Thunderbird Club

[marko57]

Man! My hat is off to you guys that are able to do major rework on your basses and even more to those who build their own basses! I swear sometimes I'm challenged just changing
4 damned strings!

 

[wolfkeller]

View attachment 644963


Unfortunately, two words that never seem to go together when it comes to basses are "lefty" and Epiphone". I can't remember ever seeing one, although they must have made a few sometime in the past. Guitars, yes - I have a very nice Sheraton II - but no basses. Best I can tell you is just keep looking (which is how I found this - apparently unique - Gretsch Broadkaster) or grit your teeth, save your pennies, and have Mike Lull make you one. Being a lefty is a pain sometimes...

Epi made a few lefty T birds around 2000 or so. They never come up for sale, cept 1 that was as much as a Gibson, about $1200!!!! Forget epi. I'd have an epi in every color they're so cheap if they made them. Find a used tokai. Better bass. Look on eBay UK. They pop up often there

 

[mistergoats]

Man! My hat is off to you guys that are able to do major rework on your basses and even more to those who build their own basses! I swear sometimes I'm challenged just changing
4 damned strings!

I only made a parts bass, and I found it quite simple. I also learned a few things while doing it. Broke some drill bits, scratched a couple of things, and stripped a few heads. The bulk of my challenges came with the maple headstock. Aside from that, it was relatively simple. Soldering is easy (for me). The most painful part was selecting the parts to make it work!

 

[marko57]

I only made a parts bass, and I found it quite simple. I also learned a few things while doing it. Broke some drill bits, scratched a couple of things, and stripped a few heads. The bulk of my challenges came with the maple headstock. Aside from that, it was relatively simple. Soldering is easy (for me). The most painful part was selecting the parts to make it work!

I think the most intimidating thing for me is getting the bridge lined up just right with the neck.

 

[mistergoats]

I think the most intimidating thing for me is getting the bridge lined up just right with the neck.

Measure 7-800 times; mark with tape; check tape 7-800 times against the measurements; drill once.

 

[Dadagoboi]

Rocking ThundaCoustic last night with Wattage. This is what happens to bassplayers and drummers who have known each other over 50 years...they're still telling us to turn down.

 

[hillerup]

My own bass build ( the "Warbird" ) is complete.

The final spec was
Sapele body with burr-elm veneer wings
Maple neck with maple/block inlay fretboard
Hipshot type 'A' bridge
Hipshot Ultralight tuners
Thunderbucker Ranch 66 pickups
RS components

She sounds EPIC. Tight and punchy with a massive 'open' tone ( and no hum )

Here she is with her Gibbo brothers

Very nice flock of birds...

Do you have a close up picture of that custom pickguard on your Nikki Sixx mk II bird?

 

[imdkoz]

Hey I know it's not a Thunderbird but check out the torch finish a friend of mine did on this Carvin LB70. I just got it yesterday and it is beautiful!! If my Goth doesn't sell I just might send it to him to set on fire.

 

[mistergoats]

I like the back on that.

 

[Alaotatto]

alright.. so I bought me a 2010 Gibson thunderbird and after doing a set up, some parts raised a few red flags and Im hoping somebody could perhaps help me a bit!

what I'm thinking is that perhaps I bought an epiphone bird and paid the gibson price for it. I contacted the seller and he is fine with me returning it....if this turns out to be the case.

here are some pics that raised a few suspicions:

in the first picture, the serial number, year and the "made in usa" writings seem to be superficial, different than a 2006 gibson bird a friend has.
the second one is pretty self explanatory.. an epiphone bridge in a US made gibson thunderbird.. is that normal?
and the last picture, of the truss rod adjustment screw, it seems so rough and without any refinement.. is this also normal?



please, help me shed some light into this matter! cheers!

 

[TBird1958]

Hi and welcome here!

I'm certain some others will chime in, I'll slip my thoughts in by your questions.

here are some pics that raised a few suspicions:

in the first picture, the serial number, year and the "made in usa" writings seem to be superficial, different than a 2006 gibson bird a friend has.

This looks legit to me - IIRC Gibson changed their stamping slightly in the years between '06-'10.


the second one is pretty self explanatory.. an epiphone bridge in a US made gibson thunderbird.. is that normal?

Not normal, but not surprising. Gibson and Epiphone Three point bridges are not identical, but you can put the Epi bridge into the Gibson posts.

and the last picture, of the truss rod adjustment screw, it seems so rough and without any refinement.. is this also normal?

Typical Gibson, they're rough and factory QC is pretty spotty.

 

[Larry V]

I second what Mark has said but for me, I'd want to see the laminated neck through construction as that is where I see the difference in the Gibson to Epi Pro models. The lamination pieces widths are different. Can you post a pic that shows the lams below the bridge clearly?

From the pic of the Epi bridge, the lam looks Gibson, not Epi.

 

[Alaotatto]

thanks for both replies.. very helpful!

as for the request, here are some more pics:


will those suffice? can you tell by just these? if not, I can take a few more

 

[Leiria]

Theres a website that lets you run serial numbers of Gibsons and Epiphones to see when and where they were made, you could try to put your number on both and see if anything comes up. Of course he could copy a Gibson number on to that but if the number matches with a epi or neither its problably fake

EDIT: heres the link The Guitar Dater Project - Gibson Serial Number Decoder

 

[Larry V]

Theres a website that lets you run serial numbers of Gibsons and Epiphones to see when and where they were made, you could try to put your number on both and see if anything comes up. Of course he could copy a Gibson number on to that but if the number matches with a epi or neither its problably fake

I did it, here is what it came up with but it wouldn't be an indication that what he has there is a Gibson, just that the number used is for a Gibson.

Guitar Info
Your guitar was made at the
Nashville Plant, TN, USA
January 6th, 2010
Production Number: 33

Alaotatto, the finish looks suspect to me though the lams look right. The finish on the wings don't look right.

Anyone else seeing what I'm seeing?

 

[Alaotatto]

yea I ran the serial through and it checks out.. that isn't surprising..

this bass has had multiple owners throughout its 5 years of life.. and most of them are reputable players/trustworthy people... I contacted 2 previous owners already, and they both seem pretty intrigued with this

 

[Nocturnal]

It seems like any Epi model that could be "converted" to a Gibson has different body parts that would make it hard to miss. The cutaway by the neck (or the lower wing I guess) is shaped differently on the current neck-thru models so that would be obvious. The headstocks on most special runs of Epi TBirds tend to have larger, old-school headstocks. The wood selection almost always looks nicer on a Gibson than an Epi too. The burst finish also can look different from model to model of the same year on Gibsons. Hopefully all is legit with this and you have no worries. I can find a picture of the truss rod cavity on my 50th Anniversary Bird and post it after work. Looks similar to what you are showing with yours.

 

[mistergoats]

The one thing that's bothersome to me, and it's a simple and easy one that really shouldn't be sticking point, but the strap buttons are chrome/nickel. Mine were black.

 

[Leiria]

I just remembered that a while ago I read a thread that claimed the Gibsons and the Epiphones with Gibson P-ups only sounded different because the P-ups had different spacings. I dont one of each but maybe someone could see if this is true and give the measures for verification

 

[hillerup]

I just remembered that a while ago I read a thread that claimed the Gibsons and the Epiphones with Gibson P-ups only sounded different because the P-ups had different spacings. I dont one of each but maybe someone could see if this is true and give the measures for verification

I have one of each and haven't noticed that big of difference in sound between them - Can't give you measurements though as I don't have them at home at the moment...