Thunderbird Club

[JIO]

Now that's a good idea. Kind of a Thunderbird Wikipedia with a brief history.

For sure - the first couple of decades ('60s-'70s) would be fairly easy/straight forward - but from the Bicentennial bird to the present is littered with many T-bird models from Gibson, Epiphone, Greco, Lull etc up to the present day. Wouldn't be a "Gibson" thing more than the beast known as a T-bird focus.

 

[MCF]

I think they said they sounded different, but with eq'ing could be made to sound similar. Said the Epi was brighter sounding than the Gibson. Also said a T-bird (it's character) sounded "dead"... dark yes, but dead? Ah... no.

Right, they said they sounded different on their own with flat eq with the Gibson the darker of the two. Then they tweaked the eq for the Gibson and at the end put them in their made up mixes and said they really couldn’t tell much difference. I thought it was kind of a silly exercise. I guess they tried, but it would have been nice had the smaller of the two guys known at least something about Tbirds. I prefer Scott’s videos any day.

 

[JIO]

Right, they said they sounded different on their own with flat eq with the Gibson the darker of the two. Then they tweaked the eq for the Gibson and at the end put them in their made up mixes and said they really couldn’t tell much difference. I thought it was kind of a silly exercise. I guess they tried, but it would have been nice had the smaller of the two guys known at least something about Tbirds. I prefer Scott’s videos any day.

It is interesting to hear an assessment of T-birds by those who are not advocates - shows how individualized a T-bird devotee is.

 

[RedVee]

Right, they said they sounded different on their own with flat eq with the Gibson the darker of the two. Then they tweaked the eq for the Gibson and at the end put them in their made up mixes and said they really couldn’t tell much difference. I thought it was kind of a silly exercise. I guess they tried, but it would have been nice had the smaller of the two guys known at least something about Tbirds. I prefer Scott’s videos any day.

yeah, the little bloke came in with his prejudices loaded. He was hoping for a deep, dull & duh sounding bird and only grudgingly half admitted anything good.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

In general terms, their praise of the VP is warranted. It is the best $700 bass on the planet. But the overall build quality of my Gibson, the way it feels, the way it plays, is far superior. What I found surprising was their perception that both sounded almost the same in their mix. I haven’t tried listening to what they did through a decent system, so who knows.

i don’t have an hour for that so I just skimmed. But when they found the tone pot made no difference I knew something was weird.

 

[Gaolee]

Becker isn't Chrissy Hynde........and I've posted this before.

Not bad, but no cold shower necessary. All is relative.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Not bad, but no cold shower necessary. All is relative.

That depends on your preferences.

 

[RedVee]

Dipped my toe into the GP and tripped over this one:

Favorite Gibson bass

 

[Mvf]

Enjoy. ETA: pida hauskaa

I did. And the Bird sounded just wonderful through my Rumble 200c (as you know it does). And now my right hand fingers hurt...

 

[GBassNorth]

Interesting ... made some legit points for non-advocates. What do those who own the Epi think about what they said?

I own both of what they tested. If you skip over all the pot shot commentary and go to the final conclusion I'd say it's fairly accurate.

Yes the Gibby does play deeper and smoother, the Eppi is brighter and more agressive, but either one can be eq'd to sound a lot like the other in a mix. And being able to buy three Eppi VPs for the price of one Gibson does make the the Eppi an exceptional value. I can agree with all that.

I don't find one any more noticeable than the other when it comes to feel when playing, both are great. As for neck dive when balanced in my lap, it's a non issue and no better or worse than a Jazz or P bass. Then there's the issue of the "non functional" tone knob, on a lot of my birds if I max the volume pot it minimizes any impact the tone knob has on the sound (I don't recall if my Eppi does that but it wouldn't surprise me) they should have backed the volume below 9 then messed with the tone knob. I also guess the little guy's ears are better than mine since he was able to clearly hear inconsistencies in the notes on the Eppi that I didn't hear.

So at the end of the day, they both took pot shots and displayed a clear bias against Thunderbirds but did arrive at a fairly logical and accurate conclusion.

 

[Iristone]

Mine has a very useable tone knob. Maybe I'm playing with picks, and there's more treble to roll off.

 

[Mvf]

I own both of what they tested. If you skip over all the pot shot commentary and go to the final conclusion I'd say it's fairly accurate.

Yes the Gibby does play deeper and smoother, the Eppi is brighter and more agressive, but either one can be eq'd to sound a lot like the other in a mix. And being able to buy three Eppi VPs for the price of one Gibson does make the the Eppi an exceptional value. I can agree with all that.

