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Thunderbird Club

#259,161
I have a set of 2021 Gibson NR pickups in my VP, I got them from Scott in a straight trade for Epi 760s some time back. I much prefer the Gibson's while Scott likes the Epi far better, I think a lot of our choices are based on the rigs we each use. For me, the Gibson's have a lot more going on in the low to mid frequencies and a bit less upper end zing than the Epi.
dagrev said:
Interesting proposal for you Scott: Take one of your VPs and see how the NR pickups sound in the nearly correct/original pickup locations of a VP. Or you can just buy another VP to do that to!:D
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Ringhammer said:
Just ordered two of the vintage Alnico V chrome ones. These may end up in my '22 VP or in my first '01 Thunderbird (not the "natural" '01 one I just bought, since that has actual Thunderbuckers, they will stay with that one). Since I have Lollars in the '01 and my '95, I may pull them out of the '01 in favor of these new genuine Gibson pickups and sell the Lollars, even though the Lollars ARE awesome. OR, maybe I'll have to get another Thunderbird to put them in:rolleyes:!

I also like the idea of putting them in the VP, which (as was said a few posts ago), puts them very close the the positions they were meant for. So many choices….
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041F5757-7A7A-48B3-84B3-F4CC5341D654.jpeg
 
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#259,162
TBird1958 said:
I have a set of 2021 Gibson NR pickups in my VP, I got them from Scott in a straight trade for Epi 760s some time back. I much prefer the Gibson's while Scott likes the Epi far better, I think a lot of our choices are based on the rigs we each use. For me, the Gibson's have a lot more going on in the low to mid frequencies and a bit less upper end zing than the Epi.


View attachment 5167086
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I have two VP's. I got the first one for $350'ish and as soon as I put new strings on it I LOVED IT! Not likely to do anything to that one. I liked it so much I bought a new VP in black. I love how it looks but was not loving the sound. Somehow it wasn't the same. Also a little heavier than the white one. I put some Novak Thunderbird pickups on it and a heavy set of GHS boomers (it's tuned to Eb and drop Db), and that made it much better. Still not the magic of the white one, but damn close. Your experience with the '21s in your VP is making me lean towards trying these new Gibsons in the black VP and seeing if I like it.
 
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#259,164
semiprohooker said:
Any suggestions where to start on pickup selection? Obviously, my natural inclination is to something tonally similar to the Lulls since they're unavailable separately. A black cover would be much appreciated as well.

Might as well start looking for a P neck for it too, lol
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You could check out the new Gibsons that they are selling, the "modern" version is black.
 
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#259,165
Chucky Stiletti said:
heck, we may have even crossed paths…..my brother was born in Colombus in 67 and my dad used to like going to the track…only 240 HP on those…...they sure look good though…. from what I recall that class was dominated (as you said) by TR-4s…..to this day it baffles me that GM would exercise the audacity of producing a rear mounted turbocharged (not super) air cooled flat engine…..
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If we crossed paths somehow in Ohio, that would be one more amazing coincidence that seems pretty routine around here. I probably would have seen those in 1968 or 1969 at the SCCA Nationals that ran there. My dad would take me and my brother up to the races there. We lived in Blacklick, east of Columbus. I'm about seven years older than your brother, for what that's worth.

Second generation Corvairs sure do look good. If I lived in the boonies and had a big ol' pole barn where I could live out my hillbilly urges, one of those would be on the list for garage ornament. Fortunately or not, my very urban wife saved me from that path, so it all gets channeled into filling up the music room with much smaller, cheaper junk.
 
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#259,171
Gaolee said:
Happy day for somebody.
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Yeah, truthfully, I'll be happy if he winds up using it more than I did. All my gigs are IEM ampless, and my practicing happens late at night after kids are in bed on headphones. I profiled it with my Kemper with my favorite mic and a Neve console so I can "play it" any time I want.
 
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#259,173
Bassmike62 said:
Another step towards FenderBird #3: (mexican) Fender neck just came in.
Hipshot Supertone bridge already ordered, should be in next week. One more thing before bringing all this to the tech: getting the proper Hipshot Keys.

View attachment 5166949

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Dig the reverse headstock, looks the part for sure!!

Question to the kingdom about fenderbirds;

What's the appeal? Anything to do with neck dive, or neck feel/profile? Or does Entwhistle's influence weigh on this too? Genuinely curious, closest ive come to playing a fenderbird is the Dean bird they made/make - was nice, though too slim a neck for my preference on a big body.
 
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#259,174
semiprohooker said:
Here's one for you.... I'm really digging the Mike Lull big Bird I picked up recently. So much so that I'm considering routing up a jazz bass I have.

My wife bought me a MIM Jazz cuz "I didn't have a Jazz bass" but I just never seem to get along with J's (that's why I didn't have one). I'd love to make it a bass I actually want to play. Anybody got any experience routing in some TBird pickups in a J?
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I'm pretty sure there are a few ThunderJs floating around this club somewhere.
 
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#259,177
Ringhammer said:
Just ordered two of the vintage Alnico V chrome ones. These may end up in my '22 VP or in my first '01 Thunderbird (not the "natural" '01 one I just bought, since that has actual Thunderbuckers, they will stay with that one). Since I have Lollars in the '01 and my '95, I may pull them out of the '01 in favor of these new genuine Gibson pickups and sell the Lollars, even though the Lollars ARE awesome. OR, maybe I'll have to get another Thunderbird to put them in:rolleyes:!

I also like the idea of putting them in the VP, which (as was said a few posts ago), puts them very close the the positions they were meant for. So many choices….
Click to expand...
Yes!
 
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#259,178
Gaolee said:
If we crossed paths somehow in Ohio, that would be one more amazing coincidence that seems pretty routine around here. I probably would have seen those in 1968 or 1969 at the SCCA Nationals that ran there. My dad would take me and my brother up to the races there. We lived in Blacklick, east of Columbus. I'm about seven years older than your brother, for what that's worth.

Second generation Corvairs sure do look good. If I lived in the boonies and had a big ol' pole barn where I could live out my hillbilly urges, one of those would be on the list for garage ornament. Fortunately or not, my very urban wife saved me from that path, so it all gets channeled into filling up the music room with much smaller, cheaper junk.
Click to expand...
even more coincidence, we were practically neighbors…my dad worked at the Cooper Bessemer office in Mount Vernon where we lived…..could have totally happended as I was 5 in 69 and remember the track….
B03BE055-C478-47CE-AA48-A92E9537439C.jpeg
 
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#259,180
TBird1958 said:
I have a set of 2021 Gibson NR pickups in my VP, I got them from Scott in a straight trade for Epi 760s some time back. I much prefer the Gibson's while Scott likes the Epi far better, I think a lot of our choices are based on the rigs we each use. For me, the Gibson's have a lot more going on in the low to mid frequencies and a bit less upper end zing than the Epi.


View attachment 5167086
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Duh.... Why do I keep forgetting this? Kind of a hard bass to forget! I think/imagine the NR pickups would sound fantastic if not ideal in a VP for the reasons you mentioned. You may have the perfect VP. I can't help but think the 760s would/might sound great in a NR with the neck location being closer to the neck, thus helping with a little bottom and fullness.
 
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