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Thunderbird Club

#264,483
mellowgerman said:
Feels good to finally be returning to the Thunderbird club! I've owned several Thunderbirds over the years and always admired their species. Some years ago though, I decided it was time for me to stick with shortscale basses. I believe my modified Epiphone Thunderbird Classic IV Pro was one of the last longscales to leave me. I loved the tone and style of the bass, but it the ergonomics made the bass a little uncomfortable for me to play in comparison to my go-to shortscales. So my thinking was to let it go and keep an eye out for one of the Gibson limited edition shortscale Thunderbirds. Unfortunately, they hardly ever come up for sale and when they do the asking price has often become double of what they sold for new. They always sell, so I can't fault the sellers, but I decided to hold out with hopes of finding one at a more reasonable price point.

Unfortunately that never really panned out, so I shifted my goals a bit to creating my own shortscale Thunderbird. A few weeks ago I came across a stockpile of homemade bodies that somebody was trying to sell cheap. One of the bodies was a funky Thunderbird with a bolt-on neck pocket. I snagged it up and then started to look for a neck that would fit. A little research revealed that the Ibanez TMB-30 neck heel was just right and there happened to be a good deal on a used one locally. The shorter scale required the original bridge position to scoot forward a bit, leaving the original screwholes exposed, so I added the tailpiece. That also allows me to use a wider selection of strings on this bass, so it was a win/win.

The body already had P/J pickup routes, which is a configuration I've typically not been a big fan of. Love a good P bass, but the jazz bridge pickup does very little for me. I tried a few different pickup combinations that fit the cavities and started to feel temptation to route it out for a proper T-bird bridge pickup, but then remembered I still had a Lace Sensor "Red" model pickup, that previously sounded pretty great in a Bronco bass. Figured, might as well give it a try. Turns out it's a bomb combination with this Fender USA Standard Alnico P pickup! Controls are master volume and master tone, with the push/pull tone pot adding the Lace Sensor to the signal. Hopefully I'll get around to recording a few sound samples eventually, but I'm really stoked on this bird. Great sustain and nice even resonance up and down the neck. Couldn't be happier and have had a hard time putting it down lately. Also, perfectly balanced, hangs just right, and ballpark weight is probably about 8 lbs. Good to be back on the bird bus!

View attachment 5218837
Click to expand...

And then this pops up:

Gibson Thunderbird Short Scale Bass 2011 - Satin Black | Reverb

say it and it happens.
 
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#264,484
Awesome! Welcome back to the fold. Think about putting a pair of these in it. The mod will be well worth it.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I am so enamored with these pickups, I’m considering swapping them for the Tbird+ Pups in my shorty.
IMG_3212.jpeg
 
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#264,487
Chucky Stiletti said:
and you shouldn’t be, but it’s what makes amps (and pricing) differ from each other…
Click to expand...
Speaking of bass amps - I briefly had a New Amp Day today.:hyper:

A 300 watt SS Eden 410 combo. Weighed well over 100 pounds but that was ok, I wasn’t planning on moving it once I got it set. Unfortunately, it sounded like complete crap.:rollno:

It looked to be in fairly good shape, no dings or obvious abuse outside of one dust cap pushed in, but easily popped back out with a vacuum cleaner. As best I can tell this thing must have fallen off a truck and was glued back together. The sound board and speakers buzzed and rattled like a banshee, every screw on every speaker was loose and nearly falling out. I messed around with it for about an hour tightening things down (but half the screws were stripped and wouldn’t really tighten). I decided to take it back to GC. The price was right (for a reason) but it was much too much amp/cab for my application and was pretty much unplayable even at modest bedroom volumes.

