Thunderbird Club

[JIO]

Several 64s. This one claims to be in VG condition, but nope. So what's a fair price?
https://reverb.com/item/47911579-gibson-thunderbird-ii-1964-sunburst

Whatever the current market decides it is unfortunately. That one looks good - looks like a well-done repair and refin at the nut area. Original HSC (that one is in duct-taped shape~) is nice for continence-sake but the later brown Gibson cases w/fuchsia interior are much better/more protective cases. The more original (including brass/felt string mute, chrome pu/bridge covers and their black-plastic spacers etc) and an unbroken/repaired neck will dictate higher asking prices. There's this '64 IV with an asking price of $17k ... https://reverb.com/item/46281481-gibson-thunderbird-iv-sunburst-1964 (no affiliation)

 

[WillyW]

It's a form of craquelure. It was given that label (“old barn door”) because initially barns were coated with milk-paint* (which was thick) over and over again, which being exposed 360 days of the year through freezing cold and blistering heat, would 'pull apart' and create that "worn" look. It's frequently used in decorative arts and scenic painting to convincingly create an old worn look.

*https://www.thisoldhouse.com/painting/21528976/all-about-milk-paint

I thought about building a BarnBird using raw reclaimed old barnwood. The engineering/aesthetic issue I haven’t figured out yet is the stark visual difference between the fresh cut surface (i.e. perimeter cut) and the uncut surface (face or back). Thought about capping the perimeter cut with copper or leather to hide the fresh cut wood or possibly distressing painting or staining the edge wood to match the top. One of these days I’ll give it a try.

I used acrylic on my barn doors

I pretty sure I shellacked over some dirt on this tele, I call her the termitecaster or outhousedoorcaster.

 

[BklynKen]

This dress showed up today......Off for a Manhattan.

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So is "Will this dress go with one of the Thunderbirds" always part of the shopping criteria?

 

[GBassNorth]

OK, I'm drooling.

Drool all ya want right now, aesthetically it’s looking fantastic at this stage, but the real test will be how it sounds, and I haven’t a clue as to that aspect. Could be a total bust or a roaring success.

I already have a boat load of birds and wanted to make sure I didn’t duplicate any of them. So I went with the most unconventional design I could think of - semi hollow body with a poplar back and maple top, maple neck with rosewood board, three Chinabuckers with the bridge and center in standard P/J locations and the third in a Mudbucker location, and three volume/tone stacked pots similar to the 1962 Fender Jazz bass with three dissimilar caps to accentuate the unique tone of each pup. I should know next week if it was all for naught.

 

[dagrev]

tonight’s lineup…..the LB tapes on the 13 are a trip……rubbery and pillowy….really liking the combo…no matter how hard one plucks they never seem to break up or saturate….very cool….Boomers (thx Donnie) on the reverse…in your face..
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You're very welcome. Glad you dig the Boomers!

What tapes are you using? I've been thinking/reading about them. Some say they sound plastic in some way. I'm not sure what to expect, don't want just dead sounding rounds.

 

[JIO]

I noticed the TRC as well, possibly someone broke it and just rounded it off. As far as the brown trim on the HS around the black vs all all black, I've see a number both ways (not always from a repair). Mine is also trimmed in the brown, but I'm not certain Gibson was consistent in how that did that. After all, we're talking Gibson! However it is, it's fantastic! That Bird is going to rock!

The tr cover is definitely not original and I'll put money down that the all black finish on the hs isn't original either. (but it is an old refin as it has also checked - like the body) There are many 'like that' out there, but it's because they were resprayed like that after a neck repair. The one Miles posted has the repaired area only sprayed tobacco, which was another way luthiers did it. All original '63-'65 T-birds had only the inner section of the hs face black. On the '76, some white ones had all white. (like yours if I recall correctly)

 

[dagrev]

While we’re on the topic of builds…
Here’s a status shot of the BlingBird, just wrapped up the routing and will be working on the shielding and electronics over the weekend. With any luck I’ll have a complete bird for next weeks Thunderbird Thursday shot.
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I just wet myself! That is amazing! Amazing, amazing!

 

[RedVee]

While we’re on the topic of builds…
Here’s a status shot of the BlingBird, just wrapped up the routing and will be working on the shielding and electronics over the weekend. With any luck I’ll have a complete bird for next weeks Thunderbird Thursday shot.
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Looks great! As Blake said:

Tyger Tyger burning bright
In the forests of the night
What Immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry

 

[icefly]

First cover, maybe many will come, but I seriously need to improve my left and right hands a lot

 

[Engle]

Was scrolling through old note drafts i had going on, & stumbled upon what i had for the collective thunderbird idea.

