IIRC Epi had a hi-end version back in the 90's I think.
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Thunderbird Club
- Thread starter TBird1958
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- club thunderbird
Anyone near Pittsburgh?
Solid deal on a Vintage Pro.
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Solid deal on a Vintage Pro.
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Any Tbird owners here put an active preamp in their bass?
I know most people go the preamp pedal route but thinking about it. I like fiddling with the onboard preamp right on the bass. I think it would fit. Was thinking of a bartolini 3 band.
Just got a Tbird with vintage style pickups and while I appreciate the clarity, they seem less ballsy. (Compared to what I remember modern tbird pups sounding like)
I know most people go the preamp pedal route but thinking about it. I like fiddling with the onboard preamp right on the bass. I think it would fit. Was thinking of a bartolini 3 band.
What’s your fav out of that bunch of pickups? How would you compare them to modern TB pickups?
Thunderbird Bass Bridge And Tailpiece Set - 1963-1969 - Philadelphia Luthier Tools & Supplies, LLC
www.philadelphialuthiertools.com
It might fit, and they have a gold option.
An EMG P/J set would likely be a downgrade from the 760’s. I have that same bass, color and all. I also have a number of actual Gibson ‘birds, and the Epiphone has its own sound compared to the my Gibsons. The Gibsons in my stable all have some form of vintage style boutique Thunderbird pickup, such as, the actual Gibson vintage re-issue pickups, Lollar, Novak, Gemini UK, and Thunderbucker 66’s. The Epiphone VP sounds very different than all those.
Just got a Tbird with vintage style pickups and while I appreciate the clarity, they seem less ballsy. (Compared to what I remember modern tbird pups sounding like)
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I am not a fan of the modern TB+ pickups. I just prefer vintage style pickups. Not only the sound but the look.
This:
more than this:
Of all the ones I have, I like the Gibson vintage re-issues the best. One set I have is a pair of “lead” or bridge pickups. When I bought my first set vintage re-issues, direct from Gibson, there was no choice for a set, or to select “lead” or “rhythm”, so I got two “lead” pickups.
The second set of Gibson re-issues I got were a used pair that had come from a 2021 NR. This “set” were marked “lead” and “rhy”. The lead gave a reading of 8.5K, while the “rhy” pickup read 7.4K. I like both sets in the basses they are in.
The other notable set of pickups I have are from Gemini(UK), named the “Devastator” and I really also like those, they’re pretty hot, but they cut through really well, with just the right amount of grit…
The ‘bird you got with vintage pickups, were they swapped out, or are we talking about an Epiphone vintage pro or something?
Putting vintage style pickups in a modern Gibson IV that originally came with TB+ pickups is a different situation than getting a “Vintage” modeled Epiphone. I have an Epiphone VP and is is not as ballsey as my Gibsons with vintage style pickups. That said, I do like the Epiphone a lot, it has its own sound.
On the preamp front I have several Tbirds I’ve modified to active. A Goth Tbird with Bartolini pickups and an Aguilar OBP-2 preamp (two band) I call the FrankenGoth. A SilverGoth Tbird with two stock pickups plus a DiMarzo One Mudbucker at the neck with an Aguilar OBP-2 preamp. An Acasia Pink Tbird NonReverse with a Fully optioned John East preamp with Nordstrand Zen pickups. And a ThunderWick Tbird that I’m currently building to Warwick Thumb specs with MEC active Jazz pickups and an MEC 2 band preamp.
The Wick isn’t done yet, so no idea how it sounds. The FrankenGoth sounds fantastic, very Baritone Guitarish with crisp crystal clear ringing notes from bass to treble, largely because of the very clean Bart pickups. The SilverGoth is a beast, nice and dark but the Mudbucker can be surprisingly clean and clear as well. The Acasia is an insanely flexible tone monster, to a fault. It has too many settings, I can find a great sound on it but struggle to find that same sound again if I mess with any of the knobs. The two band aggies are super quick to dial in on the fly and sound great. I suspect the MEC will be similar.
One if the two band Aggies is configured as a 4 knob in Volume, Volume, bass, Treble, with a coil split switch. The other Aggie is configured in Volume (push/pull active passive), Treb/bass stack, and a blend knob that’s tied into the Mudbucker into a 4 position pickup selector switch (mid pup, mid plus bridge in series, mid plus bridge in parallel, bridge pup), tons of sound options on this one and sounds great in passive mode as well.
