Thunderbird Club

[GBassNorth]

What strings do you have on it?

The purple '64 Eppi still has the factory strings, nickel rounds I assume, not sure what brand (if anybody knows, chime in, I'd like to buy some). The VP has new Fender 7250 nickel rounds. Both should be in the same family of sounds so I don't suspect a ton of sound difference there, but would love to confirm that assumption by stringing the VP with the same Eppi standard strings the '64 has.

Interesting reading. Thanks for posting your observations. It's like Thunderbird nerd food.
As has been said many times before, VPs can he shy on lows compared to others. However, this is only a problem with an amp/cab that is not as full as an Ampeg head and at least the cabs I have. Zero lacking in lows there. The Ashdowns I need to crank the bass to get tot he same territory. The opposite is true for other bases that have more lows like the '06, NR. The Ampeg heads are too full and the Ashdowns are tighter and makes those basses sound great.

Exactly. We have tone, bass and treble knobs on our guitars and amps for a reason. I'm not currently gigging, so all of my playing is done at home (at club volumes though, not bedroom levels) which means I rarely touch the amp settings when going from bass to bass. Virtually all my tone tinkering is done with the on-board controls which so far has met all my needs.

Hello fellow T-bird fans!

Been lurking for a while now, finally decided to go ahead and post.

Here's my Thunderbirds: A 2010 Epi IV in Alpine White (One of the "Limited Edition Custom Shop" offerings) that I bought new way back when, and a 2021 Faded Pelham Blue non-reverse that I picked up NOS last year.

View attachment 7139777View attachment 7139778

Welcome AC!
Those are two fantastic choices in the Thunderbird line up. I have the TV Silver Eppi like your white one and it really delivers on the bottom end! Very solid pickups. And I have the Burgundy metallic version of your Non Reverse, love the neck profile on that thing, it almost plays itself. I've considered switching to a light gauge string on the NR just to complement how effortless it plays and make it one of my sleekest players.

 

[poochiecheeks]

Hello fellow T-bird fans!

Been lurking for a while now, finally decided to go ahead and post.

Here's my Thunderbirds: A 2010 Epi IV in Alpine White (One of the "Limited Edition Custom Shop" offerings) that I bought new way back when, and a 2021 Faded Pelham Blue non-reverse that I picked up NOS last year.

View attachment 7139777View attachment 7139778

Wow what kind of pickups are in that epiphone? I've never seen one with the pickup rings like that

 

[Stealth57]

Wow what kind of pickups are in that epiphone? I've never seen one with the pickup rings like that

The 2010 Custom Shops came with Les Paul pickups. Rumor has it that they are guitar pickups. The sound is very lows oriented. I have the exact same one.

 

[Thumper]

Exactly George, my '17 VP has the original strings, and I'd love to get a couple of more sets

 

[dagrev]

Hello fellow T-bird fans!

Been lurking for a while now, finally decided to go ahead and post.

Here's my Thunderbirds: A 2010 Epi IV in Alpine White (One of the "Limited Edition Custom Shop" offerings) that I bought new way back when, and a 2021 Faded Pelham Blue non-reverse that I picked up NOS last year.

View attachment 7139777View attachment 7139778

Very nice and welcome!

 

[dagrev]

A bunch of us would overwhelm the bears. Just a fact.

Valid point.

 

[dagrev]

Exactly George, my '17 VP has the original strings, and I'd love to get a couple of more sets

I took mine off to put on my flavor of the day. Now has GHS flats. I still have them and might try them one day. Wonder if they are Gibson's brand of string?

 

[AllieCat]

How do you like them? How do you feel they compare?

Completely different feel between the two honestly.

The Epi is bolt-on, but they have the raised area in the center of the body the way the proper through-neck design is. I've been playing on the Epi for about 14 years now so the Gibson feels kinda flat, like the strings are lower relative to the body, since it doesn't have wings like a reverse T-bird. I love them both though.

