Gibson Thunderbird

[artisan]

i'm a long time fender jazz fan but i find myself becomming a tad bored with them & it's time for a change.
i've had a SG bass & loved it,but sold it a while ago--silly boy,i liked its powerful sound too.
every time i play a jazz i end up cutting the tone on the bass & boosting the low end on my amp (& always have done) to get the sound i want but never get there.
we are a blues band with vocal/drums/1 guitar/bass/ so i need a nice full punchy sound to fill the gaps in so i'm wondering if a T'bird wil give me this,i'm pretty certain it will.
i'm probably going to have to mail order one so won't get chance to play it first-which is a bugger but hey ho-or i may just get another SG as i know that will do what i want,i just fancy something different.
so any T'bird players what do you reckon & do you want my jazz ?
cheers
Neil

[outsider70]

[quote name='artisan' post='969661' date='Sep 27 2010, 04:45 PM']i'm a long time fender jazz fan but i find myself becomming a tad bored with them & it's time for a change.
i've had a SG bass & loved it,but sold it a while ago--silly boy,i liked its powerful sound too.
every time i play a jazz i end up cutting the tone on the bass & boosting the low end on my amp (& always have done) to get the sound i want but never get there.
we are a blues band with vocal/drums/1 guitar/bass/ so i need a nice full punchy sound to fill the gaps in so i'm wondering if a T'bird wil give me this,i'm pretty certain it will.
i'm probably going to have to mail order one so won't get chance to play it first-which is a bugger but hey ho-or i may just get another SG as i know that will do what i want,i just fancy something different.
so any T'bird players what do you reckon & do you want my jazz ?
cheers
Neil[/quote]

Have a listen here:
[url="http://www.youtube.com/WishboneInfo"]http://www.youtube.com/WishboneInfo[/url]

[Lozz196]

T-Birds have a great sound, very powerful, and you can get great lows, due them being made of mahogany.

Think my fave example of T-Bird sound is this: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-isI96eqGY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-isI96eqGY[/url]

Might not be everyones fave band, but that T-Bird sounded great!

[misrule]

They do a nice clanky sound too, if you like that kind of thing. Ric-esque.

Cheers

Mark

[Meenie]

Definately give one a go before you order one, they are a bit Marmite.
Personally i love them but you might not!

[harvey1-8]

I love them, they're quite unique. Sadly mine isn't seeming much action these days since the originals band stopped. Check the bands myspace (Without Warrant, link below in sig), the first 6 tracks on there were recorded with a Gibson Thunderbird.

[retroman]

Big love for the Thunderbird over here at retro towers :wub:

IMHO, they have a much darker, deeper sound than the Jazz, with a lot more bottom end, and plenty of growl. The current Thunderbirds balance a lot better than the originals from the 60's and 70's, as the headstock is much smaller. The necks are really skinny, and fast. Headstock dive isn't the big issue that some people would have you believe, as long as you use a really good padded leather strap.

Used to have one of the newer ones, currently have a 1976 Bicentennial Thunderbird IV.

Make sure you do try before you buy, and check it over carefully before handing over the hard earned.

[artisan]

thanks for the replies chaps
sounds like it'll do exactly what i am wanting all i need to do now is find someone who wants to swap their's for my jazz.
cheers.

[Hutton]

If you like the T-bird but want to avoid the neck dive on some models you could always try to source a Gibson IV. It has the same pickups and electrics as the T-bird and feels astonishingly like a Precision to play. Here's mine:-

[BigRedX]

It might sound like a Thunderbird, but it doesn't look much like one and I would guess that at least 50% of the attraction of the Thunderbird is how it looks and the fact that it's not a Fender/Fender clone. Also what's with the neck join? Gibson give you a nice deep cut-away which is a definite improvement and then make it all fairly pointless by still having the heel at the 15th fret. Makes you wonder if the people who design these instruments actually ever play them?

For the ultimate in Thundebirdy goodness but with as many improvements as you can make without ruining the vibe have a look at the [url="http://www.mikelull.com/Instruments/T_Series.htm"]Mike Lull T-Bass[/url].

[Hutton]

Whoa BigRed! It was just a suggestion. Artisan is used to the Jazz shape. The Gibson IV therefore might have been worth a look. I like the bass. I find it very playable. I can't get on with a T-bird. That's all.

