What is the spacer plate for?
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Thunderbird Club
- Thread starter TBird1958
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- club thunderbird
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
The neck angle geometry changed sometime in the late zeros or early tens. I don't know when. Also, I believe it's necessary to get the right geometry when you install one on an Epiphone.
Nice work! Mine too is very resonant. i think you’ll enjoy it.Well it's late (almost 1:30am). Earlier I managed to swing by GC just before they closed to pick up my bass (?) delivery. Imagine my surprise when I opened the case...
View attachment 3360614
...Just joshin!
Actually I did end up with a very nice 2015 TBird. It needed a bit of attention to make the cut but looks like it might be a keeper. The previous owner had waaaay too much relief in the neck for my liking, had the bridge pup slammed way down into the body (to the point where the pup cover had separated from the innards), left the babicz spacer under the bridge, neglected to oil the fretboard, and stripped out the bottom strap pin screw.
So I took off the strings, removed the bridge plate, reinstalled the bridge, repaired the bridge pup, oiled the fretboard, put some back bow in the neck, reinstalled the strings, performed a complete setup and got the action reasonably low, toothpicked the strap button, noodled around a bit unplugged, and then plugged in to quietly noodle some more.
Super resonant bass! Unplugged - every note can be heard loud and clear. Plugged in - very nicely voiced on the top end, clear and crisp, no chorus effect or noticeable dead spots (top end is bridge pup on full, neck off, tone dimed, in single coil mode, right hand between the two pups, playing melodies, chords and harmonics on the G and D strings). Near baritone guitar sound! On the bottom end (neck pup full on and in Humbucker mode, bridge off, tone rolled off, Right hand up near the neck, playing root and walking basslines on the E, A and D strings at or near first position) equally nicely voiced on the bottom end! Rich thick, detailed and blooming notes, no dead spots, no wolf notes, minimal finger noise.
Like all my birds, it's a pleasure to play unstrapped while sitting, very comfortable. Couldn't strap it on yet to see how it balances, need to wait for tthe strap pin glue to dry. But no indication of any neck dive and overall weight feels a tad less than my other birds.
Can't wait until tomorrow afternoon when I can give it a full at volume and strapped on workout and see how it sounds in a mix.
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Might I suggest you get one?
Ha!!!, this wouldn't be the first time this was asked. Yours?
don't know if you got one yet... it's a suspension to isolate the microphone from stray vibrations.
Anyone else??
- Mar 13, 2008
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- Endorsing Artist Mike Lull T Bass pickups, The Bass Shop, Seattle WA.
- Mar 8, 2011
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Just got out of prison. Gonna write a concept record to chronicle all my experiences. My first song is called “Catering Was Just Ok.”
- Mar 8, 2011
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- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
I don’t know what that is
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
Not a 2015? That's what we were discussing just now.
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
My brother just picked up some kind of microphone/preamp thing that attaches to ever-expanding synth laboratory. It looks like you can plug a guitar or bass into it, or plug in the contact microphone. The demonstration he sent me showed it being used to make all kinds of noises from all kinds of inputs. The ones I liked the most were made using the mic attached to a cymbal, and the edge of the cymbal bowed. It got an other-worldly swooshing kind of sound with a lot of different muted colors in it. Dragging a stick across the top of the cymbal got all kinds of sounds, too. I don't know how much was from the input and how much was from how the signal got manipulated. That's for people who know something about that stuff to know and for me to wonder about.
The synth laboratory, and I don't know what else to call that thing, looks like something that belongs in Dr. Frankenstein's basement, except smaller and clean. More brushed aluminum and less cast iron. But, it has all the blinking lights and knobs and dials and wires that get plugged in here and there. It looks random to me, but he seems to know what it all does.
In my hands, it would be how to clear a room in a hurry.
The synth laboratory, and I don't know what else to call that thing, looks like something that belongs in Dr. Frankenstein's basement, except smaller and clean. More brushed aluminum and less cast iron. But, it has all the blinking lights and knobs and dials and wires that get plugged in here and there. It looks random to me, but he seems to know what it all does.
In my hands, it would be how to clear a room in a hurry.
You might.
Under consideration, before I found the T’Birds I was looking for a 2013/14 EB... so that sort of works.
Long term plan though.
I don’t know if any came to Australia, we had some Gibson distribution problems a couple of years ago.
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
Yep. Who knows where they went. Up here, Guitar Center got a load of them when Gibson closed a warehouse and sold the building in Tennessee. For a week or two in the fall of ‘15 they were $999.97. That’s when I lucked into mine. I clearly recall the kid who sold it to me saying they hadn’t seen a Gibson rep for more than six months.
Stumbled across a couple of cool Andertons T-Bird Videos. There are others that have been around for a while bet these are pretty new and I hadn't seen them mentioned.
First one is Dingwall D-Bird vs Gibson Thunderbird (Sorry Dingwall, the Gibby tone is timeless and unique):
Next is a pretty good comparison of the Epi VP vs a 2019 Gibby. (Two very different sounding birds):
First one is Dingwall D-Bird vs Gibson Thunderbird (Sorry Dingwall, the Gibby tone is timeless and unique):
Next is a pretty good comparison of the Epi VP vs a 2019 Gibby. (Two very different sounding birds):
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The previous owner had the action set exceptionally high. With the bridge plate in place the Babicz rotational saddles were nearly at their lowest setting. So in addition to limiting my ability to drop the action, the saddles had very little break angle on them. Break angle helps with intonation, sustain and resonance. So out she came. It dropped the bridge by about 1/8 of an inch, which is a pretty big drop on saddle height.
Surprisingly, there are very few YouTube clips on the 2015. I only found a couple and only one of them was truly informative. It's a Japanese clip but has little if any talking so it's easy to follow.
If your action is ok I wouldn't mess with it. Mine was probably 3/8" above the 12th fret. I got it down a bunch but it's still just a bit high for my liking. I'm gonna give the neck some time to adjust and probably put different strings on it. The ones it currently has are kinda dead. Some Cobalt flats or Helbourg rounds will be the first things I try.
It raises the bridge. Not sure if it's needed on the Gibson bird. I took it off and may not have needed to but so far so good.
Makes sense.
So far it's a blast.
I also have a 2013 EB5. It's a tone beast and is what got me thinking about the 2015 bird. After I get the right set of strings on the Bird I'll do a comparison of the two. Right now it's looking to me like the TBird might be a bit brighter, a bit more resonant and has a more lively body (I'm thinking this thing would love high tension strings or heavy large gage strings).
It’s a really cool website that is just videos, check it out sometime.
