The Last Bass Outpost

Gear Discussion Forums => Gibson Basses => Topic started by: Bionic-Joe on November 24, 2014, 06:18:06 PM

Title: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: Bionic-Joe on November 24, 2014, 06:18:06 PM
Seriously...these cats from Japan selling Vintage 1960's T birds for PRE-2008 prices are insane.. are they smoking crack??? And even with Mods???
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: Dave W on November 24, 2014, 09:17:03 PM
I'd guess he's selling on behalf of a collector who snapped a couple of them up pre-recession and who's just trying to recover his investment.
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: drbassman on November 25, 2014, 06:18:00 AM
This is not the market to make money on anything, but pristine, very rare vintage basses IMHO.
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: uwe on November 25, 2014, 06:38:13 AM
Age is overrated.

Dave is an exception, he's adorable.
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: TBird1958 on November 25, 2014, 10:01:54 AM
Age is overrated.

Dave is an exception, he's adorable.


 You are too!  ;D

 I haven't looked at the pricing on them, but it's always easier to start high and get bargained down some - as opposed to raising your price if someone's interested.
 

Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: the mojo hobo on November 25, 2014, 04:42:00 PM
Start with this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/USED-GIBSON-Thunderbird-Non-Reverse-MOD-1966-Bass-With-Hard-Case-/171555241089?pt=Guitar&hash=item27f17d3c81

The only thing in it's favor is it looks like 2 original acorn nuts on the bridge.
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: amptech on November 26, 2014, 01:10:52 AM
Guess the pictures do the talk, not much info. Condition : used - don't miss it :)

I scrolled through the gibbys in his shop, there are some nice ones but pricey. That EB0F for sale i have pics of on my computer somewhere, I swear it's the same as sold on a US auction about a year ago. At a fraction of the price, of course.

If that's the case, it seems like an odd investment, bold at least, to try to profit that much after so short time when the market is low.
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: FrankieTbird on November 26, 2014, 09:12:45 AM
Start with this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/USED-GIBSON-Thunderbird-Non-Reverse-MOD-1966-Bass-With-Hard-Case-/171555241089?pt=Guitar&hash=item27f17d3c81

The only thing in it's favor is it looks like 2 original acorn nuts on the bridge.


That is the rarest of the original T-birds, with the Jacaranda fingerboard!
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: Bionic-Joe on November 27, 2014, 10:48:35 AM
Wonder why those pickups have no bottom plate??? What a POS. I'd pay $1,000 no more for that Junker
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: mc2NY on November 27, 2014, 04:03:03 PM
Yeah...likely a Jap collector who paid through the teeth for these and is hoping someone in a country with a strong economy (and who does not know enough to see the flaws) jumps on one.

BTW...GC Vintage has another '64 TBird II. If anyone checks it out, obvious refin BUT also a neck repair...a patch scarf-jointed in around halfway up the neck that you will not spot if they only send you shots of the back of nut and body joint.  So BEWARE!! It is also a refin.

Here is a pic...



Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: hieronymous on November 29, 2014, 04:23:50 PM
Yeah...likely a Jap collector
No need to be racist  :sad:
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: dadagoboi on November 29, 2014, 04:40:33 PM
No need to be racist  :sad:
Dumb mick can't help himself.
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: Bionic-Joe on November 30, 2014, 09:24:06 AM
Uh...I don't think he was being Rascist....I've known Jon for over 10 years.. He's a Good guy, Like all of the guys I've met on this forum, including You. Don't look too much into words....it's the internet and things often get misconstrued. That's Like calling me a Pole or Polack...I'm not offended...unless you can me that in a fit of anger..heck.. people are WAY too sensitive these days instead of letting people bust your balls and letting it roll off or busting their's back.
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: Bionic-Joe on November 30, 2014, 09:28:38 AM
Shit, Man, My Grandfather who was a US Marine was Killed in Okinawa, Japan in WWII....One month before the damn War ended....IF anyone should be a Racist... it would be me...and I'm NOT a Racist....I love Sushi...I own a Subaru....I want a 16th Century samurai sword...and I collect action figures!!!! I think Japanese are VERY beautiful and unique!
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: hieronymous on November 30, 2014, 10:21:21 AM
I think you are probably right, he probably had no racist intention at all, but the term itself is racist - my mom was Japanese and I work in a predominantly Japanese-American community and it still brings a lot of pain to hear the term used. But trust me, I see a lot of reverse racism too so when I hear JAs using racist Japanese terms against white people, etc., I call them on it too!
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: Bionic-Joe on November 30, 2014, 10:32:35 AM
My Mom is Polish...and My Dad..Scottish...I grew up on the streets of Chicago with every white Trash gang member making fun of me because I was Polish and could speak it... People are assholes... But not everyone is...we're all from the same genetic line...we are all cousins.... That's what gets me... why are people jerks to their own kin??? Only one race...the Human race...
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: Dave W on November 30, 2014, 09:38:16 PM
Sorry I didn't see this earlier. I don't think Jon had any racist intentions, he's been in the MI business and I've heard the term used as descriptive of a guitar's origin.

