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Thunderbird Club

#340,161
Miles_ONeal said:
Yeah, the newer Vettes look like Vettes! :drool:
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Yeah, they look really good. Plus they finally managed to build them in RHD from the factory. So full marks to GM on that.

I just can’t afford one. 🤣
On the other hand I’m also not sure I could get in and out of one. Not elegantly anyway!

Been reading that the NASCAR (and probably Supercars) racer from 27 will be based on the Corvette shape. No clue how they will get that to look decent in a Camaro style size and package. 🤷‍♂️
 
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#340,162
GBassNorth said:
Flipped headstock - ok by me, but the previous one was just fine as it was.
New bridge - new one works as good as the old one and adds string spacing to boot
MM style Humbuckers - these are DiCola pickups, quite different from MM pups. Not my favs, but that’s personal preference.
Glued neck - bolt, set or thru necks all work fine. IMHO set strikes a nice balance, solid as a rock yet easy to replace if broken.
I do wish they had more color choices
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I'm with you.
Headstock doesn't bother me on the NR so it doesn't it bother me on the reverse. The non-traditional Lull TBird headstocks don't get any complaints.
New bridge not problem, I don't have to buy a Babicz.
Pickups can be replaced if you want. Like my Jazz with TBird Lollars or my 2018 reverse with Seymor Duncans, and many of my guitars have been swapped out. I always keep the originals on their original pickguard for an easy swap back.
Glued neck sounds like an advantage.
I do wish there were more colors.
I couldn't believe the one on Sweetwater only weighed 7 1/2 Lbs. so I bought it and it's getting a PLECK job. I should have it next week. Please don't hate on me, I had 6 blonde ales the other night and pushed the magic buttons and poof Gazoo showed up!
 
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#340,163
kyral210 said:
What are your thoughts on the new Gibson Thunderbird? Personally I find it hard to get excited about it:

- flipped headstock (meh)
- new bridge (YES)
- MM style humbuckers (meh)
- glued neck (meh)
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Fine with the headstock, Thunderbirds have been made with set necks several time, no problem, they can sound as good or better than the neck thru depending on your own taste ( I like both just fine). I like the pickups, they're not MM at all, they sound great on the 2015 Bird and the earlier EB. The Hipshot bridge on it's own is fine - I detest it on a Thunderbird, it's a visual disaster, it's lines are completely unsympathetic to the shape of the bass, ( just my opinion!) I have no idea if the bass will work out for Gibson in terms of sales, but I do see what drove this specific iteration and see that it'll stick around (or not) as long as it sells - I have no worries, plenty of really good Thunderbirds at my home at the present time.
 
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#340,165
Big Wiggs said:
Thanks for the interest 5StringBlues. The story behind the G3. In 1982 The Guitar Center in SFO was advertising on KZAP out of Sacramento about a sale and off I went. It wasn't a Ric or a 7ender but it was cheap at a $190 without a case. Who needs a case? A year later I broke it down threw it in a suitcase and moved to Alaska. "Well, have you ever been to Fairbanks Alaska? Well, I have". I soon joined up with to older guys and started gigging without a case. I was kind of hard on it and it was also in a house fire. In my mind it wasn't much, after all it only cost $190. Now I realize what I have and wish I would have been nicer to it. The body paint is a bit chewed up but it plays and sounds great.
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Classic - early 'rec-room' band pic - love it! Here's mine from 1967 - drapes are mandatory and wraparound couch w/religious icon - bonus points! Handy tambourine can't be understated...

1774764702572.jpeg
 
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#340,166
Ringhammer said:
Once everyone that’s now over 45-50 dies off…



What people are asking is not likely what they are getting.
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It is an interesting topic.

Same thing with the car world. Certain era of cars now are just simply not valued, there is no nostalgia to keep them going or maintained with the exception of hot rodders.

That's why the current "era" of cars that are most desired are 90's-2000's drivers cars because it was the point when engineering was booming, cars were overbuilt, but right before too much technology was put into them. But will my kids love the Skyline GTR as much as me? Probably not.

The price of vintage gear these days is right up at collector level - and so much vintage gear needs a lot of love and help to keep them in top shape. The stuff that is good to go with great looking and feeling mojo is major $$$.

And also, what was vintage 20 years ago is now antique to some. An 80's instrument is coming up to being 50 years old.

To be honest, when looking at options of Tbirds to buy and when comparing late 90's and early 2000's birds to some of the affordable to me '76 birds, the more modern birds generally are more appealing (even though I will mod them day 1), but they have patina and in some cases more than the 70's models.
 
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#340,167
Big Wiggs said:
I'm with you.
Headstock doesn't bother me on the NR so it doesn't it bother me on the reverse. The non-traditional Lull TBird headstocks don't get any complaints.
New bridge not problem, I don't have to buy a Babicz.
Pickups can be replaced if you want. Like my Jazz with TBird Lollars or my 2018 reverse with Seymor Duncans, and many of my guitars have been swapped out. I always keep the originals on their original pickguard for an easy swap back.
Glued neck sounds like an advantage.
I do wish there were more colors.
I couldn't believe the one on Sweetwater only weighed 7 1/2 Lbs. so I bought it and it's getting a PLECK job. I should have it next week. Please don't hate on me, I had 6 blonde ales the other night and pushed the magic buttons and poof Gazoo showed up!
Click to expand...
Cool! So you bought one if the new bird offerings. Can’t wait to hear your opinion on it.
Interesting tidbit on the DiCola pickups - the exposed pole pups may not appeal to some bird lovers, but most don’t know that the covers are just silicone caulked to the actual coil guts inside. It’s easy peasy to remove the black exposed pole cover and install a traditional metal can in its place. Just be sure to line the inside of the can with electric tape so nothing grounds out. It does change the voicing of the pickup a bit (for the better in my opinion). I tested it on my 2015 but chose not to keep it that way because the stock pup look is a defining feature of the 2015 bird.
 
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#340,169
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#340,177
Big Wiggs said:
Sorry to hear about the glue job. Did you try a couple sheetrock screws? Hopefully you still have it, and you can get a luthier to dowel pin it like the Thunderbird headstock repairs I've seen here on the club. It has to be repairable, or you could get an Epi reissue and rob the neck off of it. Jazz basses have nice necks and are used a lot, I have a few, don't hold it against me Miles. This one pictured has Lollar Thunderbird pickups installed, its neck it on a P-Bass, for the moment.
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We joke about FSOs and other non-birds, but we’re generally solidly in the “play what you like” camp. I personally haven’t found anything else I wanted enough to buy. If I did, it would likely be a Rick or some less common brand — Hagstrom, old Teisco, etc. But i’ve played Ps, Js, Yamaha, and Ibanez when I last minute subbed and didn’t have one of my basses, etc.

And that one’s gorgeous. With Lollars, it’s gotta sound good, too!
 
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#340,180
TBird1958 said:
Fine with the headstock, Thunderbirds have been made with set necks several time, no problem, they can sound as good or better than the neck thru depending on your own taste ( I like both just fine). I like the pickups, they're not MM at all, they sound great on the 2015 Bird and the earlier EB. The Hipshot bridge on it's own is fine - I detest it on a Thunderbird, it's a visual disaster, it's lines are completely unsympathetic to the shape of the bass, ( just my opinion!) I have no idea if the bass will work out for Gibson in terms of sales, but I do see what drove this specific iteration and see that it'll stick around (or not) as long as it sells - I have no worries, plenty of really good Thunderbirds at my home at the present time.
Click to expand...
I agree with the Hipshot bridge. Just doesn't look right to me on a Tbird. The Babicz looks a lot better on a Tbird to my eyes.
 
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