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Thunderbird Club

#341,201
RedNuk said:
Hey guys, last saturday was in a gig with 3 other bands and in one of them the bassist had an epi thunderbird. Looked and sounded so freaking awesome! We talked and I tried out the bass as the dive issue was holding me back... well it's not so bad (as my Warwick BO5) and now I want a Tbird in my herd too :) I'm jonesing a Goth model, are there any particular things to look out for on these? Or would I be better off grabing a different version (and if so, why?) ?

Thanks a bunch... looking forward to joining the club :)
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The Epi Goth used to be bought on eBay for a few hundred dollars but it's double that lately. They were made for years so there's a lot of them out there. Some have different neck profiles, probably made in different factories over the years. As long as the neck is good and the frets have life - they are decent T-birds and good for modding if you are into that sort of thing. Bodies are solid mahogany with the raised sections grafted on. Usually under 10lbs - weight varies.
 
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#341,203
MCF said:
I can’t tell from the pic. My eyes aren’t so good and the logo is hard for me to make out. It is either a “modern Gibson” or an Epi Classic Pro. The Epi Classic Pro is very close to being a faithful copy of a modern Gibson. Many earlier modern Gibson’s had Ebony fretboards. Later ones were Rosewood. That one in the pic looks more like Rosewood. But it’s hard to tell.
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I see Gibson...
 
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#341,205
RedNuk said:
I think I'm gonna go all in on the Goth :)
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I've modded a few basses using Goth parts as George has, especially using the Goth neck. My rehearsal space bass has the baseball-bat wider neck and as much as I usually like the opposite I enjoy playing it.

Teiscobird - mid '60s Teisco mahogany body, Goth neck -

1776180873751.jpeg

Gilded Goth (kinda' the opposite effect! :D)
1776180408057.jpeg

Goth body, heavily chambered within and refinished in matte black by Pat Wilkins -
1776180239841.jpeg

Three Goth necks - from left; second, third and end (red) Short-scale '65 Teisco Del Rey on left inspired the body shape. Side markers painted on the Goth necks mimicking the Del Rey.
1776180637167.jpeg
 
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#341,207
JIO said:
Goth body, heavily chambered within and refinished in matte black by Pat Wilkins -
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Oooh that is sexy :cool:
JIO said:
Three Goth necks - from left; second, third and end (red) Short-scale '65 Teisco Del Rey on left inspired the body shape. Side markers painted on the Goth necks mimicking the Del Rey.
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Thunder-jags anyone ? That body shape is really nice too and complements the tbird headstock really nicely :)
 
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#341,211
GBassNorth said:
LOL - our HOA would have a heart attack!
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Maybe they need a heart attack.

My house is painted dark green, with pale yellow trim and red window sashes and a red front door. Our neighbors to the north have a dark blue house, with white trim and a green front door. Our neighbors to the south recently painted their house purple with white trim and a blue front door. I like all the colors a lot.
 
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#341,212
RedNuk said:
Hey guys, last saturday was in a gig with 3 other bands and in one of them the bassist had an epi thunderbird. Looked and sounded so freaking awesome! We talked and I tried out the bass as the dive issue was holding me back... well it's not so bad (as my Warwick BO5) and now I want a Tbird in my herd too :) I'm jonesing a Goth model, are there any particular things to look out for on these? Or would I be better off grabing a different version (and if so, why?) ?

Thanks a bunch... looking forward to joining the club :)
Click to expand...
One will choose you. Then you will know.
 
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#341,213
RedNuk said:
The guy was playing a standard 3 button passive epiphone, I feel like the Goth is the same, just a different color scheme :)
I do have to ask, what is the "the patented $20 @GBassNorth tone enhancer !" ?
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A bolt-on or a different variant? If the output jack is on the front, then it's a bolt-on. If the output jack is on the edge of the lower bout, it's a Vintage Pro, Classic Pro, '64, or whatever they are calling things now. It's a little confusing to keep up with all the names Epiphone slaps on them these days.
 
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#341,214
RedNuk said:
Awesome reply, I'm jumping in as soon as I get one, you sold me :) For context I play in an originals band that mixes stoner, hardrock and metal... I'm mostly a Spector player (Euro 4 currently my main) but fell in love with that tbird the other night :) It was definitly a standard tobacco with 3 point bridge and passive electro. Then looking around I saw the Goth and instantly thought I should get one :) When I do find it I'll surely try your "patented GBassNorth Tone Enhancer". And yes they are quite cheap so, why not? And if on top the neck dive is not as bad as on a Thumb BO5, it's all good for me :) Plus I'll be droping in my favorite Gotoh GB350 lightweight tuners in anyway...


It was a Tobaco burst with 3 point bridge, black pickups and passive electronics, as for sound it was pretty heavily eq'd, but then again he was up against a 7 string guitar and a barytone guitar and sounded huge :)

Here's a pic of the bass (and really nice guy playing it^^):
View attachment 7474184
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I cannot tell for sure, but I think that's a Classic Pro. The pickups are Gibson TB+ pickups, if that's what it is. It may also be a Gibson.

[edit] Looks like it's a Gibson and IDed as one pretty much for sure. I have three Gibsons and none of them dive at all.
 
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#341,220
Gaolee said:
Maybe they need a heart attack.

My house is painted dark green, with pale yellow trim and red window sashes and a red front door. Our neighbors to the north have a dark blue house, with white trim and a green front door. Our neighbors to the south recently painted their house purple with white trim and a blue front door. I like all the colors a lot.
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HOAs. Good and bad. They can be ticky tacky.

I ignored the letters when they griped about the basketball hoop we had when the kids were young. They knocked on the door once. I told them what my profession was and they backed off. No way they could enforce the stupid rule against it. Similarly, they complained and sent letters when I didn’t overseed my front lawn during the winter during a couple of the severe drought years. I told them to 7 off. There was actually legislation in effect that said such rules were unenforceable. But they have kept a thirty+ year old community looking pretty much brand new. 24/7 security patrol. I don’t complain

Our mountain place HOA is decent. Except for some of the idiots on the board and loudmouth complainers. Close to 4k lots. Probably 50% weekender or otherwise absentee owners (almost all of whom are from L.A., including some celebrities).
7 million annual budget. Annual assessment is basically 2k per year per lot. Some loudmouths complain about the cost. But they’re nuts. There’s a nice pool (open Memorial Day through Labor Day), tennis courts, a golf course, a decent restaurant (subsidized) with fair prices, an equestrian center, a waste transfer station, a contract post office run by the HOA, a nice road maintenance crew, a very nice park, and an awesome security patrol with great employees. Frankly, it’s the best kept secret in the SoCal mountains.
 
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