Thunderbird Club

[dagrev]

Here’s some interesting comparative finds on Thunderbird pickup spacing through the ages as traced out from my basses…
View attachment 7490740
Neck pickups:
Basically with the template held at the 20th fret you can see that the Gibby 1967 NR II pickup is in the exact same location as the 2012 Epiphone CP and the Epiphone VP as well as the newer Epiphone 64 Reissue neck pickup.
The 1979 Gibson Bicentennial bird moved the neck pickup closer to the neck by about a third of a pickup width.
The Gibson 2013 Anniversary, the 2021 Gibson NR Reissue and the 2015 bird were all bumped even closer to the neck, as was the 1991 three pickup Thunderbird.
Conclusions - if you want to hear what a vintage bird would sound like with TB+ pickups, get a 2012 CP (to my ears the CP sounds warmer). It looks like Gibson repositioned the neck pickup closer to the neck when they reintroduced the Thunderbird for the Bicentennial launch and kept moving it further from the original position even more towards the neck as time went on.

Bridge pickups:
The 2012 CP, the 2019 VP and the new Eppi 64 reissue all share the exact same bridge pickup location. Unfortunately I don’t have a vintage IV reverse or NR to get a bridge pup location from, but I suspect it’s about the same for the vintage birds as well, someone with both a VP and a vintage Reverse or NR would need to confirm that.
Interestingly enough, all the birds I have from 1979 on (and I suspect the 76 as well) share the exact same bridge location, which is about 1/3 of a pickup width closer to the neck.
Conclusions - since the Thunderbird relaunch in the mid 1970’s it looks like the bridge pickup location has held steady, which is about one third of a pickup width further from the bridge.

Great info! Thanks. Can that be added to the wiki? The visual certainly helps me...visualize it.

 

[dagrev]

Oops I did it again

After buying this on my wife’s insistence and talking a bite out of my Bird money…

View attachment 7490983

I dipped into my savings again, and got one of these…

View attachment 7490984

Fortunately it didn't take a big bite and I will be back on the road again!

View attachment 7490985

Dis she have any orders for us to buy gear?

 

[JIO]

Bond Girl plays "Libertine Tango"/"I've Seen That Face Before" by Grace Jones - we'll be playing it tonight. I just watched this doc on her, she's amazing. She's 77 now and still performs, and still sings "Slave to the Rhythm" while hula-hooping the whole time! Off - the - charts!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Dis she have any orders for us to buy gear?

And if so, we’ll need access to @DJ Bebop ’s bird fund…

 

[BuddhaFingas]

Bond Girl plays "Libertine Tango"/"I've Seen That Face Before" by Grace Jones - we'll be playing it tonight. I just watched this doc on her, she's amazing. She's 77 now and still performs, and still sings "Slave to the Rhythm" while hoola-hooping the whole time! Off - the - charts!

One of a kind.

Never considered her as "masculine." At all.

Warrior goddess.

 

[RedVee]

Bond Girl plays "Libertine Tango"/"I've Seen That Face Before" by Grace Jones - we'll be playing it tonight. I just watched this doc on her, she's amazing. She's 77 now and still performs, and still sings "Slave to the Rhythm" while hoola-hooping the whole time! Off - the - charts!

She even covered a Flash & The Pan (Vanda/Young) song.
Waiting for a Train ? Something like that

 

[DJ Bebop]

The stories that strap could tell. Very nice Deej.

It’s an original Pick Pocket strap.
I got it back in da 70’s for the P Bass of Doom…

 

[DJ Bebop]

Dis she have any orders for us to buy gear?

“You get a Noble, and you get a Mantle, and you get a Noble, you get a Mantle…”

 

[JIO]

One of a kind.

Never considered her as "masculine." At all.

Warrior goddess.

Speaking of such, when filming a one-on-one battle scene for Conan the Barbarian, she put the stunt guy in the hospital! She didn't quite understand 'acting" vs actual fighting!

 

[JIO]

She even covered a Flash & The Pan (Vanda/Young) song.
Waiting for a Train ? Something like that

Sure it wasn't Grandpa Jones?

