Thunderbird Club

[TBird1958]

Hello all, today Zzounds delivered my purple flake Epi Thunderbird. I ordered it a couple months ago, and it was put on backorder until now.

My first thought was how cool it looked, but upon further inspection, it appears to me that the bridge is rather high off of the body. to the point of being slightly tilted. the breaking angle from the tailpiece to the bridge seems to be pretty extreme.
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I have a black Epi Tbird, it's the version before the 64 bird, I got a deal on it due to it having cracks at the nut. The string tension keeps the cracks closed and I haven't had the time to repair it, but it plays fine as is. It is currently in my bass storage, so I haven't been able to compare it, but I feel that the black bird plays better. I may be wrong.

Also, as I was taking pics, I found cracks on both sides of the neck. Nothing horrible, but they are there.
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The neck has an underbow (strings are closer at nut/body, higher in the middle of board), I am a builder/tech, but I do not want to touch it until I'm sure that I'm not going to return it.



Honestly, the cracks at the nut are not a deal breaker, I'm more concerned with the height of the bridge. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

My two '64 Epiphones look similar at the bridge and as has been mentioned it is a running change in the basses since production was shifted from Indonesia to China. My Eber Red one is quire nice, it came from Sweetwater and they seem to have given it a good once over, no problems.

My Blue one came from Zz Sounds, in person it's quite beautiful, I simply love the color. Out of the box it did need a set up as there was a little bit of fret buzz on a couple of strings. It also does have a hair line crack in the finish on the low side of the neck at the nut, it's just barely visible.
FWIW my white Vintage Pro has cracks at the nut as well, nothing serious and no as pronounced as your pics - I would be sending that bass back!

 

[TBird1958]

Liking my Bombay Blue one..................Got lots of comments on it.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Here's a video from friday night (hope this works with Facebook video)

Looking and sounding good!

 

[Ringhammer]

For anyone local and brave enough to go near Half Moon Bay during “Pumpkin Festival” weekend. We are a bit north of HMB, at Princeton-by-the -Sea:

EARLY show, starts at 5, we’re on at 6. Hopefully the traffic flow will be heading out around 4-5….

 

[Dark Horse]

I was wondering if any of you fine Thunderbirders have tried these pickups? I’m curious how they sound in comparison to the regular Chinabucker Thunderbird pickups…

It would be awesome if they even sounded close to the ones in my EB-5

 

[MCF]

I was wondering if any of you fine Thunderbirders have tried these pickups? I’m curious how they sound in comparison to the regular Chinabucker Thunderbird pickups…

It would be awesome if they even sounded close to the ones in my EB-5

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To compare, these are the specs for the DeColas in the ‘15 Thunderbird. Ought to be fairly close the DeCola neck pickup with the tap off.

 

[dagrev]

Equipment for the day: '64 Epi and Ashdown. Wonderful.

 

[dagrev]

at the opposite end of the scale (old, small, petrol) I saw a pair of Fiat 850 Sports cruising along this morning.
It’s Bathurst today, it seems to drag classics out of their garages.

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Also saw a mid engined Euro exotic of some sort on the same trip. It was matt black and blacked out badging. Couldn’t work the brand out.

That wasn't on here that I could find, but I did find a 20 min extended highlights to watch later.

 

[dagrev]

Here's a video from friday night (hope this works with Facebook video)

Fantastic. Waiting for the US tour dates. I'm in.

 

[dagrev]

my boy….Style seems to give different mids settings..
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When you're done with that old junky blue thunderbird, I'd consider taking it off your hands.

 

[JIO]

you’re such the europhile…

Wherever the best style comes from - I happen to think the new Corvette is totally badass -

 

[JIO]

does now……jobs brought to him and all the test gear and tools one would need…. no brainer for him especially when broke…..

Resourcefulness = survival. I've made it this far following that mantra.

 

[Dark Horse]

To compare, these are the specs for the DeColas in the ‘15 Thunderbird. Ought to be fairly close the DeCola neck pickup with the tap off.

Thank you ! If I pick up some of these I’ll make some comparisons, so this is a huge help

 

[JIO]

Liking my Bombay Blue one..................Got lots of comments on it.

rock star pic -

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

from the backyard…..

 

[RedVee]

That wasn't on here that I could find, but I did find a 20 min extended highlights to watch later.

6hrs / 1000kms

20 mins maybe a little short but better than 6hrs!

Toyota are coming in next year (maybe one after?) with the Supra. Not sure if that is replacing the Camaro (as it is stopped again) or additional.

 

[JIO]

from the backyard…..
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[Miles_ONeal]

Wherever the best style comes from - I happen to think the new Corvette is totally badass -

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I was so glad they finally made the Vette sexy again! Standing still, she looks like she’s winning a race. It’s been far too long.

 

[Stealth57]

from the backyard…..
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I am hoping NOT to see things like that here.

 

[JIO]

I was so glad the finally made the Vette sexy again! Standing still, she looks like she’s winning a race. It’s been far too long.

I agree - I watched a "history of" the Vette and it was informative as to how it changed/evolved. Recent versions were more conservatively cool... but the new one is ballsy and aggressive.