• 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

#136,841
matzingerz said:
Hey thunderbird club,

thought ill post my questions here maybe, dont know how to delete my old post.
anyway, got myself an Epiphone Thunderbird Vintage Pro and I really like it, the tone and the looks and how it plays. (Also own an Epi Thunderbrid Goth)
Problem is, I play C standard at our current project, and the intonation with the .110 Labella 760m string was impossible(I wanted to try them out and they have high tension so i figured would be good for drop tunings). Tuner always said 12th fret was almost C# not even a C. (Saddle for this string was maxed out to the back, aswell for the F String, which was also a tiny bit sharp)
So I went to the music store to let them take a look at it and they said i will need another bridge if i want to use these strings.
For now i just put on an old roundwound .110 Earnie Ball Power Slinky and this is really floppy but it's intonated (Saddle still maxed out to the back).
I also tried EADG and the E was still sharp with the Labellas. Even like .105 gauge Daddario tuned to E need to be maxed out to the back so it wont be sharp :(

So I've got 2 questions:
1:
If I modify my the nut of my Bass, to put in Like .130 .100 .080 .060 strings or something, will I be able to intonate it with this bridge, or will thicker gauges at higher tension, tend to be even more problematic in camparison to the Labella 760m with starts at 110 but has thicker cores that usual Roundwounds? (would prefer not to file the nut)
2:
And currently there are no 2 Point bridges from hipshot available but if i manage to get one somewhere, will the intonation problem be fixed?? and which one is the correc one for my bass?
I also read about the 2 point badbrid bridge, for the old gibsons, but I think the guy who builds them posted that the Epi Vintage pro does not need it, so i guess that its almost the same as the vintage pro stock bridge.

I hope someone who has experienced problems like this before me can safe me time and nerves. I would really appreciate it. Thinking about it much more that in should. Need to get my studies done >.<

Thx for reading and Peace
Click to expand...

Welcome mate.

perhaps post a photo of the bridge in relation to the end of the bass. I remember reading that Epiphone did a batch with the bridge/ stop piece in the wrong position, too far back I think. Post some measurements too.

(Or was that on the Embassy?)
 
  • Like
Reactions: godofthunder59, MCF, dagrev and 7 others
#136,844
GonePlaid said:
Did you suggest he turn down his hearing aids?:smug: (or move?)
BTW, good luck w/ the harmonica. As an ex saxist-everything exhaling-I could never get the hang of harmonica being played exhale and inhale. Or the concept of bagpipes*notes being played totally outta time with puffing up the bag.

*not that I want to
Click to expand...

ha!

re Harmonica. I read the instruction sheet, it sounds a little NSFW.
blow and suck and then when I’m ok with that I get to move to the next level and use my tongue as well.

With more experience I reckon I’d qualify as Head Harmonica.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Inky13, Miles_ONeal, JJR58 and 9 others
#136,845
Gaolee said:
The downside of a Babicz is cost. They are expensive. Oh, and windmills. They have some sharp points. Other than that, they look far better than a Hipshot to my eyes. And, as a shallow person, that's all it takes to overcome any drawbacks. Intonation with a Babicz is straight forward, as is adjusting the string height.
Click to expand...
I like my Babicz. I don’t windmill. I think the cam system for height adjustment is super slick as is the lock. Incredibly stable.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Miles_ONeal, RedVee, JJR58 and 6 others
#136,847
BklynKen said:
Anyone know if these rings will fit a 2013 TB+ pickup? Not really sure what to make of the measurements.

Nickel Plated metal bass pickup mounting ring for Gibson® Thunderbird bass guitar
Click to expand...
I am pretty sure they do. I got a set and the chrome covers before just putting Chinabuckers in the Flamingo. The original TB pickups were epoxy potted, so I didn't attempt to peel them. That's a '91, but I don't believe the pickup shape or size has changed. The guts seem to change all the time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Glenn Johnson, fasterpussycat, JJR58 and 6 others
#136,848
RedVee said:
Welcome mate.

perhaps post a photo of the bridge in relation to the end of the bass. I remember reading that Epiphone did a batch with the bridge/ stop piece in the wrong position, too far back I think. Post some measurements too.

