Thunderbird Club

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

It is odd though - as it looks to be Korina. Did Gibson ever produce a Korina T-bird?

Not to my knowledge. To me it looks like a natural finish like such
1999 Gibson Thunderbird Bass Natural | Rock N Roll Vintage
I thought Korina was more of a yellow colour

Edit: It even has the thick tuners like the 90's TBirds.

 

[JIO]

Not to my knowledge. To me it looks like a natural finish like such
1999 Gibson Thunderbird Bass Natural | Rock N Roll Vintage
I thought Korina was more of a yellow colour

Right you are - they have really dropped the ball on that bass being a '76! Depending on the aging of the sealer/clear-coat, Korina is very blanch unfinished and could look similar to that '99.

 

[bylar13]

It is odd though - as it looks to be Korina. Did Gibson ever produce a Korina T-bird?

Not that I know of. I had seen that listing previously amd they were not listing it as "Korina" that I recall. I remembered it because I thought it was a pretty obvious mistake. It was there when I got my Cherry t-bird back in February.

 

[Gaolee]

First coat of finish went on the Tele-bird and P-bird last night. I don't know what it looks like dry, but it looked a little blotchier than I was hoping right at first. If it doesn't come out like it should, there willl be a bit more pigment than I originally intended in the top coats.

 

[JIO]

I'm tempted to email them about it, but feel like they've already have had a bunch of people walk in or email them about it, and trying to recoup some cost.

hmm, I doubt that - that would get into false advertising and would be a legal problem they wouldn't want. Seems like an error that hasn't been rectified.

 

[BklynKen]

If the GC ad isn't fixed by tomorrow, I will be near that store after work and could probably check it out.

 

[JIO]

If the GC ad isn't fixed by tomorrow, I will be near that store after work and could probably check it out.

I just sent the Reverb link ('99 natural T-bird) to them.

 

[GBassNorth]

Get your $#!+ together Guitar Center
Someone got a great deal bringing their bass to GC
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Sad thing is, that same store has a real 76 TBird

I'm not up on all the vintage tell tale signs - other than the non 76 pickguard (which could easily be replaced) how can you tell from the GC pictures it's a fake?

 

[RikiP]

That is AMAZING!!!

yeah i love it.
too bad i can't afford anything i want

 

[RikiP]

Get your $#!+ together Guitar Center
Someone got a great deal bringing their bass to GC
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Sad thing is, that same store has a real 76 TBird

'76 Thunderbird with plastic pups

 

[RikiP]

I'm not up on all the vintage tell tale signs - other than the non 76 pickguard (which could easily be replaced) how can you tell from the GC pictures it's a fake?

pickups, headstock, tuners, knobs, jack placement.

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

If the GC ad isn't fixed by tomorrow, I will be near that store after work and could probably check it out.

I just sent the Reverb link ('99 natural T-bird) to them.

I just sent that Guitar Center this email. ( @GBassNorth think this might answer your question too)
"Hi,
I believe, with fair certainty, that this product that you are trying to sell as a "1976 Thunderbird Korina" is actually a 1990's Thunderbird with a natural finish mahogany. Without viewing the serial number I cannot be certain the exact age but there are multiple tell-tale signs. Some major one are
1) The headstock is fairly smaller on the newer models
2) No holes in the body from the bridge cover, pickup rings, etc.
3) Placement of the input jack, 1976 had it under the controls
4) The placement of the front strap pin is incorrect, and there seems to be no hole where the strap pin should be.
5) Granted the hardware could have been changed, it is definitely not the right hardware

I am writing you this so if can be corrected before some, unsuspecting person, purchases this, and comes back angry after they find out that it is not correctly advertised"

 

[GBassNorth]

pickups!?

Good point. Like I said, I've never bothered to bone up on vintage Thunderbirds. I'm assuming the '76 had metal pups with trim rings, so even if the owner replaced the metal ones with plastic ones there would still be tell tale trim ring holes in the body that could be seen in the GC picture if they existed. Is that correct?

Edit: never mind, I just saw DrFeelgoods excellent post. Thanks @Dr_Feelgoood212 for the very informative post.

 

[JIO]

I just sent them this. ( @GBassNorth think this might answer your question too)
"Hi,
I believe, with fair certainty, that this product that you are trying to sell as a "1976 Thunderbird Korina" is actually a 1990's Thunderbird with a natural finish mahogany. Without viewing the serial number I cannot be certain the exact age but there are multiple tell-tale signs. Some major one are
1) The headstock is fairly smaller on the newer models
2) No holes in the body from the bridge cover, pickup rings, etc.
3) Placement of the input jack, 1976 had it under the controls
4) The placement of the front strap pin is incorrect, and there seems to be no hole where the strap pin should be.
5) Granted the hardware could have been changed, it is definitely not the right hardware

I am writing you this so if can be corrected before some, unsuspecting person, purchases this, and comes back angry after they find out that it is not correctly advertised"

That's a concise rundown for their consideration - checking the serial # should have been sufficient for them before assuming it was a '76 in the first place.

 

[JIO]

pickups, headstock, tuners, knobs, jack placement.

pretty bird

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

That's a concise rundown for their consideration - checking the serial # should have been sufficient for them before assuming it was a '76 in the first place.

They have a 76 at that store they could have compared to... depending which came in first but still, serial # check is the first thing anyone should do when purchasing any guitar/bass, doesn't matter if it's vintage or not.

 

[RikiP]

What?? I thought they mixed up photos and titles only online, but they really put the 3200$ price tag on that bass

I wonder if they were so dumb somebody scammed them.

 

[JIO]

What?? I thought they mixed up photos and titles only online, but they really put the 3200$ price tag on that bass

I wonder if they were so dumb somebody scammed them.

I would tend to believe it was a simple mistake of (as you say) mixed-up photo's.

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

I would tend to believe it was a simple mistake of (as you say) mixed-up photo's.

I would hope that be true

 

[JIO]

I would hope that be true

I try not to be cynical - it's kind of an epidemic now and leads to suspecting everything of being a scam. GC is a reputable business, and as a policy would not deceive their consumers. In any huge business (human error) mistakes are common and not malicious. This looks to be the case here.