Thunderbird Club

[The EDP]

Thx for the info, quite possibly the pickups I’m looking for. Looks like I’ll need to scour the earth for used ones, I don’t see anything new listed that fits the description.

Am happy to shift these, check your messages

 

[ThaCoast]

Ah gotchya. Well it may be me in that regards if i decide to go for those xD



I'll go in CAD price since thats where i'm located.

Price for each set: (tx/shipping incl.)
ChinaBuckers: 130$ (on reverb.com)

Eppi 760Probuckers: 250$ (on reverb.com)

Gibby NR Reissues: 396.50$ (389$ if i bought in store, save the shipping costs)

Gemini Dominators: 310.95$

Now onto a sound demo on youtube. All of which sound good in their rights still. 3 of 4 are nickel/chrome plate covers. Dominators in thunderbird format is nickel plate (they offer this in soapbar form which is black only).

In my personal taste, i definitely prefer a bird in parallel vs series (least with ceramic magnet pickups). Alnico 5 (or 8 of the Gemini offerings) may sound good in both series/parallel. Tough my bird will only be on/off, both parallel always. & split coil is of no need, i got other basses for that aspect in tone.

Lots have raved about the chinabuckers from eyparts, Epiphone & Gibson offerings have their diehards too. Gemini definitely is an untested underdog, & might be a game changer for lots of us if they prove to be everything we'd want.

Videos:

Non reverse Gibby:



Epiphone pro760:



Chinabucker:


Gemini dominator

Quoting myself because chinabucker direct from eyparts website is: 114.96 USD/157.37 CAD (air mail) or 128.96 USD/176.53 CAD (fedex).

 

[GonePlaid]

Quoting myself because chinabucker direct from eyparts website is: 114.96 USD/157.37 CAD (air mail) or 128.96 USD/176.53 CAD (fedex).

Oh. Well, of course you'll wanna go with FedMess.

 

[JJR58]

Oh. Well, of course you'll wanna go with FedMess.

Fedmess never again, had a close call, almost awful disaster happen.
The shipping gods must have been looking out over me.

 

[kyral210]

I why aren’t thunderbirds more popular?

they look awesome in a way that commands the stage in a way that a gender just can’t. Is the tone that unappealing?

 

[GonePlaid]

I why aren’t thunderbirds more popular?

they look awesome in a way that commands the stage in a way that a gender just can’t. Is the tone that unappealing?

Marketing-or a lack thereof-plus baseless prejudice.

edit: using the word in its original meaning-'pre-judging', based on (?)

 

[D.M.N.]

I've been thinking about coil split options for one of my Thunderbirds, might be I need to pickup a spare EY pickup and experiment for myself...

 

[ThaCoast]

I why aren’t thunderbirds more popular?

they look awesome in a way that commands the stage in a way that a gender just can’t. Is the tone that unappealing?

Pbass & jazz basses have the bird beat in terms of perhaps widely used tones. Where the modern birds are the low end grunt, compared to vintage birds that are more angry piano like. Depends really, i love my bird, but wouldnt use it as my only gig bass when my others handle the whole spectrum of dark/warm, to bright punch with ease.

Also marketing, oddshape gives way to neck dive. Etc.

I've been thinking about coil split options for one of my Thunderbirds, might be I need to pickup a spare EY pickup and experiment for myself...

Or the eyparts eric custom 8 pole 2015 bird pickup varient if you're curious.

 

[GonePlaid]

Interesting article from Reverb about our favorite bass's "little brother".
A Timeline of Gibson Firebirds

 

[D.M.N.]

Or the eyparts eric custom 8 pole 2015 bird pickup varient if you're curious.

I'll give those a look, but I prefer the blade magnet design over pole pieces directly beneath string, and my hunch is those pickups might be built to sound a bit darker than the 60s style pickups, though I very well could be wrong on that matter.

 

[Engle]

The pickups in my EB4 with the exposed pole pieces are splittable, AND it's the first and last time I thought split coils actually sounded good....

Does it switch in a capacitor when you engage the coil split?

 

[KaraQ]

 

[D.M.N.]

Actually, I just recalled I've had someone here in LA rewind my a '68 Telecaster bass pickup for me and they did a stellar job, I'll need to look them up, maybe I can have them coil split one of my Epi 760s since I only ever use the neck one in my Vintage Pro.

 

[MCF]

The pickups in my EB4 with the exposed pole pieces are splittable, AND it's the first and last time I thought split coils actually sounded good....

The Dicola pickups, available in a Thunderbird for 2015 only, are what make the ‘15 a desirable addition to any Thunderbird flock.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Apparently the volume control crackles.
From the little bit I've read, these amps are tube preamp/SS power amp. And the power amp needs to be biased periodically using a scope.

we can do it in Seattle, I’ll bring a scope…
I would try it out since a slight miss bias is not the end of the world and you know how to clean a dirty pot….those amps will be (if not already) in the Holy Grail category imho….I remember their shop in Whittier…

 

[semiprohooker]

Apparently the volume control crackles.
From the little bit I've read, these amps are tube preamp/SS power amp. And the power amp needs to be biased periodically using a scope.

If I make the GTG I'll take my Kemper cuz I'd love to get some profiles of that thing. That's a really cool piece for sure.

 

[WillyW]

Does it switch in a capacitor when you engage the coil split?

I took the cover off once and I can't remember what I saw...

The Dicola pickups, available in a Thunderbird for 2015 only, are what make the ‘15 a desirable addition to any Thunderbird flock.

Is that anything like Dickfor pickups?

 

[dagrev]

@Chucky Stiletti I got a round to taking a pic of the '76 cap. Even with a bright light I can't make anything out on it.

 

[MCF]

I why aren’t thunderbirds more popular?

they look awesome in a way that commands the stage in a way that a gender just can’t. Is the tone that unappealing?

Have you ever played a Thunderbird? There is nothing unappealing about the tone. There are a multitude of tones in Gibsons, Epiphones, Grecos, etc if a player knows what they are doing with the volume and tone knobs, string choice, and amp eq. I can make my 2015 sound like a JBass if I want to. I don’t, but that’s my personal preference. I can get all of my Thunderbirds sound like a Pbass if I want to And I sometimes do. But I also have Pbasses.

 

[Engle]

If I make the GTG I'll take my Kemper cuz I'd love to get some profiles of that thing. That's a really cool piece for sure.

we can do it in Seattle, I’ll bring a scope…
I would try it out since a slight miss bias is not the end of the world and you know how to clean a dirty pot….those amps will be (if not already) in the Holy Grail category imho….I remember their shop in Whittier…

Sounds like you guys are saying is it's worth grabbing this.
I need to find out how much trouble it is crossing the border with gear, if you're not playing gigs or selling.