Subjectively, I think the neck on the Gibson is thinner and rounder. I haven't taken a contour gauge or calipers to them to conform that. Personally, I don't have a strong preference for either, and I find both to be comfortable.

What's funny is I've spent my time with my T-bird without really looking online to see what others think of them and I was a little surprised to find so many people struggle with the three point bridge. Kind of happy to find people have an appreciation for the bolt-neck Epis, I expected a little more gear snobbery to be honest, but it's a welcome sight to see people appreciating them as their own flavor of T-bird.

I mostly play the Epi with flats on it, and I've kept rounds on the Gibson, so I can't really do an apples to apples comparison in terms of tone unless I want to do some string changes.

 

[GBassNorth]

This is a very interesting discussion to me. I respect all the knowledge of the main contributors to this thread implicitly. I have reached out to 4-5 for opinions, and in particular to George for technical questions. I wonder though how much of the difference between makes and models is luck of the draw. I've been looking for a Gibson to have in the stable but have since stopped. No matter what the name on the headstock (my ownership has included vintage and Custom Shop Fenders, NY Sadowskys, MTDs, Dingwalls, Gibsons, Elrick, Sukop, Roscoes, Modulus, 55-94 Laklands, Noordstand, Lull T5, etc., etc.,). None of those basses, including a '76 Thunderbird, were/are superior to my '17 VP, '19 VP, or a very special Wamoth J.

My White '17 VP (Thanks again Kara, wherever/however you are) is my main gigging/band practice bass, backed up by my Fenderbird (P), but the black '19 VP is pushing it hard. The '17 is in the top 3 of basses I've owned in 55 years of bass ownership, the '19 is not far behind. Both under 9 lbs, necks to die for, both pixie dust basses. I feel privileged to own them.

IMO, don't get hung up on the name on the headstock, models, years, do consider other owners opinions (try and weed out fan boys or fan girls). Trust your ears and fingers, once you've figured out the bass tone in your head (it took me 50 years, hopefully like many here, that journey is much shorter.

Great post!

You've had some serious money basses in your stable, as have I, and what I'm realizing is that from purely a sound standpoint I'm finding it hard to beat an Eppi VP or the newer Eppi '64. Sure the others might have drop dead looks or insane over the top wood selections and build quality and in some cases better ergonomics. But when it comes to just the sound I can get out of a given bass I'm finding it increasingly hard to get a better bang for the buck than the Eppi vintage reissue offerings.

As you've mentioned, I also suspect a small degree of pixie dust and luck of the draw going on, but in my case almost all of my Tbirds have been purchased on line with no opportunity to try before you buy. Considering my experience with the first run VP and the newer '64 along with everyone else's rave reviews I gotta believe Eppi really hit it out of the park with these offerings. IMHO every Tbird player should have at least one of these in their line up. Further more, I'd add, if you already have a VP and like it, you owe it to yourself to at least try a '64 Eppi. I think it builds on the strength of the original VP and adds a next level sound improvement over it, not revolutionary but certainly evolutionary.

BTW - I've always drooled over the looks of the Sukop, pretty basses, never played one though.

 

[GBassNorth]

The 2010 Custom Shops came with Les Paul pickups. Rumor has it that they are guitar pickups. The sound is very lows oriented. I have the exact same one.

I've done magnetic imaging with my Les Paul bass and Guitar and they are clearly six pole magnet pickups. My TV silver Eppi Custom Shop has twin bar magnets. So I don't think there's any relationship between the LP pup and the CS pup. I'd love to get my hands on a set of the CS pickups, they are deep rich creamy smooth monsters, even more so than the Gibson TB+ pickups.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

A bunch of us would overwhelm the bears. Just a fact.

Depends how many bears. But we could stun them into submission with enough Thunderbird-pummeling wattage.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

https://www.gibson.com/en-US/p/Electric-Guitar/MOD-RAM025156/Sunshine-Sugar-Racer

 

[Miles_ONeal]

This is a very interesting discussion to me. ...

