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Thunderbird Club

#29,101
ProgressiveDoom said:
Aw come on, you rock a sweet Thunderbird!, live wildly!. ;)
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I always get a kick out of the "what should I wear threads" that show up in Band Management, I spend an hour and a half getting dressed/ready for a show - meanwhile, Joe Pee bass shows up in cargo pants and flip flops :facepalm:
I have some new things to wear for upcoming shows.........

PillO said:
Well, aren't you just giving them reason to look? It is what those in the insurance industry would call an attractive nuisance.
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I'm not complaining too much, I do enjoy the attention, normally I'm quite shy, dress me up and give me a Thunderbird and something goes off in my head I guess. The creepy guys/girls kind of throw me though.
 
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#29,102
TBird1958 said:
I always get a kick out of the "what should I wear threads" that show up in Band Management, I spend an hour and a half getting dressed/ready for a show - meanwhile, Joe Pee bass shows up in cargo pants and flip flops :facepalm:
I have some new things to wear for upcoming shows.........



I'm not complaining too much, I do enjoy the attention, normally I'm quite shy, dress me up and give me a Thunderbird and something goes off in my head I guess. The creepy guys/girls kind of throw me though.
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Creepy throws all of us. Creepy never works.
 
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#29,103
veebass said:
Yes, that's true.I don't know if the Telecaster Bass concerned was used in the recording. It would have needed some taming. It may have just been used in the clip.
My point was that those humbucker Telecaster Basses are the least Fender sounding basses Fender has made. The Seth Lover wide range humbucker is a monster. Much more appealing to a Gibson Bass lover like me.
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Plan 9's original bass player has a '72 Tele bass with a chrome covered 'bucker, and yep, it's got teeth and roar that your regular cargo shorts and flip-flops Fender just doesn't, that's for sure. I still hear some Fender in it, but this one has presence in the live mix. Personality, with a bullet.
 
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#29,104
Does anyone make a copy of the original Gibson Thunderbird? I mean, down to the detail in way they copy certain artist's guitars? Measure the neck, disassemble to get all the details etc. Obviously Gibson won't/can't but does anyone? I've never seen or heard an original and many speak about how they're so different, but anything can be made right? Furthermore, aside from pickups, what is so different that it wound have a significant difference?
 
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#29,105
TBird1958 said:
I have a Burny Thunderbird as it turns out, but not that specific model.
It's like that discussion yesterday, looks like a Thunderbird but in the true sense isn't one. Briefly, it's set neck, slightly bigger than a '76, plays nice and easy, has a volute ( yay, I got to use that in a sentence), the pots are cheap the pups aren't anything to yell about, if I keep mine it may get some Chinabuckers. It's very light and has the largest %&^*#$@ headstock ever.

Burny017.jpg
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Cool - so now I know the Burny has (more or less) the same sized hs as an original, which is large. What year is yours?
 
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#29,107
wolfkeller said:
Does anyone make a copy of the original Gibson Thunderbird? I mean, down to the detail in way they copy certain artist's guitars? Measure the neck, disassemble to get all the details etc. Obviously Gibson won't/can't but does anyone? I've never seen or heard an original and many speak about how they're so different, but anything can be made right? Furthermore, aside from pickups, what is so different that it wound have a significant difference?
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Not that I'm aware of and yes, it would be fun to do an authentic replica. Fender Japan came closest to replicating the '51 P in the early 90's, but I don't know if you had one in a room with an actual '51 if they would be indistingishable sonically. I'll guess they would sound different even if every build detail was replicated.
 
#29,108
JIO said:
Cool - so now I know the Burny has (more or less) the same sized hs as an original, which is large. What year is yours?
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I think mine's 4-5 years old, the headstock is huge, bigger than a '76 or my Orville - Boat paddle!
 
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#29,109
wolfkeller said:
Does anyone make a copy of the original Gibson Thunderbird? I mean, down to the detail in way they copy certain artist's guitars? Measure the neck, disassemble to get all the details etc. Obviously Gibson won't/can't but does anyone? I've never seen or heard an original and many speak about how they're so different, but anything can be made right? Furthermore, aside from pickups, what is so different that it wound have a significant difference?
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No one says it can't be done. But it can't be done for significantly less than a real one actually costs. Or what the average Epi owner is prepared to pay.

