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Thunderbird Club

If you like a nice deep sounding Tbird these are great choices. The pickups are unique to that model (which we call a CSLE) and it’s a relatively rare bass. The price is about on par with normal asking prices for that bass, looks to be in pretty good condition.


Looks like an Ebony fretboard - Yum! Does the Pixie Dust bass belonging to Will have an Ebony board? If so, that might explain some of the unique sound he says he gets from it.
Keeping an eye out for one of these special editions in Japan!
 
Stu Cook is firmly in my pantheon of influences.

"Have You Ever Seen The Rain," "Down On The Corner" and "Night Time is the Right Time" are in my short repertiore of songs I can mangle more or less from memory now.
If you know Down On the Corner, you know a thousand other songs and don’t realize it. CFG. As Neil says, “it’s all one song.”
 
A 1965 Thunderbird


Oops, wrong sort!

BTW most of the comments are tripe. It would almost certainly been brought into Australia by a dealer or Ford Aus and converted to RHD here. There was a real cottage industry going doing that right up to the early 70s… and in a much smaller fashion still going now. But now there are a couple of big “manufacturer approved “ converter companies doing the US Pickups - Ram, Chev, Ford & Tundra.
 
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Hi all,

New to the Thunderbird life, but not new to bass. Have an army of Fenders, but was gifted this 2006 made in Korean Epiphone that I want to give a different vibe to. I have Hipshot ultralights on the way for tuning machines and the Hipshot SuperTone bridge coming as well, both in nickel. I would like to give it that 1964 T-Bird aka John Entwistle type sound but am having a hard time picking what could be deemed as period accurate replica pickups. I’m trying to keep my budget on pickups around $400-$600. I’ve looked at Lollar and Novak but I don’t really know how to pick pickups for this baby to meet my tone goals. Any suggestions?
Thank you in advance!
 
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Hi all,

New to the Thunderbird life, but not new to bass. Have an army of Fenders, but was gifted this 2006 made in Korean Epiphone that I want to give a different vibe to. I have Hipshot ultralights on the way for tuning machines and the Hipshot SuperTone bridge coming as well, both in nickel. I would like to give it that 1964 T-Bird aka John Entwistle type sound but am having a hard time picking what could be deemed as period accurate replica pickups. I’m trying to keep my budget on pickups around $400-$600. I’ve looked at Lollar and Novak but I don’t really know how to pick pickups for this baby to meet my tone goals. Any suggestions?
Thank you in advance!

Welcome here!

Thank you for the post, you'll get a lot of answers on the pickups - I'd strongly suggest Gibson Re-Issues, they're only $130.00 apiece and have a great vintage sound, for the $$$ involved they're hard to beat.
Let me know if you'd like a club #
 
Welcome here!

Thank you for the post, you'll get a lot of answers on the pickups - I'd strongly suggest Gibson Re-Issues, they're only $130.00 apiece and have a great vintage sound, for the $$$ involved they're hard to beat.
Let me know if you'd like a club #
Awesome, thank you for the suggestion! Yes, I’ll take a number! Always love being part of a club.
 
View attachment 7458917
Hi all,

New to the Thunderbird life, but not new to bass. Have an army of Fenders, but was gifted this 2006 made in Korean Epiphone that I want to give a different vibe to. I have Hipshot ultralights on the way for tuning machines and the Hipshot SuperTone bridge coming as well, both in nickel. I would like to give it that 1964 T-Bird aka John Entwistle type sound but am having a hard time picking what could be deemed as period accurate replica pickups. I’m trying to keep my budget on pickups around $400-$600. I’ve looked at Lollar and Novak but I don’t really know how to pick pickups for this baby to meet my tone goals. Any suggestions?
Thank you in advance!
I went with Seymour Duncan Thunderbird Custom Shop. They claim to be 1964 replicas. Others might have other suggestions. I have a real 1964 and can say they do sound very close. But not cheap. $400 for the pair.
 
