Thunderbird Club

[dagrev]

Another college pic resurfaces. Can you spot the beer kegs as gear ? Circa 1979View attachment 5077535

Hippies.

 

[dagrev]

Needs an ashtray.

Haven't heard that in a while. Long overdue.

 

[dagrev]

Been thinking about getting a Thunderbird for a few years but it took this popping up on my Facebook feed to finally screatch the itch.

It’s a 2022, in as good as new condition with a genuine Epiphone hard case and I’m well impressed so far. Only weighs an touch over 8lbs and sits pretty well balanced on a suede strap, the neck feels great and it sounded pretty good going through the seller’s PA. Can’t wait to try it with the band through a proper rig as soon as our singer gets back from his holidays.

View attachment 5077568

Congrats! Those Epi 60s Thunderbirds are great. As close as you can get to the original 60s versions without coughing up some serious money. Be sure and try various strings. All sound OK, some make it amazing. Flats even sound good on them. I have one with rounds and another with GHS Precision Flats.

 

[bobyoung53]

Good stuff!

Thanks!

 

[GonePlaid]

'Lifted' from another thread. Wouldn't mind having it to back up my(Gibson)Thunderbird. It was on reverb, but has apparently sold. Supposedly 120W>2x15s. 2channels and heavy. Kinda cool, though.

 

[MCF]

Hi,

I can buy an epiphone thunderbird IV.
This one is from 2016, made in Indonesia and is neck through.

If I look for info about the IV, they have bolt on necks.

Can somebody give me more info about the neck through model?
Was this normal for some years to be neck through or is this another model?

Thx,

Jarno

It is likely a Classic Pro. You’ll want to buy it. As close to a modern Gibson as one can get at 1/3 the price. The perfect gateway Thunderbird!

 

[MCF]

Been thinking about getting a Thunderbird for a few years but it took this popping up on my Facebook feed to finally screatch the itch.

It’s a 2022, in as good as new condition with a genuine Epiphone hard case and I’m well impressed so far. Only weighs an touch over 8lbs and sits pretty well balanced on a suede strap, the neck feels great and it sounded pretty good going through the seller’s PA. Can’t wait to try it with the band through a proper rig as soon as our singer gets back from his holidays.

View attachment 5077568

Beautiful! Congratulations and Welcome.

 

[zoracle451]

Updating on Vintage Pro I was flipping a while back. Basically turned out that:
- The standard Tusq nut they sell online wouldn't do the job due to how it's shaped
- The saddle nuts were actually glued on to the screws

So basically I got a luthier to do it. Cost a bit but did a good job, works fine as a left instrument.

Played it for a while and noticed it was going out of tune quite badly when I wasn't playing it - earlier today I tried tuning it up and the strings ripped the bridge screws out. I think it could be the sudden rise in humidity here (it can happen if instruments are left at full tension) in addition to my using higher-tension strings.

I just can't win with it so far, it's putting me through my paces. Going to see if I can get a tech to fix it - not sure if a new bridge will be advisable here or not. Certainly it'll require some new holes to be drilled I'd imagine

 

[Ringhammer]

Be sure and try various strings.

This, for sure. I have 2 VP’s and one has the TI PowerBass set. I had an older set of these that I pulled off a Jazz bass, and put them on my white VP, and they sounded fantastic, especially compared to the very old dead strings that came on it (I got the bass used from guitar center). Then I switched over to some EBCF’s, which I like a lot and have on quite a few basses, and I was really disappointed with the sound. I pulled those off right away and then I stuck some new DR DDT’s on it so I could tune it down to Eb/drop Db, and used it live. Those strings were ok, but I’m slowly discovering that maybe the VP doesn’t like to have loose strings/lower tunings, as it wasn’t so great when the Eb string was dropped a whole step to Db. I put the old TI PowerBass strings back on it and tuned it back to E standard and it seems these are the perfect strings for this bass in standard tuning. They sound full, just the right amount of bright, even across the board, and handle drop D well. Of course they’re dumb expensive, but I think they last a long time.

Now I have to find the best string for my brand new black VP that will work in Eb/drop Db.

 

[MCF]

Updating on Vintage Pro I was flipping a while back. Basically turned out that:
- The standard Tusq nut they sell online wouldn't do the job due to how it's shaped
- The saddle nuts were actually glued on to the screws

So basically I got a luthier to do it. Cost a bit but did a good job, works fine as a left instrument.

Played it for a while and noticed it was going out of tune quite badly when I wasn't playing it - earlier today I tried tuning it up and the strings ripped the bridge screws out. I think it could be the sudden rise in humidity here (it can happen if instruments are left at full tension) in addition to my using higher-tension strings.

I just can't win with it so far, it's putting me through my paces. Going to see if I can get a tech to fix it - not sure if a new bridge will be advisable here or not. Certainly it'll require some new holes to be drilled I'd imagine

Huh. Very odd that the screws holding the claw pulled. I don’t think I’ve heard of that happening before.

