Thunderbird Club

[Unclejackrock]

Just too sexy, just what does a guy with the name " Uncle Jack Rock" want with a bright red Tbird? That's a girls guitar, just send it to me I'll spare you the embarrassment

Seriously, that's so nice and a bargain, if your luthier can't fix that for $150 you should be looking for a new one, the hardest bit it removing the fretboard without flaking any more paint but even that is quite easily fixed. Do you not fancy having a go yourself? Go on, we'll help you


Not a club member but out in the GP maybe 6 weeks ago there was someone who ordered a brand new red 2018 that arrived with a split neck very like that, I suspect it's the very same one

I’m a bit afraid to tackle it on my own. I’d rather pay someone to do it right than make a mess of it myself. I’d like to know who sent it back, and see if it came that way out of the box and why they decided to send it back as opposed to getting a partial refund and having it repaired.

 

[Unclejackrock]

Who wouldn't want a red `bird?

As for the name, I don't know how you got Uncle Jack Rock. I read it as Unclej a crock. Isn't clej a welsh word meaning full? So I read it as an empty slow cooker.



I had thought that looked familiar too. I had thought in the club, but now that you say out in GP, that sounds right. I think it came from Sweetwater, but the seller is likely the Gibson wholesaler, or whomever disposes of guitars for Gibson.

My username is indeed Uncle Jack Rock. My band is Uncle Jack, and we ROCK!!! Lol

 

[Haji]

Funny story...
Yesterday I went to work with my amp, etc for a gig that same evening. I work about an hour ride from home so I figured I'd shave, change clothes, etc at the local deluxe Shell station when I left work for the day. I had some time to kill, so I took a ride on a scenic road, pulled over and gerry-rigged some 6" deep ports for my 1518 cab, which the night before I'd loaded with a JBL E140. I had a cereal box and a coffee can from the recycle bin at home, my tin snips and a roll of packing tape. It was kind of a relaxing activity, and it worked fine. Pix:

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Anyway I'm laboring away and someone pulls up behind me. This particular scenic location was pretty busy by this time, and I was ignoring the agreeable hubbub of scene-viewing and touristy end-of-day relaxing.
So this car pulls up, I'm tin-snipping the bottom off my coffee can. Little bits of a meeting/conversation drop near my ears as it unfolds, "...for my wife... thank you very much...", I hear "Leno" from across the road, and a car full of young dudes drives by yelling "We love you! You're the man!". Well naturally I almost waved then saw they weren't yelling at me (lol)...
So I look up and see a middle aged dude and a woman walking across the road to the tidepool/ocean view that was the attraction at this spot. He was a large framed guy, silver hair, kind of walked with a forward, lopish gait, the considerably shorter woman walking by his side. He looks to the right after the appreciative carload passes, and I see it: His chin! It's Jay Leno! Who, I recall now, had recently bought a house in Newport.
So I kind of had my Life of Brian moment for the week. Well there you go, I thought to myself, smallish world.

I finished my shade-tree mod and went off to my gig, and set up my experiment for the evening. It was reggae, a band I'd left last fall, who called me just this Friday eve because my replacement had bailed. Seems he didn't dig this particular band's professional looseness, which I get, but anyway...
So here's the rig:
Acoustic 370 into my DIY 4 ohm 210, and a Trace AH250SMX into the JBL loaded 1518.

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I plugged into the Trace, and sent a line from that amp's tuner-out to the input of the 370. The 210 was pointed at the drummer, the 1518 facing forward. It was a total cobbled-together experiment and it worked like you read about! No mud, enough bottom to lay it down proper and give that satisfying punch to the gut, a nice blanket of dubby punch.
It's a pile to carry around, but what a sweet sound. I haven't been able to get a clear, solid, sweet punchy sound like that from any other amp/cab/whatever in years. Maybe ever. Love that JBL.

Yeah, but what was he driving?

That's a fun story. Thanks for sharing it!

 

[theFixer]

I’m a bit afraid to tackle it on my own. I’d rather pay someone to do it right than make a mess of it myself. I’d like to know who sent it back, and see if it came that way out of the box and why they decided to send it back as opposed to getting a partial refund and having it repaired.

Call it "superstitious"... but if I'd dropped $1,800 on a new bass... it had better be right, or it's going back. I want a bass... not a project. Also... once it's been pooped on by the pious bird of good omen, better to let someone else have a go at it

 

[Unclejackrock]

Call it "superstitious"... but if I'd dropped $1,800 on a new bass... it had better be right, or it's going back. I want a bass... not a project. Also... once it's been pooped on by the pious bird of good omen, better to let someone else have a go at it

But the thing is, I won this on eBay for $740. So my total investment even after repairs should be considerably less than retail, maybe even less than half. It’s a gamble I know, but worth a shot.

