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Thunderbird Club

#10,021
Fletz said:
Walked into a Guitar Center recently and saw they had a clearance 2015 Gibson Thunderbird for $999 ... whats up with that? Is there no love for the new model? Is the music man-ish pickups turning people off?
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At that price, i probably would pick it up. But At first there was the price tag that put us off, & if you can coil tap why have two switches when they could've just used push-pulls? (my guess is cause the body is too slim & the pushpull is too long so the cavity cover wouldn't fit & screw down. But yeh the pickups are weird when you're so used to seeing all black on tbirds.
 
#10,022
ThaCoast said:
At that price, i probably would pick it up. But At first there was the price tag that put us off, & if you can coil tap why have two switches when they could've just used push-pulls? (my guess is cause the body is too slim & the pushpull is too long so the cavity cover wouldn't fit & screw down. But yeh the pickups are weird when you're so used to seeing all black on tbirds.
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At $2200, I can totally see why the price was a turnoff. Frankly at $1600, it is too. At $999, quality of American Gibson alone makes it worth while (right?). I wonder if you could put in "classic" pickups at some point in the future (though I doubt I would ever do that).
 
#10,023
Fletz said:
Walked into a Guitar Center recently and saw they had a clearance 2015 Gibson Thunderbird for $999 ... whats up with that? Is there no love for the new model? Is the music man-ish pickups turning people off?
Click to expand...

At 999 IT'S A TOTAL BUY! These were over 2K IIRC.
 
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#10,025
Fletz said:
At $2200, I can totally see why the price was a turnoff. Frankly at $1600, it is too. At $999, quality of American Gibson alone makes it worth while (right?). I wonder if you could put in "classic" pickups at some point in the future (though I doubt I would ever do that).
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TBH, No. Cause i've played a few gibsons (sgs, les pauls, thunderbirds) & quality was half half. Why? it's 50/50 when it comes to it. Some have scuffs, bad paint jobs, etc. I played a 50th anniversary gold bird just to get a feel for the neck (which i honestly dislike - way too thin for my taste) & i found many flaws on it. The paint appeared very thin in places, there were scratches near the nut, the paint was cracked near the fretboard, the back of the headstock seemed to have a blemish as well. Gibson quality? no way. Personally, i'll never buy anything gibson branded (unless it's a nikki sixx blackbird - that's a different story). I'll play gibson stuff; friends guitars, if i were given a gibson yeh for sure i'd play it (depending on what it is). But i'll never in my life go to a shop & buy a new gibson full price. I'd rather get a few epiphones & have fun with them rather than worrying about my gibson being stolen at a gig or even at home.
 
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#10,026
I took my bird out this morning to lengthen the truss rod access. In a few years time, this one needs a complete refinish. I'm still gonna go with a black & red theme (for now) But i will also modify the neck itself to be slimmer. Honestly, i don't dislike the neck persay, but when i make a jump from my pbasses (gather your pitchforks & fire :D ) to the bird, it's really hard to play the same things since hte string spacing is wide as hell.

Which leads me to my question: to those who have bolt on epiphone IV birds, could you measure the nut width?

EDIT: I just checked the epiphone website & the goth has a 1.73" nut width (1 47/64"), as well as a IV version, blackbird has 1.5" & the special run silverburst has 1.68" (1 11/16")

Can anyone confirm all this?
 
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#10,028
ThaCoast said:
TBH, No. Cause i've played a few gibsons (sgs, les pauls, thunderbirds) & quality was half half. Why? it's 50/50 when it comes to it. Some have scuffs, bad paint jobs, etc. I played a 50th anniversary gold bird just to get a feel for the neck (which i honestly dislike - way too thin for my taste) & i found many flaws on it. The paint appeared very thin in places, there were scratches near the nut, the paint was cracked near the fretboard, the back of the headstock seemed to have a blemish as well. Gibson quality? no way. Personally, i'll never buy anything gibson branded (unless it's a nikki sixx blackbird - that's a different story). I'll play gibson stuff; friends guitars, if i were given a gibson yeh for sure i'd play it (depending on what it is). But i'll never in my life go to a shop & buy a new gibson full price. I'd rather get a few epiphones & have fun with them rather than worrying about my gibson being stolen at a gig or even at home.
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I must admit, I wouldn't pay $2200 for a new Bird. But in full disclosure, I wouldn't pay full price for any new off the rack instrument over $1000 regardless of who makes it. I find it very easy to dig up mint condition used instruments in the classifieds for about half of what they cost new. So the fact that Fletz was able to snag a mint condition NEW Bird for half price is a fantastic deal considering that's about what I would have paid for a mint condition USED one.
 
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#10,029
GBassNorth said:
I must admit, I wouldn't pay $2200 for a new Bird. But in full disclosure, I wouldn't pay full price for any new off the rack instrument over $1000 regardless of who makes it. I find it very easy to dig up mint condition used instruments in the classifieds for about half of what they cost new. So the fact that Fletz was able to snag a mint condition NEW Bird for half price is a fantastic deal considering that's about what I would have paid for a mint condition USED one.
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Haven't snagged it yet ... :)
 
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#10,034
Ok, this is kinda odd....

The Epiphones T-Bird Pro-V's have been discontinued for quite a while, and long gone in retail and online stores.

But today, all of a sudden, all three color variants are available through the Thomann website - They even have a "returned" one in Trans Black!

Must be some NOS they just got in from God knows where...

So if any of you guys missed getting one in the first place, you better get one now while they're still in stock! ;)
 
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#10,035
Does anyone here have any audio samples or videos of the 2015 model T-Bird (or could post a link to some)? I've been trying to find some illustration of how they sound, especially compared to the '14 & earlier models, but there isn't much out there to gather a decent sample from. These price markdowns have piqued my interest, but I'm a bit gun shy without knowing what they sound like. I have a EB14, so I'm familiar with the new style p'ups, but I've yet to hear them in a T-Bird within the context of decent sound quality audio/video.

One of these days I'll get around to snapping a couple pics of my two 'Birds so I can get in on this awesome club. Really nice group of folks in this one!
 
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#10,036
BassDaddy77 said:
Does anyone here have any audio samples or videos of the 2015 model T-Bird (or could post a link to some)? I've been trying to find some illustration of how they sound, especially compared to the '14 & earlier models, but there isn't much out there to gather a decent sample from. These price markdowns have piqued my interest, but I'm a bit gun shy without knowing what they sound like. I have a EB14, so I'm familiar with the new style p'ups, but I've yet to hear them in a T-Bird within the context of decent sound quality audio/video.

One of these days I'll get around to snapping a couple pics of my two 'Birds so I can get in on this awesome club. Really nice group of folks in this one!
Click to expand...

 
#10,039
So i think i've figured out what my Goth is going to go through in the future

It's going to be sanded down (except for the back of the neck). All old pickugard & control holes filled + the extra ding from the broken wing. Depending on how the wood looks underneath, i might go for a stain burst but having the back & sides in black. The headstock face will be redone as well going for the same look to bring out the black tuning keys. & everything is going to be varnish in semi gloss. I'm also going to plug & redrill the two larger bridge post holes so that they are snug inside.

& the neck will have a nut width of 1.65" .10 over 1.5 like most of my basses, but less than it's current state now (which is very wide to my personal taste). So removing frets, shaping to new width, filling & cutting a new nut & then paint touch up on the sides as well as a bit of profiling.
 

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