Thunderbird Club

[TBird1958]

Hey there,

I am new to this forum…. and actually joined because of your TB club

I am Alex, a German guy in the mid 40s.
Saw a white Epi bird in a guitar mag ad, back in the mid 2Ks (the cheap standard one). Picked one up a few weeks later and it has become my main bass for live gigs for almost 15 years.
Just bought it and played it. Never studied the TB’s history or something.
View attachment 4438974

At one point I tried a white Classic Pro. But for some reason I liked my old cheap one better. I found that the additional higher frequency content of the Classic Pro came with the price of some weaker lows and low mids. That might be welcome in the studio, but in the studio I am more of a Fender kind of guy.

In the recent years I got more and more attracted to tobacco burst TBs. And since there is a new gig on the horizon, I decided to watch out for one. But there is something that I don’t like about the looks of those plain black plastic covers on bursted birds… but neither do I really like the looks of chrome caps there. Not that I hate the black or chrome covers. But I thought how cool would it look when there were pickups with visible pole pieces. Did my search (that’s when I discovered the TB club) and found the 2015 TBs. But man are they rare. Finally found one on Reverb, from a French seller. It was in the €2K range and it looked gorgeous on the pic.
View attachment 4438977
Slept on it and then… it was gone! But there was a second one, from a different seller. Pretty expensive (2.4K shipped). This time I didn’t hesitate and got it!

It arrived and… while I am absolutely happy with the tones I get out of it and with the light weight and good setup, I am not 100% happy with the color. It is rather bright and does not have a deep burst. It looks pretty much like plain blonde, with a thin black frame.
View attachment 4438979
Now I consider spraying a thin coat of tobacco brown lacquer and maybe even a bit of black over it, to support the burst (maybe only on the wings). I have done paint jobs with nitro on Fenders in the past, so I have a bit of experience there.

I would scuff it a bit and wash it, then spray a good bit of clear coat on it, then spray a fine haze of tobacco brown from a distance (don’t wanna mess it up) and finally top it with a few layers of clear coat.

If the lacquer I have available does not react strangely with the one on the bass, it should work out.

But I am still a bit hesitant here… Would you do it if you were in my shoes?

Guten Tag und willkommen, Alex!

My French isn't so good as we learned last week, my German is better but, I'm ashamed to say it's rusty from lack of use. You'll find the club to be a great resource, please feel free to ask questions, we like that! If you'd like to be on the club's roster just let me know, I'd be very happy to add you. Regarding the paint question, I'd be shy about changing what is, and I'm certain as time goes by, a somewhat rare Gibson.

 

[dagrev]

Trying something new... half-rounds.
Don't see much talk on that around here, anybody using them ?

D'As are ground wounds and feel awful. GHS Presurewounds are fantastic!!! Made with Alloy52 that gives them some really great mids. Sound nothing liken the D'As. I have them on a couple basses at all times. There's a long thread about praising the GHS Pressurewounds in the strings section. May be worth reading.

 

[Engle]

She's my new hero.

I hope she continues playing music. She was talking about getting a rock band together.

 

[Engle]

Trying something new... half-rounds.
Don't see much talk on that around here, anybody using them ?

The always seem like a good idea, but I never really like them. The ground ones were too sticky and the pressurewounds seemed to lose brightness too quickly.

 

[Bassmike62]

D'As are ground wounds and feel awful. GHS Presurewounds are fantastic!!! Made with Alloy52 that gives them some really great mids. Sound nothing liken the D'As. I have them on a couple basses at all times. There's a long thread about praising the GHS Pressurewounds in the strings section. May be worth reading.

Will do, thx.

The always seem like a good idea, but I never really like them. The ground ones were too sticky and the pressurewounds seemed to lose brightness too quickly.

I noticed the stickyness on the halfs... I thought it came from my cappucino I spilled and thought I had cleaned up. Now that could be a deal-breaker though.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

I have never tried them. Seems like a compromise. But I would welcome being proved wrong.

I keep seeing various people here lauding flats and making me consider them. I have to go back and remind myself of the failed flat experiment.

And don't get me started on cobalt flats...

View attachment 4439061

that’s weird, the very cool Mr. dagrev sent me a set of Cobalts which now live on my 2021 P and i don’t have the faintest idea what you are talking about…sound and feel great..

 

[Gaolee]

Hey there,

I am new to this forum…. and actually joined because of your TB club

I am Alex, a German guy in the mid 40s.
Saw a white Epi bird in a guitar mag ad, back in the mid 2Ks (the cheap standard one). Picked one up a few weeks later and it has become my main bass for live gigs for almost 15 years.
Just bought it and played it. Never studied the TB’s history or something.
View attachment 4438974

At one point I tried a white Classic Pro. But for some reason I liked my old cheap one better. I found that the additional higher frequency content of the Classic Pro came with the price of some weaker lows and low mids. That might be welcome in the studio, but in the studio I am more of a Fender kind of guy.