 

[javi_bassist]

Hello guys
I have a question regarding my newish Gibson Non reverse thunderbird. I am in love with the sound and the looks. It has been my main bass for a couple of months now and I love it. However, I want to ask you a couple of questions about it:
-The neck gets a little bit sticky after 3-4 songs. I leave a lot of fingerprints (which I don't mind) but it gets a little bit sticky in some parts. I clean it after each gig with a Dunlop product and it becomes like new, but again after 3 songs, it becomes sticky. I do not mean everywhere in the neck, just some parts where I put my thumb. My hands don't sweat and it is the first time that happens to me in any bass that I played. Do you know how should I clean it to avoid that?
-My other question is about the strap knobs. Do you know if there are any stap locks (rubber or anything like that) that fits in these strap knobs. They are big and I tried with the Fender rubber ones and the D'addario plastic ones and neither fit. I do not want to change the original strap knobs so that is why I was thinking about these solutions.

 

[Lammchop93]

I had one of my best shows last night! We had an outdoor gig, and I got to bring my full rig. My NR got the full 4 hours of the show and it just sounded so perfect! I had a couple people come up to me on breaks saying how great the bass sounded and how cool it looked.

There were a lot of folks taking pictures, so hoping I can get some to share.

 

[BuddhaFingas]

Hello guys
I have a question regarding my newish Gibson Non reverse thunderbird. I am in love with the sound and the looks. It has been my main bass for a couple of months now and I love it. However, I want to ask you a couple of questions about it:
-The neck gets a little bit sticky after 3-4 songs. I leave a lot of fingerprints (which I don't mind) but it gets a little bit sticky in some parts. I clean it after each gig with a Dunlop product and it becomes like new, but again after 3 songs, it becomes sticky. I do not mean everywhere in the neck, just some parts where I put my thumb. My hands don't sweat and it is the first time that happens to me in any bass that I played. Do you know how should I clean it to avoid that?
-My other question is about the strap knobs. Do you know if there are any stap locks (rubber or anything like that) that fits in these strap knobs. They are big and I tried with the Fender rubber ones and the D'addario plastic ones and neither fit. I do not want to change the original strap knobs so that is why I was thinking about these solutions.

Regarding your strap lock question, I keep one of these on my amp cord.
It fits the bottom pin on everything I have from my Thunderbird to Fender to Guild to Schecter to Rogue, with the added benefit of strain-relieving the cord connector.

Easy on and off, plastic so does not scratch the pin, holds tight but does not make the strap bind on the body.

Added benefit is you only need one per cord for the bottom pin, not one per instrument.

For the upper pin, due to the way a rear-mount strap hangs, I dont really need a lock on the T-bird as the strap fits tight and hangs very vertically, but one of these would work if desired

For horn-mounted top pins, I either use the silicone rubber washers or one of the above.

I also dont swap straps much. Each bass has its own.

 

[TBird1958]

Hello guys
I have a question regarding my newish Gibson Non reverse thunderbird. I am in love with the sound and the looks. It has been my main bass for a couple of months now and I love it. However, I want to ask you a couple of questions about it:
-The neck gets a little bit sticky after 3-4 songs. I leave a lot of fingerprints (which I don't mind) but it gets a little bit sticky in some parts. I clean it after each gig with a Dunlop product and it becomes like new, but again after 3 songs, it becomes sticky. I do not mean everywhere in the neck, just some parts where I put my thumb. My hands don't sweat and it is the first time that happens to me in any bass that I played. Do you know how should I clean it to avoid that?
-My other question is about the strap knobs. Do you know if there are any stap locks (rubber or anything like that) that fits in these strap knobs. They are big and I tried with the Fender rubber ones and the D'addario plastic ones and neither fit. I do not want to change the original strap knobs so that is why I was thinking about these solutions.

Regarding the stickiness, I would change what you're cleaning with first, as it's an easy thing to try. It may be leaving a residue.

 

[JIO]

Hello guys
I have a question regarding my newish Gibson Non reverse thunderbird. I am in love with the sound and the looks. It has been my main bass for a couple of months now and I love it. However, I want to ask you a couple of questions about it:
-The neck gets a little bit sticky after 3-4 songs. I leave a lot of fingerprints (which I don't mind) but it gets a little bit sticky in some parts. I clean it after each gig with a Dunlop product and it becomes like new, but again after 3 songs, it becomes sticky. I do not mean everywhere in the neck, just some parts where I put my thumb. My hands don't sweat and it is the first time that happens to me in any bass that I played. Do you know how should I clean it to avoid that?
-My other question is about the strap knobs. Do you know if there are any stap locks (rubber or anything like that) that fits in these strap knobs. They are big and I tried with the Fender rubber ones and the D'addario plastic ones and neither fit. I do not want to change the original strap knobs so that is why I was thinking about these solutions.

