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Thunderbird Club
- Thread starter TBird1958
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- club thunderbird
Anecdotally, it seems there have been several returns. They will get the message. And the current political climate may have an effect. We’ll see. If it gets to the point that the per unit cost becomes unacceptable, they may have to change. Or stop making them, which would be a terrible result. For now, return them if there are issues. Remember, SW has a gratis two-year warranty, but that doesn’t help with the cool color versions. So far, SW is not offering them.
I've seen that spec but never seen an Epi with 7 plies with my own eyes, only 9.
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The only Chinese Epi I've owned was the PRO 5 with the grossly mis-installed bridge and crappy battery door. And the aircraft carrier neck, but I blame the designer for that, not the factory.
My PRO IV was solid. Just didn't like the tone.
SW can't offer the purple or blue sparkle variants. AMS/ZZounds has an exclusive in the USA for those.
After all the work I did on the bridge, I was extra bummed that I hated that neck. I loved the oil finish and planned to swap pickups. Oh, well.
I believe you are correct. That was the published spec for the old Pros and the CP’s.
I guess the question is why? Are they privy to info we don’t know?
Normally, it is because a retailer offered to buy 100% of the run. No risk to Epi.
Did some brief digging.
Pulled from AMS, the VP was said to be a 7-ply, where the '64 is claimed to be a 9-ply.
Gibson called their now discontinued reverse body a 9-ply.
Here's a cropped picture from Gibson's website:
While I count 9 plies on Dagrev's 'bird, it seems to me that the even number plies, the thin ones, are thicker than those on the VP. Ply 1 and 9 may be thicker too, with the center section with the most going on being thinner.
Of course this is all based on me just eyeballing pictures taken from different examples, and with a very small sample size. I've thought for a few years though, that looking at pictures of Epis and pictures of Gibby's, the ratios seem a little off between the two makes.
Pulled from AMS, the VP was said to be a 7-ply, where the '64 is claimed to be a 9-ply.
Gibson called their now discontinued reverse body a 9-ply.
Here's a cropped picture from Gibson's website:
While I count 9 plies on Dagrev's 'bird, it seems to me that the even number plies, the thin ones, are thicker than those on the VP. Ply 1 and 9 may be thicker too, with the center section with the most going on being thinner.
Of course this is all based on me just eyeballing pictures taken from different examples, and with a very small sample size. I've thought for a few years though, that looking at pictures of Epis and pictures of Gibby's, the ratios seem a little off between the two makes.
FWIW, I now recall that I did have an issue with my Chinese LE CS white bolt-on. The jack route isn’t deep enough and it butts up against the shielded cavity cover. The quick fix was to scrape off the shielding where it made contact and shorted. It’s ok for now. I may or may not address the route at some point.
Would be interested to see the number of returns overall and what proportion of them were ZZounds vs AMS purchases. Maybe something's happening with how the vendor is storing them? Are people reporting these issues with the standard finishes?
If so, are they eating the full cost of returns? How long will that last? Are they just putting them back out as refurbs? Either way, it’s a shame because the finishes are stunning.
We’ll never know. They seem to be popular in what is an overall very small segment of the bass market, which itself is pretty small in the overall scheme of things.
I meant to say the plug tip butted against the cover. It still does. The nut is snug as a bug.