But it was always a racial slur, no doubt about it. When I was growing up, back when there was still a good bit of anti-Japanese sentiment after WWII, it was an intentional slur.
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: uwe on December 02, 2014, 05:19:05 PM
Given the international and multi-ethnic background of this forum, I think we should all agree that Spics, Japs, Polacks, Rednecks, Niggers, Yankees, Gooks, Redskins, Wops, Ivans, Chinks, Camel-Jockeys and what have you are all equally welcome here, we only draw the line at Krauts really. It's ok to use those terms amongst us as long as you (a) don't consider yourself anything better and (b) never forget that behind all the tongue-in-cheek clichées there is an individual that might teach you better about those collective preconceptions.

That said, I have always wondered why - to my knowledge at least - we've never had a black LBOler here (if I have just ignored someone, my apologies!). I assume that it is hopefully not because we have sometimes posted pictures of the Confederate flag  "Rebel" Gibson Victory bass (an oxymoron if there ever was one, it should of course have been renamed the "Rebel Defeat bass"!) :) Seriously, I always put it down to us being essentially a forum of people with rock music roots (even if some of us have moved on to other music), still it has made me wonder. Or is my thinking that there must be a lot of black bass players out there just another whitey preconception? Are there more black players at TalkBass?
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: the mojo hobo on December 02, 2014, 07:02:57 PM
So when is the last time you saw a black guy playing a Gibson bass?
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: uwe on December 02, 2014, 07:19:45 PM
I wasn't just talking about this specific forum and I don't believe that black players have a specific dislike of Gibsons. Tiran Porter of the Doobies played various Gibsons, the guy from Brothers Johnson played a Grabber, Stanley Clarke played an EB early on, Ralphe Armstrong played an RD, one of the Jackson Brothers an EB-3, granted all this was a while ago!  :mrgreen:
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: mc2NY on December 02, 2014, 07:44:09 PM
Jap is racist? Hmmmm....new one on me. It always seemed to be the abbreviated version of spelling out Jaaaaapannneeesse. I just looked it up and some dictionaries list it as an abreviation, some say sometimes offensive, some do not. American slang dictionary just says it is short for Japanese.

It is not listed in the racial slur database for "Asian"
http://www.rsdb.org/race/asians

And the racial slur dictionary only lists "Jap" as an abreviation for Japanese, which is how I used it.
http://www.rsdb.org/search?q=Japanese

But no offense meant on my part, although I personally think all the PC bullsh*t is totally out of control. Many words that were once perfectly fine have been morphed by select groups of people.

A few year back, I got flamed on a site when I used the word "midget," which apparently has also been hijacked by the PC Police. I was told they are now "little people." Funny because my "little people" friend calls herself a "midget." my other friend still owns a "midget MG" car and has no intention of calling it a "little people MG."

As far as I know, the only "JAP" that was offensive is if it was used to refer to a Jewish girl, meaning Jewish American Princess.

Anyway, I meant JAPANESE. I've written for a lot of publications and "Jap" being offensive is a new one to me. Sort of like when my assistant editor changed all of the "Negroe bluesmen" references in a feature to "African American Bluesmen" and I made him change them all back and we got in a HUGE P.C. Fight about it. I called my drummer, who is Black and a music historian who has hosted TV series. He confirmed the proper term WAS "Negro bluesmen."

I never offended any of my JAPANESE pals over the years....which included the heads of companies I was a bass endorser for....plus I also did work with the heads of Roland and Yamaha and Korg, which all flew me to various meeting with them in the U.S. and Europe.

So, if my use of "Jap" offended you, please substitute the unabridged "Japanese" in its place.
Title: Re: Vintage Thunderbirds from japan...are they on crack???
Post by: Dave W on December 02, 2014, 11:10:17 PM
I've removed the atomic bomb pic. Way out of line. This is not a joke.

Jon, I accept that you intended no harm, but it's always been a racial or national slur, at least going back to WWII, regardless of what any database says.