NBD: Thunderbirds are GO!

[PaulThePlug]

Incoming, FAB!

[PaulThePlug]

@binky_bass fault...

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Needs all the usual... but, FAB!

[Rayman]

Yeah I had one. Good basses. My only criticism was the Epiphone logo on the headstock. I just wish they’d be a little bit more subtle about it. The bass though, was great.

[Rodders]

Piezo bridge too? Nice!

[neepheid]

11 minutes ago, Rodders said:

Piezo bridge too? Nice!

 

Not unless someone modded it.  The stock bridge just happens to have saddles which aren't black.

[LeftyJ]

That's my thought too whenever I see that bridge design somewhere. But my guess is they're just made of fairly soft metal, with hardened inserts to handle the pressure and friction of the strings. 

 

Nice score, those basses always look great to me! 

Edited September 23, 2024 by LeftyJ

[PaulThePlug]

Non-Piezo, just a polished saddle insert

It's fully stripped, for a deep clean and maybe a light sand.

And there is a route to ease the front pup wiring under the scratchplate, so that puts the kibosh on going No Plate or Clear Plate

Edited September 23, 2024 by PaulThePlug

[PaulThePlug]

Project: Passive-Agressive

Modding Blah Blah...

Edited September 27, 2024 by PaulThePlug

[ezbass]

On 23/09/2024 at 13:18, PaulThePlug said:

so that puts the kibosh on going No Plate or Clear Plate

Unless you could cleanly cut out the T’Bird logo from the existing p/g and put that over the rout (it looks like it would cover it).

[PaulThePlug]

Might consider a wooden plate, maybe with the Thunderbird logo engraved and/or burnt in... or a nice bit of Suede... i'll keep an eye out in charity shops 😉 Lot of faff... might just go for a little sticker or decal.

Currently undergoing a Route Mod for a pickup swap... 

Edited September 25, 2024 by PaulThePlug

[Skybone]

Those natural finish through neck Thunderbird's are fantastic looking basses.

[NancyJohnson]

The wiring rout is the same on all Gibson/Epiphone Thunderbirds; this isn't anything about authenticity really, it's just convenience and laziness.  

 

When you think how the wiring snakes through a Les Paul body, there's an element of thought gone into it.  With a Thunderbird, any holes for the pickup loom could easily be done before the wings are glued in; these Epiphone things are/were mass produced, multiples at a time.  It's fine to mess with the headstock carving and body geometry, but the rout under the plate?  Nah, leave it in.

 

[jd56hawk]

My first good bass was a Thunderbird Pro IV. Some people don't like them because they're active, but that's probably because they didn't try flatwounds or tapewounds.

GHS black tapewounds would look great on that and they're a good match for the pickups and electronics.

Countless pickguards available these days, too.

 

Edited September 27, 2024 by jd56hawk