Thunderbird Club

[Rumblefisher]

Hey guys, I’ve wanted a Tbird for some time…I had one briefly but passed it along far too quickly without giving it a fair shake. I’ve tried to scour the club and talkbass in general to see if there are any “better” recent build years…

1990s seem to be well regarded and have the ebony board

2015 have the coil tap switch and seem to be a redesign year

2018 seems to be another “let’s get our QC together” kind of banner year

What do you guys think? I have a lead on a 2018 and maybe a 2015…I don’t really need the coil tap and the 2018 is lighter by a half pound…

Much appreciated in advance, every thread I read about T birds suggests a visit here for any questions , I’m sure with excellent reason

 

[TBird1958]

Hey guys, I’ve wanted a Tbird for some time…I had one briefly but passed it along far too quickly without giving it a fair shake. I’ve tried to scour the club and talkbass in general to see if there are any “better” recent build years…

1990s seem to be well regarded and have the ebony board

2015 have the coil tap switch and seem to be a redesign year

2018 seems to be another “let’s get our QC together” kind of banner year

What do you guys think? I have a lead on a 2018 and maybe a 2015…I don’t really need the coil tap and the 2018 is lighter by a half pound…

Much appreciated in advance, every thread I read about T birds suggests a visit here for any questions , I’m sure with excellent reason

As always be welcome and thank you for a good question.

Yours is a reasonable assessment of Post'88 re-issue Gibson, I would say the years from '88 - 06 for a standard Bird to be good, there's some extra finish choices like Classic White and Black, some variation in the stock pickups ( Gibson went thru at least three different in this time period) and a very shallow pitch neck.
The 2015 is it's own thing, I need to have one, it's a cool Thunderbird capable of a lot of tonal variation.

 

[GBassNorth]

Who's sponsoring?!

Maybe we can convince North Guitars.

Any and all are always welcome to my humble bass adorned abode.
As far as sponsoring a road show, maybe some day, ya just never know.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Tuesday.

great photo, UW?

 

[Rumblefisher]

As always be welcome and thank you for a good question.

Yours is a reasonable assessment of Post'88 re-issue Gibson, I would say the years from '88 - 06 for a standard Bird to be good, there's some extra finish choices like Classic White and Black, some variation in the stock pickups ( Gibson went thru at least three different in this time period) and a very shallow pitch neck.
The 2015 is it's own thing, I need to have one, it's a cool Thunderbird capable of a lot of tonal variation.

Thanks very much for your response! Any feelings on the 2018 models?

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

What are the long yellow bases all about? I don't recall ever seeing anything like that before, not that I have dug into amps much.

Yellow Jackets® Converters • Tube Adapters | Tube Depot

Yellow Jackets® converters are a specialized adapter which permit the use of EL84/6BQ5 power tubes in place of 6V6, 6L6, EL34, & 7591 type vacuum tubes.

www.tubedepot.com

 

[TBird1958]

great photo, UW?

I'm on the roof of my work, on 2nd Ave. S. the steeple is the old Great Northern (now Amtrak) station, just beyond is Lumen Field (Seahawks), so we're in historic Pioneer Square.

 

[TBird1958]

Thanks very much for your response! Any feelings on the 2018 models?

I don't own one from that specific year, so I can't say that it would be better.
I like '88-'06 because the neck pitch is very shallow, and yes, ebony fretboard. The downside of these are the pickups, some of them aren't all that great, some are, they can changed out pretty easily.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

The Dynamic Duo.

View attachment 6988339

like it!…..

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

I'm on the roof of my work, on 2nd Ave. S. the steeple is the old Great Northern (now Amtrak) station, just beyond is Lumen Field (Seahawks), so we're in historic Pioneer Square.

missed the stadium behind you lol….

 

[Gaolee]

Yellow Jackets® Converters • Tube Adapters | Tube Depot

Yellow Jackets® converters are a specialized adapter which permit the use of EL84/6BQ5 power tubes in place of 6V6, 6L6, EL34, & 7591 type vacuum tubes.

www.tubedepot.com

That's pretty great. I can see those would be useful in several different amps.

 

[dagrev]

Hey guys, I’ve wanted a Tbird for some time…I had one briefly but passed it along far too quickly without giving it a fair shake. I’ve tried to scour the club and talkbass in general to see if there are any “better” recent build years…

1990s seem to be well regarded and have the ebony board

2015 have the coil tap switch and seem to be a redesign year

2018 seems to be another “let’s get our QC together” kind of banner year

What do you guys think? I have a lead on a 2018 and maybe a 2015…I don’t really need the coil tap and the 2018 is lighter by a half pound…

Much appreciated in advance, every thread I read about T birds suggests a visit here for any questions , I’m sure with excellent reason

Welcome. Kink to your question. Have you ruled out and Epiphone Vintage Pro, 60s Bass or whatever they are calling it this quarter? I have grown to love my '06 Gibson. Plays like a dream come true (not butter). The build is fantastic. I also have a 1964, which is the gold standard in my book, and two Epis. The modern Gibsons sound pretty different from the original Gibsons. The Epis sound very close to the original Gibsons--and cost less. They are almost always well made. So it depends on what sound you want.

