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Thunderbird Club
- Thread starter TBird1958
- Start date
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- Tags
- club thunderbird
I’m probably in the minority In this club at what sparked me to play the bass and thunderbirds in particular.
I was drawn to the bass lines in most songs at an early age (possibly because my dad played the upright in a swing band when I was a young kid in grade school). However, I was never actually drawn to the thunderbird as an instrument at all when I started playing bass, that happened by pure chance much later.
Started out on Jazz basses, then P basses, then I switched to active basses and locked in on Stingray and G&L. When I could afford more expensive gear I started buying Alembic, Warwick and Spector basses. By this time I had almost completely gravitated away from passive single coils and focused almost exclusively on active humbuckers.
I really liked my Spector Rex5 Pro look, sound, feel and shape. Since it was thunderbird inspired I joined the club here and more or less lurked for the first year or so. Then I stumbled across a rare Gibby SG Supreme bass on eBay at a good price. Bought it more for investment than anything else. After all, everything I had read and heard about Gibson basses here on talkbass as well as band buddies was that they sucked big time. One trick, muddy, neck diving, horrible QA, overpriced and the CEO of the company was a complete jerk.
After getting the SG I found every one of those attributes to be completely false (with exception of the CEO). I really was enjoying my SG but just assumed I got lucky and it wasn’t very representative of the Gibby “norm”. Then along came a Gold Anniversary bird at a great price, so again I figured what the heck it’s a good investment. And once again I was completely set back by the fantastic quality, craftsmanship, design complexity, attention to detail, sound, feel and balance.
At that point the light bulb went off. There’s something to this brand and model that isn’t reflected accurately in its reputation among the bass playing community. That turning point for me was around 2015. Since then every bass I’ve purchased has been a Gibby or Eppi or Thunderbird. No regrets. I hardly pick up my FSOs anymore, and don’t even spend that much time with my other high end basses. The thunderbird really does meet all my needs and then some and does so at a decent price. I’m a happy camper!
I was drawn to the bass lines in most songs at an early age (possibly because my dad played the upright in a swing band when I was a young kid in grade school). However, I was never actually drawn to the thunderbird as an instrument at all when I started playing bass, that happened by pure chance much later.
Started out on Jazz basses, then P basses, then I switched to active basses and locked in on Stingray and G&L. When I could afford more expensive gear I started buying Alembic, Warwick and Spector basses. By this time I had almost completely gravitated away from passive single coils and focused almost exclusively on active humbuckers.
I really liked my Spector Rex5 Pro look, sound, feel and shape. Since it was thunderbird inspired I joined the club here and more or less lurked for the first year or so. Then I stumbled across a rare Gibby SG Supreme bass on eBay at a good price. Bought it more for investment than anything else. After all, everything I had read and heard about Gibson basses here on talkbass as well as band buddies was that they sucked big time. One trick, muddy, neck diving, horrible QA, overpriced and the CEO of the company was a complete jerk.
After getting the SG I found every one of those attributes to be completely false (with exception of the CEO). I really was enjoying my SG but just assumed I got lucky and it wasn’t very representative of the Gibby “norm”. Then along came a Gold Anniversary bird at a great price, so again I figured what the heck it’s a good investment. And once again I was completely set back by the fantastic quality, craftsmanship, design complexity, attention to detail, sound, feel and balance.
At that point the light bulb went off. There’s something to this brand and model that isn’t reflected accurately in its reputation among the bass playing community. That turning point for me was around 2015. Since then every bass I’ve purchased has been a Gibby or Eppi or Thunderbird. No regrets. I hardly pick up my FSOs anymore, and don’t even spend that much time with my other high end basses. The thunderbird really does meet all my needs and then some and does so at a decent price. I’m a happy camper!
That’s what I thought, just looking for some confirmation, appreciate the reply!
I got them! that may have been where I saw the trailer for it!
Well worth the time.
Last edited:
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
No need to replace that bridge.
I assemblified a couple of FSO's just because.... but they aren't too normal looking.
There is something about Epiphone and Gibson instruments I feel at home with, I think it's the mahogany....
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
I stumbled into Thunderbirds at the other end of the scale. I had a Gibson for decades. My EB-2 was the only bass I owned for many, many years. In the late zeros, I had it with me downtown and wandered into now defunct Bass Northwest with it. They were fairly impressed by it and explained to me that it wasn't just some old piece of wood that I had. Maybe keeping it in a gig back and schlepping it all over the place wasn't the best idea after all. So, I got it a case and started looking for a plank. A bolt-on Epiphone popped up for $200 with a case, so I bought it, beer residue and all. After playing it for a while, I figured I probably ought to have a Fender, since I had never had one, and the earliest Road Worn models were just coming out. I tried a RW Precision and loved it. So, that became my main player for a while and I gave the Thunderbird to my son, who still has it. A few years with the P and I started getting curious about Rics, and one popped up cheap, so I bought that, but I was missing the Thunderbird. The Ric was nice, but it wasn't as much of a keeper as the Precision, and it wasn't a Thunderbird. So, I admitted that I had been chosen by Thunderbirds and came back to them. And the rest is history. I think about the Ric off and on because it was so pretty, but I don't miss it all that much.
Bridge replacement is realistically, generally speaking, a waste of intent and energy. The three point is not an issue really. When you change strings, do it one at a time. No problems.
Not a lot of options for direct replacement of that bridge without drilling holes and pulling threaded inserts. Hipshot might have a two piece bridge that fits, Philadelphia Luthier has one that might fit and @godofthunder59 has one that might fit but you’d need to confirm all dimensions. Out of curiosity, what is it that you don’t like about the VP two piece? Most here consider it an improvement over the standard three point. Probably the biggest drawback is lack of individual saddle height adjustment, but that’s easily dealt with.
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
I replace 3-point bridges with Babicz bridges because I like the way they look better. I'm shallow. Plus, they feel really good when you are palm muting the strings and playing with a pick.
I respect the shallow reasons for parts replacement more than I do the "improves my tone" BS.
I added the claw to my 3 point cuz it looks so damn cool!
And @bylar13 likes them for windmills.
I find the Hipshot an upgrade because of the saddle adjustability.
Happy Thunderbird Thanksgiving brothers and sisters. I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful day.
I'm deep frying a couple of 15 pound turkeys while Mrs Gator cooks everything else.
Cheers to all!
I'm deep frying a couple of 15 pound turkeys while Mrs Gator cooks everything else.
Cheers to all!
I too am shallow, but I am partial to a large chunk of aluminum. So Hipshot is my choice.
The windmilling effects of the babicz is a feature, not a bug.
Does it not intonate properly? Both of mine do. And they look cool and vintage like they should!
Same to you sir!!