IMO, don't get hung up on the name on the headstock, models, years, do consider other owners opinions (try and weed out fan boys or fan girls). Trust your ears and fingers, once you've figured out the bass tone in your head (it took me 50 years), hopefully like many here, that journey is much shorter.

This.

 

[AllieCat]

The 2010 Custom Shops came with Les Paul pickups. Rumor has it that they are guitar pickups. The sound is very lows oriented. I have the exact same one.

So, I actually have some nits to pick about this. I've been reading some posts here and other places to that effect, and, inspired by a certain lobster themed Youtuber, I decided to look in to this claim myself, as I believe putting regular guitar pickups in a bass could result in some weirdness like inconsistent string volume stemming from misalignment in the poles and strings.

I bought some magnetic viewing film on Amazon for about $10 and decided to have a look.

First up is the Epiphone:


To my eyes, these look like rails rather than individual poles.

Now my Gibson NR:


These look narrower and a little longer than the Epi pickups, but similar.

For reference, here's how my only six-string looks under the film:


Now I'm not an expert by any means, but I'm starting to question whether Epiphone really just put LP pickups on these birds.

In 2010, Epiphone should have been using the Alnico Classic and Alnico Classic Plus humbuckers in the bridge and neck positions, respectively, on their LP's. These look like this:


Note the exposed adjustable poles on the front of the covers, and the exposed threaded ends of the poles on the bottom side.

Now let's look at the pickups used on the models of Thunderbird IV that came with the LP size humbuckers:


Note that the bass pickup lacks the poles protruding through the bottom, as well as four screws to hold the coils to the bottom plate.

I haven't taken the covers off of mine, and I need to take the time to put a meter on each of these pickup to compare them to the 8.1kΩ and 13.3kΩ specs I've seen listed for the Alnico Classic and Classic Plus models, but right now, I suspect there's something special about the bass pickups, although they clearly are wearing the same "BHC" sticker, and I think they share a cover, bottom plate, and ring with their six-string sisters.

What do you folks think?

 

[Thumper]

Great post!

You've had some serious money basses in your stable, as have I, and what I'm realizing is that from purely a sound standpoint I'm finding it hard to beat an Eppi VP or the newer Eppi '64. Sure the others might have drop dead looks or insane over the top wood selections and build quality and in some cases better ergonomics. But when it comes to just the sound I can get out of a given bass I'm finding it increasingly hard to get a better bang for the buck than the Eppi vintage reissue offerings.

As you've mentioned, I also suspect a small degree of pixie dust and luck of the draw going on, but in my case almost all of my Tbirds have been purchased on line with no opportunity to try before you buy. Considering my experience with the first run VP and the newer '64 along with everyone else's rave reviews I gotta believe Eppi really hit it out of the park with these offerings. IMHO every Tbird player should have at least one of these in their line up. Further more, I'd add, if you already have a VP and like it, you owe it to yourself to at least try a '64 Eppi. I think it builds on the strength of the original VP and adds a next level sound improvement over it, not revolutionary but certainly evolutionary.

BTW - I've always drooled over the looks of the Sukop, pretty basses, never played one though.

Hmmm, I think I'll take a VP to GC to compare once I know they have a '64.

The Sukop was the most comfortable bass I've ever owned. It was a fretless I played in my Hard Rock band. It had a massive mid-range, was very light mahogany topped by flame walnut. I no longer play fretless or 5ers, or I'd have another one.

 

[Stealth57]

So, I actually have some nits to pick about this. I've been reading some posts here and other places to that effect, and, inspired by a certain lobster themed Youtuber, I decided to look in to this claim myself, as I believe putting regular guitar pickups in a bass could result in some weirdness like inconsistent string volume stemming from misalignment in the poles and strings.

I bought some magnetic viewing film on Amazon for about $10 and decided to have a look.

First up is the Epiphone:
View attachment 7139868

To my eyes, these look like rails rather than individual poles.

