Definitely.
I've been eyeballing a Rex Pro. They're really nice, and kind of a middle of the road price point between epi classic pros and Gibson birds.
Anyone know if the Rex is poly or Nitro finish?
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Thunderbird Club
- Thread starter TBird1958
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- club thunderbird
Definitely.
I've been eyeballing a Rex Pro. They're really nice, and kind of a middle of the road price point between epi classic pros and Gibson birds.
Anyone know if the Rex is poly or Nitro finish?
These look new to the spector line once again. reminiscent of Nikki sixx's girls/dr feelgood era
I'm curious how different cables affect the sound of an instrument. If they do at all.
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The Thunderbird vs Spectorbird shoot out Round One is now complete!
the "Battle of the Birds" will go a total of three rounds.
Here's how its organized...
Round one - specifications comparison - how do they stack up on paper
Round two - hands on visual impressions - how do they stack up on fit, finish and quality
Round three - a good flogging - how do they stack up sound and playability wise
Here's the results from round one...
Note: I called a winner of round one but that only reflects my humble opinion. The data is set up so each TB reader can assign their own winner of each category based on what's important to them. It would be interesting to hear from others on how they ended up scoring the first round.
Edit:
the Gibson nut dimension should read 1.5" not 1.6"
The Gibson neck design should read 9 ply mahogany/walnut not 3 ply
the "Battle of the Birds" will go a total of three rounds.
Here's how its organized...
Round one - specifications comparison - how do they stack up on paper
Round two - hands on visual impressions - how do they stack up on fit, finish and quality
Round three - a good flogging - how do they stack up sound and playability wise
Here's the results from round one...
Note: I called a winner of round one but that only reflects my humble opinion. The data is set up so each TB reader can assign their own winner of each category based on what's important to them. It would be interesting to hear from others on how they ended up scoring the first round.
Edit:
the Gibson nut dimension should read 1.5" not 1.6"
The Gibson neck design should read 9 ply mahogany/walnut not 3 ply
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My gold 50th anniversary Bird has more than 3 ply's in the neck. In the truss rod adjustment area you can see the walnut pieces, plus you can see the wood sections in places beneath the finish. I have tried to get a good photo of the neck, but my camera isn't good enough to give a clear shot.
Tomorrow I get my bran new '13 lefty Gibson t bird. I've always loved Spector and had a custom order euro that cost $2400 lefty. I sold it and don't miss it. Spector doesn't care much for Lefty's for if they did they'd offer something in the x body for less than $3000! Hell no. I'd buy a legend and trick it out.
I hear ya, couldn't tell with the painted neck and body so I had to go by this...
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BAT50BGGH-13/
I don't know that it has much to do with the brand or cost as much as it does the length.
I was told the Rex Pro is nitro but I haven't been able to find an official confirmation.
hillerup
There are basses, and there are Thunderbirds!
The Thunderbird vs Spectorbird shoot out Round One is now complete!
the "Battle of the Birds" will go a total of three rounds.
Here's how its organized...
Round one - specifications comparison - how do they stack up on paper
Round two - hands on visual impressions - how do they stack up on fit, finish and quality
Round three - a good flogging - how do they stack up sound and playability wise
Here's the results from round one...
Note: I called a winner of round one but that only reflects my humble opinion. The data is set up so each TB reader can assign their own winner of each category based on what's important to them. It would be interesting to hear from others on how they ended up scoring the first round.
My 50th Anniversary also is a 9-ply neckthrough... Also the nut is just 1.5" and not 1.6" as mentioned in your charts...
That is sooo bad ass. Nothing happening for a lefty... Maybe a custom build I think.
Thanks for the info.
You're correct on the nut width, it should be 1.5" not 1.6", sorry about the typo, I'll correct it.
I suspect you and Noc are also correct about there being more than 3 neck plys unfortunately I can't find any official spec info that says there are more than three plys. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that the neck is 9 ply (5 strands of mahogany and 4 stringers of walnut) but I can't seem to find anything that confirms that. Do you have a reference or pics you can post?