Back in the hunt for a nice new or used 2x12 combo or amp/cab rig that aesthetically is somewhat living room friendly.

mellowgerman said:
Feels good to finally be returning to the Thunderbird club! I've owned several Thunderbirds over the years and always admired their species. Some years ago though, I decided it was time for me to stick with shortscale basses. I believe my modified Epiphone Thunderbird Classic IV Pro was one of the last longscales to leave me. I loved the tone and style of the bass, but it the ergonomics made the bass a little uncomfortable for me to play in comparison to my go-to shortscales. So my thinking was to let it go and keep an eye out for one of the Gibson limited edition shortscale Thunderbirds. Unfortunately, they hardly ever come up for sale and when they do the asking price has often become double of what they sold for new. They always sell, so I can't fault the sellers, but I decided to hold out with hopes of finding one at a more reasonable price point.

Unfortunately that never really panned out, so I shifted my goals a bit to creating my own shortscale Thunderbird. A few weeks ago I came across a stockpile of homemade bodies that somebody was trying to sell cheap. One of the bodies was a funky Thunderbird with a bolt-on neck pocket. I snagged it up and then started to look for a neck that would fit. A little research revealed that the Ibanez TMB-30 neck heel was just right and there happened to be a good deal on a used one locally. The shorter scale required the original bridge position to scoot forward a bit, leaving the original screwholes exposed, so I added the tailpiece. That also allows me to use a wider selection of strings on this bass, so it was a win/win.

The body already had P/J pickup routes, which is a configuration I've typically not been a big fan of. Love a good P bass, but the jazz bridge pickup does very little for me. I tried a few different pickup combinations that fit the cavities and started to feel temptation to route it out for a proper T-bird bridge pickup, but then remembered I still had a Lace Sensor "Red" model pickup, that previously sounded pretty great in a Bronco bass. Figured, might as well give it a try. Turns out it's a bomb combination with this Fender USA Standard Alnico P pickup! Controls are master volume and master tone, with the push/pull tone pot adding the Lace Sensor to the signal. Hopefully I'll get around to recording a few sound samples eventually, but I'm really stoked on this bird. Great sustain and nice even resonance up and down the neck. Couldn't be happier and have had a hard time putting it down lately. Also, perfectly balanced, hangs just right, and ballpark weight is probably about 8 lbs. Good to be back on the bird bus!

View attachment 5218837
Click to expand...
That’s actually a very cool looking build.:thumbsup:
 
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#264,488
GBassNorth said:
Speaking of bass amps - I briefly had a New Amp Day today.:hyper:

A 300 watt SS Eden 410 combo. Weighed well over 100 pounds but that was ok, I wasn’t planning on moving it once I got it set. Unfortunately, it sounded like complete crap.:rollno:

It looked to be in fairly good shape, no dings or obvious abuse outside of one dust cap pushed in, but easily popped back out with a vacuum cleaner. As best I can tell this thing must have fallen off a truck and was glued back together. The sound board and speakers buzzed and rattled like a banshee, every screw on every speaker was loose and nearly falling out. I messed around with it for about an hour tightening things down (but half the screws were stripped and wouldn’t really tighten). I decided to take it back to GC. The price was right (for a reason) but it was much too much amp/cab for my application and was pretty much unplayable even at modest bedroom volumes.

Back in the hunt for a nice new or used 2x12 combo or amp/cab rig that aesthetically is somewhat living room friendly.


That’s actually a very cool looking build.:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Buy once. Cry once. Mesa TT800. Or Mesa WD800. Mesa Subway 2x12 cab. Not cheap. But amazing.
 
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#264,489
MCF said:
That’s a nice price for only 1 of 400 on the planet. With case. Reasonable shipping. Someone please buy it! Yesterday.
Click to expand...

I would, but I have purchased too many Thunderbirds lately. I just bought a ‘97 on Wednesday. Luckily I have sold a couple (finally) which made up for the white 2003, but now I’m down $1800 on the ‘97, plus the cost of the parts I’ll be buying to make it my own.
 
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#264,490
MCF said:
Buy once. Cry once. Mesa TT800. Or Mesa WD800. Mesa Subway 2x12 cab. Not cheap. But amazing.
Click to expand...
LOL - $3000 for that set up, kinda overkill for a living room rig. If I were planning on that type of expense I’d be looking at a vintage Portaflex that will at least hold its value well, which I haven’t ruled out yet.
 
