Thunderbird Club

[Gaolee]

I guess I'm the only one at work this early on a Saturday morning. Sleep well, 'Bird brains, I'll wait.

I'll be on a plane for work shortly. I'll be working all weekend, and did that last weekend. It's been a little nuts. I was even at work until 10pm last night. ahh, the joy of having a day job.

 

[Larry V]

I'll be on a plane for work shortly. I'll be working all weekend, and did that last weekend. It's been a little nuts. I was even at work until 10pm last night. ahh, the joy of having a day job.

You have my sympathy... I won't make you check the dictionary.

 

[Gluvhand]

I know, I was just adding to the quality aspect. It can be completely structurally sound but quality is fit and finish.

But the original question was about "holding up through the years" and that's what I replied to. I'm not disagreeing that a quality repair should also look good.

 

[Nevada Bob]

Big fan of LPB myself, now if the new Vintage Pro were to be available in that color..........

Ohhhhh, that made my heart stop for a second. LP or Pelham on that bass and I'd be GAS-Free for life.

 

[Gaolee]

The vintage Gibson Thunderbird stood on a stand in the corner, covered with memories. It's once shiny chrome dulled with age till it now matched the .38 in the lower desk drawer. The bass was a gift from a female client many, many years ago. In return, Slove gave her his heart. She took it with her when she died.

Slove played bass with a jazz trio at a gin joint down on the waterfront. His band mates and the bar owner were the closest things to friends he had. At least close enough to keep him sane. At first, they tried to talk him into playing an upright bass. They changed their minds when a fight broke out and they saw how effective the t'bird was at protecting the small stage and their equipment. The battle scars the Gibson earned were a constant reminder to the regulars to give the stage a wide berth during brawls. Now, the band just picks up the tempo a little bit to provide the background music.



@JIO please feel free to pick this up again. Or anyone else for that matter.

He met her one fateful afternoon after an unsuccessful stake-out. Sloved Dovewing was not one to give anything away, and that included what he was thinking. The afternoon should have been dark and moody, but it was bright and sunny. If it had been dark and moody, perhaps things would have worked out differently, but in the bright light, the world looked more optimistic than Sloved was accustomed to. It had an effect on him as well. It didn't stop him from stopping in and having a double of cheap gin. He would have done that if the stakeout had been successful, too. Some things in his life needed to be routine. That afternoon was trying to be one of those routine things, but when he walked out of the joint, he saw her looking through the grimy glass door to his office down the street. She was either plotting a break in or was a potential client.

 

[Gaolee]

You have my sympathy... I won't make you check the dictionary.

I'm somewhere between those things. Don't have to look 'em up.

 

[Count Bassie]

The vintage Gibson Thunderbird stood on a stand in the corner, covered with memories. It's once shiny chrome dulled with age till it now matched the .38 in the lower desk drawer. The bass was a gift from a female client many, many years ago. In return, Slove gave her his heart. She took it with her when she died.

Slove played bass with a jazz trio at a gin joint down on the waterfront. His band mates and the bar owner were the closest things to friends he had. At least close enough to keep him sane. At first, they tried to talk him into playing an upright bass. They changed their minds when a fight broke out and they saw how effective the t'bird was at protecting the small stage and their equipment. The battle scars the Gibson earned were a constant reminder to the regulars to give the stage a wide berth during brawls. Now, the band just picks up the tempo a little bit to provide the background music.



@JIO please feel free to pick this up again. Or anyone else for that matter.

He met her one fateful afternoon after an unsuccessful stake-out. Sloved Dovewing was not one to give anything away, and that included what he was thinking. The afternoon should have been dark and moody, but it was bright and sunny. If it had been dark and moody, perhaps things would have worked out differently, but in the bright light, the world looked more optimistic than Sloved was accustomed to. It had an effect on him as well. It didn't stop him from stopping in and having a double of cheap gin. He would have done that if the stakeout had been successful, too. Some things in his life needed to be routine. That afternoon was trying to be one of those routine things, but when he walked out of the joint, he saw her looking through the grimy glass door to his office down the street. She was either plotting a break in or was a potential client.

Marco left the meeting. He didn't like it when the boss got desperate, and this was marked as a desperate move. Going into homes to "Deliver" or to "Equalize" was not his cup of Hooch. But it was on. He needed to erase the experience of the volatile sit-down, if even for an hour. He decided he'd roll over to that watering hole he'd passed on the way to the warehouse, maybe there was a band or something interesting. The music always waited in the wings for him, ready to distract, seduce. His near-run-in with a career as the bass player for the Lonnie Welch Blues Review haunted his days, and sometimes nearly owned his nights.

Here was the place...

"Now this is fun stuff right here...", he almost muttered aloud as he made it around the massive, hand carved post at the end of the breezeway into the barroom. The band was delivering a hot, gritty-but-elegant, volts-driven 16-bar blues from the poorly-lit stage on the far side. A few heads looked up from their meditative reveling as he stumbled over a loose floorboard and navigated his way to the bar. He made out the Vinty-looking Gibson (or probably a Gibson) Thunderbird bass, sparsely illuminated at house right of the tiny stage, rocking as if fixed to some alien pivoting assembly. He found it strangely unnerving, but riveting... that was the engine, the center of it all.