'Significant difference' is subjective. Usually depending on how much you're willing or able to spend. There's a lot more hand work in an original Thunderbird compared to later versions, mainly body contouring. IMO Price would have to be at least $6K, maybe more if you go by what a CS Precision costs.

JIO said:
Fender Japan came closest to replicating the '51 P in the early 90's, but I don't know if you had one in a room with an actual '51 if they would be indistingishable sonically. I'll guess they would sound different even if every build detail was replicated.
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The MIJ '51 reissue is nowhere close to an original. Some Fender USA Custom Shop ones are pretty much spot on.
 
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#29,110
JIO said:
Not that I'm aware of and yes, it would be fun to do an authentic replica. Fender Japan came closest to replicating the '51 P in the early 90's, but I don't know if you had one in a room with an actual '51 if they would be indistingishable sonically. I'll guess they would sound different even if every build detail was replicated.
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See, I don't get that. I'd think that all parts being equal, it would sound the same. I mean, did all the early birds sound different?
 
#29,111
BklynKen said:
Still need to play more, but this new Darkglass Alpha-Omega pedal is playing really nicely with my Thunderbird. Getting some really nice old school organic Geezer Butler-type tone.
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That is exactly the opposite of what I need to hear right now as I struggle not to pull the trigger on that damn pedal.
 
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#29,113
wolfkeller said:
Maybe I lack the knowledge to understand, I personally don't get how a new instrument could possibly cost 6k+ to build? Why? What is so different that it needs to cost so much?
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It doesn't cost 6K to build. It costs significantly less if you have the equipment, skill, and materials. If you don't have those, you are SOL and have to pay whatever the market demands.
 
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#29,115
wolfkeller said:
Yeah I hear ya. I definitely understand that craftsmanship side of it but still.
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No totally I get it. I ask the same question all the time of some builders prices. But if these guys do it for a living they have to make a pretty big markup on their instruments to make a living. Mike Lull builds a great T-bird for about 4 grand. It's a bolt on though, not neck through.

His reverse engineered T-bird pickups are the best I've ever heard. Those damn things are 500.00 for a pair!
 
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#29,116
Dadagoboi said:
No one says it can't be done. But it can't be done for significantly less than a real one actually costs. Or what the average Epi owner is prepared to pay.

'Significant difference' is subjective. Usually depending on how much you're willing or able to spend. There's a lot more hand work in an original Thunderbird compared to later versions, mainly body contouring. IMO Price would have to be at least $6K, maybe more if you go by what a CS Precision costs.

agree

The MIJ '51 reissue is nowhere close to an original. Some Fender USA Custom Shop ones are pretty much spot on.
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The later '96 wasn't, but the earlier 90's Japanese import version w/large barrel string-thru ferrules and closer to original finish was closest as a production model. Yes, it didn't have phenolic saddles..,
 
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#29,117
willsellout said:
No totally I get it. I ask the same question all the time of some builders prices. But if these guys do it for a living they have to make a pretty big markup on their instruments to make a living. Mike Lull builds a great T-bird for about 4 grand. It's a bolt on though, not neck through.

His reverse engineered T-bird pickups are the best I've ever heard. Those damn things are 500.00 for a pair!
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Exactly - everyone is used to mass produced MIC everything that costs very little. Just like the price of gas - if its cost factored in the bigger impact it has on the world no-one could afford it.
 
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#29,120
vdub75 said:
Sooo.... I have a nickel Bridge on my nonreverse that is gonna be replaced by a babicz. I want to put the nickel Bridge onto my classic pro. I Need the flat Bridge inserts from the Gibson to go under the Babicz. Where can I get Chrome or nickel Bridge inserts for my classic pro?

Does anybody know whether the cable of the neck pickup runs thru the Bridge pickup cavity on the classic pro?
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help :-D
 

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