Regarding the stickiness, I would change what you're cleaning with first, as it's an easy thing to try. It may be leaving a residue.

If other cleaning products don't address the stickiness, I would use a Scotch pad to satin-ize/de-gloss it. It feels much nicer (more like wood) and if it gets shiny/sticky again just repeat the process. Don't worry - it won't remove the finish - it will just dull it and hopefully address the issue you are having.

 

[GBassNorth]

Great info! Thanks. Can that be added to the wiki? The visual certainly helps me...visualize it.

Makes sense. I’ll clean it up and make it look more formal first. I also have to clean up and formalize my three pickup wiring schematic for the BlingBird wiki in case anyone else wants to try a three pup layout. I’ll get those done in the next couple of weeks and work with Miles to Wiki them.

 

[BuddhaFingas]

Hello guys
I have a question regarding my newish Gibson Non reverse thunderbird. I am in love with the sound and the looks. It has been my main bass for a couple of months now and I love it. However, I want to ask you a couple of questions about it:
-The neck gets a little bit sticky after 3-4 songs. I leave a lot of fingerprints (which I don't mind) but it gets a little bit sticky in some parts. I clean it after each gig with a Dunlop product and it becomes like new, but again after 3 songs, it becomes sticky. I do not mean everywhere in the neck, just some parts where I put my thumb. My hands don't sweat and it is the first time that happens to me in any bass that I played. Do you know how should I clean it to avoid that?
-My other question is about the strap knobs. Do you know if there are any stap locks (rubber or anything like that) that fits in these strap knobs. They are big and I tried with the Fender rubber ones and the D'addario plastic ones and neither fit. I do not want to change the original strap knobs so that is why I was thinking about these solutions.

Regarding your strap lock question, I keep one of these on my amp cord.
It fits the bottom pin on everything I have from my Thunderbird to Fender to Guild to Schecter to Rogue, with the added benefit of strain-relieving the cord connector.

Easy on and off, plastic so does not scratch the pin, holds tight but does not make the strap bind on the body.

Added benefit is you only need one per cord for the bottom pin, not one per instrument.

For the upper pin, due to the way a rear-mount strap hangs, I dont really need a lock on the T-bird as the strap fits tight and hangs very vertically. One of these would work but it would stick out a bit.

For horn-mounted top pins, I either use the silicone rubber washers or one of these.

I also dont swap straps much. Each bass has its own.

 

[GBassNorth]

Nope, the cat helped Mama buy the bass. He is the bass approver in the house…

View attachment 7491036View attachment 7491037View attachment 7491038
View attachment 7491039

That’s one cool cat! Looks pretty big, is he a Maine Coon cat?

 

[GBassNorth]

Regarding your strap lock question, I keep one of these on my amp cord.
It fits the bottom pin on everything I have from my Thunderbird to Fender to Guild to Schecter to Rogue, with the added benefit of strain-relieving the cord connector.

Easy on and off, plastic so does not scratch the pin, holds tight but does not make the strap bind on the body.

View attachment 7491572
View attachment 7491570
Added benefit is you only need one per cord for the bottom pin, not one per instrument.

For the upper pin, due to the way a rear-mount strap hangs, I dont really need a lock on the T-bird as the strap fits tight and hangs very vertically. One of these would work but it would stick out a bit.

For horn-mounted top pins, I either use the silicone rubber washers or one of these.

I also dont swap straps much. Each bass has its own.

That’s worth repeating!
Never seen that style strap lock before, I’m gonna get me some. Thx.

 

[GBassNorth]

If other cleaning products don't address the stickiness, I would use a Scotch pad to satin-ize/de-gloss it. It feels much nicer (more like wood) and if it gets shiny/sticky again just repeat the process. Don't worry - it won't remove the finish - it will just dull it and hopefully address the issue you are having.

^This
Does change the look of the neck from gloss to satin but solves the sticky neck situation every time I’ve tried it.