Thunderbird Club

[Gaolee]

Oh, and I forgot - lollipops! Must have lollies, no clovers or Y heads on my hot rod Bird!

How about flames? Is there such a thing as flame tuners for bass guitars?

 

[GBassNorth]

How about flames? Is there such a thing as flame tuners for bass guitars?

Oooooo, now you're talkin. Maybe red coral flame inlays in the fretboard, or maybe some of those dark red colored strings!

 

[RedVee]

The Epis should be twice the price really from Gibsons point of view of selling new basses. I just don't see how the new Epiphones were allowed to be as good as they are and the classics using Gibson pups as well as the 9 ply neck. The only downsides are the poly finish and the tuners which are a bit lumpy

Shhh....

 

[Korladis]

I wonder if Gibson not making basses in 2016 is Henry J's form of throwing a tantrum after being told that Epiphone's versions of Gibson basses are better than the Gibson ones.

 

[wolfkeller]

PICK UP TRADE;
Hey folks. I've decided that I want to swap out pick ups and trade someone. I have a set of emg TBP and TBJ. They are basically active emg p&J in TB housings.

I swapped these for TB+ pups as I was trying to get my basses sounding the same but in the end, these are too aggressive compared to my other live basses. I want to trade these for TB+ set. I have pots and so on (mine is kill switch only) so if anyone here is interested, let me know. At the VERY least, I need TB+ pups.

 

[RedVee]

You're not the only one... When I started getting GAS for a T-bird, someone on TB suggested I check out the Classic Pro. I had the money to lay down on a Gibson bird, but the Classic pro sounded/played so much better than the 2014 and 2015 Gibson birds I compared it to... it was a no-brainer. I don't understand it myself. These basses should sound pretty much identical, but the Gibsons just seemed dead and lifeless.

Ok. Just a random thought (that won't be consummated for a long time or ever.).

You mention the 2014 & 2015. Would there / could there be a difference in the 2013 golden 50th Ann ? Or the 2012 (my 50th) Gibsons to make them preferable?

 

[hillerup]

I'm not a huge fan of chrome. Both Ol Blue(ungothed) and my Ibby have chrime hardware and I like the way they look and I'm REALLY not a fam of gold hardware. Now Black Chrome might be a different story.

Anyone ever seen blue or red hardware??

Spertzel makes colored tuners (for guitars), but I haven't yet seen colored bridges...

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I've also seen colored barrel knobs in red/blue/green - But I forgot who made them.

 

[vdub75]

Yes! I love this look. I have a black p-bass with red and white hotrod pinstriping and it looks awesome. Would love to see that look on a T-bird. Build me one too while you're at it!

I like my P too with the pinstriping :-D

 

[Mosstone]

Ok. Just a random thought (that won't be consummated for a long time or ever.).

You mention the 2014 & 2015. Would there / could there be a difference in the 2013 golden 50th Ann ? Or the 2012 (my 50th) Gibsons to make them preferable?

I really don't know. I haven't played a lot of T-Birds and when I was shopping for one, the only Gibsons I came across were a couple of new 2015s and one used 2014.

The 2014 (120th anniversary) was the worst of the Gibson birds I played (could not get rid of the mud, no matter how I set the EQ).

I just think recent Gibson birds are inconsistent and I may have happened upon a few bad examples.

[edit]

I feel obliged to mention though, that every Classic Pro that I played were identical. I ended up buying mine online from GC used and it's just as good as every other one I played.

 

[GreggBummer]

I just got caught up on this thread... I'm still a big fan my Epi Classic Pro. It sounds ferocious when I want it to.

 

[Christine]

I really don't know. I haven't played a lot of T-Birds and when I was shopping for one, the only Gibsons I came across were a couple of new 2015s and one used 2014.

The 2014 (120th anniversary) was the worst of the Gibson birds I played (could not get rid of the mud, no matter how I set the EQ).

I just think recent Gibson birds are inconsistent and I may have happened upon a few bad examples.

