Change of plan. I'm keeping it

[Delberthot]

I came to the conclusion a few months ago that I don't actually use the neck volume or tone controls so thought it would be cool to get myself an Epiphone NIkki Sixx Blackbird and transfer the EMGs to that body, so I did.

What I have for sale now is essentially the same Epiphone Goth Thunderbird that I've been using for the past 18 months but with the pickups from a NIkki Sixx Blackbird.

I'll start from the top. It began its life as a normal Made In Korea Epiphone Thunderbird but I like to tinker and tinker I have. The goth is very different to the standard Thunderbird in that it has a mahogany body and jazz bass width neck. The neck is very slim compared to a Fender and doesn't have the pronounced taper that a Fender does

I never liked the goth thing on the scratchplate so I attempted to get it off using a stanley blade but it didn't look too good so I got some sticker paper and printed the 1976 Bicentennial Thunderbird logo onto it and stuck it on top. Its starting to look a wee bit marked in places but still does the job.

I have added 500k pots to it and changed the jack. It also has a paper-in-oil cap for that vintage snake oil charm.

With it being very black and hard to see on stage I added blue Fretfx LEDs to the top of the neck so I can see what I'm doing. The battery has to be in correctly or it flickers a bit. Lastly, I finished it off with a Gibson TRC. I don't think its a real Gibson one but it does the job.

I moved the strap button nearest the neck to the front of the heel to aid balance which it definitely helped.

When worn with a decent strap it actually points up rather than down.


If you wanted to do this yourself then you would be looking at:

Epiphone Thunderbird bass (now made in China) [url="http://www.dv247.com/guitars/epiphone-thunderbird-iv-goth-bass--37231"]£199 from Digital Village[/url]
Hipshot Supertone Bridge [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Hipshot,_Bridges,_Tuners.html"]£129 delivered from Bass Direct[/url]
Fretfx LEDs [url="https://fretfx.com/"]£75 from Fretfx[/url]
Truss Rod Cover [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Truss-Rod-Cover-Gibson-Thunderbird-Bass-BK-CR-/220636828705?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item335efad421"]£10.12 from Ebay[/url]

I'm not including the price for the sticker paper, pots, knobs, cap, jack, or pickups even though the Deep Sixx pickups would probably cost more than you would get for the standard ones.

It doesn't come with a gig bag as I'm keeping my one for the other Thunderblackbird.


I'm going to give the buyer two options:

1) The bass with Hipshot Bridge for £260 delivered to mainland UK

2) The bass with standard Epiphone 3 point bridge for £220 delivered to mainland UK

I don't have a gig bag for this so I'd rather remove the neck to pack it but if you're local, you're welcome to collect it.


The first batch of pics are to show the condition of the bass. I can't find my camera charger so have had to use my wife's which is terrible so ignore the EMGs and Darth Vader badge. The last picture is of the actual bass. The reason there's no strings on it is I don't want to put them on until the buyer has decided which bridge they want to go for. I'll only be putting a set of cheapies on so I can leave them off if you'd rather just put your own ones on it when you get it. The paint on the Made in Korea neck plate is a bit worn as is the paint on a couple of the neck screws.

This type of matt finish goes shiny when used so there are shiny sections around the bridge volume, above the pickups and another few places. Not badly noticable when you're gigging but they are visible. There are a few other marks here and there but it has been my one and only bass for the past 18 months so its inevitable.

Edited April 17, 2012 by Delberthot