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Thunderbird Club

#154,301
Happy Thunderbird Thursday!
Last week I had an empty spot for "just one more bass dear, really!"
tb_stand.jpg


Got the Epiphone TB VP Ebony this week, still haven't cleaned or changed strings.
Some weeks it's hard finding a couple hours for myself. But here is a pic of my last 3 acquisitions.
Epiphone TB IV SB Jan2019
HB PB50 April2020
Epiphone TB VP Ebony June2020
tb_vp.jpg
 
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#154,303
MCF said:
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View attachment 3862593
Played her for an hour. Everything works. I need to adjust the intonation some (I’m a bit a**l retentive re that). The fret ends are perfect. Not sold on the Pro Steels so far. Certainly sounds different than my other birds. The setup is pretty good; strings could go down a hair. Overall it is cosmetically better than the seller indicated in the ad. The case is in great shape too. The manual, neck adjustment instructions, warranty card, truss rod wrench and case key were in the case. I think I got a great deal on this one.
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That's wonderful! So glad you took the plunge. You never know when you buy something online how it's going to look or feel. I'm glad you didn't get any unfortunate surprises and expectations seem to have been exceeded this far. It certainly looks fantastic. I got a few goodies with my white VP which was supposedly used from Sam Ash, but no wrench, so it seems you did really well. I don't care if you paid full price for that bass, it is worth every penny of it, assuming nothing was damaged or anything like that. I have no complaints about the quality on either one of my VPs.
I've mentioned it before, but my wife even noticed how well they feel in terms of quality. When I first picked up a embassy pro in a music store in Nashville I was playing it and asked my wife to hand me the Thunderbird. She too the embassy and picked it up and as she was handing it to me said, "this is much better." All she did was grab the necks on both of them and she could tell there was a difference.

Once you get the strings you prefer and start fooling with it a little I think you'll find you really enjoy that bass. What I found was, every stream sounded pretty good, but then there were a few that were just a perfect match for my tonal objectives. VPs are different animals entirely from the modern Gibson pickups. That may take some getting used to if you have that modern Gibson sound fairly solidified in your head. The VP may sound too aggressive at first. It really shines in a live setting--not that it sounds bad isolated by any means. I'm not one for a raspy or aggressive sound, but there is some "spikiness" to the VPs and those fit well in the mix. I can't wait for further updates. Again, congratulations!

If for some reason you end up not liking it, I'll buy the pickups from you!:D
 
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#154,307
MCF said:
Class of ‘76. My high school parking lot had several Mustangs and Chevelles handed down from Mom and Dad or bought for + or - $500. My bro had a ‘66 Charger bought from a neighbor for $300. A lot of Bugs too. I had one buddy who had a red ‘66 Mustang convertible, pretty beat, that he paid $350 for. I don’t think any of those have survived. If a kid got a new car, it was usually a vomit green Pinto. I’m certain none of those lasted more than 10 years, thank god.
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Funny thing about the Pinto, I saw a Mercury Bobcat sell on one of the Mecum auctions a while back. Possibly the only one in existence!
 
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#154,309
Chucky Stiletti said:
See many 60’s rides in your area? Last I remember there were but it WAS the mid 70’s :D
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Occasionally on the road, mostly at car shows. Watched a little 90's Honda 'hot car'(Civic?) with one of those big, noisy mufflers turn a corner and "get on it"(hee-hee), right behind him was a 66(?)GTO that w/o trying ate him up and spit him out without a burp-and he wasn't trying, just normal acceleration. Never broke the speed limit(45).
 
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#154,320
MCF said:
Class of ‘76. My high school parking lot had several Mustangs and Chevelles handed down from Mom and Dad or bought for + or - $500. My bro had a ‘66 Charger bought from a neighbor for $300. A lot of Bugs too. I had one buddy who had a red ‘66 Mustang convertible, pretty beat, that he paid $350 for. I don’t think any of those have survived. If a kid got a new car, it was usually a vomit green Pinto. I’m certain none of those lasted more than 10 years, thank god.
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LOL - The Pinto. I was test driving a friends (vomit green) Pinto (needed a beater for commuting to work in 1979) and while I was shifting the shift stick broke off in my hand. I told him I'd give him $100 for the car if he wanted to get rid of it, otherwise he could keep the hundred to fix the car. He kept the $100 and the car. A year later the engine blew and he ended up paying to get rid of it. He'd have been better off with my $100 offer for the car.
 
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