I don't find one any more noticeable than the other when it comes to feel when playing, both are great. As for neck dive when balanced in my lap, it's a non issue and no better or worse than a Jazz or P bass. Then there's the issue of the "non functional" tone knob, on a lot of my birds if I max the volume pot it minimizes any impact the tone knob has on the sound (I don't recall if my Eppi does that but it wouldn't surprise me) they should have backed the volume below 9 then messed with the tone knob. I also guess the little guy's ears are better than mine since he was able to clearly hear inconsistencies in the notes on the Eppi that I didn't hear.

So at the end of the day, they both took pot shots and displayed a clear bias against Thunderbirds but did arrive at a fairly logical and accurate conclusion.

Have not really noticed that ”tone knob thing”, either on my Orville 1991 or on the Gibson 2012 I regret I sold two years ago. Tone works just fine with volume(s) full. Normally I run neck full and bridge a little rolled off and tone full or close to. Play only with fingers.

 

[dagrev]

For sure - the first couple of decades ('60s-'70s) would be fairly easy/straight forward - but from the Bicentennial bird to the present is littered with many T-bird models from Gibson, Epiphone, Greco, Lull etc up to the present day. Wouldn't be a "Gibson" thing more than the beast known as a T-bird focus.

The advantage that could be had here might be that those who on them can comment on the particular tonal differences from model to model. Which to my knowledge, hasn't really been attempted anywhere as far as I can recall. Histories have been done before so that part wouldn't really be new, but the personal interaction with the instruments would be something really new icing on the cake and possibly helpful for those wading into the Thunderbird world. And it would just make for really good reading.

 

[dagrev]

i don’t have an hour for that so I just skimmed. But when they found the tone pot made no difference I knew something was weird.

I forgot about that little piece of brilliance.

 

[dagrev]

I own both of what they tested. If you skip over all the pot shot commentary and go to the final conclusion I'd say it's fairly accurate.

Yes the Gibby does play deeper and smoother, the Eppi is brighter and more agressive, but either one can be eq'd to sound a lot like the other in a mix. And being able to buy three Eppi VPs for the price of one Gibson does make the the Eppi an exceptional value. I can agree with all that.

I don't find one any more noticeable than the other when it comes to feel when playing, both are great. As for neck dive when balanced in my lap, it's a non issue and no better or worse than a Jazz or P bass. Then there's the issue of the "non functional" tone knob, on a lot of my birds if I max the volume pot it minimizes any impact the tone knob has on the sound (I don't recall if my Eppi does that but it wouldn't surprise me) they should have backed the volume below 9 then messed with the tone knob. I also guess the little guy's ears are better than mine since he was able to clearly hear inconsistencies in the notes on the Eppi that I didn't hear.

So at the end of the day, they both took pot shots and displayed a clear bias against Thunderbirds but did arrive at a fairly logical and accurate conclusion.

I suppose it's simply the tones from the '06 Gibson, but I actually use the tone knob more on that bass than any other, with the only exception being the G&Ls. All other Thunderbirds and the old Embassy are wide open 99% of the time. Opening the tone on the modern Gibson all the way seems to slightly take some mids out and brings a little something up high that I don't care for in my tone. I find I'm anywhere from 4-8 on it.

 

[JIO]

The advantage that could be had here might be that those who on them can comment on the particular tonal differences from model to model. Which to my knowledge, hasn't really been attempted anywhere as far as I can recall. Histories have been done before so that part wouldn't really be new, but the personal interaction with the instruments would be something really new icing on the cake and possibly helpful for those wading into the Thunderbird world. And it would just make for really good reading.

Exactly - it could get pretty nerdy and answer nuance questions about certain models over time, like the Goth. What year was it introduced? How many different factories was it made in over the years it was produced? What are the subtle differences? Maybe even how many were made of each model - but that would depend on success of research. As much as T-birds have looked essentially the same over the years, just listing all the various models/years and how they are different could be helpful.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Hello Gals and Guys!

Just stumbled upon this:

Thought you might be interested!

blah...blah...blah...big dude says he bought the VP to review it...wonder if he reviewed it with a broken tone knob..

 

[Bassmike62]

You'd be doing a fair bit of routing, I'd suggest a 3 position switch underneath the bridge pick up volume knob, there's plenty of room in the cavity, far less work too.

This bass was set VVTT with a 3 position micro switch, no routing needed.

View attachment 3893880

Man, this is giving me ideas....

 

[dagrev]

Exactly - it could get pretty nerdy and answer nuance questions about certain models over time, like the Goth. What year was it introduced? How many different factories was it made in over the years it was produced? What are the subtle differences? Maybe even how many were made of each model - but that would depend on success of research. As much as T-birds have looked essentially the same over the years, just listing all the various models/years and how they are different could be helpful.

One question: Have you started yet?

 

[JIO]

One question: Have you started yet?

No, but Wiki did - Gibson Thunderbird - Wikipedia (a good start for Gibson/Epiphone related T-birds)