[edit]

I feel obliged to mention though, that every Classic Pro that I played were identical. I ended up buying mine online from GC used and it's just as good as every other one I played.

I wonder if that was down to strings or setup? My epi was very nicely set up when it arrived, apparently the setup is done in the states so I find it hard to see why a newish Gibson would sound dead as apart from a few small details the epi Classic is pretty much identical to the Gibson so it might be just badly played around with at the dealers.

I came across a very nice 2012 T Bird yesterday at a price I couldn't refuse so the shop is shipping it over to me and should arrive by the time I return from hoiday, I'll post pictures when I'm home

 

[Christine]

I like my P too with the pinstriping :-D

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Not my favourite guitar but I like the design on it. This is the time where a poly finish is tops to preserve the colour as long as possible

Out of curiosity, your username vdub75, what's that about? My type 2 in my avatar is a 75, lived its life in Portland Oregon until I had it shipped back here

 

[Gaolee]

I think all air cooled VWs end up in Portland eventually.

 

[Mosstone]

I just got caught up on this thread... I'm still a big fan my Epi Classic Pro. It sounds ferocious when I want it to.

'Ferocious' is exactly the word I use to describe the tone of mine.

 

[Christine]

I think all air cooled VWs end up in Portland eventually.

What, like a dumping ground?

 

[Mosstone]

I wonder if that was down to strings or setup? My epi was very nicely set up when it arrived, apparently the setup is done in the states so I find it hard to see why a newish Gibson would sound dead as apart from a few small details the epi Classic is pretty much identical to the Gibson

Yeah, I can't figure it out either... Same pickups, identical construction, yet worlds apart in tone. The 2014 I played may have had dead strings, but I don't think that was the case with the 2015s I tried.

I'm just glad I played a few (both Epis and Gibbys) before I pulled the trigger.

 

[Christine]

Yeah, I can't figure it out either... Same pickups, identical construction, yet worlds apart in tone. The 2014 I played may have had dead strings, but I don't think that was the case with the 2015s I tried.

I'm just glad I played a few (both Epis and Gibbys) before I pulled the trigger.

Well that's the low end of it, as long as your happy with what you have then the rest is academic, the Epi is a fine instrument there's no disputing that

 

[Gaolee]

Yeah, I can't figure it out either... Same pickups, identical construction, yet worlds apart in tone. The 2014 I played may have had dead strings, but I don't think that was the case with the 2015s I tried.

I'm just glad I played a few (both Epis and Gibbys) before I pulled the trigger.

I have a 2015 that's plenty lively except for a dead spot at the usual 7ender place on the G string. The 1991 is very good and the 2001 is magic. They all look more or less the same and are built the same with the exception of the 2015's pickups and wiring, but they are very different from each other. The 2001 has become my favorite of them. It can snarl, snap, and growl, or it can sing and coo. I don't even know what strings it has on it, because they were on it when I got it and I'm a little superstitious about changing much of anything. I'll have to change them someday, but until then, it will just get played.

The Epis, including the bolt on, are completely lively. I really like the low end Epi Thunderbirds a lot. The older ones with baseball bat necks are completely underrated in my opinion. They are typically outstanding bass guitars for an insanely cheap price.

 

[Haji]

When I get hugely famous and Warwick comes to me asking me to do a signature model, I'm gonna have em make me a TBird with that corroded/eroded finish they did on Rex Brown's new sig model.

I'd love to see that corroded look hardware from commercial sources but I doubt the market will support much more than black, matte black and chrome.

 

[TBird1958]

I think all air cooled VWs end up in Portland eventually.

Damn Hippies!


Unfortunately for Gibson they truly suffer when it comes to factory set ups, most are minimal at best and oftewn the pickups will need a height adjustment too.
I don't expect any bass coming off the production line to be my ideal set up, but they were great after some time with Mike Lull - My Nikki Sixx Mk.II was a bit of a dog when I first got it, now it's a fast, easy player.
The Epiphone Classic that I picked for Uwe on Last Bass Outpost was by comparison flawless, a very respectable set up and beautifully finished, a spectacular bass for the $$$.