Gibson Thunderbird or a holiday....?

[turlu]

I had a T-Bird Bicentennial 1976 for two years and sold it to buy a future pool for my kids ( promise kept )
Sure I miss the T-Bird, but does not miss the neck dive at all !!! Awkward to play but they look so good !!!!

[ken_swearingen]

The older t-birds had a problem with the headstock breaking off ,not a hard fix alot of them were repaired-something to check for probably a bargaining tool ,i don't know anyone who doesn't like them i think they are super cool, they have a skinny neck!! great sound .go for it.

[bob_atherton]

Thanks fo all the info guys esp Lars for your first hand experience. As I tend to move arround a bit on stage maybe the neck dip issue might be a problem....? Must admit T Birds look as cool as a moose though...

PS: pic of me moving around a bit...

[doctorwho]

Nice pic, Bob!

[thinneckrick]

I Had a 90 or so t bird . and i've played alot of them the neck feels like a pre cbs jazz bass to me . Very comfortable . The only problem i had is that i play the bass very high up on me and it was not to user friendly being played in this manner . Very awkward .played great on my lap though .But they are still very cool to look at lol

[atomic_punk]

As far as headstock dive goes, I also play a Hamer 12 string bass, and compared to that, the Thunderbird is just fine...

[loendmaestro]

THUNDERBIRD - I have on '01 & love it.
Thin fast neck, plenty o' mid range & bottom end for days.

[iamthebassman]

Steve, that's part of the reason I play a short-scale Hamer 12-string bass. Rock On.

[dougp]

A lot of people put a strap button right above the neck joint on their T-birds and use that instead of the one on the horn to prevent neck dive. I have a friend who even did that to his 4001 since he plays it with the headstock at head level.

[atomic_punk]

Ronn, I'm looking into one of those

[Ric N. Backer]

I recently sold my 1973 Fender P bass on Ebay. This may have been a dumb move as I really miss this thing, or more to the point, I miss the sound & ‘vibe’ of the bass.

It was always a good bass for a driving rock track or an ‘ol blues. I also liked its growl and almost Ricness with a slightly twangy top end.

Anyway….. I have a rather unhealthy desire to get a Gibson Thunderbird to replace the ‘P’. This desire is a bit crazy really as in all my 48 years I have never tried one! I just always loved the recorded sound of John Entwistle and was it Martin Turner (?) from Wishbone Ash, again an almost Ricky sort of growly, rocky type thing.

Is this just a midlife crisis thing or are these very attractive basses worth checking out? Does anyone have one?

My basses over the years have been Ric 4001, V63, Fender P & J, Musicman Stingray, & Overwater. Does the Gibbo feel like any of these to play?

Maybe I just need a holiday…..?

So... after five years, what's happened?

[woodyng]

HOLY thread resurrection,batman! i have found the rick 4004 cii with the hb pickups has a semi thunderbirdish kind of sound,but always did like the early birds esp the 60's ones. i can't say the same about the epi bolt on neck birds,pretty generic sounding...

[ken_j]

At a recent visit to my local guitar store I noticed that Gibson is making Thunderbirds both neck-thru and set-neck. Big price difference though.

[turlu]

I had a 1976 bicentennial Thunderbird that I sold 6 years ago..... I made a very good profit out of it as I promised a pool to the family. I enjoy the pool, yes indeed.... I cry almost every night that I sold my Thunderbird bass !!!! But, as far as balance, forget it, these are horrible !!!! Neck dive here we come !!!!

[cassius987]

Never played a T-Bird standing up so no idea about the neck dive... but keep in mind: people say Rics neck dive occasionally and I think that's baloney myself. Part of it is just how you wear the bass too.

I like the T-Bird's tone when I play one, seems like it has some Ric qualities and some P Bass qualities (both basses I like a lot). I still prefer the Ric tone but I can see how a T-Bird might be an interesting compromise between the Ric and Fender sounds. Oddly I have not really seen T-Birds used by famous players enough to get a grasp on how they were using them, Nick Oliveri and William Murderface are the only two coming to mind and their tones were fairly processed into a muddy grind. Chris Squire's T-Bird in Fish Out Of Water's "Canon Song" (the straight-feel arpeggiated 4:4 part) sounds too thin and clanky to my ears (far more so than his Rics), like what people think of a 4001 bridge pickup.