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Thunderbird Club

#143,841
FlyingPigSound said:
Babicz bridge worthwhile on a Gibson Thunderbird?
Click to expand...
My 2 cents - I have the Bab on my 2015 bird and 3 points on most all of my other birds (plus my SG's).

If for some reason the three point isn't doing what you need it to do, then the Bab is a very good alternate on a Gibby (use Hipshot as an alternate on an Eppi).

That said, I've yet to find a Gibby with a three point that didn't do what I needed it to do. Spending one hundred plus bucks to fix something that isn't broken isn't very high on my priorities list. Throw in real world experience (mine at least) that indicates it takes me at least two or three times as long to dial in the action and intonation on the Bab vs a three point and I'm in no hurry to "upgrade" my stock Gibby bridge.

If I truly wanted to spend money upgrading my Gibby I'd consider ultralight tuners first, followed closely by straplocks, different knobs, a new pickguard or custom paint job. YMMV

Edit: my favorite thunderbird bridge is by far the two point and hardtail on the Eppi VP. Setup is lightening fast and it's rock solid.
 
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#143,842
Fresh set of Cobalt flats with these crazy Chinabuckers. Just sayin. :rolleyes:

IMG_1513.jpg
 
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#143,845
GBassNorth said:
My 2 cents - I have the Bab on my 2015 bird and 3 points on most all of my other birds (plus my SG's).

If for some reason the three point isn't doing what you need it to do, then the Bab is a very good alternate on a Gibby (use Hipshot as an alternate on an Eppi).

That said, I've yet to find a Gibby with a three point that didn't do what I needed it to do. Spending one hundred plus bucks to fix something that isn't broken isn't very high on my priorities list. Throw in real world experience (mine at least) that indicates it takes me at least two or three times as long to dial in the action and intonation on the Bab vs a three point and I'm in no hurry to "upgrade" my stock Gibby bridge.

If I truly wanted to spend money upgrading my Gibby I'd consider ultralight tuners first, followed closely by straplocks, different knobs, a new pickguard or custom paint job. YMMV

Edit: my favorite thunderbird bridge is by far the two point and hardtail on the Eppi VP. Setup is lightening fast and it's rock solid.
Click to expand...
In can’t argue with the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” argument, so stock three-point stays on my ‘Bird, and you saved me $150+
 
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#143,847
Miles_ONeal said:
Briefly, just a bit after 2:10, maybe? And a couple of times in the repeating chorus, on the descending run, there's something.
Click to expand...

I listened to it again and it sounds like the studio engineer put those brief sections through a phaser.
 
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#143,848
FlyingPigSound said:
Babicz bridge worthwhile on a Gibson Thunderbird?
Click to expand...

As far as I'm concerned, the jury is still out. In the mean time?

GBassNorth said:
My 2 cents - I have the Bab on my 2015 bird and 3 points on most all of my other birds (plus my SG's).

If for some reason the three point isn't doing what you need it to do, then the Bab is a very good alternate on a Gibby (use Hipshot as an alternate on an Eppi).

That said, I've yet to find a Gibby with a three point that didn't do what I needed it to do. Spending one hundred plus bucks to fix something that isn't broken isn't very high on my priorities list. Throw in real world experience (mine at least) that indicates it takes me at least two or three times as long to dial in the action and intonation on the Bab vs a three point and I'm in no hurry to "upgrade" my stock Gibby bridge.

If I truly wanted to spend money upgrading my Gibby I'd consider ultralight tuners first, followed closely by straplocks, different knobs, a new pickguard or custom paint job. YMMV

Edit: my favorite thunderbird bridge is by far the two point and hardtail on the Eppi VP. Setup is lightening fast and it's rock solid.
Click to expand...
'18 T-Bird front.JPG I'll have to agree with GBassNorth. At the moment, the Babicz on this '18 "Bird is the current holder of the spot for The Worst, Most Irritating Bridge In My Herd. And with 23 basses (including a Rick 4001 and a 4003) and 7 guitars, there are Many contenders for that spot. Compared to this Babicz, the 3-point bridge on my '13 "Bird is a piece of cake to work with. And I'll take the Rube Goldberg one on my Alembic Epic over this thing any day. Hell, I prefer the ones on my Ricks...:rollno:
However... in all fairness, there may be something amiss with the one I have. I've watched a couple of videos about installing/setting one up, and... mine was nowhere near as easy as that. It took me 2 hours to change the strings on this 'Bird and get it even roughly playable. And I've been doing that kind of thing for a long, long time. As soon as I finish dealing with one of my violin basses, and change strings on a couple of others, I'm going to have to yank the Babicz off this bass. And take it apart. Then, maybe I can fix whatever is making it the pile of merde it is right now. I can see that it should be a really nice bridge. But, even if I can get it to work correctly, I'm honestly not convinced it's exactly a quantum leap in improvement over the 3 pointer...:whistle:
 
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#143,849
TerribleTim68 said:
That freaks me out so much. I think I read way too many internet posts about the 3-point pulling studs out when the rear screws are higher than the front screw. My mind screams "DON'T DO THAT!" :jawdrop: :nailbiting:
Click to expand...
got my action set up really low and no problem with the inserts that were once pulled out with a Hipshot...
upload_2020-2-18_16-24-39.png
 
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#143,850
My Orville was a little <ahem> unbalanced <ahem> when it first arrived.

The Hipshot Supertone bridge added mass at one end of the bass.
The AllParts lightweight tuners removed mass at the other end.

Result = a perfectly balanced instrument which hangs as lightly as a feather.

My other two Thunderbirds have two piece low mass bridges ... and the JC only has the Hipshot bridge because it came with the bass.
 
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#143,854
TerribleTim68 said:
That freaks me out so much. I think I read way too many internet posts about the 3-point pulling studs out when the rear screws are higher than the front screw. My mind screams "DON'T DO THAT!" :jawdrop: :nailbiting:
Click to expand...

Set up by Mr. Lull, it's never given me any trouble - Sometimes the internetz isn't the only right way, that bass doesn't have much pitch to the neck either.
 
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