Which got me thinking about it again. & so i'll try to make this easy to pin point certain aspects of it throughout a voting. Quote this post to input your vote (itll help if im notified to keep track xD)

Let the polling begin!

Body style: Traditional, or NR
Reverse

Body type: flat, or raised mid section
Raised mid section
Construction: Bolt on, set neck, neck through
Though!

Number of pickups: 1, 2, 3
One
Type of pickup: thunderbird traditional, other (be it split p, j, mm style, or any other type of pickup)
TBird chrome

Hardware color: nickel, chrome, black, gold.
Chrome

Guard: definitive, none, or optional.
Definitely
Colour: personal preference, however i'd like to hear.
Bright Red

Thanks for chiming in

 

[Nocturnal]

While we’re on the topic of builds…
Here’s a status shot of the BlingBird, just wrapped up the routing and will be working on the shielding and electronics over the weekend. With any luck I’ll have a complete bird for next weeks Thunderbird Thursday shot.
View attachment 4542860
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View attachment 4542861

That looks fantastic!! The wood grain is beautiful.

 

[MCF]

Yes, it’s vintage spec. It was spec’s out by some very vintage engineers at Gibson way back in 2015. And in defense of the Pick Guard design team, this is an after market guard which is why the one screw is 1/10th of a mm off.

As for Gibby not caring about us, they certainly do. While the Gibby guitar design teams dine on Filet Mignon and Lobster tail at the table they occasionally drop some very tasty table scraps for us bass players to eat off the floor… the 2017 VP, the 2012 NR, the 2013 Golden Anniversary issue, the 2015 Tbird, the 2021 NR, and I’m sure more to come. I’m ok with the pace of their innovation and new releases, it’s currently out pacing my ability to purchase them and does create a fair bit of exclusivity.

And the 2011 little one says don’t forget about me.

 

[dagrev]

Several 64s. This one claims to be in VG condition, but nope. So what's a fair price?
https://reverb.com/item/47911579-gibson-thunderbird-ii-1964-sunburst

For me, knowing how much I love my '64, that price isn't far off for me personally. Let's face it, they are all crazy in price because they sound fantastic and there are so few of them around. In that respect they're all too darn expensive. But you should be able to sell it for what you paid just about any time you want. If you ever did. It's really a personal judgment call. Obviously depends on the bass, but how much you want one. I would personally pay more for a IV.

 

[Stealth57]

First cover, maybe many will come, but I seriously need to improve my left and right hands a lot

Love it. The first full song I recorded over the top of the original was Bad Moon Rising. CCR has quite a few songs where the bass lines don’t cause a two handed seizure.

 

[Count Bassie]

Dude, I know. I was just running with it, hoping for more. You would have to really work at it to offend me, and even then it's a heap o' work.

I really need to visit RI. If only I could find it...

Go to Google Maps and put "New York System" in the search field. It'll point you right to Olneyville. Follow the GPS directions, park, go in and get an order of hot weiners with everything and a cawffee milk. Now you have lived.

 

[dagrev]

The tr cover is definitely not original and I'll put money down that the all black finish on the hs isn't original either. (but it is an old refin as it has also checked - like the body) There are many 'like that' out there, but it's because they were resprayed like that after a neck repair. The one Miles posted has the repaired area only sprayed tobacco, which was another way luthiers did it. All original '63-'65 T-birds had only the inner section of the hs face black. On the '76, some white ones had all white. (like yours if I recall correctly)

That repair was defiantly a long time ago and no doubt stable and not a problem. Mine was repaired with just a touch or black faded in and out at the back of the nut area to the very bottom of the HS. Nothing else was touched up as far as I can tell, and you would never know it from the front. Yes, my '76 HS is all white.

 

[MCF]

Here's a reviewer that has a...er.., contrary opinion about a certain bass...

More for us. My ‘21 NR is flawless and sounds great.

 

[JIO]

First cover, maybe many will come, but I seriously need to improve my left and right hands a lot

When learning a cover - after listening to it over and over with headphones - I probably play it a thousand times. The cool thing about really learning a well crafted song is you end up internalizing classic approaches to bass-lines. Over the years investigating such, I've developed very specific (and successful) architecture for what to play from the beginning, through the middle and choruses to the end/finale/outro of a song. I never have just one - I have a handful to work on to keep it fresh, including original material where you're crafting the bass-line based on the songwriters concept. I'm lucky that Paul, our guitarist/songwriter gives me a basic, broad sketch of his material and allows me to create my own bass-lines.

 

[MCF]

Ignoring that he is disregarding an instrument based on the setup alone, is he wrong on his other points? The sound lacking definition? The neck dive actually being an issue on the NR as well?

Yes.

 

[JIO]

More for us. My ‘21 NR is flawless and sounds great.

Like I said - T-birds are not for everyone.