I’m not as fond of the three band preamps out there, sure there’s more flexibility, but again, I struggle with the repeatability and constantly hunting for that sound I liked the last time I played.
FWIW I’m partial to a 4 band Audere .
Any bass I have put it in, just gets to be “more” of what it already sounds like.
In other words doesn’t color the signal: only an active EQ onboard.
Any bass I have put it in, just gets to be “more” of what it already sounds like.
In other words doesn’t color the signal: only an active EQ onboard.
- Mar 13, 2008
- 18,895
- 142,211
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist Mike Lull T Bass pickups, The Bass Shop, Seattle WA.
It's a somewhat rare Epiphone Elitist, made in the same factory as Orvilles, pretty much a Kissin' Cousin except I don't know what pickups were used. I would own that!
- Mar 13, 2008
- 18,895
- 142,211
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist Mike Lull T Bass pickups, The Bass Shop, Seattle WA.
That chromed out cherry Bird is just THE SEX BOMB!
I know, I said that once before.........Still true.
It’s a 2000 Gibson Thunderbird. Pickups were swapped for thunderbuckers 66s. I think they sound really good, def impressed by the clarity. I think they don’t make them anymore.
I played a Gibson Nikki six a few weeks ago, I think it had the standard modern hot tbird pups with no control knobs, and I thought that bass sounded really good too. It’s kinda hard to choose lol.
I agree tho, this look with the vintage pups is hard to beat. I just got the bass so just gonna enjoy it as is but I think the awesome look is def a big part of keeping it as is. Might try a preamp down the line with these pups to see what it sounds like.
Heres a pic, I’ll add some in better lighting in the next few days. I freaking love this bass. Ebony board, natural finish which I don’t see as much, and it’s super light!!( especially compared to any other tbird I’ve played). I was considering and epi but really glad I found this one. Has some nice upgrades, ultra light tuners, I think the bridge and brass nut aren’t original, and the upgraded pups
Right on thanks for the input! Good to know a preamp can work in there.
So originally before I even got the bass I had in my mind that I would put in bartolini pups and preamp in it. I know not everyone likes them but I love barts. It’s kinda the perfect bass sound in my head, and especially I think they’re so easy to record. They sound great in any mix.
My only other bass is a fender 62 reissue J bass which I love so the idea was to have a vintage passive low output single coil bass, and an active more aggressive bass.
I played that very bass he lives close to me and does some very cool stuff!
There you go, it's done!
Note that the original bushings measure 18mm, the Gotoh bushings measure 17.6mm.
You'll need to make up for this slight difference by, for example, wrapping a one-centimeter strip of aluminum tape (If you have any other ideas, please share them)
I wasn't sure about using Gotoh screws because several reviews on Thomann mentioned that they break when tightening. Using a 2mm drill bit, I didn't have any problems.
If this helps anyone.
Note that the original bushings measure 18mm, the Gotoh bushings measure 17.6mm.
You'll need to make up for this slight difference by, for example, wrapping a one-centimeter strip of aluminum tape (If you have any other ideas, please share them)
I wasn't sure about using Gotoh screws because several reviews on Thomann mentioned that they break when tightening. Using a 2mm drill bit, I didn't have any problems.
If this helps anyone.
If that’s a natural finish, then is essentially (well, exactly) like my 2001 natural when I bought it. It also came with the Thunderbucker 66’s, a Hipshot bridge (which I changed for a Babicz), and Hipshot USA ultralights. I put a black pg on mine.
I was not a huge fan of the Thunderbuckers at first, but I have come to like them a lot. Mine is strung with 50-110 nickels (I think SIT “Rock Brights, which I think have been re-named?). Also mine is tuned Eb.
Every Greco bird I’ve seen other than the Suzi Quatro model has the pickups closer together and the bridge/stop bar combination.
Yep Gibson reissues at $129 are a great bargain for an Alnico vintage tone. I like the modern ceramic pickup tone too. It’s all good.
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Many here like Tbird + pickups with stainless strings like the SIT Power Steels. There have been a few versions of them over the years. Many really like them from circa ‘01.
Yeah. Hard to resist for an Epi fanboy like me. It has a real cool vibe. I have been casually looking to pick one up. Not the right time though.
Question for any of you that own 70 era T-birds. I'm looking into picking up one, what would you look for as some of the short coming (issues). Other than broken headstock, were truss rods, neck twist or fret board ramping an issue? Thanks
It was the TB-90 label that confused me. That, and TB-900, are Greco II model names. 700s are IVs.