Thanks again for the keen eye! I'd like this to be as correct as possible.
hillerup
There are basses, and there are Thunderbirds!
Well, a 50th Anniversary is basically a limited edition 2013 Gibson Thunderbird IV with a unique paint job and gold hardware.
If you look closely at a Vintage Sunburst 2013 & 2014, you can see the neck is a 9-ply neck through - this applies to the 50th Anniversary as well...
Got it! I wasn't aware it was identical to the IV. I'll update the chart to 9 ply.
Doesn't change the scoring for me since there's nothing intrinsically better about a 9 ply vs 3 ply neck (now 3 ply vs single plank is a different story). But this will make a difference in round 2 when I compare fit, finish and quality of construction. I hope to complete round 2 on Monday.
Thanks again for helping to make this a robust review!
Also, I saved the chart as a PDF and can mail it to others if they want to input data for additional Tbird style basses (Epi, Schecter, Dean...). It would be kinda neat to have a monster reference table.
hillerup
There are basses, and there are Thunderbirds!
Your most welcome!
I think it will make a cool reference table...
In the end, I think it is all a matter of personal taste and reference which features would take a high score.
I, personally would always take passive pickups over actives...
Also, the classic headstock would always win over other headstocks in my book - And I really do like the 3-point bridge...
In the end, I think it is all a matter of personal taste and reference which features would take a high score.
I, personally would always take passive pickups over actives...
Also, the classic headstock would always win over other headstocks in my book - And I really do like the 3-point bridge...
Agreed with the pickups, The headstock i think spector did it pretty good, it's different and they're signature i guess. The body can change but the headstock stays the same. I guess this is why i'll build my own B.C. Rich Bird to my own personality and taste. Chrome hardware bird, i actually can't wait to have it as perhaps my main one
Exactly! That's why I put the chart together the way I did - so individuals that prefer passive over active or one bridge style vs another etc. can award points to the bass that has the features they like in each category.Your most welcome!
In the end, I think it is all a matter of personal taste and reference which features would take a high score.
...
Interestingly enough, I prefer the flexibility of an active preamp, but if it doesn't deliver significantly more tonal options or just doesn't fit in the mix as well as a passive set up on a given bass then I'll go passive. Round 3 should be very interesting. I've not played these basses back to back but I don't recall there being a huge difference in tone or tone options between the two basses. Who knows, in round three I may like the passive Gibson tone more, we'll see.
I have been reading the shootout diligently. I have not made comment because I am a newb to the world of Bass Guitar. I find this very interesting and would like to extend thanks to all the veterans here. Thanks.
In regards to the chart (i've changed it up to just a standard thunderbird vs the Rex 5 pro) and so far Gibson has 9 wins, spector has 12, and 21 ties in my preferable defence. So my round one goes to Spector (although i'd probably never own the Rex 5 pro, probably a forte 4X or the ns-2 X series from my previous post) Keep it coming, i'm curious to know how they both stack up against each other in the next two rounds.
PERFECT!
That's exactly how I was hoping people would use this chart - input a bass of your choice and see how it compares, don't just stick with the ones I've listed. And by all means, in the scoring section score them to your personal preferences not mine!
Something I didn't do but may add later is a blank weight column on the right. Some of the criteria may be much more important than others and right now its all valued the same. For instance, cost may be a major criteria for some people or maybe a passive preamp, and in some cases not having a left handed option might be a deal breaker. That column would allow individuals to assign a 1-5 number (1 being least important to 5 being most important) to be used as a multiplier for each category then total them up. Could drastically change the scoring outcome in some cases.
Right now however, I'm trying to figure out how to best do round two (hands on visual impressions). I want it to be in a similar format but it would be a huge number of photos if I post everything, so I'll probably only post exceptions and maybe just use a reference link to the non-posted photos.
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