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Thunderbird Club

#139,802
FlyingPigSound said:
Had my new Epi T-Bird CP for a couple days now...set it up and I've gotta say, I'm underwhelmed. Everything about the fit and finish is just meh. If I weren't pretty much just using it for a practice bass to keep in my classroom (I teach middle school aka the "hormonally challenged"), I'd be returning / selling it. My #1 is a 2019 Gibson T-Bird, which I love, and the Epi CP makes for a good practice bass as it's the same size / shape / pups. If you're ever wondering if the Gibson is worth the money...it is! I'm surprised how much I've come to love the feel of a nitro finish.
I had an Epi VP (sold it to Miles...he should get it today?), which is much nicer than the CP as well. Not having second thoughts about selling the VP, as I don't worry about keeping the CP in my classroom, and I might worry about leaving the nicer VP there (the room is locked up after hours, but still...).
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Odd, the fit and finish on my CP is tremendous - maybe I just got lucky. Granted, I did add Hipshot tuners and bridge, which kicked it up a BIG notch. It also sounds incredible, live and recorded. In fact, my band mates are super impressed about how it sounds and records - it's not just me.
 
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#139,803
Switched my Gibby back to the stock white pickguard and black knobs, the black pickguard and gold knobs are kinda cool, but I think it pops better on stage this way... (I also have a hard time seeing the faint white numbers on the gold knobs without my readers, especially on stage)
2 TB.jpg
1 TB.jpg
 
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#139,804
Glenn Johnson said:
Odd, the fit and finish on my CP is tremendous - maybe I just got lucky. Granted, I did add Hipshot tuners and bridge, which kicked it up a BIG notch. It also sounds incredible, live and recorded. In fact, my band mates are super impressed about how it sounds and records - it's not just me.
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My CP sounds good, but the fit and finish, the feel to me is on the cheap side. Of course, it's a $500ish bass vs. the $2,000ish for my Gibson.
If I were looking for a #1 bass, and I wanted a Thunderbird, I'd spend the money on the Gibson instead of opting for the CP. Taking into consideration that you'd spend $500ish on the CP, then several hundred upgrading the strings, bridge and tuners, plus then having to buy a case. The expense of all that wouldn't be too far off from a used Gibson.
Even with that said, you still won't have the nitro finish...which to me just feels and looks better. Some say that the nitro finish allows the wood to "breath" and thus sound better...I don't know about that. I just know that I love the feel of the bass in my hands vs. the poly finish (which feels like a hard-coated M & M to me)
 
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#139,805
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#139,808
JIO said:
Morning fellow bird-lovers... what was the T-bird thread doing on page 2??? Anyway, check this out. Don't have any info on it but it looks very interesting - most likely a new relic'd II to my eyes. The bridge is not original (original's narrower and wouldn't allow for correct intonation), the pg is not original (tug-bar holes are in the wrong place, bird too high up on the pg), but.., the body looks legit judging its edge-contours - especially at the bottom edge into the center piece. Looks exactly like my '64 II. And the Gibson Gold would have been a very, very rare one-off custom color if it's legit. It also has the correct black spacer under the pu and the knobs 'look' original.

View attachment 3668366
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How cool is that. I don't see any of the typical marks left behind by the PU covers in that pic. If those are gone, they "typically" leave indications in the finish if not removed early on and left off. But who knows, may be a crazy one off. Glad you posted it!
 
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#139,809
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#139,810
Chucky Stiletti said:
“Shell Shock”....
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Shell Shock was WW I. My grandfather came back with a Silver Star, a Purple Heart, and a good dose of that. He recovered, but it took time. Unfortunately, I never knew him. WW II called the same thing Battle Fatigue. A cousin who served in the Pacific in the Navy had a bit of that. There were things he would not talk about until we took his story as part of the Smithsonian's Veterans History Project. Even then, he asked that nobody say anything about those things until after he was gone. He felt shame and grief about things he couldn't do anything about. As a family, we managed to miss Korea, Vietnam, and everything else that has come along. I don't know if if it was still called Battle Fatigue in Korea. I believe PTSD came into use sometime after Vietnam, but there's no reason I would know for sure.

It's a good reason, among many good reasons, to avoid shooting wars if possible.
 