My point is just don't over look the Epis because they are not "Gibsons." I could care less what name is on it is it sounds and plays great. For my like's I prefer the Epis simply because I've had the '64 Gibson longer than most on TalkBass have been alive. That's the Thunderbird sound baked into my head. That's is not a dis on modern Gibsons. (Though for personal tonal reasons I have some questions about the modern redesign.) My '06 plays and feels every bit as good to play as my '64. I love when I get it out. Mine has LaBella Black Nylons on it. No only looks cool, it's a great sonic match for my tastes. Try to play each and let your ears decide.

Just a few of the flock.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Nice, but no windmilling?

Looks like the right arm was too busy. I bet right after the video stopped, a bunch of pent-up windmills erupted!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Who's sponsoring?!

We all chipped in. We can pay $7.42 and a couple of picks.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Frank's, I think you might want to see his new Bike.

I sure do!

 

[Rumblefisher]

Welcome. Kink to your question. Have you ruled out and Epiphone Vintage Pro, 60s Bass or whatever they are calling it this quarter? I have grown to love my '06 Gibson. Plays like a dream come true (not butter). The build is fantastic. I also have a 1964, which is the gold standard in my book, and two Epis. The modern Gibsons sound pretty different from the original Gibsons. The Epis sound very close to the original Gibsons--and cost less. They are almost always well made. So it depends on what sound you want.

My point is just don't over look the Epis because they are not "Gibsons." I could care less what name is on it is it sounds and plays great. For my like's I prefer the Epis simply because I've had the '64 Gibson longer than most on TalkBass have been alive. That's the Thunderbird sound baked into my head. That's is not a dis on modern Gibsons. (Though for personal tonal reasons I have some questions about the modern redesign.) My '06 plays and feels every bit as good to play as my '64. I love when I get it out. Mine has LaBella Black Nylons on it. No only looks cool, it's a great sonic match for my tastes. Try to play each and let your ears decide.

Just a few of the flock.
View attachment 6988464

Fantastic reply, thank you

I haven’t ruled it out and actually this would be an excellent way to go with some left over cash to invest in whatever upgraded hardware I would like

 

[dagrev]

Fantastic reply, thank you

I haven’t ruled it out and actually this would be an excellent way to go with some left over cash to invest in whatever upgraded hardware I would like

You are welcome. There are plenty of options and we just have to determine where the important parts are for us personally.

And, you could likely buy another amp with the savings. Can't have too many of those either.

 

[Gaolee]

Hey guys, I’ve wanted a Tbird for some time…I had one briefly but passed it along far too quickly without giving it a fair shake. I’ve tried to scour the club and talkbass in general to see if there are any “better” recent build years…

1990s seem to be well regarded and have the ebony board

2015 have the coil tap switch and seem to be a redesign year

2018 seems to be another “let’s get our QC together” kind of banner year

What do you guys think? I have a lead on a 2018 and maybe a 2015…I don’t really need the coil tap and the 2018 is lighter by a half pound…

Much appreciated in advance, every thread I read about T birds suggests a visit here for any questions , I’m sure with excellent reason

I have a '91, an '01, and a '15. For now, I play the '91 most of the time because it's got Thunderbucker pickups in it and it's all tricked out. I also got it refinished in a different color. The '01 has some odd magical quality to it that just makes it easier to play. I can't say what it is because it's almost exactly like the '91 as far as playing it. The '15 is light and versatile. The pickups are different, and the taps make subtle differences in the sound. I like it a lot, too. It's hard to say which of the three is absolutely the best. They are all best in some way or another, but not in all ways.

If you can play both that you are looking into, then decide that way. And then join us when you have been chosen by one of them. That's how it will happen. One will choose you. You think you choose to be a Thunderbird player, but really, the Thunderbird chooses you when it's the right time.

 

[MCF]

Hey guys, I’ve wanted a Tbird for some time…I had one briefly but passed it along far too quickly without giving it a fair shake. I’ve tried to scour the club and talkbass in general to see if there are any “better” recent build years…

1990s seem to be well regarded and have the ebony board

2015 have the coil tap switch and seem to be a redesign year

2018 seems to be another “let’s get our QC together” kind of banner year

What do you guys think? I have a lead on a 2018 and maybe a 2015…I don’t really need the coil tap and the 2018 is lighter by a half pound…

Much appreciated in advance, every thread I read about T birds suggests a visit here for any questions , I’m sure with excellent reason

Odd the ‘15 is that much heavier. Mine is well under 8 pounds. It’s my number one. I call it the tone monster. They are very scarce these days and will become valuable someday.

The ‘18s were nice with some color options, burst, red cherry and ebony. One member here had a lefty ‘18. Unfortunately the bridge was not installed properly.

My favorite bassist plays an ‘18 a lot of the time:

 

[MCF]

I sure do!

I mentioned to my brother that I might ask Frank to let me take it for a spin. I still have my M1 endorsement. Although I haven’t ridden in years. My brother asked if my friend is nuts. I said no. My brother said “he is if he lets you drive it any further than to the end of the driveway.”