Gene Simmons G2 Thunderbird

[4stringer77]

Ripped from another forum. I think I see EMGs.

[uwe]

That pacifies me. My EMG phase is long over, but an active TBird - for those people who like it - was long missing from the TB fold.

A passive Gene Simmons signature model would have been laughable to me. That guy - whether he knows it or not - hasn't been on stage with anything else but active basses for the last 40 years or so.

[ilan]

That's one good looking 'Bird. 

[Ken]

I wonder if the Gibson's released one will have EMGs or just TB+.  The bridge cover looks out of place with the rest of the hardware.  If I end up with one of these, I think I'd replace the pickguard with a white or black one and change out the hardware to nickel.  I love black hardware on my Vintage Burst Thunderbird, but I think nickel would contrast nicely with this bass.

[uwe]

Will it breathe fire and spew blood?

[Chris P.]

That bridge cover looks good on the bass!

[godofthunder]

Will it breathe fire and spew blood?

   The one I played had no bridge cover, Hipshot bridge and TB plus pickups.

[uwe]

That bridge cover looks good on the bass!

He has those on his Punishers too, Gene doesn't palm mute. But if you do, that thing is the first to go.

[Ken]

   The one I played had no bridge cover, Hipshot bridge and TB plus pickups.

Scott, was the neck profile thinner like a Reverse Thunderbird or thicker like a NR reissue?

[uwe]

   The one I played had no bridge cover, Hipshot bridge and TB plus pickups.

So it must have sounded like any other TBird, give/take the set neck vs neck-thru difference.

[4stringer77]

Here's an article with Gene claiming Gibson is using premium wood for these. He also says they improved their finishing and the bridge is set up perfectly in relation to the neck and the pickups.

https://consequence.net/2021/03/gene-simmons-g2-kiss-interview-2021/

[morrow]

Does that mean the bridges never used to be set up perfectly and the finishes were lousy ?

[Basvarken]

Also on tap are Flying V basses and guitars, among other instruments.

[uwe]

Here's an article with Gene claiming Gibson is using premium wood for these. He also says they improved their finishing and the bridge is set up perfectly in relation to the neck and the pickups.

https://consequence.net/2021/03/gene-simmons-g2-kiss-interview-2021/

Finish does not influence sound, we've long established that here. Premium wood with Gibson probably means that it is legally imported?  And from what Gene says about "repositioning the bridge" I'm not sure he doesn't mean repositioning the pick-ups in relationship to the bridge. No sense in knocking him for that, this guy probably set up a bass by himself 50 years ago - if ever - and has since then been in the hand of guitar techs. He probably can't tell you the components of the theater blood he spits every night either (but I hope it at least comes in different flavors: "It's wild cherry night tonight, Chaim!").

It's a stretch to envisage any of this making the Geneson TBirds sound any different to a rank and file TBird in a meaningful way. It seems to me that him and Gibson focused on making the thing look valuable. His Punishers were certainly immaculate in craftsmanship. But that had at least also certain playability components to it and was a design of its own.

Let's see how they tackle the inherent problems of getting a Flying V bass to sound good.

[lowend1]

And from what Gene says about "repositioning the bridge" I'm not sure he doesn't mean repositioning the pick-ups in relationship to the bridge.

I thought the same thing - maybe - so I set about making this little comparison, including most of the recent Thunderbird variations, minus the VP and a couple of others. There are obviously some minor inconsistencies with regard to camera angle, but I tried to get as close as I could, using the nut width as a rough guide. Perhaps its the optics resulting from dissimilar photos, but it seems to me that the G2 has had everything shifted forward on the body just a tad, with less of the fingerboard extending into the body - but just by a little. Assuming they used the same template for the pickguard (sans the Studio), the upper middle pg screw lines up differently with the pickup on the G2

Or maybe I'm full of crap...