Now my Gibson NR:
View attachment 7139872

These look narrower and a little longer than the Epi pickups, but similar.

For reference, here's how my only six-string looks under the film:
View attachment 7139873

Now I'm not an expert by any means, but I'm starting to question whether Epiphone really just put LP pickups on these birds.

In 2010, Epiphone should have been using the Alnico Classic and Alnico Classic Plus humbuckers in the bridge and neck positions, respectively, on their LP's. These look like this:
View attachment 7139874View attachment 7139875

Note the exposed adjustable poles on the front of the covers, and the exposed threaded ends of the poles on the bottom side.

Now let's look at the pickups used on the models of Thunderbird IV that came with the LP size humbuckers:
View attachment 7139877View attachment 7139878

Note that the bass pickup lacks the poles protruding through the bottom, as well as four screws to hold the coils to the bottom plate.

I haven't taken the covers off of mine, and I need to take the time to put a meter on each of these pickup to compare them to the 8.1kΩ and 13.3kΩ specs I've seen listed for the Alnico Classic and Classic Plus models, but right now, I suspect there's something special about the bass pickups, although they clearly are wearing the same "BHC" sticker, and I think they share a cover, bottom plate, and ring with their six-string sisters.

What do you folks think?

That's what George found as well. Packaging looks like LP but guts are not.

 

[MCF]

Everybody can.

Visit KEXP

www.kexp.org

I did not know that it. I listen all the time via the app. Cheryl Waters Midday Show keeps me sane. Right now she's spinning Waxahatchee's "Bored."

 

[MCF]

A bunch of us would overwhelm the bears. Just a fact.

That's why the SVT lives in the basement up there.

 

[MCF]

Hello fellow T-bird fans!

Been lurking for a while now, finally decided to go ahead and post.

Here's my Thunderbirds: A 2010 Epi IV in Alpine White (One of the "Limited Edition Custom Shop" offerings) that I bought new way back when, and a 2021 Faded Pelham Blue non-reverse that I picked up NOS last year.

View attachment 7139777View attachment 7139778

Awesome! You have impeccable taste. Welcome!

Here are three of my LE Custom Shops. And my amazing'21 NR in Faded Pelham Blue.

 

[Gaolee]

So, I actually have some nits to pick about this. I've been reading some posts here and other places to that effect, and, inspired by a certain lobster themed Youtuber, I decided to look in to this claim myself, as I believe putting regular guitar pickups in a bass could result in some weirdness like inconsistent string volume stemming from misalignment in the poles and strings.

I bought some magnetic viewing film on Amazon for about $10 and decided to have a look.

First up is the Epiphone:
View attachment 7139868

To my eyes, these look like rails rather than individual poles.

Now my Gibson NR:
View attachment 7139872

These look narrower and a little longer than the Epi pickups, but similar.

For reference, here's how my only six-string looks under the film:
View attachment 7139873

Now I'm not an expert by any means, but I'm starting to question whether Epiphone really just put LP pickups on these birds.

In 2010, Epiphone should have been using the Alnico Classic and Alnico Classic Plus humbuckers in the bridge and neck positions, respectively, on their LP's. These look like this:
View attachment 7139874View attachment 7139875

Note the exposed adjustable poles on the front of the covers, and the exposed threaded ends of the poles on the bottom side.

Now let's look at the pickups used on the models of Thunderbird IV that came with the LP size humbuckers:
View attachment 7139877View attachment 7139878

Note that the bass pickup lacks the poles protruding through the bottom, as well as four screws to hold the coils to the bottom plate.

I haven't taken the covers off of mine, and I need to take the time to put a meter on each of these pickup to compare them to the 8.1kΩ and 13.3kΩ specs I've seen listed for the Alnico Classic and Classic Plus models, but right now, I suspect there's something special about the bass pickups, although they clearly are wearing the same "BHC" sticker, and I think they share a cover, bottom plate, and ring with their six-string sisters.

What do you folks think?

I think they are rails.