He broke his reverie to give the room a casual survey- the place was nothing if not atmospheric, and that in spades. A small gaggle of heavies in leather jackets and colors presided over a patch of floor-space by the pinball machines and a jukebox at the far end of the room; some locals who might've just come off the set of the Red Green Show, and their women were sharing the space amicably. The bar was distributed with working girls, salesmen and college-age patrons, and the remaining floor-space was abuzz with what appeared to be the balance of a regular Friday night crowd, fully engaged in the celebration of the weekend.

He brought his attention back to the small combo, which looked as if it might fall to pieces at any moment, doing 60 down a sonic dirt road, held together by the mere forward intent of its purpose. His sensibilities rippled at such density- and seamless cohesion- from three faceless, codgery-looking characters with little dinosaur amps and an apparently unfinished drum kit that would've made Ringo balk... "How we doing boss?" He turned and ordered a Guiness from the smiling man behind the bar. "Who're these guys?" he asked while the man commenced the slow process of tapping the heavy, foamy brew. "That's Slove's band", he answered, as if everybody, of course, Knew that. He stood advised...

(Edited, sorry!)

 

[Count Bassie]

Thanks and yes I saw that as well when I was going through the pics and confirmed when I read the description. It doesn't matter to me on a rare enough TBird and this one is rare enough.



Yes, some even say that the repair if done right will be stronger than the original.

This is true.

 

[JJR58]

@Larry V and @Gaolee, if it's any consolation, my second job is taking care of my aunt and uncle on the weekends, every weekend. And it's a full time gig, non-stop. A full work week then out to Jersey for the weekend, I'm shot Sunday night and little time to regroup to start all over again.

 

[Haji]

Yep, the high end Gibsons sell. But, I would bet that the authorized dealer contract differs in one respect between Gibson and Fender - I would bet that the Fender contract requires the stores to carry the full line - at least one of each model.

My boys at Music Central in Hopkinsville KY recently picked up Bumper again, because of the change in terms of the dealer agreement. They can carry stuff they can actually turn now. They dumped the line years ago because of having to carry stuff they knew would never sell. They had one from those days they literally had to work to give away. LOL!

 

[Dadagoboi]

Yes, some even say that the repair if done right will be stronger than the original.

But only at that glue line. Unfortunately, it doesn't make the neck less susceptible to another break above or below it.

Good news is the first break is the expensive one when determining resale value.

 

[Nocturnal]

You may never see another one so I figured I'd post it up for the serious collector.

Vintage 1987 Gibson Thunderbird Bass Custom Shop Special Edition RARE NO RESERVE | eBay

Can anyone with a Gibson Bass Book post up about how many were made in '87?

Thanks.

Back in the mid-90s a pawn shop had an ebony Custom Shop Bird hanging on the wall. It was nice but had a big chunk out of the bottom of the headstock and lots of other bumps and bruises that made the asking price feel out of line. IIRC they were asking for $950 when you could find clean TBirds for $600. They said the CS label made it worth more even tho it had been aboused.

Stupid question here, not trying to be sarcastic, is there such a thing as a good headstock repair, one that will hold up through the years.

My 2001 ebony had a headstock repair at some point and it has had no issues in the 10+ years I have owned it.

 

[Larry V]

@Larry V and @Gaolee, if it's any consolation, my second job is taking care of my aunt and uncle on the weekends, every weekend. And it's a full time gig, non-stop. A full work week then out to Jersey for the weekend, I'm shot Sunday night and little time to regroup to start all over again.

It's a loving and noble thing you're doing. I tip my hat to you.

 

[TBird1958]

I guess I'm the only one at work this early on a Saturday morning. Sleep well, 'Bird brains, I'll wait.

Saturday = Monday for me......................

 

[Larry V]

Back in the mid-90s a pawn shop had an ebony Custom Shop Bird hanging on the wall. It was nice but had a big chunk out of the bottom of the headstock and lots of other bumps and bruises that made the asking price feel out of line. IIRC they were asking for $950 when you could find clean TBirds for $600. They said the CS label made it worth more even tho it had been aboused.

The thing that makes the '87 super special is that it's a non-production year for Gibson Thunderbirds. The ability to own something that's not supposed to exist except for the hush-hush nature of rogue employees pushing these out the backdoor is very enticing!

 

[Larry V]

Saturday = Monday for me......................

Unless you're gigging, right? Nice way to start a week!

 

[JKydd]

What are your guys using for pedal doards? I'm graduating from bedroom rocker to jamming with friends and need to find a board.

 

[JJR58]

It's a loving and noble thing you're doing. I tip my hat to you.

My family comes first, and thanks Larry.
It really is the least I can do for all the things they did for me as a kid.

 

[JJR58]

Saturday = Monday for me......................

I feel ya!

 

[JJR58]

I've got to tend to the units for now.
Catch you all later.