Thunderbird Club

[Dadagoboi]

And here she is!

My girlfriend showed up at my workplace with it what a babe...

It is really an amazing bass, its very light and resonates extremely well. The action is close to where I would like it, but I won't bother adjusting the action since the supertone will arrive in a few days. The pickups leave me wanting more, the bass sounds so amazing unplugged, the wood and construction of the bass are really top notch so it will be great once steve at the Thunderbucker ranch is home so I can place my order and put in some pickups that will do this bass justice! I will definitely post progress photos of me swapping out all the hardware for some tbird pron for everyone.

Sweet! Make sure you replace the pots when you switch pickups. CTS audio taper, 500k for volume 250 for tone with a .047 or .05 cap. They are matches to THunderBuckers and the same ones Gibson used in the '60s.

 

[hillerup]

And here she is!

My girlfriend showed up at my workplace with it what a babe...

It is really an amazing bass, its very light and resonates extremely well. The action is close to where I would like it, but I won't bother adjusting the action since the supertone will arrive in a few days. The pickups leave me wanting more, the bass sounds so amazing unplugged, the wood and construction of the bass are really top notch so it will be great once steve at the Thunderbucker ranch is home so I can place my order and put in some pickups that will do this bass justice! I will definitely post progress photos of me swapping out all the hardware for some tbird pron for everyone.

What a sweet thing... Both bass and girlfriend!!!

 

[Galvez11]

Here is my baby, '76 non-reissue with a few adjustments made before I acquired it:

 

[TBird1958]

And here she is!

My girlfriend showed up at my workplace with it what a babe...

It is really an amazing bass, its very light and resonates extremely well. The action is close to where I would like it, but I won't bother adjusting the action since the supertone will arrive in a few days. The pickups leave me wanting more, the bass sounds so amazing unplugged, the wood and construction of the bass are really top notch so it will be great once steve at the Thunderbucker ranch is home so I can place my order and put in some pickups that will do this bass justice! I will definitely post progress photos of me swapping out all the hardware for some tbird pron for everyone.

You guys know how much I love chrome hardware, this specific combination looks just fantastic the way it is.
Congratulations, it's a beauty!

 

[TBird1958]

Here is my baby, '76 non-reissue with a few adjustments made before I acquired it:
View attachment 485991

Tell us everything Shall I add you to our club? - Epic first post BTW!

 

[Galvez11]

Tell us everything Shall I add you to our club? - Epic first post BTW!

Yes please add me to the club if you would be so kind Madame. It has the usual wear and tear typical of older well-used basses, some dings on the headstock, and a few minor scratches. The only adjustments I can tell are the moving of a strap pin for better balance, the addition of the finger rest below the strings on the pickguard, and a missing string guard. Aside from that it appears to be stock. I had Ross Jennings a local luthier take a look and he said it was in great shape. It has an awesome growl, I run it straight through an Ampeg SVT-350 and a 4X10 Cab.

 

[mistergoats]

Here is my baby, '76 non-reissue with a few adjustments made before I acquired it:
View attachment 485991

Nice! Welcome to the club!

 

[TBird1958]

Here is my baby, '76 non-reissue with a few adjustments made before I acquired it:
View attachment 485991

Welcome here Sir! Your club number is 479
Great looking '76, the thumb rest makes it look like a '60s 'Bird - Is the S/N stamped, or a decal?
We love everybody's pics and vids, thanks for posting and joining



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Galvez11 #479

 

[rickwebb]

Greetings Fellow Birdbrains!
Couple of comments/points here-

One of our local GC's (in Warwick, RI) frequently has bolt-on Epi's in the sunburst finish with the 1.5" nut.
Yes, I have measured! (Don't ask why my missus keeps a measuring tape in her purse... Now that I think of it, that strikes ME as kind of odd...). So I'm guessing some bolt-ons have the skinny neck...

Also- just had a Fender TBX tone pot installed in my new-to-me Epi Classic IV... stand back

 

[Galvez11]

Thanks again Madame! The S/N looks like a decal I think, very slightly raised gold lettering "Thunderbird - Made in USA - 00243947"

 

[Haji]

Great photo, Galvez11! Very cool.