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#139,811
FlyingPigSound said:
My CP sounds good, but the fit and finish, the feel to me is on the cheap side. Of course, it's a $500ish bass vs. the $2,000ish for my Gibson.
If I were looking for a #1 bass, and I wanted a Thunderbird, I'd spend the money on the Gibson instead of opting for the CP. Taking into consideration that you'd spend $500ish on the CP, then several hundred upgrading the strings, bridge and tuners, plus then having to buy a case. The expense of all that wouldn't be too far off from a used Gibson.
Even with that said, you still won't have the nitro finish...which to me just feels and looks better. Some say that the nitro finish allows the wood to "breath" and thus sound better...I don't know about that. I just know that I love the feel of the bass in my hands vs. the poly finish (which feels like a hard-coated M & M to me)
Click to expand...
Hey, M & M's taste good, though. Yes, I'm $890 into the CP all told. Doubt I could get a good used Gibby for that price, but I might be wrong. ;)
 
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#139,814
Glenn Johnson said:
Hey, M & M's taste good, though. Yes, I'm $890 into the CP all told. Doubt I could get a good used Gibby for that price, but I might be wrong. ;)
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Like I said, not too far off. You're in for $900...used Gibson Thunderbirds can be had right around $1,000-1,200, you're in the neighborhood.
But ultimately, if you're happy with what you got, that's what's important...
 
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#139,816
FlyingPigSound said:
Like I said, not too far off. You're in for $900...used Gibson Thunderbirds can be had right around $1,000-1,200, you're in the neighborhood.
But ultimately, if you're happy with what you got, that's what's important...
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When I bought the CP, it was more of a novelty purchase for me. I had never even tried a T-Bird before, even though I always thought they looked "cool." What hooked me was the low price and USA pickups. I didn't realize how much I would like the darn thing! Had I known, I might have saved up for the Gibson! Oh well. Maybe in time. . .
 
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#139,817
Larry V said:
The romance languages are like that, those derived from Latin. I think Italian may be the worse offender of separate dialects by region. Growing up bilingually it could be said that I was actually tri-lingual since my parents came from two very distinct regions of Italy. My mom was a northerner and she spoke the National language, Tuscan. My dad was from the area around Naples and he spoke his regional dialect with all of his "people" from that region but spoke Tuscan in our home unless he slipped into the dialect to be funny. I heard enough of both to become proficient in both and learned both before ever learning English even though I was born in the US.

I have some funny memories around the two versions of Italian I was subjected to with my mom laughing and rolling her eyes when my dad would speak his dialect around his people and she would exclaim, "What kind of Arabic are you speaking." It was meant to be funny and not mean and it still makes me laugh.

Here's an example of how far apart the two languages could be:

English: Turn on the light.
Tuscan: Accendi la luce. Proper Italian spoken as, "Ah chen dee lah loo sheh."
Regional Dialect: Ah peach ah loosh. No real spelling to speak of but it sounds like I wrote it.

I'm happy to know Tuscan and somewhat know the other though I'd have a hard time getting along in Southern Italy with only their dialect to rely on.

8 Facts About the Italian Language — CORE Languages

With grade school educations becoming the norm post-WW2, the National language is spoken and understood everywhere in Italy but the dialects persist.
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American English had some incomprehensible regional dialects, but those are mostly gone now. Having spent a fair amount of time in western North Carolina means that I heard and learned to speak and understand the hill dialect that was prevalent in that area. It is not a separate language, but it sounds like one if you aren't familiar with it. I haven't been there for decades, and it would not be a surprise if the dialect is mostly gone now.
 
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#139,818
JIO said:
Morning fellow bird-lovers... what was the T-bird thread doing on page 2??? Anyway, check this out. Don't have any info on it but it looks very interesting - most likely a new relic'd II to my eyes. The bridge is not original (original's narrower and wouldn't allow for correct intonation), the pg is not original (tug-bar holes are in the wrong place, bird too high up on the pg), but.., the body looks legit judging its edge-contours - especially at the bottom edge into the center piece. Looks exactly like my '64 II. And the Gibson Gold would have been a very, very rare one-off custom color if it's legit. It also has the correct black spacer under the pu and the knobs 'look' original.

View attachment 3668366
Click to expand...
The lower strap pin is gold and has been moved. I like it a lot, original or not.
 
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#139,820
FlyingPigSound said:
Switched my Gibby back to the stock white pickguard and black knobs, the black pickguard and gold knobs are kinda cool, but I think it pops better on stage this way... (I also have a hard time seeing the faint white numbers on the gold knobs without my readers, especially on stage)
View attachment 3668423 View attachment 3668424
Click to expand...
I think it looks good both ways. There's no such thing as an ugly Thunderbird. That may be why I like both.
 
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