Thunderbird Club

[mistergoats]

Just curious to what gauge and brand of strings everyone uses on their T-Birds? I am looking for strings that will fit and sound good on my new Epiphone T-Bird IV.

I use 55-110 Ernie Ball Power Slinkys.

 

[hillerup]

Congrats on the new bass!!!! My wife thinks I have enough basses now too. Maybe she is right, I did buy 4 this year

Enjoy the new Bird!!!!

Thanks, my friend...

Well, at least she understands your needs - Didn't she give you the 50th anniversary as a gift?

And speaking of enough basses - how large is your collection?

 

[hillerup]

Dude,..... 8 Birds!? you need to listen to your wife!..... or not!

Mostly, not...

 

[hillerup]

Just curious to what gauge and brand of strings everyone uses on their T-Birds? I am looking for strings that will fit and sound good on my new Epiphone T-Bird IV.

I like DR Black Beauties, but RotoSound 66's (Swing Bass) and RotoSound Roto's are pretty nice as well - All in standard gauges 45 - 105...

 

[awilkie84]

Just curious to what gauge and brand of strings everyone uses on their T-Birds? I am looking for strings that will fit and sound good on my new Epiphone T-Bird IV.

I use DR strings on every bass I own. Neons on my Jazz, Lo-Riders on my T-bird, Sunbeams on my Jaguar, and DDTs on my P-bass. All sets are 45-105, except the DDTs. They're 50-110

 

[klejst]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check 'em out

 

[TBird1958]

More pics of the home anytime Michael.

I use mostly DR Stainless 45-105s, but on certain of my 'Birds Ken Smith Rockmasters 45-105 are a better choice, I base this on the individual pickups, some have quite a bit more treble response than others, so the Smith's work better.

 

[dannoman]

Out for Delivery! Cant wait to get home and play this bass!

 

[TBird1958]

Pics please

 

[dannoman]

Trust me, I will be posting them!

 

[rickwebb]

Thanks, Mark! I used it for a guide when I did this ExplorerBird. Maybe it will look the same in 50 years...

LOVE THIS!!!

 

[BadBassDrummer]

So I went on a little roadtrip yesterday to have a look at the used ebony bird... 8 hours and 450 miles later I got home with this:

View attachment 450847

It's a 2005 Gibson Thunderbird!!! My first Gibby, and probably not the last... Wife was NOT amused that I needed another T-Bird and says it's the last one I get to buy for the next 5 years...

It's a player's bass with dings here and there and has been neglected for a while, since the owner hasn't used it for some time.
It is in need of some TLC: a thorough clean up (plenty of gunk and grime on the fretboard), new strings, a full set-up, truss-rod adjustment and maybe a new output jack - Otherwise looking good with no major dings and looking and sounding good.

Original owner (not seller) paid $ 2846 for it brand new in 2007 (very expensive!), and seller was asking $ 912 for it, which is more or less half the current retail price in danish music stores. But since the case handle was missing and it has a scratchy output jack I got the seller down to $ 730, which more than paid for my travel expenses.

A few slightly relic'd pictures for Prince Liam:

View attachment 450844 View attachment 450845 View attachment 450846

Anyone knows where I can get a new handle for the case, instead of this solution?:

View attachment 450849

I like the rope handle

 

[ThaCoast]

Just curious to what gauge and brand of strings everyone uses on their T-Birds? I am looking for strings that will fit and sound good on my new Epiphone T-Bird IV.

All my basses are strung with D'addario EXL strings. my bird has the heavey gauge 55-110. Was looking for the 50-120 but they didn't have any. But it's crisp clear for my style.

 

[BadBassDrummer]

I am using D'Addario ProSteels (45-105) on my Lull NRT4 mostly because that is what came on it. I do like the tone it is producing so I will probably stick with them for now.

 

[Righteous Thunderer]

Hey all, I've been wanting a T-bird for quite a while, and I'm eyeballing these two:

Epiphone Thunderbird Classic IV PRO
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Epiphone Thunderbird Pro-IV
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I know they have different pickups and different controls, any other differences that anyone knows of? I don't have the opportunity to play either one, but I have played a regular Epi T-bird in the past and loved the rich, deep tone of it. That's what I'm looking for, here.

 

[TBird1958]

The "Classic" is a fantastic bass - Best 'Bird for the $$$ out there, it is passive with Gibson USA pickups.

The Pro -IV is nice as well with an updated bridge design, the neck is a bit different - the big difference is the pickups and that it's an active bass.
Both are good but the Classic is much more faithful to the original Gibson.

 

[Righteous Thunderer]

The "Classic" is a fantastic bass - Best 'Bird for the $$$ out there, it is passive with Gibson USA pickups.

The Pro -IV is nice as well with an updated bridge design, the neck is a bit different - the big difference is the pickups and that it's an active bass.
Both are good but the Classic is much more faithful to the original Gibson.

That's what I figured was the case, thanks!

 

[awilkie84]

The "Classic" is a fantastic bass - Best 'Bird for the $$$ out there, it is passive with Gibson USA pickups.

The Pro -IV is nice as well with an updated bridge design, the neck is a bit different - the big difference is the pickups and that it's an active bass.
Both are good but the Classic is much more faithful to the original Gibson.

This. LOVE my Classic...except I'm still putting in EMG TBP p-ups.

 

[fjadams]

Anybody know anything about this? Never saw one before, actually never heard of it.

But I rarely see a short scale that doesn't pique my interest.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/171393503704

 

[TBird1958]

It's hard to tell if that's really a short scale from the pics, what do you guys think?
It's certainly not past Gibson to have made it