Question for Team TBird Club: having two separate volume knobs is making me a little crazy, so I'm gonna have it rewired master volume, blend and tone. What blend pot would you choose? I'd rather have a master volume than have to get a volume pedal right now.

 

[veebass]

The nut width thing on Epi Birds got me interested, so I went to the Epi site.
http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Electrics/Bass.aspx
There are currently four 4 string TBird models on the site that I can see.

IV- 1.73" nut width, bolt on. Epi TB Plus pickups, Vintage Sunburst
Goth- 1.73" nut width. bolt on, Epi TB Plus pickups, Black
Pro IV- 1.5" nut width, neck through, Epi T Pro pickups, Natural & Vintage Sunburst
Classic IV Pro- 1.5" nut width, neck through, Gibson TB Plus pickups, Alpine White & Vintage Sunburst

 

[Larry V]

I like that idea and it makes sense.

 

[Haji]

Thanks for that, Veebass. I don't feel a lot of difference between the two, but that's never affected me much because I suck so bad. My brother, who's a way better player than I am, is very sensitive to differences in nut widths. Same parents, totally different perceptions of the same thing. That's always interesting to me.

 

[Haji]

What would be the appropriate ohm value for a blend pot in an Epi TBird?

 

[hillerup]

The nut width thing on Epi Birds got me interested, so I went to the Epi site.
http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Electrics/Bass.aspx
There are currently four 4 string TBird models on the site that I can see.

IV- 1.73" nut width, bolt on. Epi TB Plus pickups, Vintage Sunburst
Goth- 1.73" nut width. bolt on, Epi TB Plus pickups, Black
Pro IV- 1.5" nut width, neck through, Epi T Pro pickups, Natural & Vintage Sunburst
Classic IV Pro- 1.5" nut width, neck through, Gibson TB Plus pickups, Alpine White & Vintage Sunburst

I wouldn't put too much trust in the specs on Epiphones website - it's often full of wrong or misguided Info about their instruments.

The nut width listed on their site seems to differ from the actually models. The Classic Pro IV is listed to have a 7-ply neck, eventhough it clearly has a 9-ply neck just like the Gibsons. And it gets even worse; if you look up the out of production Silverburst T-bird it says it has a Badass bridge and Grover tuners, which is not the case - it has the usual OEM tuners and standard 3-point bridge...

 

[tomshepp]

a pic of me with my Bird.

 

[mistergoats]

What would be the appropriate ohm value for a blend pot in an Epi TBird?

I can't answer that, but I do know the blend pot on one of my old guitars was a 250k.

 

[giocalypse]

Greetings Fellow Birdbrains!
Couple of comments/points here-

One of our local GC's (in Warwick, RI) frequently has bolt-on Epi's in the sunburst finish with the 1.5" nut.
Yes, I have measured! (Don't ask why my missus keeps a measuring tape in her purse... Now that I think of it, that strikes ME as kind of odd...). So I'm guessing some bolt-ons have the skinny neck...

Also- just had a Fender TBX tone pot installed in my new-to-me Epi Classic IV... stand back

Good move on the Fender Tremble Bass Expander Tone Pot (TBX is a 250kPot) it sounds too good to pass up. I do recommend everyone too at least try this pot before you swap your pickups or just want a better sound off your stock bass. (Thats if you have the tools available to do the install yourself) I posted earlier that I have this pot on 2 of my Basses, and now I couldn't be more happier. BtW a 3 switch Toggle would also be an good idea to add. Quick and instant change of Neck to Bridge PickUps sound on your bass for those ballad songs when playing live. Does anybody else use a TBX Tone Pot on there Bass?

 

[Nocturnal]

I ordered a TBX pot after reading about the uses here. I have a Jazz Special so I am already familiar with it, but never would have thought to try it on the Epi Birds. I'm going to install it in my new-to-me sunburst Epi. I will let you know my thoughts after I do it.