StevieD_FenderP2009 Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Hey guys I've just laid a deposit down on a new bass (treated myself with my first proper pay cheque in god knows how long haha) and the bass is an Epiphone Thunderbird ltd edition in Alpine White with all chrome hardware and these weird pick ups. I would say they're humbuckers but I really don't know. Here's a picture of the bass (only difference is the finish, as I mentioned, my new one is alpine white where as this link goes to a silverburst one. Exactly the same hardware though) The reason I am asking about these pick ups is because I'm wondering whether or not I can replace them with any Seymour Duncan pick ups and if so, which ones? Cheers guys Stevie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Why do you want to change the pickups? Which SDs are you looking at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieD_FenderP2009 Posted August 1, 2011 Author Share Posted August 1, 2011 I noticed the pick ups were a bit weak when I tried it out in the shop. Didn't seem to have much of a top end to them. Erm, I've seen a lot of people fit the Seymour Duncan SSB-4 pick ups to thunderbirds but I really don't think they'll fit by the looks of this and the only humbucker that SD seem to do is the Rickenbacker set. I'm not too fussed about changing the pick ups. I'm just wondering what the stock ones are and whether they can be replaced Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 [url="http://cataldobasses.com/"]JAEbirds[/url] are fitted with SD SSBs so they must be a similar size. There are two alternative replacement pickups for Thunderbirds that are designed to emulate the sounds of the classic Gibson 60s model. [url="http://www.mikelull.com/t%20bass%20parts.htm"]Mike Lull T-Bass Pickups[/url] [url="http://www.thunderbuckerranch.com/"]Thunderbuckers[/url] However neither are cheap and may well cost almost as much as you've paid for the bass in the first place. Also bear in mind that the Epiphone Thunderbird has little in common with the original Gibson model in terms of woods or construction, and TBH are you even after the classic rock Thunderbird sound? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 (edited) They most probably are humbuckers. SD don't do anything off the shelf that will fit in here. These look like guitar humbucker sized pickups, like on the Epiphone Les Paul Standard bass. Direct replacements for bass which come to mind are EMG-HB (active), Rio Grande Pitbull and TV Jones Thundertron (English mount). Edited August 1, 2011 by neepheid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goingdownslow Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 (edited) [quote]I would say they're humbuckers but I really don't know.[/quote] They look like [url="http://www.epiphone.com/elitist/thunderbird.htm"]these.[/url] Edited August 2, 2011 by goingdownslow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 These seem to be attracting a lot of attention. According to [url="http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=5610.0"]this thread[/url] those pickups are actually six-pole guitar pickups and the recommendation is to replace them as soon as you can. If you know a guitarist with some kind of cheap Les Paul guitar they might actually be quite pleased with them. However, replacements at a sensible price could be a challenge. There's a clip on Youtube of a standard Epi TBird with SD SSBs fitted, so it's possible, but he does say they're not direct replacements. Don't know if these LE TBirds are routed differently from the standard ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 [quote name='neepheid' post='1323411' date='Aug 1 2011, 07:20 PM']They most probably are humbuckers. SD don't do anything off the shelf that will fit in here.[/quote] It all depends on how close in size the Epiphone pickups are to the original Gibson ones. According to Thunderbucker Ranch the vintage Gibson pickups are 3.63" x 1.56". Seymour Duncan SSB-4s are 3.53" x 1.52", so they should fit in the cavities although you might need to get some new mounting rings made up to fill the gap that would be between the SDs and old pickup rings. The other thing that you should consider is that the SSB-4 pairs are designed to be traditional neck and bridge pickup pairs, whereas the positioning on the Thunderbird is much more towards the bridge end of the string length. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieD_FenderP2009 Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 Hey dude Yeah I just actually saw the thread you are on about. To be honest, I thought they were guitar pick ups when I tried it. I haven't got the bass home yet as I'll be picking it up on saturday. That's really cool of you to post the dimensions of the pick ups and hopefully this will be a big help. I'm not worried about having new pickups rings made (as it means I could get more chrome fitted haha) When I do get it home, i'll take one of the pickups out and check over the dimensions of the pick up routes to see if it's the same as the dimensions of the Thunderbucker Ranch website. I never know, it may even sound good with the stock pick ups through my rig (but after reading some of the things in the previous thread, I really doubt that) I'll give you an update once the bass is picked up and I'll upload a sound sample/video on to here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 [quote name='StevieD_FenderP2009' post='1324336' date='Aug 2 2011, 03:03 PM']Hey dude Yeah I just actually saw the thread you are on about. To be honest, I thought they were guitar pick ups when I tried it. I haven't got the bass home yet as I'll be picking it up on saturday. That's really cool of you to post the dimensions of the pick ups and hopefully this will be a big help. I'm not worried about having new pickups rings made (as it means I could get more chrome fitted haha) When I do get it home, i'll take one of the pickups out and check over the dimensions of the pick up routes to see if it's the same as the dimensions of the Thunderbucker Ranch website. I never know, it may even sound good with the stock pick ups through my rig (but after reading some of the things in the previous thread, I really doubt that) I'll give you an update once the bass is picked up and I'll upload a sound sample/video on to here.[/quote] The Schaller bass humbucker is a standard guitar size [url="http://bass-pickups.com/hp135071/Artikel-Liste.htm?ITServ=CY493a0929X131993d2cfbXY301d"]Click on the Technical Drawing tab[/url]. They're good pickups, I think they went a bit out of favour because they were associated with BC Rich heavy metal type instruments but I use 'em and like 'em. You can even get chrome covers for them if you want to keep the 'classic' look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 [quote name='StevieD_FenderP2009' post='1324336' date='Aug 2 2011, 03:03 PM']Hey dude Yeah I just actually saw the thread you are on about. To be honest, I thought they were guitar pick ups when I tried it. I haven't got the bass home yet as I'll be picking it up on saturday. That's really cool of you to post the dimensions of the pick ups and hopefully this will be a big help. I'm not worried about having new pickups rings made (as it means I could get more chrome fitted haha) When I do get it home, i'll take one of the pickups out and check over the dimensions of the pick up routes to see if it's the same as the dimensions of the Thunderbucker Ranch website. I never know, it may even sound good with the stock pick ups through my rig (but after reading some of the things in the previous thread, I really doubt that) I'll give you an update once the bass is picked up and I'll upload a sound sample/video on to here.[/quote] The Schaller bass humbucker is a standard guitar size [url="http://bass-pickups.com/hp135071/Artikel-Liste.htm?ITServ=CY493a0929X131993d2cfbXY301d"]Click on the Technical Drawing tab[/url]. They're good pickups, I think they went a bit out of favour because they were associated with BC Rich heavy metal type instruments but I use 'em and like 'em. You can even get chrome covers for them if you want to keep the 'classic' look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Damn it, forgot about those! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillbilly deluxe Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 [url="http://www.guitarpartsshop.co.uk/acatalog/Select-by-EMG-SEHG-Humbucker.html"]http://www.guitarpartsshop.co.uk/acatalog/...-Humbucker.html[/url] EMG Select. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 [quote name='hillbilly deluxe' post='1328428' date='Aug 5 2011, 10:53 AM'][url="http://www.guitarpartsshop.co.uk/acatalog/Select-by-EMG-SEHG-Humbucker.html"]http://www.guitarpartsshop.co.uk/acatalog/...-Humbucker.html[/url] EMG Select.[/quote] Isn't that a guitar pickup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillbilly deluxe Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Worked well on my Hohner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieD_FenderP2009 Posted August 8, 2011 Author Share Posted August 8, 2011 Says the schaller ones have " a punchy low-end and a forceful midrange" which is pretty much useless to me as I need something with a punchy low end, low mid range and lots of top end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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