Thunderbird Club

[AllieCat]

Awesome! You have impeccable taste. Welcome!

Here are three of my LE Custom Shops. And my amazing'21 NR in Faded Pelham Blue.
View attachment 7139893
View attachment 7139894

Gorgeous birds, we even have some twins haha!

 

[Thumper]

FWIW, my all-time favorite basses:

1. '17 VP Eppiphone Thunderbird
2. SJ4XXX Dingwall
3. SJ5XXX Dingwall
4. Sukop 5f
5. Elrick Singlecut 5f
6. Warmoth roasted body/Musikraft roasted neck/Aguilar J Pickups/Dingwall rotary selector
7. '19 Eppiphone Thunderbird
8. 55-94 Lakland
9. Warmoth body/Musikraft neck/Chinabucker PUPs Fenderbird P
10. NY Sadowsky J5

 

[MCF]

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?

IIRC, Gibson branded strings were "on hiatus" when the '17 VPs first came out. So who knows. I've always assumed that the early VPs were sourced from DA because that's I was told by the bass playing manager at the local GC around the time I got my '17 VP.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

GC in Gilroy just closed its doors......
buying strings (not online) can be such a crapshoot these days..... want a lighter gauge on my Gretsch for this weekend's gigs and this is all I could find......les see...:

 

[GBassNorth]

IIRC, Gibson branded strings were "on hiatus" when the '17 VPs first came out. So who knows. I've always assumed that the early VPs were sourced from DA because that's I was told by the bass playing manager at the local GC around the time I got my '17 VP.

Are the current '64 Eppi birds equipped with Gibson strings?
If so, where can I buy some?

 

[MCF]

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.

The LE CS Epi bolt-ons with the Epi LP guitar pickups are wonderful Thunderbirds. I too am neck agnostic. Your white one has a 1.73 nut. But if you want one with a thinner 1.5 Gibsonesque neck, find a TV Silver one.

 

[AllieCat]

The LE CS Epi bolt-ons with the Epi LP guitar pickups are wonderful Thunderbirds. I too am neck agnostic. Your white one has a 1.73 nut. But if you want one with a thinner 1.5 Gibsonesque neck, find a TV Silver one.

Back when I bought My Epi, I actually was saving up for the 2009 Pelham Blue version, which had become an object of obsession for a teenage me. Sadly, the few NOS examples that were around were gone by the time I had saved enough, but the Alpine White was a close second so that's what I wound up with.

Maybe someday I'll come across one of the Pelham Blues at an acceptable price.

 

[MCF]

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

SVT 300 tube watts. M6 Carbine 600 MOSFET watts. TT800 800 Class D watts. Pick your weapon.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

SVT 300 tube watts. M6 Carbine 600 MOSFET watts. TT800 800 Class D watts. Pick your weapon.

All of the above. Wall of basses.

 

[MCF]

Back when I bought My Epi, I actually was saving up for the 2009 Pelham Blue version, which had become an object of obsession for a teenage me. Sadly, the few NOS examples that were around were gone by the time I had saved enough, but the Alpine White was a close second so that's what I wound up with.

Maybe someday I'll come across one of the Pelham Blues at an acceptable price.

They're pretty rare. I got this one in 2018 in excellent condition with a case for $525 with shipping from New York to California. It was through Reverb so also had to pay tax. It is my best one.

 

[MCF]

GC in Gilroy just closed its doors......
buying strings (not online) can be such a crapshoot these days..... want a lighter gauge on my Gretsch for this weekend's gigs and this is all I could find......les see...:
View attachment 7139914

They opened one in Santa Maria a couple years ago and drove the only remaining local music store out of business.

 

[AllieCat]

They're pretty rare. I got this one in 2018 in excellent condition with a case for $525 with shipping from New York to California. It was through Reverb so also had to pay tax. It is my best one.View attachment 7139938

Did they only do the one run of the PB sparkle or are they all form the same year? I've seen conflicting dates.

Are they all Korean?

 

[MCF]

Are the current '64 Eppi birds equipped with Gibson strings?
If so, where can I buy some?

No idea. I got a set of the nickel rounds around the time they first came out for the shortie TBird. They underwhelmed me on that one.

 

[Engle]

The Dark Stars provide more low end than the Electar. I really like the Electar sound, it's just that the songs the BL picked seem to want a touch more low end.

I was playing some reggae with my Gold JC last week. Playing (fingerstyle) by the neck does the trick. I even used my thumb for some slower stuff.

 

[Engle]

GC in Gilroy just closed its doors......
buying strings (not online) can be such a crapshoot these days..... want a lighter gauge on my Gretsch for this weekend's gigs and this is all I could find......les see...:
View attachment 7139914

Hmmm, never tried the Cobalt Rounds. I wonder how bright they will be?

 

[MCF]

Did they only do the one run of the PB sparkle or are they all form the same year? I've seen conflicting dates.

Are they all Korean?

Not sure if there was more than one run. Mine is a '07 from Korea. My '06 Sparking Burgundy is also Korean. The '09 Silverburst, the '10 White one and the '14 TV Silver are all Chinese. There was also an Ebony one with the standard black Epi pickups. I am not sure of the year for those or where they were made. There is one for $399 at GC in Sacto now in case you're interested.
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[Chucky Stiletti]

Hmmm, never tried the Cobalt Rounds. I wonder how bright they will be?

same here.....wondering about this "coating"...wt7?!

 

[Engle]

FWIW, my all-time favorite basses:

1. '17 VP Eppiphone Thunderbird
2. SJ4XXX Dingwall
3. SJ5XXX Dingwall
4. Sukop 5f
5. Elrick Singlecut 5f
6. Warmoth roasted body/Musikraft roasted neck/Aguilar J Pickups/Dingwall rotary selector
7. '19 Eppiphone Thunderbird
8. 55-94 Lakland
9. Warmoth body/Musikraft neck/Chinabucker PUPs Fenderbird P
10. NY Sadowsky J5

I have a 17 VP. Plays great, sounds great, looks killer! And versatile.
Something I never really noticed until I got an Orville (which is basically a 76 copy), is there is a little more access to the highest frets compared to the original Reverse design.

 

[Engle]

same here.....wondering about this "coating"...wt7?!

Ughhh, anytime I have tried coated strings they feel a little sticky and they come off the bass.

 

[MCF]

Back when I bought My Epi, I actually was saving up for the 2009 Pelham Blue version, which had become an object of obsession for a teenage me. Sadly, the few NOS examples that were around were gone by the time I had saved enough, but the Alpine White was a close second so that's what I wound up with.

Maybe someday I'll come across one of the Pelham Blues at an acceptable price.

I've only seen two other Pelham Blues ones in the flesh. Both were '07's. They were too beat for what I wanted to get another one for; to upgrade with a set of Lollars. Mine is pretty minty and I am hoping to keep it all original.