Life is short... don't live with regrets if money isn't an issue... just DO IT!
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Thunderbird Club
- Thread starter TBird1958
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- club thunderbird
I’m sure many would claim that it’s only anecdotal evidence but I can honestly say, the six Gibson basses I own (2 SGs, 2 Tbirds, Memphis semi hollow, and an EB13) have virtually zero defects in finish, construction, hardware or electronics and are built as good or better than any bass I own, including basses that cost many times more than these Gibsons.
That said, possibly one of the worst built basses I ever bought new was my FrankenGoth (a China made Goth bass). The tuners were garbage and borderline functional, the neck plate was screwed on crooked, several frets were high and needed to be leveled, the body paint was rough on the front of the upper wing, and setup by the distributor (sweetwater) was non existent, heck I didn’t even get any candy. All my other Eppi basses have been just fine and no issues on arrival, including my second Goth (which was made in Korea).
So, if my data set was just Gibson I’d say Stellar basses! If my data set was just Epiphone I’d say hit or miss. And if my data set was just my China Goth I’d say dismal.
YMMV
That said, possibly one of the worst built basses I ever bought new was my FrankenGoth (a China made Goth bass). The tuners were garbage and borderline functional, the neck plate was screwed on crooked, several frets were high and needed to be leveled, the body paint was rough on the front of the upper wing, and setup by the distributor (sweetwater) was non existent, heck I didn’t even get any candy. All my other Eppi basses have been just fine and no issues on arrival, including my second Goth (which was made in Korea).
So, if my data set was just Gibson I’d say Stellar basses! If my data set was just Epiphone I’d say hit or miss. And if my data set was just my China Goth I’d say dismal.
YMMV
Does seem to be some tangential coincidence.
Finally! Ken, Chuck, myself (and at least one other I can't recall off the top of my head), can cut loose and celebrate.
Doesn't look that bad to me.I'd like to say congratulations, but... if it's black; you got it from Reverb; and it has Roto 77LD's on it? Then, it just might be the one I sold recently. And, if it is? You're welcome, for the 4+ hours I spent de-burring, polishing, and disassembling/re-assembling that Babicz bridge - so it would actually work. It's a nice bridge now, though. Oh... if you value your eyes? DO NOT remove the control cavity cover! A couple of drunken monkeys had a knock down, dragged out solder fight in there. Everything works OK, but... it's a scary mess. The rest of that 'Bird was just as nice as my '13 T-Bird, though. I finally had to sell the '18, because I just hated the sight of that bridge, and the mess in the control cavity irritated the bejeezus out of me...
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
The other struggle is the only one that matters. Of course you need one and of course it's worth it if you can.So it's coming down to me making an actual decision if I'm going to buy a new NR or not. If I do get back in to it, realistically, I'm probably just going to be playing at home. I highly doubt I'll ever be in a gigging situation ever again. Then, I'll have to buy an amp, whether a combo or a head and cab. I sold off everything a few years ago. Then, that'll probably make me want to buy a guitar too, lmao. So I'm kind of just having an internal struggle over whether or not it's really worth it to just invest all this money into something I'm most likely just going to be messing with alone at home.
The other struggle is Sparkling Burgundy or Pelham Blue
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
It looks to be fretless for now as well.
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
It certainly is a dilemma. To spend or not to spend, that is the question.So it's coming down to me making an actual decision if I'm going to buy a new NR or not. If I do get back in to it, realistically, I'm probably just going to be playing at home. I highly doubt I'll ever be in a gigging situation ever again. Then, I'll have to buy an amp, whether a combo or a head and cab. I sold off everything a few years ago. Then, that'll probably make me want to buy a guitar too, lmao. So I'm kind of just having an internal struggle over whether or not it's really worth it to just invest all this money into something I'm most likely just going to be messing with alone at home.
The other struggle is Sparkling Burgundy or Pelham Blue
I’ll share my situation which isn’t far off from yours.
