Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

The T-Bird does not have the solid bottom nor the sizzling top end that a P bass has, they are more middy, the new ones are balanced, and the neck feels very much like an old Jazz bass to me except it feels longer (they're not), but they do take some time to get used to as they sit on your body very differently than most other basses. I think they are very well made, I miss mine.
Woow, I didn't realize this thread was 5 years old either,

rictified wrote:Woow, I didn't realize this thread was 5 years old either,

Bob A., have you taken the holiday, yet?

I have an epiphone T-Bird. I concur with all the posts about looks, sound and Balance. They are definitely a lot of wood and the neck is so long that my T-Rex like arms are having to push the envelope as far as reach goes. But.. it ain't a RIC and I know no one is sugessting it is. Just my $0.02

cassius987 wrote:

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.... 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.

I think I read somewhere that Chris Squire used a Thunderbird on South Side of the Sky. (Wish I could remember where... anyone know for sure?)

chris used his nonreverse bird on "our song" and "release release" to very good effect,that is,you could tell it was a different tone from his other basses. other semi famous 'bird users that i know of were mostly 70's icons,like martin turner,overend watts,and glenn cornick. the 60's pickups combined with that all mahogany body/neck and rosewood fb makes for a really nice grindy deep tone with a lot of presence. i had the pleasure of owning a 60's epiphone embassy,which was very similar to the tbird,same pickups/tonal circuit,etc,and it was a very sweet sounding bass. i made a ginormous profit on it when i sold it,but no regrets.

I have two Gibson T-bird IVs, one in traditional 'burst (which is for sale) and a white one (which I will keep forever!). I also have two Gibson T-bird Studios basses which I like a lot. Set neck on these remind me of my Rick 4000!

T-birds are cool iconic basses, kind of like Ricks in a lot of ways, ie tend to be for those who don't follow the Fender crowd, and are basses that have "growl" and neck through design, as well as ergonomics that are disdained by many. My kind of bass!

woodyng wrote:chris used his nonreverse bird on "our song" and "release release" to very good effect,that is,you could tell it was a different tone from his other basses. other semi famous 'bird users that i know of were mostly 70's icons,like martin turner,overend watts,and glenn cornick. the 60's pickups combined with that all mahogany body/neck and rosewood fb makes for a really nice grindy deep tone with a lot of presence. i had the pleasure of owning a 60's epiphone embassy,which was very similar to the tbird,same pickups/tonal circuit,etc,and it was a very sweet sounding bass. i made a ginormous profit on it when i sold it,but no regrets.

The video is on you tube

oh i am sure chris used the tbird on a lot of things,those 2 songs were just ones i happened to remember....

songdog wrote:cassius987 wrote:

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.... 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.

I think I read somewhere that Chris Squire used a Thunderbird on South Side of the Sky. (Wish I could remember where... anyone know for sure?)

I'm sure I read on here that Squire used a Telecaster Bass for 'SSOTS'? Could also be wrong though!

This cat sweeps some minds with this non reverse thunderbroom!

"Does it really happen" from DRAMA is the T-Bass as well, with a nice intro and closing bass solo to showcase the tone.

Hi all,

I'm a noob here and have been enjoying my immersion into Ric culture. I'm mostly an Alembic and T-bird guy but will be pulling the trigger on a 4003 sometime soon.

Just wanted to comment about the Tbird's tone. I have both the neck thru (IV) and set neck (Studio) versions and the comparisons to the Ric's tone are indeed warranted. My neck thru has tons of low end and plenty of mid range growl. It never fails, whenever I have my Tbird and an Alembic or Modulus on the gig, someone ends up commenting that the Tbird sounds better. Many of my friends tell me it's the best sounding bass I own. My set neck has a slightly different vibe - a bit more treble and mid; add a touch of overdrive and we're talking serious sonic real estate!

If anyone's interested, here's a link to a great example of the Studio bass's tone:

http://www.reverbnation.com/davedemarco

Click on the song "No Surprises".

I think it's "no surprise" (sorry!) that so many Ric players get into Tbirds and vice versa. I think it's safe to say they're cousins, sonically speaking. I'm psyched to be adding one to my arsenal.

Cheers,

Dave

Welcome to the RRF, Dave!

Yeah, I see what you mean on the tone. Cool stuff you've got on those recordings too!

Gibson now produces a short scale (30.5") Thunderbird. http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electri ... -Bass.aspx

CJ - thanks! Glad you dig.

Ken - yeah, I saw those recently. I think they're kinda "cute", but not for me. Maaaybe if they offered some other cool color options, just for the collectible factor.