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#264,493
GBassNorth said:
Speaking of bass amps - I briefly had a New Amp Day today.:hyper:

A 300 watt SS Eden 410 combo. Weighed well over 100 pounds but that was ok, I wasn’t planning on moving it once I got it set. Unfortunately, it sounded like complete crap.:rollno:

It looked to be in fairly good shape, no dings or obvious abuse outside of one dust cap pushed in, but easily popped back out with a vacuum cleaner. As best I can tell this thing must have fallen off a truck and was glued back together. The sound board and speakers buzzed and rattled like a banshee, every screw on every speaker was loose and nearly falling out. I messed around with it for about an hour tightening things down (but half the screws were stripped and wouldn’t really tighten). I decided to take it back to GC. The price was right (for a reason) but it was much too much amp/cab for my application and was pretty much unplayable even at modest bedroom volumes.

Back in the hunt for a nice new or used 2x12 combo or amp/cab rig that aesthetically is somewhat living room friendly.


That’s actually a very cool looking build.:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
So sorry that Eden didn't work out. I was really interested in hearing your thoughts on it.
 
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#264,495
Stealth57 said:
Ibanez AGB140-TBR-12-01 | Reverb
Click to expand...
That one is a bit newer. It is single cut. Ibanez nailed double cut proportions. Their single cut proportions are a little off. Not that you can see it when you play it. They sure aren't selling that one for $175.

Gretch made great sounding full hollow bass guitars for a while, too. Maybe they still do.
 
Last edited:
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#264,497
mellowgerman said:
Feels good to finally be returning to the Thunderbird club! I've owned several Thunderbirds over the years and always admired their species. Some years ago though, I decided it was time for me to stick with shortscale basses. I believe my modified Epiphone Thunderbird Classic IV Pro was one of the last longscales to leave me. I loved the tone and style of the bass, but it the ergonomics made the bass a little uncomfortable for me to play in comparison to my go-to shortscales. So my thinking was to let it go and keep an eye out for one of the Gibson limited edition shortscale Thunderbirds. Unfortunately, they hardly ever come up for sale and when they do the asking price has often become double of what they sold for new. They always sell, so I can't fault the sellers, but I decided to hold out with hopes of finding one at a more reasonable price point.

Unfortunately that never really panned out, so I shifted my goals a bit to creating my own shortscale Thunderbird. A few weeks ago I came across a stockpile of homemade bodies that somebody was trying to sell cheap. One of the bodies was a funky Thunderbird with a bolt-on neck pocket. I snagged it up and then started to look for a neck that would fit. A little research revealed that the Ibanez TMB-30 neck heel was just right and there happened to be a good deal on a used one locally. The shorter scale required the original bridge position to scoot forward a bit, leaving the original screwholes exposed, so I added the tailpiece. That also allows me to use a wider selection of strings on this bass, so it was a win/win.

The body already had P/J pickup routes, which is a configuration I've typically not been a big fan of. Love a good P bass, but the jazz bridge pickup does very little for me. I tried a few different pickup combinations that fit the cavities and started to feel temptation to route it out for a proper T-bird bridge pickup, but then remembered I still had a Lace Sensor "Red" model pickup, that previously sounded pretty great in a Bronco bass. Figured, might as well give it a try. Turns out it's a bomb combination with this Fender USA Standard Alnico P pickup! Controls are master volume and master tone, with the push/pull tone pot adding the Lace Sensor to the signal. Hopefully I'll get around to recording a few sound samples eventually, but I'm really stoked on this bird. Great sustain and nice even resonance up and down the neck. Couldn't be happier and have had a hard time putting it down lately. Also, perfectly balanced, hangs just right, and ballpark weight is probably about 8 lbs. Good to be back on the bird bus!

View attachment 5218837
Click to expand...
Man that looks cool!
 
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