Thunderbird Club

[TBird1958]

Am I correct in thinking that the '76 through the '79 model years all had the Bicentennial 'Bird but only the '76 and a some of the '77's had the "76" in the TBird emblem's body?

No doubt they (Gibson) just kept using the '76 stamped ones until they ran out just as Carlo stated, when that was exactly, who knows? Anybody have a '78?
I'm curious about the changeover to stamped s/n from decals, and locations they were made. Did Nashville make '76s? or was all production done in Kalamazoo?

 

[JELLIS78]

That's in beautiful condition, congratulations!
I'd echo Carlo's comments about the PG and the '76 logo, I have two '77s and the both have them. Is the s/n a decal or stamped into the wood?

It's a gold decal and reads Thunderbird made in USA with a s/n starting 00 followed by 6 digits. Hope that helps Mark.

 

[JELLIS78]

Amazing score - Looks like it just left the factory!

It is in great condition. It's older than me and fair to say it's worn the years better as well!!

 

[TBird1958]

It's a gold decal and reads Thunderbird made in USA with a s/n starting 00 followed by 6 digits. Hope that helps Mark.

Yes, thanks! Lovely bass!

 

[Mosstone]

Yes, I want the Classic Pro dressed like the active Pro natural... Yummo

I was extremely torn between the sound of the Classic IV and the looks of the natural Pro IV. It was a hard decision, but for me, the deciding factor was the tone. I think the Classic IV is hands-down the best sounding bass of the two...

On the Pro IV, I could never quite dial in the tones that made me love the Classic IV so much. I considered getting a Pro IV, gutting it and installing TB+ pickups, but that just seemed like too much trouble and expense, when what I really wanted (tone-wise) was already available.

 

[veebass]

Well here's the NBD post... She is lovely! Originally purchased from Maynords in Albuquerque in Jan 1978. ApologiesView attachment 882853 View attachment 882855 View attachment 882856 View attachment 882857 View attachment 882858 for the phone pics.

Just beautiful.

 

[Count Bassie]

@Rocker47

To match speakers to a cab it would be handy tho have the list of Thiele-Small specs, and plug them into a free app called... you can get it online if you Google Thiele-Small specs, diy enclosures. Heck if I can remember the stupid name of it now! I'll chime in again when it comes back to me.

There are folks in the general population who will know what it is. Basically you want to know the cab's internal volume and how it's ported, and you can get enough info to get in the ballpark for a cool sounding box.

I modded a cab according to speaker specs and got a nice sounding, gig-worthy cab out of it. It's actually a little butt kicker...

 

[Mike.C.]

She's finished.

Dude, you ain't near being done! As any good bassist knows you gotta keep them talons trimmed!!

 

[DerekW]

Dude, you ain't near being done! As any good bassist knows you gotta keep them talons trimmed!!

 

[veebass]

Just thought I would mention. I needed to tweak the truss rod and adjust the bridge slightly after fitting the tailpiece to get it back to how great the action was before fitting it. It was buzzing a little higher up the neck after fitting.
Even though the post inserts didn't appear to have pulled, the bridge must have moved slightly. The tail piece locks the whole bridge down very well.

 

[Rocker47]

@Rocker47

To match speakers to a cab it would be handy tho have the list of Thiele-Small specs, and plug them into a free app called... you can get it online if you Google Thiele-Small specs, diy enclosures. Heck if I can remember the stupid name of it now! I'll chime in again when it comes back to me.

There are folks in the general population who will know what it is. Basically you want to know the cab's internal volume and how it's ported, and you can get enough info to get in the ballpark for a cool sounding box.

I modded a cab according to speaker specs and got a nice sounding, gig-worthy cab out of it. It's actually a little butt kicker...

Awesome thanks! I did post it out there in GP and got one hit with a website and now I don't remember what it was! Haha! Thanks man! I have the specs to plug into the site. I'm guessing all will be fine, but why not do the math first right? Thanks again brutha!

 

[Count Bassie]

Go get em!

 

[theNecatoR]

Hello,
a couple of questions again. Does someone has a Hipshot replacement bridge? Supertone it´s called if I recall correctly
How do you like it? and could you assist me with two measures: The distance between bass top and top of the saddles. And the distance between bass top and top of the fretboard of your bird.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Count Bassie]

Awesome thanks! I did post it out there in GP and got one hit with a website and now I don't remember what it was! Haha! Thanks man! I have the specs to plug into the site. I'm guessing all will be fine, but why not do the math first right? Thanks again brutha!

Win ISD! That's what it's called... get the "pro/alpha" version.

Glad I got that out of my craw...

 

[Gaolee]

Hello,
a couple of questions again. Does someone has a Hipshot replacement bridge? Supertone it´s called if I recall correctly
How do you like it? and could you assist me with two measures: The distance between bass top and top of the saddles. And the distance between bass top and top of the fretboard of your bird.
Thanks in advance!

Those are pretty common replacements for the Gibson 3 point bridge. I don't personally have one, but I know they extend past the raised center section of a Thunderbird by a bit. Other than that, I'm sure they work just fine. If you are putting it onto an older Thunderbird, you won't have to shim it. If you are putting it onto a newer one (I believe the neck got higher around 2010 but I'm not sure the exact date), then you will have to shim it. If you buy it new, it should come with the shim plate you need. If you have one and don't have a shim plate but need one, I have one that came with a Babicz bridge. The bridge is on a 1991 Thunderbird and doesn't need the plate, so I would send it to you to see if you could use it if you need it.

 

[Rocker47]

Win ISD! That's what it's called... get the "pro/alpha" version.

Glad I got that out of my craw...

Thanks dooood! I tried it at work and it doesn't read the software here. ***? Don't they know I have to do this at work? Haha. I'll hit the site when I get home. Thank you again!

 

[godofthunder59]

 

[TBird1958]

View attachment 883664

Damn that's SEXY! Who's bass is that?!
What a cool bridge!



Much better than a Hipshot!

 

[howie289]

Hello,
a couple of questions again. Does someone has a Hipshot replacement bridge? Supertone it´s called if I recall correctly
How do you like it? and could you assist me with two measures: The distance between bass top and top of the saddles. And the distance between bass top and top of the fretboard of your bird.
Thanks in advance!

I installed a Hipshot 3-point.on my Epi Tbird made in 2014. No shim came with the bridge but it was not needed, saddles only needed to be raised about 1 or 2 tenths-inch for setup. Easy to adjust, well made, big improvement over the original 3-pt. I did have to glue the inserts for the bolts back into the body when they pulled up. About half the price of the Babicz bridge.

 

[Count Bassie]

View attachment 883664

Wow. Yeah, nice.