I stopped gigging about 10 years ago, but unlike you I kept everything. Now I play mostly for my own entertainment and relaxation and to keep my mind sharp and my dexterity up (bumping 64 years old with a strong touch of arthritis). I occasionally get together with a few other like minded band players for some garage band jams or maybe a family member birthday party gig. But 99% of the time I’m playing these days I’m playing along with CDs and Pandora. It’s fun, it’s entertaining and it does make a difference on my arthritis, but basically it’s a hobby at this point, as is golf and target shooting and fishing and all the other things I do.
I still buy stuff but not tons and I still have a lot of stuff (Ampeg SVT-VR and Bergantino 610 cab…) that I haven’t used in a decade and probably won’t ever use again. Every now and then I sell a piece of something I no longer use and buy something I will use, so the money out of pocket for me might not be as much as the money out of pocket for you.
Only you can decide if you want to spend the thousand or two or three to get back into instrument playing. But it might be helpful to look at it as a hobby with potential mental and physical therapeutic benefits.
And now I put my Thunderbird Club hat on and advise you to buy one of the new Gibby NR birds in your favorite color for about $2000 and get a used BassMark 1x12 micro combo for about $800 and some instrument cables and a clip on tuner for another $200. So thats $3000 all in for a top of the line set up that you can run at bedroom, garage band and even small venue levels. Many will envy your tone and many will envy your style, but all will envy your Tbird.
If you can financially means as long as you aren't taking a fourth mortgage to do it...
That kinda looks like a good deal...
No it isn't. Spend!
And after all the fluff, you get to the real advice!
If only I knew a way to save 15% or more on car insurance...
Yes I was. The bridge was pretty much... locked up, for want of a better description... on a bass that came straight from the factory, to me - in an unopened box. The saddle drums would only move a hair - if they moved at all. Same with the screws. And yes, I watched the Babicz company owner's video on how to install and adjust the... thing... which is why I was so disappointed with it. It should have been a helluva nice bridge. Every part that moved, and all the screw holes, were covered in flash and burrs. Apparently, I just got the bad one. As for the control cavity; as I said, everything was connected to what it was supposed to be connected to, and everything worked. But, there were blobs and globs of solder on things that weren't connected to anything - and weren't supposed to be. It looked like somebody just flung solder in there at random. OTOH, the control cavity of my '13 'Bird is a textbook illustration of how it's supposed to be done. You can find pictures of the two fo them side by side here, if you want to look for them. Actually, there's so much solder in the '18's control cavity, it's a minor miracle that it works at all Campared to that mess, the control cavity on my $130.00 cheap-ass Chinese Starfire violin bass is a work of art. I expected better for $2800, from a company like Gibson...
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First you need to extend the warranty.
IMO you should get the NR. I couldn't be happier about my foray back into bass after a very long hiatus. And the NR deserves a good, versitle head and cab that will serve you well at home and be perfectly fine for jamming and gigging should the opportunity present itself. Skip the practice amp combo stuff. Might I suggest the Mesa tt800 coupled with the 115 Mesa Subway cab. For starters.So it's coming down to me making an actual decision if I'm going to buy a new NR or not. If I do get back in to it, realistically, I'm probably just going to be playing at home. I highly doubt I'll ever be in a gigging situation ever again. Then, I'll have to buy an amp, whether a combo or a head and cab. I sold off everything a few years ago. Then, that'll probably make me want to buy a guitar too, lmao. So I'm kind of just having an internal struggle over whether or not it's really worth it to just invest all this money into something I'm most likely just going to be messing with alone at home.
The other struggle is Sparkling Burgundy or Pelham Blue
I feel you. I definitely appreciate the Markbass advice I was given and will certainly consider it, on one hand I was thinking something along the lines of it or a Traynor SB115.
On the other hand, if I commit to the price of the NR, there is the school of thought that maybe I should commit to going with a nice head and cab. Before I was using two different tube amp setups with my Gibson basses. An Orange AD200 with an Orange OBC115, and this monster which was my most used rig....
It might be hard to go back to a combo after that.