 

[JJR58]

But the thing is, I won this on eBay for $740. So my total investment even after repairs should be considerably less than retail, maybe even less than half. It’s a gamble I know, but worth a shot.

Even if it’s a 200 dollar repair. You made out. You’ve got something that probably won’t be made again.

 

[JIO]

But the thing is, I won this on eBay for $740. So my total investment even after repairs should be considerably less than retail, maybe even less than half. It’s a gamble I know, but worth a shot.

If that's the only thing wrong with it - it was worth the price paid. I did a similar repair on a Parker Hornet and once fixed it was good as new and was an easy fix. The 'projects' I won't take on involve amps or keyboards more than basses - missing or broken sliders/knobs etc usually indicate other issues inside. When I read "only missing a couple knobs" - I pass.

 

[theFixer]

But the thing is, I won this on eBay for $740. So my total investment even after repairs should be considerably less than retail, maybe even less than half. It’s a gamble I know, but worth a shot.

His loss, yer gain

 

[Unclejackrock]

Even if it’s a 200 dollar repair. You made out. You’ve got something that probably won’t be made again.

If it works out, I’ll be tickled pink!! That will make 3 kinda rare Thunderbirds in my arsenal, with my Heritage Cherry, and Blackbird.

 

[Nocturnal]

This will be coming to my house soon. It started as waaaaaayyyyyy overpriced but he reduced it dramatically and had the "Make Offer" button there, so I sent an offer. So I might be in the market for some used TBPlus pickups or it might be a simple fix. From what he told me he never really investigated once the neck pickup "quit working". I don't really care for the pickguard so will probably get a metal or mirror replacement. Even with replacing the pickups I did good on the price.

 

[theFixer]

This will be coming to my house soon. It started as waaaaaayyyyyy overpriced but he reduced it dramatically and had the "Make Offer" button there, so I sent an offer. So I might be in the market for some used TBPlus pickups or it might be a simple fix. From what he told me he never really investigated once the neck pickup "quit working". I don't really care for the pickguard so will probably get a metal or mirror replacement. Even with replacing the pickups I did good on the price.

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WIN!

 

[theFixer]

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[TBird1958]

Speaking of rare Thunderbirds..................
I dig the Pearloid Firebird PG too.

 

[JIO]

Speaking of rare Thunderbirds..................
I dig the Pearloid Firebird PG too.

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Gibson produced a three pu bird?

 

[JJR58]

Gibson produced a three pu bird?

That’s the second one I’ve seen. Obviously, not in person.
What was it like @TBird1958?

 

[Christine]

I’m a bit afraid to tackle it on my own. I’d rather pay someone to do it right than make a mess of it myself. I’d like to know who sent it back, and see if it came that way out of the box and why they decided to send it back as opposed to getting a partial refund and having it repaired.

Fair enough, it's not for everyone

This is the thread where it was discussed, the cracks don't look as bad, someone had opened it a little since
NBD HELP! Damage! Cracks! Return or Keep? Gibson Thunderbird Content!

 

[Unclejackrock]

This will be coming to my house soon. It started as waaaaaayyyyyy overpriced but he reduced it dramatically and had the "Make Offer" button there, so I sent an offer. So I might be in the market for some used TBPlus pickups or it might be a simple fix. From what he told me he never really investigated once the neck pickup "quit working". I don't really care for the pickguard so will probably get a metal or mirror replacement. Even with replacing the pickups I did good on the price.

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Dude, I love those basses. I never could find one for what I consider a good price. I’m envious.

 

[Christine]

Never seen a mahogany finish like that and in time-capsule condition - I wonder if they bleached the wood first.

I reckon that has been sprayed a yellow colour then grain filled black and lacquered, a French wood finisher called George Frank developed a technique like that in the 1930s if I recall

 

[JIO]

I reckon that has been sprayed a yellow colour then grain filled black and lacquered, a French wood finisher called George Frank developed a technique like that in the 1930s if I recall

I've done similar treatments using thinned alkyd primer to pale the wood while maintaining the grain pattern.

 

[GBassNorth]

But the thing is, I won this on eBay for $740. So my total investment even after repairs should be considerably less than retail, maybe even less than half. It’s a gamble I know, but worth a shot.

I recall reading the thread in the GenPop on a 2018 Sweetwater red bird purchase with photos that looked exactly like that. IIRC the buyer returned it to Sweetwater and had them ship a replacement, turned out the replacement had the exact same issue, so Sweetwater opened another only to find it also had the same issue. They eventually did find one that was fine but the prevailing thought at the time was the basses were not installed in the factory case correctly and that the damage was from the factory. So there's at least 3 birds out there with the same issue.

Looks completely fixable and at a reasonable cost as long as no refinishing is required. But you might want to look into the whole discussion about improper case storage. Who knows, if true there might be a higher than normal neck support cross brace in the case that's causing the problem. I'd hate to fix something like that and then have it happen again after I put it back in the case.