Thunderbird Club

[Chucky Stiletti]

Classic Pro vs. Vintage Pro

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I think the one to the left may be closer to 60’s overall length..

 

[JJR58]

Wow! The VP is a giant! Pickup placement looks very similar in that photo.

The 2013 Classic Pro, if i'm not mistaken. Was the only year that the neck pup was positioned where it should be.
Just slightly back from all the other Epi's before the VP.

 

[MCF]

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[BklynKen]

Here's some interesting trivia. For anyone who's watched the recent BBC America adaptation of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Hannah Marks, who plays Amanda Brotzman, is Ernie Ball's granddaughter.

 

[MCF]

I know I get obnoxious about Neil Young at times. I’m sorry. But for anyone interested, the long awaited Vol II Archives Box set is now in pre-order to ship 11/20. My order is in. It appears there will only be 3000 issued. Just didn’t want anyone to miss out. I have Vol I and treasure it.

 

[dagrev]

The mystery unfolds...

The saga continues...

Eh, whatever

Box

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a box from within Box

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inside of a box, I found one of these...

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as promised, it came with one of these...

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...and a couple of these...

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Otherwise seems brand new. No other scratches, marks, etc.

Plays & sounds great; the strings are so light it almost feels like playing a treble guitar. Weird.

Fantastic! Just might become your fav Thunderbird.

I have a similar stress crack on my burst. It's more than in the finish, but is just fine. As long as the strings are on it's held nice and tight. Even off, it doesn't open up unless pressed. For the heck of it I tried getting a little glue in one day, but the crack is so tiny even under stress I'm not sure I did. I have no worries. Got mine (the burst) at a crazy low price and if the neck gives up, I've got some killer PUs for the Gibson!

The pick looks horrible zoomed in so much, but if you don't think about it you don't notice it when playing. I since smoothed it out a little.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Hope Brian doesn’t mind. Here’s some more THUNDERBID in action!

Love watching Brian play! Great job, y'all.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Donnervogel Donnerstag, my Autumnal Bird.


I don't play this Bird, or any of them enough, two days off every week is just not sufficient time to enjoy them
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Clearly you need to send some of them to homes where they will be played. We can easily host two here at Casa Roadkill, and I promise to play them!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Cath and I spent the week on Seneca Lake in a vintage 1920s cottage. We spent most of our time hiking and enjoying the fall foliage. I did pick up a pre WWII piece of folk art a representation of the Spirit of St. Louis, it was made with lots of love and attention to detail. Aside from Tbirds this is the kind of stuff that gets me excited. View attachment 4019420 View attachment 4019421 View attachment 4019422 View attachment 4019424

I'm so overdue. That looks heavenly, Scott. The plane is really cool, too.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I've just recently discovered two (2) interesting things:

1) VP does not fit well in new Epiphone Thunderbird case. Neck heel area doesn't seem to go in fully, causing lid to not want to close (as expected, doesn't fit at all in the old case - too long)

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B) 2007 Unsung China Thunderbird doesn't fit either, too wide in the bottom
Nearly identical Korean? 'bird fits perfect

My VP fits great, so long as I either remove the strap or carefully route it. It's a thin strap or removal would be required.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Wow! The VP is a giant! Pickup placement looks very similar in that photo.

Looks are deceiving.

 

[Gaolee]

The 2013 Classic Pro, if i'm not mistaken. Was the only year that the neck pup was positioned where it should be.
Just slightly back from all the other Epi's before the VP.

Back meaning farther from the 12th fret?

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Looks are deceiving.

yeah, photographing T-Birds isn’t trivial..

 

[godofthunder59]

Slade were huge in the uk Bk in the 70s glam rock they got one of the best Xmas songs ever soon as you hear it in England it feels like Xmas wouldn’t be Xmas without hearing merry Xmas everybody you should check it out if don’t know it also check out cum on feel the noize oasis do a good version it was a b side on the don’t look back in anger single also check out gudbuy t Jane, mama we’re all crazy now, coz I luv you they’re, far far away skweeze me pleeze me were some of the biggest hits they were like the sweet if you know the song fix on the run off the guardians of the galaxy 2 soundtrack if you like that you’ll love slade

Jim Lea is one of the best bassists of the era, certainly equal to Entwistle, JPJ, Squire etc. in my book. It's been a long lonely road being a fan in the states, though our Queen does appreciate them.

 

[godofthunder59]

My zep tribute TSR The Songs Remain fourtunatley have had a few gigs over the summer. This shot is from a couple weeks ago on the Isquare stage. I ditched the Jazz and strapped on my trusty beat up '66. Im surveying the crowd hoping that I get to do this again sometime.

 

[dagrev]

Love watching Brian play! Great job, y'all.

Just an observation, but I think a little enthusiasm might be in order.

 

[KaraQ]

Wow! The VP is a giant! Pickup placement looks very similar in that photo.

The 2013 Classic Pro, if i'm not mistaken. Was the only year that the neck pup was positioned where it should be.
Just slightly back from all the other Epi's before the VP.

Back meaning farther from the 12th fret?

I went measuring.
Because I needed to know

Was gonna measure from the end of the fretboard, but the bolt-ons don't touch the body there, making what little accuracy I was trying for more difficult than necessary

So, I measured from the pickup side of the 20th fret wire, to the edge of the pickup closest to the fretboard.
With a ruler
So accuracy is not on par with what is used in the aerospace industry

The somewhat surprising one for me was the Pro V...

First up!
Epiphone Thunderbird IV #1
Year: ???? From: Korea?
Distance to neck p/u: 3 11/16"
Distance to bridge p/u: 7 1/2"

Secondly!
Epiphone Thunderbird IV #2
Year: 2007 From: Unsung China
Distance to neck p/u: 2 7/8"
Distance to bridge p/u: 7 1/4"

Third!
Epiphone Thunderbird Pro 5
Year: 2009 From: China
Distance to neck p/u: 3 13/16"
Distance to bridge p/u: 7 11/16"

Penultimate!
Epiphone Thunderbird IV Classic Pro
Year: 2013? From:?????
Distance to neck p/u: 3 13/16"
Distance to bridge p/u: 7 11/16"

The End
Epiphone Thunderbird Vintage Pro
Year: 2019 From: Indonesia
Distance to neck p/u: 3 13/16"
Distance to bridge p/u: 7 11/16"

fin

 

[PillO]

Was gonna measure from the end of the fretboard, but the bolt-ons don't touch the body there, making what little accuracy I was trying for more difficult than necessary

So, I measured from the pickup side of the 20th fret wire, to the edge of the pickup closest to the fretboard.
With a ruler

There you are, being all science-y with measuring and being engineer-y finding a metric that works...

 

[MCF]

Just an observation, but I think a little enthusiasm might be in order.

Like windmills.

 

[godofthunder59]

Like windmills.

Ask and you shall receive.