- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
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Thunderbird Club
- Thread starter TBird1958
- Start date
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- Tags
- club thunderbird
I kinda backed into the whole TBird following about 8 years ago when I bought a Spector Rex5 Pro on a whim. It had the neat looking and uncommon in the bass/guitar world "Holoflash" finish. Purchased it used from the GC website and didn't really know what it was going to sound like. Turned out to be a monster and one of my favorite playing basses at the time. Fast forward a few years and I found this awesome club on TB. Veronica and the rest of the club welcomed me with open arms even though my Bird was a Spector. After a year in the club I found a good deal on a 50th anniversary Gold bird and bought it. Followed by a Goth last fall and a VP for Christmas.
Looking back to the 70's I do recall thinking Skynard's bass player had a really cool looking instrument. So maybe my TBird attraction was subliminal and just took 30 years to surface.
Looking back to the 70's I do recall thinking Skynard's bass player had a really cool looking instrument. So maybe my TBird attraction was subliminal and just took 30 years to surface.
Fun little ditty with a few fleeting bird glimpses ...
I was sitting in Mike Lulls shop playing various models and the NRT was the most comfortable to play while sitting and it looked cool.
Can never have too much of this.
Or this.
Or this.
Or this.
Or this.
Same here.... Leon Wilkeson
I wanted a change, and I wanted a big ballsy bass. I saw the Tokai TB48 in Express Music here in Coventry and loved it. Traded in my Squier P bass special and haven’t looked back. The sound when I first gigged with the beast blew my head off, as well as those of my band mates. The Tokai has now been relegated by the classic pro and recently the VP, but I don’t think i’ll Ever move away from birds now.
TBird1958. And the rest of the gang here.
I was starting out and my nephew invited me over and gave me his Chinese P copy. While I was there he showed me his two T’Birds. A Legacy and a beautiful Natural Epi Pro IV. After a while got him over and he brought his Epi over and gave me a play on it. I loved it.
I started trying to research a bit and found this Club. The gang let me hang around and ask beginner questions. I got to really enjoy the club dynamics.
Like @theFixer found myself wanting a bird partly because of the club. I kept a watch and eventually found an Epi Goth for cheap, plugged it in and had an eye opening experience - this is the bass sound that I had in my head all these years. Now I have two Thunderbirds.
I started trying to research a bit and found this Club. The gang let me hang around and ask beginner questions. I got to really enjoy the club dynamics.
Like @theFixer found myself wanting a bird partly because of the club. I kept a watch and eventually found an Epi Goth for cheap, plugged it in and had an eye opening experience - this is the bass sound that I had in my head all these years. Now I have two Thunderbirds.
My first exposure to Birds was via my friends older brothers record collection. The cover of KISS Alive (Paul's ebony Firebird) and a couple of pictures of Overend on Mott albums and pictures. That looked like the coolest shape ever!!! In 1978 I was in a music store with my uncle (visiting New Orleans) and they had a 76 Thunderbird in sunburst hanging there. It looked even cooler in person than in pictures!! Year later when I changed from guitar to bass a Bird was a natural choice. Happened to find an ebony 76 model locally, bought it on the spot, and that is where the love affair truly began.
godofthunder59
Life is short, buy the bass.
- Feb 19, 2006
- 9,057
- 38,405
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Cataldo Basses, Whirlwind products, Thunderbucker pickups
Entwistle, Overend Watts, Martin Turner!
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
Accidentally. I had the EB-2 for decades. It was my only bass, and I stopped playing much due to kid, work, etc. When I started playing again, that is what I played. After a few years, I figured out that it was officially vintage and more valuable than a bass that gets dragged around in a gig bag thrown in the back of a van ought to be.
I found a bolt on Epi on CL for dirt cheap and bought it to flog. It was sticky with beer and had awful neck dive. Beer wiped off, and neck dive disappeared with strap button relocation. After a year or so, I gave it to my son and moved on to try other things. The P is a keeper. The Ric wasn't. The bolt-on Epi kept crossing my mind, and on a whim I put in a losing bid on a Pro IV. I didn't like the huge frets or the electronics, but it confirmed that I am a Bird player. It is now fretless and the flock is bigger. It all started because that initial Epi popped up at exactly the right time.
The connection to Entwhistle, who is as close to an influence as I have, didn't hurt, but it was not at the front of my mind. It was all about ergos and how Birds are to play.
godofthunder59
Life is short, buy the bass.
- Feb 19, 2006
- 9,057
- 38,405
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Cataldo Basses, Whirlwind products, Thunderbucker pickups
I have always loved live albums , usually the bass is much more prominent . Wishbone Ash Live Dates is one of my favorites and has fantastic live Thunderbird tone. be sure to listen to the end.
That would be highly speculative and that's not how I have ever invested.
If Gibson does go off into the sunset there is no guarantee that the existing guitars out there will go up in value.
I think it'll be sort of like when GM killed so many brands during its bankruptcy... no one is desperately trying to find a Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Saturn or Hummer(hey now!). There's enough similar vehicles available from other car makers that only someone with a prior ownership experience will chase by going after a discontinued brand and only for the nostalgia of it, IMO.
That's the nostalgia thing that I wrote about.
TOAD! Always fun but not always a TBird in the bass player, Dean Back's hands.
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
As always, Larry, I was being Very Serious about rounding up a dozen Gibsons to stash under the bed to fund retirement on a yacht in the balmy South Seas.
Gibson will always exist in some fashion. I don't think it will be a conglomerate run by Henry J for another ten years. But who knows.
Gibson will always exist in some fashion. I don't think it will be a conglomerate run by Henry J for another ten years. But who knows.
I totally agree. Their energy is infectious and their music is fun.
From their show on 10/07/17.
https://youtu.be/-aE0-UEhQ4M
TBird goodness!
No one is looking for 2002 Camaro either.
I don't think late model vehicles will ever be very desirable. In the 80's, 60's vehicles were desirable, but today, no 90's-00's (US) vehicle's are desirable.
It takes longer for those cars to become desirable, IMO. My first GM vehicle was a 1990 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with the 3.4L HO and the 16" wheels, big wheels for the period. I'd buy that car again if I ran across one in decent shape. Nostalgia!
