I give up on Epiphone and Gibson

[Chris P.]

The pickup rings have an advantage. If you use the pickup as a thumbrest it's a bit more comfortable.

I compared the '24 to my '76. The green-ish silver looks so different than the sunburst, I used a caliper to be sure. I'll write down a lot of differences, but it's real close! I like this one much better than my returned Inverness non rev Gibson. This is a review bass though...

Weight: no notable difference - light!
Sound: close!
Neck: My '76 is 2mm smaller at the nut, but a bit wider at the body. The '24 is 2mm flatter, so the '76 is a bit rounder.
Headstock: same size, the TRC is made from heavier plastic on the Epi. The  '76 has reverse tuners.
Body: My '76 looks a bit thinner here and there.
Logo: different position and of course it's coloured on the Bicentennial.
Bridge: tune-o-matic versus three point.
Input: on the back/side now. Better. It looks cleaner too, although it isn't original.
Controls: no spacing difference on the Epi.
Pickups: placing is a bit different, but maybe correct for a '64. Just some millimeters. Which in America will be: Some Freedom Eagle Feathers difference.

All in all very impressive, cool looking, nice playing, good sounding, and quite accurate.

[Chris P.]

One more thing: On some Gibson pics it looks really silver, but there's a bit green in it. A very warm colour.

[4stringer77]

That's a compelling argument in favor of this bass I wish I didn't hear. Moving the output jack (That's what it should be called by the way) off the front is pretty slick. Looks better that way and eliminates the potential for breaks. Still, I'd rather save up for something extra special as tempting as these 64 Epis may be. I'll say it again because it bears repeating.
Gibson simply has to make a fiftieth anniversary Bicentennial Thunderbird for 2026.

[TBird1958]

I can't get worked up about any of this. Whatever works better.

Honestly, to me, we're splitting some pretty short hairs with it - either version is a fine instrument in my judgement. I'm very happy to own them. I don't think the online shots do justice to the colors, the red is just beautiful.

[Chris P.]

That's a compelling argument in favor of this bass I wish I didn't hear. Moving the output jack (That's what it should be called by the way) off the front is pretty slick. Looks better that way and eliminates the potential for breaks. Still, I'd rather save up for something extra special as tempting as these 64 Epis may be. I'll say it again because it bears repeating.
Gibson simply has to make a fiftieth anniversary Bicentennial Thunderbird for 2026.

Input/output. The jack goes in, the sound goes out. I guess people will understand:

Bicentennial: please don't mention that bass will be 50 soon. I'm as old as that bass and I don't wanna know!

[4stringer77]

Hey, we're just catching up to the rest of the cool kids around here. I don't envy the youth when it comes to what they're looking at for buying a house now. Fifty isn't really such a huge number. Just fifty thousand bucks gets you that new Jimmy Page double neck. What a deal! 

[lowend1]

Since it was a slow work day I decided to summarize the issue at hand

Shouldn't the original Embassy bass be in there somewhere?

[lowend1]

   Sigh. I don't have the energy to pursue this topic any longer, discuss amongst yourselves if you desire. I  am just baffled how they could take something as near perfect as the Vintage Pro and F it up. I need to lie down it's making my head hurt.

And they charge more for it, too.

[lowend1]

Hey, we're just catching up to the rest of the cool kids around here. I don't envy the youth when it comes to what they're looking at for buying a house now. Fifty isn't really such a huge number. Just fifty thousand bucks gets you that new Jimmy Page double neck. What a deal! 

They're also making a lot more money (generally speaking) as they come into the house-buying years too. Plus, they're generally not amenable to fixer-uppers, which is something many of us just accepted as a matter of course. Every generation has its challenges - personally, I'd rather deal with this than the Depression, WWII or Vietnam.

[Alanko]

On the subject of Gibson QC, I was looking at a pair of new NR Thunderbirds today. One was sparkling burgundy. Looking at it in sunlight, from an oblique angle, there was an odd 'washboarding' to the front of the bass. Long vertical ripples running the length of the body. Clearly a thin glossy nitro finish over a not very flat piece of wood, which seems a bit odd? Anybody else noticed this?