(Or was that on the Embassy?)
Click to expand...

It was the Epi Embassy where they moved the bridge after the initial batch, making it impossible to intonate. I bought one when they first came available in the UK and that had the bridge in the right place. A friend who bought one 3 months later wasn't so lucky! Don't know whether they resolved this or not......
 
  • Like
Reactions: Glenn Johnson, fasterpussycat, JJR58 and 8 others
#136,849
Chucky Stiletti said:
totally, you're talking about a beast that took off with minimum fuel and had to be fueled in the air because it would leak fuel on the ground due to the loose skin that would tighten up when it started heating up (friction) in flight....pretty gnarly airplane....it was also good for over mach 3...
Click to expand...
Indeed. I think I mentioned this before but, for a time, how long I don't know, a refinery in Ky (Ashland, then parent company of Valvoline), was the only place that the fuel came from because Ashland's was apparently superior and the best the that could be had.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Glenn Johnson, GBassNorth, Miles_ONeal and 4 others
#136,850
Engle said:
That sounds like a fireball waiting to happen:eek:
Click to expand...
While acknowledging GIBrat51's post above, very accurate and not far from the truth at any given second while in flight given it was on the edge most of the time!

Interesting enough, if a bucket of gasoline has been still for a long time, you can also douse a cig by dropping it in. It's the vapors that will get you. But don't try it. You never know of the vapors are with you.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Glenn Johnson, GBassNorth, JJR58 and 4 others
#136,857
matzingerz said:
Hey thunderbird club,

thought ill post my questions here maybe, dont know how to delete my old post.
anyway, got myself an Epiphone Thunderbird Vintage Pro and I really like it, the tone and the looks and how it plays. (Also own an Epi Thunderbrid Goth)
Problem is, I play C standard at our current project, and the intonation with the .110 Labella 760m string was impossible(I wanted to try them out and they have high tension so i figured would be good for drop tunings). Tuner always said 12th fret was almost C# not even a C. (Saddle for this string was maxed out to the back, aswell for the F String, which was also a tiny bit sharp)
So I went to the music store to let them take a look at it and they said i will need another bridge if i want to use these strings.
For now i just put on an old roundwound .110 Earnie Ball Power Slinky and this is really floppy but it's intonated (Saddle still maxed out to the back).
I also tried EADG and the E was still sharp with the Labellas. Even like .105 gauge Daddario tuned to E need to be maxed out to the back so it wont be sharp :(

So I've got 2 questions:
1:
If I modify my the nut of my Bass, to put in Like .130 .100 .080 .060 strings or something, will I be able to intonate it with this bridge, or will thicker gauges at higher tension, tend to be even more problematic in camparison to the Labella 760m with starts at 110 but has thicker cores that usual Roundwounds? (would prefer not to file the nut)
2:
And currently there are no 2 Point bridges from hipshot available but if i manage to get one somewhere, will the intonation problem be fixed?? and which one is the correc one for my bass?
I also read about the 2 point badbrid bridge, for the old gibsons, but I think the guy who builds them posted that the Epi Vintage pro does not need it, so i guess that its almost the same as the vintage pro stock bridge.

I hope someone who has experienced problems like this before me can safe me time and nerves. I would really appreciate it. Thinking about it much more that in should. Need to get my studies done >.<

Thx for reading and Peace
Click to expand...
I think @RedVee is on to something in his response. Our own @godofthunder59 here is the developer of the Badbird bridge. He’ll be along at some point; he’s likely gigging or recovering from gigging. The beauty of his design is that the saddles have extended travel length for better intonation. I do not know how different it is from the Epi VP though. He might have a suggestion.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Glenn Johnson, GBassNorth, Miles_ONeal and 6 others

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back