Awesome, thank you for the suggestion! Yes, I’ll take a number! Always love being part of a club.
As V said, the Gibson Reissues are a great value and sound great. Would likely be my first option for pup. Likely.
As Stealth mentioned, his SDs are a great option as well. From what I recall from his comps he posted, the SDs were amazingly close to his 1964. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

Also 916 Pickups as well to consider. The set I have seems to be a little brighter and have a little less BIG to them than my '64, which seems to make them have a little different, but nice punch.
 
View attachment 7458917
Hi all,

New to the Thunderbird life, but not new to bass. Have an army of Fenders, but was gifted this 2006 made in Korean Epiphone that I want to give a different vibe to. I have Hipshot ultralights on the way for tuning machines and the Hipshot SuperTone bridge coming as well, both in nickel. I would like to give it that 1964 T-Bird aka John Entwistle type sound but am having a hard time picking what could be deemed as period accurate replica pickups. I’m trying to keep my budget on pickups around $400-$600. I’ve looked at Lollar and Novak but I don’t really know how to pick pickups for this baby to meet my tone goals. Any suggestions?
Thank you in advance!

I’d check Gemini UK pickups. I think their Thunderbird “Dominator” set might be what you’re looking for. I believe they are affordable as well. I have the “Devastators” in a couple of ‘birds and they are really good, but not vintage, and actually quite hot.


I'd strongly suggest Gibson Re-Issues, they're only $130.00 apiece and have a great vintage sound, for the $$$ involved they're hard to beat.
The Gibson Re-issues are great, but they only come in chrome, so keep that in mind since you went with nickel HipShot hardware.
 
I’d check Gemini UK pickups. I think their Thunderbird “Dominator” set might be what you’re looking for. I believe they are affordable as well. I have the “Devastators” in a couple of ‘birds and they are really good, but not vintage, and actually quite hot.



The Gibson Re-issues are great, but they only come in chrome, so keep that in mind since you went with nickel HipShot hardware.
Just noticed that about the Gibsons. They are also back ordered until who knows? I figure if that’s what I really want, I can always exchange the Hipshot stuff.
 
If you know Down On the Corner, you know a thousand other songs and don’t realize it. CFG. As Neil says, “it’s all one song.”
True enough. I'm finally at the point in my life where I can anticipate changes and the correct note for songs in my head that I never learned. Took a while...
 
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View attachment 7458917
Hi all,

New to the Thunderbird life, but not new to bass. Have an army of Fenders, but was gifted this 2006 made in Korean Epiphone that I want to give a different vibe to. I have Hipshot ultralights on the way for tuning machines and the Hipshot SuperTone bridge coming as well, both in nickel. I would like to give it that 1964 T-Bird aka John Entwistle type sound but am having a hard time picking what could be deemed as period accurate replica pickups. I’m trying to keep my budget on pickups around $400-$600. I’ve looked at Lollar and Novak but I don’t really know how to pick pickups for this baby to meet my tone goals. Any suggestions?
Thank you in advance!
As V said, the Gibson reissues hit well above their price. Yeah, I see they’re backordered at Sweetwater and out of stock at Gibson. I like them a lot. As do others here.

As Dave suggested, the SDs are great too. The pride of Santa Barbara. But spendy. There are others like Gemini as Rich mentioned and many others.

For years Thunderbuckers were the gotos, but the maker closed shop around the time of the pandemic. It’s rare to find a used set.

You could also consider the Epi 760 Probuckers. Used sets pop up from time to time. I think they’re a bit light in the bottom, but others like them a lot.

If price isn’t a concern, consider Lollars. They’re highly regarded but even more expensive than SDs. They’re available in chrome, nickel, gold and black chrome. Here’s an old video of Jason installing them in a basic bolt-on Epi:


Re the Hipshot Supertone, I tried installing one on a bolt-on, but couldn’t get it to intonate properly even after Hipshot provided me different length screws and springs. I also had an issue with getting the string height low enough for my preference. I recently put that bridge on a ‘15 Epi Classic Pro and am having better luck with it on that bass. IMO, the Babicz is a better bridge if you don’t want the stack three point.

Welcome to the club!
 
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