Thunderbird Club

[TBird1958]

I was looking at the pic and going, "when did you get a 2015"? Then, I read that it was Will's. Did you plug it in and take it for a test drive?

I did, but on briefly on the Ampeg, truthfully 2015's may be one of the very best Thunderbird's ever for tonal range (Something that will sadly go unnoticed by the Gen Pop of bassists), I'm hoping Will and I can get together sometime as I'd enjoy playing that bass through my rig.

 

[Korladis]

Well, the only solution to this question is that you're crazy. But it's a good crazy, so we'll just let it go.

I don't care a whole lot about what the bridge looks like so much as I care about performance. When the dang ferrules in my Goff wouldn't stay put I had it replaced with the Pro bridge. Does it look "correct"? It does to me. It's a bridge, not an ancient artifact of unspeakable value. Whatever gets the rock out.

It's not that I think the bridge is some ancient artifact. I mean obviously.

I was swapping all the parts to chrome anyway (still need to swap the tuners), and so I bought a used Babicz bridge, cause it's a bit more adjustable than the stock one, and I really like how it looks.

 

[Gluvhand]

The Hipshots are indeed "full contact" on Epi Birds with the raised ferrules. The underside of the bridge has recesses just for that purpose.

 

[kat888]

Must agree, the bridge has never really concerned me that much, apart from the finish, as long as it's not flimsy and does what it needs to do. On the occasions I've picked up a 3-point bass ... well they're just fine.

The chrome high mass which replaced my black Pro IV bridge came with a piezo pup and to get it to sit flat on the body I had to scrape solder joints off the tiny circuit board. Someday I must remove that assembly completely.

 

[Stevis]

I did, but on briefly on the Ampeg, truthfully 2015's may be one of the very best Thunderbird's ever for tonal range (Something that will sadly go unnoticed by the Gen Pop of bassists), I'm hoping Will and I can get together sometime as I'd enjoy playing that bass through my rig.

It is cool that you two got to meet up. Hopefully, there was some fine bourbon and/or Scotch flowing, along with the rock'n.

I think that yours is the first pic I have seen of someone sporting/playing the 2015. The EB pickups jump right out when you see the bass from that perspective.

 

[wolfkeller]

Do any of you have experience with GK RBX cabs? 4x10 and 1x15

 

[Korladis]

Do any of you have experience with GK RBX cabs? 4x10 and 1x15

I'm sure they're fine, but GK's always been known more for their heads.

 

[wolfkeller]

I'm sure they're fine, but GK's always been known more for their heads.

Yeah, fine doesn't cut it for me. I found a set for $400, sounds good to me.

 

[Korladis]

Yeah, fine doesn't cut it for me. I found a set for $400, sounds good to me.

Like I actually see GK heads paired with Ampeg or Mesa cabs more often than I see them paired with actual GK cabs.

 

[jd56hawk]

Got a picture with the bag closed and the bass in it? Got a birdshaped rockbag for my Classic an it's fitting too snug.

Sorry, no...sold the Pro IV when times were bad, but it did fit inside without the extra bottom piece, which you can see under the case.
If I'm not wrong, the Pro IV is longer the the Epiphone Classic IV.
Just bought the Classic in Alpine White. Should be picking at up Friday.

 

[Nocturnal]

Honestly, anyone who calls a bass one trick pony is probably a very limited player in their approach.

I can get a variety of tones from my Peavey, and that's a single pickup bass. A T-bird has two pickups, with the controls, you can get a lot of tones. I've had mine modded with a series toggle, so that's an additional tone.

I like the look of it better, as it looks more like just a beefier version of the 3-point. I like how the Hipshot looks on the RD better.

I have read posts here at TB where a Tbird was dismissed as a one-trick-pony by people that were hailing the Pbass as having a wide range of tones. Just the fact that the Tbird has 2 pickups automatically makes it at least a 2 trick pony. IMHO the true range of a bass is decided by the player, for better or worse.

I just don't like the look of the Hipshot on a T-bird. Odd, because I do like how it looks on an RD, which is extremely similar to a T-bird.

The chrome Hipshot looked right at home on my RD.

 

[hillerup]

But, but......I have two white 'Birds and no cherry one

I feel your pain.... I'm in the same boat: Two whites and no cherry....

 

[Korladis]

I have read posts here at TB where a Tbird was dismissed as a one-trick-pony by people that were hailing the Pbass as having a wide range of tones. Just the fact that the Tbird has 2 pickups automatically makes it at least a 2 trick pony. IMHO the true range of a bass is decided by the player, for better or worse.



The chrome Hipshot looked right at home on my RD.

Exactly.

Any given bass with two pickups has at least three tricks, and usually more.

1. Bridge pickup only.
2. Neck pickup only.
3. Both together.

Plus all the tones you can get by using both pickups but having one of them turned down part of the way. Or doing a series mod. Then there's rounds vs. flats, amp EQ, pedals, etc.

People say that whole "one trick pony" thing about my Rickenbackers, too. And like with my T-bird, I think they must be out of their minds.

What pickups are those in your RD?

 

[hillerup]

Any of you guys seen this special Gibby on EBay?:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Legit or just a refin with the cavity beneath the pickguard filled?

 

[Nocturnal]

Exactly.

