• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Thunderbird Club

#97,181
GonePlaid said:
Yes and no(or more accurately, no and yes). Epi EB3's are long scale. I had one and it "neckdived(dove?)" worse than either of my NR 'Birds. The Gibby EB3/SG bass is short scale. I had one of those(a '68) I never shoulda sold:oops::bag:. So it depends on what you want/can afford.
Click to expand...
Didn't Gibson make an EB-3L long scale as well?
 
  • Like
Reactions: ToddOfThunder, Dr_Feelgoood212, Count Bassie and 5 others
#97,183
download (3).jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Miles_ONeal, dukeorock, Nocturnal and 13 others
#97,187
GonePlaid said:
Yes and no(or more accurately, no and yes). Epi EB3's are long scale. I had one and it "neckdived(dove?)" worse than either of my NR 'Birds. The Gibby EB3/SG bass is short scale. I had one of those(a '68) I never shoulda sold:oops::bag:. So it depends on what you want/can afford.
Click to expand...
The short scale EB/SG is a dream bass. After a few years of SG ownership I just can't imagine not having one available when I need it. If you have the funds and can find a clean one, the Gibson SG Supreme is the one to get, worth every penny and then some. IIRC Reverb had a nice Lava Burst listed last I looked.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dukeorock, ToddOfThunder, RedVee and 3 others
#97,188
JJR58 said:
View attachment 3214355
Click to expand...

I ordered exactly that bass new, a 1970 EB-3L in brown. What Gibson sent to the store was a cherry EB-3 ss. I could have waited longer for the 'L' reorder but I just accepted the ss. I liked it ok but as so many players did back then I stripped off the cherry finish and then I had it de-fretted - I heard a local player playing a 70's P-fretless (first fretless offered by Fender) so I decided to go that route. Never really liked it after that and then bought my 1st T-bird. Can't even remember how I got rid of the EB-3 but I'm sure someone had frets put back in it and had it refinished in cherry! :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: dukeorock, ToddOfThunder, Dr_Feelgoood212 and 7 others
#97,191
Chucky Stiletti said:
from what I understand the ss is much better balanced, wish I liked short scales..
Click to expand...

I have no memory of that but I feel it would probably neck dive, but maybe not as much as the 'L'. It's all about the lack of a 12th fret located upper horn.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dukeorock, ToddOfThunder, GBassNorth and 2 others
#97,192
C1195FC0-4BC2-4DA0-AE84-B2305108E53B.jpeg


While so many here just absolutely love their SG’s/EB0-3L’s, I just didn’t love it. I had a very nice Walnut finish Anniversary Edition and was happier the day I sold it than the day I bought it. Every time I played it, I wanted to be playing one of my Thunderbirds.

I flipped the sale proceeds into my SS Thunderbird which is now on the chopping block that I’ll turn into a VP... maybe.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Miles_ONeal, Nocturnal, ToddOfThunder and 7 others
#97,193
Larry V said:
View attachment 3214432

While so many here just absolutely love there SG’s/EB0-3L’s, I just didn’t love it. I had a very nice Walnut finish Anniversary Edition and was happier the day I sold it than the day I bought it. Every time I played it, I wanted to be playing one of my Thunderbirds.

I flipped the sale proceeds into my SS Thunderbird which is now on the chopping block that I’ll turn into a VP... maybe.
Click to expand...

I bought my EB3 by accident. It was used at L&M. It was a couple of years old, in perfect condition, and still had the factory strings on it. Someone must have bought it then stuck it in a closet as it had not a mark on it. It was so cheap, I couldn't say no (because I could always resell it at a profit). I was interested in an EB3 for a while, but I had no cause to buy one. So, it is now my BEAD tuned bass.

As an aside, it helped me discover that I really like the sidewinder pickups.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dukeorock, ToddOfThunder, Dr_Feelgoood212 and 6 others
#97,194
I had nothing but a short scale for many years. My first bass was a gawd-awful Vantage that had a more or less SG shaped body, long scale, and long pointy headstock. It was the definition of neck dive. It was also heavy.

The second bass, the one that replaced it, was a Danelectro or Coral Wasp, with a double octave short scale neck that was about as wide as your thumb. It was the free bass because I got it for free. It had been found in a bathtub in an abandoned house, and was given to me by its non-playing finder. I have never seen another like it, and I don't miss it much. There are Coral Wasps that are a somewhat different shape floating around that I have seen, but none quite like the one I had. It was ratty black, probably original. The body was shaped like a Mustang or shrunken non-reverse 'Bird, and it had a huge swirly mother of toilet seat soft plastic pickguard. It also had a row of switches that didn't do much, but looked cool, and two lipsticks.

It was around for about four years. In the early '80s, I sold it to a shop on St. Mark's place for $300 and then spent the $300 on a Gibson EB-2 that was then my only bass for about twenty-five years. I love the EB-2 and have subsequently put it into semi-retirement to keep it from getting damaged. It survived all those years of getting schlepped around in a gig bag, leaned up against walls, "borrowed" by my son, and everything else. Time to stop pushing my luck.

Between the Dano and the EB-2, I only had a short scale bass guitar for almost 30 years. Aside from dabbling with uprights off and on during that time, 30" was the scale I played. Now, I switch back and forth between upright, 30", 34" and a couple different scales of guitar neck. That's my excuse for being really awful at all of them. It's always good to have an excuse.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ToddOfThunder, Dr_Feelgoood212, RedVee and 5 others
#97,199
JIO said:
I have no memory of that but I feel it would probably neck dive, but maybe not as much as the 'L'. It's all about the lack of a 12th fret located upper horn.
Click to expand...
No neck dive on either of my SS SG Supreme basses...
IMG_1211.JPG


The whole concept of a 12th fret upper horn to assure balance is nothing more than a rule of thumb. There are many many exceptions outside the FSO world (and probably some within as well).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Miles_ONeal, ToddOfThunder, Dr_Feelgoood212 and 6 others
#97,200
GBassNorth said:
No neck dive on either of my SS SG Supreme basses...
View attachment 3214523

The whole concept of a 12th fret upper horn to assure balance is nothing more than a rule of thumb. There are many many exceptions outside the FSO world (and probably some within as well).
Click to expand...
OK, I want you to stare out your window for a few minutes while I grab the one on the right.:smug:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Miles_ONeal, Dr_Feelgoood212, JJR58 and 2 others

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back