 

[zoracle451]

Huh. I would think the Tusq PT-1238-00 would be fine in a VP. Is that the one you tried? And very odd that the screws holding the claw pulled. I don’t think I’ve heard of that happening before.

Problem is flipping it left - it's slightly sloped so you have the same problem as the standard Thunderbird nut where the point of contact is wrong. Basically flipping a bass left seems to require a fresh nut.

Honestly starting from scratch I would have just paid more for a left-handed instrument instead of trying to flip, it ends up costing quite a bit. But it works well as a sort of non-reversed t-bird now.

For the strings pulling, ironically an acoustic guitar tech had warned me about this exact thing happening recently, I hadn't heard of it either. Looks like he was right.

 

[MCF]

Problem is flipping it left - it's slightly sloped so you have the same problem as the standard Thunderbird nut where the point of contact is wrong. Basically flipping a bass left seems to require a fresh nut.

Honestly starting from scratch I would have just paid more for a left-handed instrument instead of trying to flip, it ends up costing quite a bit. But it works well as a sort of non-reversed t-bird now.

For the strings pulling, ironically an acoustic guitar tech had warned me about this exact thing happening recently, I hadn't heard of it either. Looks like he was right.

I remembered now. And edited the post. You’ll need to cut a nut from a blank. Are the screws the same size across the claw? My VP is at the other place so I can’t look at it now. Can you use one size larger screws and secure them in the holes with Titebond? Give it several days to cure before restringing.

 

[Engle]

Been thinking about getting a Thunderbird for a few years but it took this popping up on my Facebook feed to finally screatch the itch.

It’s a 2022, in as good as new condition with a genuine Epiphone hard case and I’m well impressed so far. Only weighs an touch over 8lbs and sits pretty well balanced on a suede strap, the neck feels great and it sounded pretty good going through the seller’s PA. Can’t wait to try it with the band through a proper rig as soon as our singer gets back from his holidays.

View attachment 5077568

Great score! Lightweight and a nice fingerboard

 

[TBird1958]

Another college pic resurfaces. Can you spot the beer kegs as gear ? Circa 1979View attachment 5077535

That cab looks a lot like a Peavy that I used to use many, many years ago, it had 2 15's or 18's I can't recall - It did make a lot of bass!

 

[bobyoung53]

Very cool Bob.

Thanks, I would rather play a jam like that than just about anything. I was house bass player in two of them for significant lengths of time, you never know what you're going to get.

 

[TBird1958]

Been thinking about getting a Thunderbird for a few years but it took this popping up on my Facebook feed to finally screatch the itch.

It’s a 2022, in as good as new condition with a genuine Epiphone hard case and I’m well impressed so far. Only weighs an touch over 8lbs and sits pretty well balanced on a suede strap, the neck feels great and it sounded pretty good going through the seller’s PA. Can’t wait to try it with the band through a proper rig as soon as our singer gets back from his holidays.

View attachment 5077568

Congratulations on your new Thunderbird, let me know if you'd like me to add you to the club roster

 

[bobyoung53]

'Lifted' from another thread. Wouldn't mind having it to back up my(Gibson)Thunderbird. It was on reverb, but has apparently sold. Supposedly 120W>2x15s. 2channels and heavy. Kinda cool, though.

There are very few amps I've met that I haven't liked, especially old ones.

 

[zoracle451]

I remembered now. And edited the post. You’ll need to cut a nut from a blank. Are the screws the same size across the claw? My VP is at the other place so I can’t look at it now. Can you use one size larger screws and secure them in the holes with Titebond? Give it several days to cure before restringing.

The nut is all good, got the tech to cut a new one

Might struggle to use a size larger with the bridge but will see if that might work, otherwise will get a tech to take a look

 

[dagrev]

Updating on Vintage Pro I was flipping a while back. Basically turned out that:
- The standard Tusq nut they sell online wouldn't do the job due to how it's shaped
- The saddle nuts were actually glued on to the screws

So basically I got a luthier to do it. Cost a bit but did a good job, works fine as a left instrument.

Played it for a while and noticed it was going out of tune quite badly when I wasn't playing it - earlier today I tried tuning it up and the strings ripped the bridge screws out. I think it could be the sudden rise in humidity here (it can happen if instruments are left at full tension) in addition to my using higher-tension strings.

I just can't win with it so far, it's putting me through my paces. Going to see if I can get a tech to fix it - not sure if a new bridge will be advisable here or not. Certainly it'll require some new holes to be drilled I'd imagine

You're in this far, might as well get it playable and enjoyable since it's going to require some fixing either way.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Thanks @Chucky Stiletti!!! My wife doesn't use the word "inspiring" for my devotion to Thunderbirds.

don’t feel bad, you’re not alone, when i told my wife that you not only tune a bass, it must be intonated as well, she told me to go to the store….