Any given bass with two pickups has at least three tricks, and usually more.

1. Bridge pickup only.
2. Neck pickup only.
3. Both together.

Plus all the tones you can get by using both pickups but having one of them turned down part of the way. Or doing a series mod. Then there's rounds vs. flats, amp EQ, pedals, etc.

People say that whole "one trick pony" thing about my Rickenbackers, too. And like with my T-bird, I think they must be out of their minds.

What pickups are those in your RD?

Agree with everything you just said.

The neck pickup is a Dimarzio X2NB and the bridge was a Bill Lawrence EB50 pickup. Both had push/pull coil taps on the volume knobs. I moved the input jack to the Tbird location on the end of the body and added a kill switch to the original input jack location. The bass was a monster and was HEAVY!! In retrospect I should have used the guitar version of the Dimarzio (X2N) as the X2NB was a bit wooly. Think Mudbucker type of sound but less intense. Probably would have worked well in a Stoner/Doom band.

 

[Nocturnal]

Any of you guys seen this special Gibby on EBay?:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Legit or just a refin with the cavity beneath the pickguard filled?

I like the look of it but not that Buy-It-Now price. Rare or not that price seems VERY high.

 

[TBird1958]

Any of you guys seen this special Gibby on EBay?:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Legit or just a refin with the cavity beneath the pickguard filled?

I think it's legit, the cavity rout would shrink back if it had be filled - He's high on the price but, you can't raise it if you start low

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

Any of you guys seen this special Gibby on EBay?:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Legit or just a refin with the cavity beneath the pickguard filled?

90% sure that Thunderbirds were NOT made at the Nashville. But the Kalamazoo plant. So sounds very fishy.
And why would Gibson have EMG soap bars laying around?

 

[ProgressiveDoom]

I have a 2014 T-Bird with the inlay and a Babzic replacement bridge (per the ongoing conversation)I can share my experience and get a chance to post a picture of my bass (again)!

I played a 7ender Jazz bass for the previous 22 years. I was flat out, anti Gibson basses because I had been taught that "Gibson Basses are muddy", "Thunderbird headstocks fall off if you look at them the wrong way" and "they are big, heavy are equivalent to strapping on an coffee table from the 1970's....."

About a year ago, I was asked to join a band again (all original material) and realized that the j-bass needed some serious work to get it gig worthy again. I had only been playing it in my home. It more than likely needs a re-fret and a neck reset, the neck pocket is too big, etc., etc. Also, its value has gone up quite a bit and when I did use it on a gig, someone offered me $1,800 for it. Needless to say, I figured I should use something else for gigging.

I looked at all kinds of basses but decided if I was going to get something else, I wanted it to be different from the jazz and not just get another fender type bass. I am not sure how but I stumbled upon a Gibson EB14 but the humbucking pickup really sounded interesting to me. That lead to Thunderbirds and then to Talk Bass. I did not know this place existed until this year.

I found a listing here in the classifieds for a 2006 Sunburst Gibson T-Bird at a price where I figured, if I did not like it, I could re-sell locally and get my money back. When I got the bass it was quite a shock! It was lighter than my Jazz by almost a pound and the tone on both the low and high side of the spectrum was significantly better than my jazz bass! Whoa! 30 years of playing mythology debunked in one afternoon!

The neck felt a bit longer and the radius was different (flatter) but it felt comfortable to me right out of the box. With the help of folks here, I got the ergonomic differences figured out pretty quickly and myths like neck dive, super-low strap height etc. were never an issue.

The t-bird came with a Babzic bridge installed and the sustain was great. The adjust-ability was super easy and really straight forward.

I swapped out the stock pickups for a set of Lollar pickups after hearing them online. I really like them. To my ear they give a bit more clarity on the high end. It is a taste/preference thing.

The bass was playing and sounding great the only thing I did not like was the finish. I don't like sunburst. I looked into getting it re-finished and it would cost about as much as the bass itself. I stumbled on to a Heritage Cherry T-Bird on the Guitar Center Used Gear website ( I did not know that existed until I started hanging here...perhaps you are picking up a theme....) and I snagged it for the same price as the 2006. I sold the 2006 to pay for the 2014 and added a bunch of chrome hardware.

Looks like this:

The sound of the bass is fantastic and I love the way it plays. I have gotten compliments (When the hell does a non bass player, compliment the bass player,me, for their "tone"?...ummm..almost never!) on its sounds and looks. I love it and can't wait to get into a recording studio, hopefully in a couple of weeks and get some stuff done with it.

I found the Babzic bridge to be similar to the Lollar pick ups in that they both help to bring out "more"of what is already there. Are they required? No. I like the addition of both.

Sorry for the "War & Peace"style post but nobody else I live with wants to listen to me go on and on about this bass anymore.....so I do it here!

I have no problem with seeing the same beautiful bass posted again and again, I was concerned that I have already posted mine a bit much but it works great as a visual reference right?.

 

[TBird1958]

90% sure that Thunderbirds were NOT made at the Nashville. But the Kalamazoo plant. So sounds very fishy.
And why would Gibson have EMG soap bars laying around?

As I understand it: Gibson made some of the '76s in Nashville then shifted to Kalamazoo, but they closed that plant in 1984. So all Post '88s are Nashville.