Modern Gibson from last 20 years let’s say.
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Thunderbird Club
- Thread starter TBird1958
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- club thunderbird
Easiest way to accomplish that is with an Epi Vintage Pro.
About $6,000 is all you need. That one someone willing to trade your modern one for a 1960's bird.
Just kidding. See MCFs post below, it truly is the absolute most cost efficient way to come up with that '60s sound and vibe if you don't already have a modern Gibby.
If you already have a Gibby then thunderbuckers are probably the closest reproduction in sound and look. Then you might want to replace the 3 point bridge with a two piece and some vintage style tuners to complete the look. If you throw a refin in to cover the bridge mod you're well north of $800
Spot on! A used Eppi VP for about $500ish is a monstrous bang for the buck if you're after vintage tones and looks.
Here’s the Pelham Blue Jack Casady home in the studio from Chicago Fret Works! My ebony TBird VP might go in for the same treatment, stay tuned...
No offense to Kat or any of our other JC players here, but that is the cream of the crop. Words cannot describe how stunning it is. Congratulations!
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
I don't own a '60s Thunderbird and have never got my grubby mitts on one to play it, so take this for what it's worth. Right from the factory, a reissue Thunderbird built after 1988 will hang well, intonate well, and get you that big, round dark blue green sound with electric blue edges that Thunderbirds have if you put the right strings on them. You can get more red into the sound, like a Precision by rolling off the bridge pickup. I haven't found it to get to the murky, nasal light green J sound no matter what I do with one.
Changing strings makes a pretty big difference. Aftermarket pickups, depending on which ones, will get you more articulation, an even bigger sound, sometimes a somewhat less powerful signal depending on the wind, and so on. The challenge with comparing a new bass or new pickups with 50 or 60 year old basses and pickups is that QC is much tighter and what you get now is much more consistent. I have no doubt there's magic in a 1960s Thunderbird. I found some magic in a 2001 Thunderbird. The 1991 and 2015 (more on that to follow) are both near as good but somehow don't have the same magical quality as the 2001.
In 2015, Thunderbirds had a different pickup and wiring arrangement. Instead of Thunderbird pickups, they had DiCola pickups with taps like the current EB line. I can't say whether those pickups sound more or less like a 1960s Thunderbird, but they certainly have a wide range of sounds you can get out of them.
This probably tells you nothing you really wanted to know, but it was an excuse to talk about Thunderbirds. So there you have it.
- Mar 13, 2008
- 18,894
- 142,207
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- Endorsing Artist Mike Lull T Bass pickups, The Bass Shop, Seattle WA.
An '89 that sounds like a '64, pickups by Mike Lull, tuners are Hipshot the bridge and cover are NOS Gibson.
Looks just like the logo that was on mine.
So beautiful!!
Sure. Currently he's in in the States on loan to the Harvard as a visiting lecturer. No, really. Some of what he says is just as insightful, so they thought he would be a perfect fit.
What do those epi vintage pros Weigh?
thanks for all the info guys
thanks for all the info guys
Who does that to a bass?
Great job! Looks stunning! But stop posting pics or all of us will be buying up all the PB paint there is.
Both of mine are around 8.5# as I recall.
I have a '64 Thunderbird and '64 Epi Embassy (and yes there is some magic in them lacking in everything else). The VPs are unbelievably close in tone--and most are well made. I recently bought a used '06 Thunderbird. Wonderful bass, but sounds little like the 60s versions, or the '70s for that matter.
Yeah, and they're OK, but not great. But that's why I suspect it would work. 8^)
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
I understood. I just wondered if the band gave her some extra. (Did the bride and groom even know it happened?) I mean, that's pretty bad-a$$.
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