In the recent years I got more and more attracted to tobacco burst TBs. And since there is a new gig on the horizon, I decided to watch out for one. But there is something that I don’t like about the looks of those plain black plastic covers on bursted birds… but neither do I really like the looks of chrome caps there. Not that I hate the black or chrome covers. But I thought how cool would it look when there were pickups with visible pole pieces. Did my search (that’s when I discovered the TB club) and found the 2015 TBs. But man are they rare. Finally found one on Reverb, from a French seller. It was in the €2K range and it looked gorgeous on the pic.
View attachment 4438977
Slept on it and then… it was gone! But there was a second one, from a different seller. Pretty expensive (2.4K shipped). This time I didn’t hesitate and got it!

It arrived and… while I am absolutely happy with the tones I get out of it and with the light weight and good setup, I am not 100% happy with the color. It is rather bright and does not have a deep burst. It looks pretty much like plain blonde, with a thin black frame.
View attachment 4438979
Now I consider spraying a thin coat of tobacco brown lacquer and maybe even a bit of black over it, to support the burst (maybe only on the wings). I have done paint jobs with nitro on Fenders in the past, so I have a bit of experience there.

I would scuff it a bit and wash it, then spray a good bit of clear coat on it, then spray a fine haze of tobacco brown from a distance (don’t wanna mess it up) and finally top it with a few layers of clear coat.

If the lacquer I have available does not react strangely with the one on the bass, it should work out.

But I am still a bit hesitant here… Would you do it if you were in my shoes?

First of all, congratulations on finding a '15. Those of us who have them, love them. They are completely unique instruments.

On to the color question. If you are going to refinish it, why not go all out and refinish it in a completely custom color? You will have to take apart the bridge, pickups, pots, and all that anyway, so why not finish the job and pull the tuning machines as well, and paint it an interesting color? Like, maybe, what I did with my '91 only with black hardware and the '15 pickups, and probably no covers.

You had a white one for years, maybe you could have the only white '15 in existence. Or maybe the only red one, or some other color. You get the idea. Or, just go with what you were already planning and darken it. That would be good, too.

 

[Gaolee]

I hope she continues playing music. She was talking about getting a rock band together.

She can pull off anything she puts her mind to, from the looks of things. She has a bright future.

 

[JIO]

Hey there,

I am new to this forum…. and actually joined because of your TB club

I am Alex, a German guy in the mid 40s.
Saw a white Epi bird in a guitar mag ad, back in the mid 2Ks (the cheap standard one). Picked one up a few weeks later and it has become my main bass for live gigs for almost 15 years.
Just bought it and played it. Never studied the TB’s history or something.
View attachment 4438974

At one point I tried a white Classic Pro. But for some reason I liked my old cheap one better. I found that the additional higher frequency content of the Classic Pro came with the price of some weaker lows and low mids. That might be welcome in the studio, but in the studio I am more of a Fender kind of guy.

In the recent years I got more and more attracted to tobacco burst TBs. And since there is a new gig on the horizon, I decided to watch out for one. But there is something that I don’t like about the looks of those plain black plastic covers on bursted birds… but neither do I really like the looks of chrome caps there. Not that I hate the black or chrome covers. But I thought how cool would it look when there were pickups with visible pole pieces. Did my search (that’s when I discovered the TB club) and found the 2015 TBs. But man are they rare. Finally found one on Reverb, from a French seller. It was in the €2K range and it looked gorgeous on the pic.
View attachment 4438977
Slept on it and then… it was gone! But there was a second one, from a different seller. Pretty expensive (2.4K shipped). This time I didn’t hesitate and got it!

It arrived and… while I am absolutely happy with the tones I get out of it and with the light weight and good setup, I am not 100% happy with the color. It is rather bright and does not have a deep burst. It looks pretty much like plain blonde, with a thin black frame.
View attachment 4438979
Now I consider spraying a thin coat of tobacco brown lacquer and maybe even a bit of black over it, to support the burst (maybe only on the wings). I have done paint jobs with nitro on Fenders in the past, so I have a bit of experience there.

I would scuff it a bit and wash it, then spray a good bit of clear coat on it, then spray a fine haze of tobacco brown from a distance (don’t wanna mess it up) and finally top it with a few layers of clear coat.

If the lacquer I have available does not react strangely with the one on the bass, it should work out.

But I am still a bit hesitant here… Would you do it if you were in my shoes?

Welcome to TB and to the T-bird club/thread! I'd leave the finish as-is.

 

[Rocker47]

So the video finally came out from the jazz workshop I did in August. My drummer friend Paul Mackisoc had called me up and said "We should go jam for a week!"
My song choice was Four on Six (starts about 6:40)

That's some great playing! I like your song choice as well because it has a really nice groove to it. There's more talent in that video than I could ever dream of having.

