Epiphone Thunderbird

[cheyenne]

Whats the general concensus on these? My local guitar center has one that I pick up and fool around with everytime I go in. I just cant believe that you can get anything of quality for $299.00 ?

It plays great, but I've never plugged it in. Anyone got one ?

[tennis_nick]

I played a show and one of the other bands on the bill, had JUST picked his up from the musicstore. and I mean JUST JUST JUST picked it up! it was in a cardboard box when he brought it, because he didn't have time to wait for them to birng him a case!

sounded good! looks good! price is good! whats' holding ya?

[fatcat]

Same for me when sleazing around the GC , I play on one and I'm amazed by the quality and authentic feel, for that price.I mighta coulda shoulda bought it, but I already have too many basses.

[gray]

They're not too shabby, but if you buy one, be prepared to to put a little bit of work into it. They do have some wicked neck dive, and the nuts seem to need attention sometimes. But, as long as you set it up right, it should be okay. I had one but I sold it when I got my first Rick. My only real complaint with it was that the action was high and tight. But then again, I never got a setup on it. I was actually thinking about getting another at some point, because they are neat basses. It's just that they're kind of hit-or-miss sometimes. They are only $300, after all.

[ajish4]

Funny seeing this thread,

I've been toying about picking up one for quite a while. If you are quick, you can nail one on Ebay for about $200.00! I've seen a few of them go for that price.

They just LOOK SOoooooooooo heavy.....

This one caught my eye....

http://cgi.ebay.com/Epiphone-Thunderbir ... dZViewItem

[rictified]

Most Epi Gibson copies I've played haven't played like the real thing. I got a Gibson Thunderbird which is one of the nicest basses I've ever owned.

[fatcat]

I didn't notice the neck dive as I played it sitting.The black one I tried was set up perfectly for me, but I suppose that could vary.I don't suppose they get a store setup at GC; heck, most of the 12 strings in the acoustic room weren't tuned and I had to tune them to try out.That was worth the effort as I fell for a Mitchell 12 er and took it with me.

[marc61]

I have the Elitist version. It's funny because i listed 5 basses on Ebay, and that was the only one that didn't sell. Sound and feel are excellent, so i'm kinda glad.

[jaybic]

I have one that I picked up at a GC this July. I love it! It is heavy and the neck does dive while standing up. However, I like to rest my forearm on the body to keep it in the right position. It is a LONG bass - with the headstock and body extending past the bridge. My Rick feels like a toy after playing the TBird all night. What I mean is the scale length is shorter and feels much lighter. I have flats on mine and it out and out THUMPS. Much different sound than my 4003. I really recommend it for the price

[sloop_john_b]

One listed for sale here: http://thedudepit.com/simplemachinesfor ... pic=1762.0

[jwr2]

I love the way they look but did not like the sound ... so I built my own ... http://www.3dentourage.com/425/fender-bird2.htm ... and it also sports 5 string ... I used epiphone t-bird pickups and put them in locations similar to a Ric bass ... it was a little too dark sounding so I wired it with 500k ohm volume pots and a 1000k ohm tone pot ... it is a looker and a player ...

[cheyenne]

You've got me thinking Jeff. I have a real sweet Phillip Kubicki Maple Jazz neck bolted on an old Squire P-bass body Im not using right now.

I've been looking at Warmoth T-bird bodys......

[bob_atherton]

My son has one. It's his first bass and he loves it. I got it used on ebay for a good price. The owner had never had it set up and it was almost unplayable when we got it. High action, bowed neck, nut was uncut and very high, intonation was way off, AND it had bad neck dive.

I set it up and it now plays like a dream. I packed some sheet lead in the controll cavity and that has helped a lot with the dive, makes for quite a heavy bass though...! I've been tempted to ask if I can take it to one of our gigs, but as we play jazz and I've just turned 50 it might look a little out of place!

[mudder]

I have one and the neck dive is an issue for a lot of people. You can move the upper button to the neck heel and improve things greatly.

Mine plays and sounds great. It's not mahogany like a Gibson, I think maple, but he pickups are powerful and sound good. I like the ergonomics as far as hand position. Really a good bass for the money.