Edited September 28, 2010 by Hutton

[Conan]

[quote name='outsider70' post='969870' date='Sep 27 2010, 07:01 PM']Have a listen here:
[url="http://www.youtube.com/WishboneInfo"]http://www.youtube.com/WishboneInfo[/url][/quote]

Cool! I always thought Turner used a Rick!

[artisan]

thanks chaps

Hutton - sorry but i'm not too keen on the shape of your Gibson IV,i'm shure it's a lovely bass just not for me.
thanks anyway.

but as for those mega posh Mike Lull T'birds,they are awesome & i bet they cost a fortune.
want one.

[retroman]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='970430' date='Sep 28 2010, 10:17 AM']For the ultimate in Thundebirdy goodness but with as many improvements as you can make without ruining the vibe have a look at the [url="http://www.mikelull.com/Instruments/T_Series.htm"]Mike Lull T-Bass[/url].[/quote]


Oh my gawd, that link has just given me terrible GAS!! :wub:

[Delberthot]

I am also contemplating a Thunderbird but is my £200 Goth Thunderbird a 1/5 of the bass the Gibson is?

[Prime_BASS]

[quote name='Delberthot' post='970648' date='Sep 28 2010, 01:43 PM']I am also contemplating a Thunderbird but is my £200 Goth Thunderbird a 1/5 of the bass the Gibson is?[/quote]

Not a 1/5 but personally there is a significant difference in sound that is only caused by higher quality components, and selected wood.

[Lozz196]

+1 to that - My Epi Les Paul was a great guitar, but put up against my old Gibson Les Paul Studio, the sound was wayyyyy different. Alder to mahogany, made a difference.

Adding to that, my MIM P-Bass is a great instrument, but the MIAs all sound a lot more authoratative. Better cuts of wood.

Whether or not better, well thats for the individual to decide, but certainly woods and components will affect changes.

Edited September 29, 2010 by Lozz196

[ezbass]

Just the sexisest looking bass ever, just as the Firebird is the sexiest guitar. A friend of mine who played in a Wishbone Ash tribute (and did a partial tour with WA proper when Bob Skeat had a family issue) used to avoid the neck dive issue by having the thin of his strap over the front of the upper bout. As for sound here's some more W. Ash with the T Bird front and centre at 2:48 onwards.

[Delberthot]

[quote name='Lozz196' post='971473' date='Sep 29 2010, 10:20 AM']+1 to that - My Epi Les Paul was a great guitar, but put up against my old Gibson Les Paul Studio, the sound was wayyyyy different. Alder to mahogany, made a difference.

Whether or not better, well thats for the individual to decide, but certainly woods and components will affect changes.[/quote]


That's the whole reason I sold my standard alder bodied Thunderbird and went for the goth as it has the mahogany body.

I'm actually not a big fan of through neck basses so may very well get myself a set of Gibby pickups and fit them to this.

I actually don't like how the strap button on the Gibby is on the back of the body like the SGs. Its fine if you're skinny but this position leads to the bass being pushed away from you if you've got a gut.

[artisan]

looks like i've binned the T'bird idea now,the stupid strap button mentioned above eing one the the reasons (yes i'm a fat bastard) and i will hopefully recieve a 1996 Gibson Les Paul standard bass this evening
how excited am i ?
cheers guys

[Delberthot]

Nice - fancy one of them myself

[artisan]

[quote name='Delberthot' post='972710' date='Sep 30 2010, 02:11 PM']Nice - fancy one of them myself[/quote]

cheers.
by all accounts it looks just like this one

[Lozz196]

Nice one, I had one of those, and was amazed at the amount of comments/interest it seemd to inspire.

As well as that, they play like a dream, and have an amazingly rich sound, plenty of low bottom end, rather like the T-Bird in fact, but so much easier to play and carry aout.

[artisan]

[quote name='Lozz196' post='973014' date='Sep 30 2010, 07:12 PM']Nice one, I had one of those, and was amazed at the amount of comments/interest it seemd to inspire.

As well as that, they play like a dream, and have an amazingly rich sound, plenty of low bottom end, rather like the T-Bird in fact, but so much easier to play and carry aout.[/quote]


now i'm really excited
really looking forward to playing this little baby it sounds just what i'm looking for.
cheers

[Buzz]

You want to know how Thunderbirds sound!?

Put it this way, the sound of Thor's Hammer smashing a mountain pales in comparision to the thunderous rapport of a Thunderbird!