. To make this easier, I'll probably have this take a standard Fender style neck - I'll take it up a notch and go for an aluminum neck. Or maybe I'll dismantle my 1989 Jackson Concert Bass so I'll have a Thunderbird with a Jackson neck.

Anyone able to suggest somebody to make such a body? No neck plate, I'd like to have the strap button on the back.

Also, I saw a show recently where the bassist had a recent NR Thunderbird he was just scraping the headstock along his amp for the ending.

flushmount straplock (or a button) with or without neck plate

 

[GBassNorth]

flushmount straplock (or a button) with or without neck plate

View attachment 4863545 View attachment 4863546 View attachment 4863548

Willy - I love the flush mount strap lock on my 1990’s Warwick (I think it might be a Dunlop but not sure). Do you have a link to the brand of flush mount strap lock you’re using? I assume you’d recommend it, no issues?

 

[WillyW]

Willy - I love the flush mount strap lock on my 1990’s Warwick (I think it might be a Dunlop but not sure). Do you have a link to the brand of flush mount strap lock you’re using? I assume you’d recommend it, no issues?

Warwick are the Dunlop flush mounts. That's what I use.
I had a 92 corvette 6 string

 

[Engle]

I do also have the Jackson-branded Fender-style bridge I removed to be able to install the Hipshot on the Jackson Concert I mentioned in the previous post and let me top-load ultra-heavy strings for BEAD tuning.

I can do wiring. I have a feeling I'll have to splice a little extra wire to make up for the pickup positions shifting up. But I can't do paint.

If it's unfinished bodies only, I'll just go with my luthier for this project. I'll supply the short-scale aluminum neck since it uses a Mustang style pocket and not the regular scale neck pocket.

But if the bodies are available finished, I'll buy the cheaper regular-scale aluminum neck and assemble the instrument myself.

I don't think this guy does finished bodies:
FBB Bass Body, Custom, 4 String, Fits P Bass Style Neck, Mahogany, USA Made

 

[RedVee]

For me, it would have to be a 1950s ES125 or ES175. Maybe an ES335 if there's one with a fistful of neck. I have a Loar copy of an ES125 and another that's the acoustic version like an L48. That's as close as I'm ever likely to get. I had an Ibanez ES335 clone for a while, and probably should never have let it go. I didn't like the way the pickups sounded. Swapping pickups is pretty easy relative to finding the right guitar.

So it goes. I make them all sound lousy anyway. And, just for the record, life and everything is all about the f-holes.

The ES125 is the guitar George Thoroughgood uses?

I’m actively searching for a Mike Lull T5 or NRT5 and would welcome any leads.

A club member was selling one quite recently. Good luck with your search.

 

[Nocturnal]

Late again for Thunderbird Thursday!

Some video from our most recent gig:

Tim Lohr on Instagram: "Poppy playing their track "Trophy Hunter" at Nitro Bar in West Reading PA. This is the first song from that night's set, the rest of which will be on the YouTube page shortly @poppybandphiladelphia @nitrobarwestreading"

Nicely done!!

 

[bylar13]

Nicely done!!

Thanks!

 

[DesolationBlvd]

I don't think this guy does finished bodies:
FBB Bass Body, Custom, 4 String, Fits P Bass Style Neck, Mahogany, USA Made

Hmm. I could get along with an oiled finish. Having to do final sanding too, though, I’m on the fence. The price is right at least. I’ll also ask the makers of the cheaper aluminum neck a few questions.

 

[PaleAngel_90]

Hmm. I could get along with an oiled finish. Having to do final sanding too, though, I’m on the fence. The price is right at least. I’ll also ask the makers of the cheaper aluminum neck a few questions.

Aluminum neck for a bass? Never heard that before, can you share a picture?