 

[dagrev]

Will do, thx.
I noticed the stickyness on the halfs... I thought it came from my cappucino I spilled and thought I had cleaned up. Now that could be a deal-breaker though.

I've not noticed a big loss in highs as Irv has. Possibly different strings or other factors if they were the same. One of the things I like about Alloy 52 strings is they are not supper bright to begin with, but also don't loose what they never had or die quickly in my experience. On my basses they do loose a little something as all strings do, but then stay that way a long time. GHSs are not typical half-type rounds at all. But if you're wanting the bright as in a round but in a flat type string then Cobalts may be what you want. They sound as close to the GHSs as any string I've heard.

 

[dagrev]

that’s weird, the very cool Mr. dagrev sent me a set of Cobalts which now live on my 2021 P and i don’t have the faintest idea what you are talking about…sound and feel great..

I want to like them but I also have this condition....

 

[Engle]

Will do, thx.




I noticed the stickyness on the halfs... I thought it came from my cappucino I spilled and thought I had cleaned up. Now that could be a deal-breaker though.

Those ground wounds and DR coated strings have a stickiness that I can’t get used to.

 

[Engle]

She can pull off anything she puts her mind to, from the looks of things. She has a bright future.

And I’ll be able to say “I was there when…”

 

[Engle]

That's some great playing! I like your song choice as well because it has a really nice groove to it. There's more talent in that video than I could ever dream of having.

Thank you! I don’t know much theory and I can barely read music, but I’ve got decent ears and have been fortunate to play with some really talented players that pushed me.

Four on Six is a Wes Montgomery tune. IMO the intro is like something Rush would do.

 

[JIO]

I've not noticed a big loss in highs as Irv has. Possibly different strings or other factors if they were the same. One of the things I like about Alloy 52 strings is they are not supper bright to begin with, but also don't loose what they never had or die quickly in my experience. On my basses they do loose a little something as all strings do, but then stay that way a long time. GHSs are not typical half-type rounds at all. But if you're wanting the bright as in a round but in a flat type string then Cobalts may be what you want. They sound as close to the GHSs as any string I've heard.

View attachment 4439277

I used the GHS Pressure Wound strings on my '66 P and like them. I read somewhere that Dave Pomeroy (Nashville bassist, producer, bass collector) prefers them on his basses.

 

[Keith Rawlings]

Hey there,

I am new to this forum…. and actually joined because of your TB club

I am Alex, a German guy in the mid 40s.
Saw a white Epi bird in a guitar mag ad, back in the mid 2Ks (the cheap standard one). Picked one up a few weeks later and it has become my main bass for live gigs for almost 15 years.
Just bought it and played it. Never studied the TB’s history or something.
View attachment 4438974

At one point I tried a white Classic Pro. But for some reason I liked my old cheap one better. I found that the additional higher frequency content of the Classic Pro came with the price of some weaker lows and low mids. That might be welcome in the studio, but in the studio I am more of a Fender kind of guy.

In the recent years I got more and more attracted to tobacco burst TBs. And since there is a new gig on the horizon, I decided to watch out for one. But there is something that I don’t like about the looks of those plain black plastic covers on bursted birds… but neither do I really like the looks of chrome caps there. Not that I hate the black or chrome covers. But I thought how cool would it look when there were pickups with visible pole pieces. Did my search (that’s when I discovered the TB club) and found the 2015 TBs. But man are they rare. Finally found one on Reverb, from a French seller. It was in the €2K range and it looked gorgeous on the pic.
View attachment 4438977
Slept on it and then… it was gone! But there was a second one, from a different seller. Pretty expensive (2.4K shipped). This time I didn’t hesitate and got it!

It arrived and… while I am absolutely happy with the tones I get out of it and with the light weight and good setup, I am not 100% happy with the color. It is rather bright and does not have a deep burst. It looks pretty much like plain blonde, with a thin black frame.
View attachment 4438979
Now I consider spraying a thin coat of tobacco brown lacquer and maybe even a bit of black over it, to support the burst (maybe only on the wings). I have done paint jobs with nitro on Fenders in the past, so I have a bit of experience there.

I would scuff it a bit and wash it, then spray a good bit of clear coat on it, then spray a fine haze of tobacco brown from a distance (don’t wanna mess it up) and finally top it with a few layers of clear coat.

If the lacquer I have available does not react strangely with the one on the bass, it should work out.

But I am still a bit hesitant here… Would you do it if you were in my shoes?

I wouldn’t do it if I were you. I have the same Bird, albeit a ‘93 model and I would never think of refinishing it. You could easily sell it in the condition it is in for a better price if you just left it alone and save up to get the color of burst you want; or refinish your cheap Bird.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

I want to like them but I also have this condition....
View attachment 4439283

dig their tone i guess? what hand is more affected?

 

[TBird1958]

A little something from my FB feed........

 

[godofthunder59]

A little something from my FB feed........

View attachment 4439634

Looks familiar.