So, only 2 bass models for 2015?

[amptech]

The EB Bass bodies are ash. If the Music Zoo site is correct, these will have AAA maple tops on chambered mahogany bodies.

Wait, I think I understand now why these will be $4000 basses! Gibson will put $2500 in loose bills in the chambers! 

Put a gloss finish on this one and they will charge you $6000!

[Basvarken]

I played a 2015 Thunderbird at rehearsal yesterday.
I think we have a winner. Those pickups sound great. And the Babicz can finally send the three point into retirement. Although the extra base plate under the bridge (to add height) is not a pretty solution IMHO.

[uwe]

I really need to pick mine up, they have it on hold - together with my (once again) repaired Ampeg SVT, the most unreliable amp on earth. 

[Psycho Bass Guy]

I really need to pick mine up, they have it on hold - together with my (once again) repaired Ampeg SVT, the most unreliable amp on earth. 

Yours is an SLM US-made SVT CL, right?

[uwe]

Classic Anniversary something whatever, about 10 years old, hardly ever gigged, stationary in a dry room - friggin' thing breaks down all the time, has drop-outs.

I herewith declare all people that claim their "old Ampegs never have anything" outright liars!!!

[Blackbird]

My Little MarkBass SA450 has been incredibly reliable for 7 years now.

[Basvarken]

Classic Anniversary something whatever, about 10 years old, hardly ever gigged, stationary in a dry room - friggin' thing breaks down all the time, has drop-outs.

That sucks. Big time.

I herewith declare all people that claim their "old Ampegs never have anything" outright liars!!!

True.

But nothing sounds better than an (old) Ampeg SVT.
I got rid of mine because of the ridiculous weight.

The V4B is still here. It needs regular servicing. But it's worth it.

[lowend1]

Sorry for your trials and tribulations, Uwe. Ampeg moved production overseas in '07, if memory serves. If it is an SLM-era amp, maybe the Kornblums were just trying to get even with you Deutschers.
All my old 'pegs have been virtually indestructible. Had a cold solder joint repaired on my '71 V4B in the late 1970s. From then on, nothing but a cap job & tuneup. In between those, it fell off the top of my 4x10 while being moved and suffered no ill effects. I also have a '72 SVT and a '73-ish V4 which have served admirably as well.
There are plenty of things that will approximate the sound of an SVT - but Rob is right, there is nothing that really sounds like one.

[Dave W]

LOUD bought Ampeg from SLM in 2005.

[Blackbird]

I played a 2015 Thunderbird at rehearsal yesterday.
I think we have a winner. Those pickups sound great. And the Babicz can finally send the three point into retirement. Although the extra base plate under the bridge (to add height) is not a pretty solution IMHO.

...but does it sound at all like a thunderbird, or is it the EB in T-bird's clothing?

[lowend1]

Even WE seem to have trouble with this one.
Someone here posed the question awhile back - "What does a Thunderbird really sound like?" It struck a chord with me. With the variations in construction, pickups/electronics and hardware over the years, can we definitively say? My Bicentennial, Studio and Epi LE all sound distinctly different, yet they don't sound at all like Fenders (or whatever). I've played original revs and NRs that sounded different as well - not necessarily better to my ears, just different. My Epiphone LP Special bass sounds similar to the T-Bird Studio, and the only thing they have in common is the set-neck construction and style of bridge... but does that mean either one sounds like a Thunderbird? Does the T-Bird shorty sound "right"?

[uwe]

Musical and good-natured, that is what TBirds sound to me. You can get a more aggressive sound both out of a P and a Ric.

[Basvarken]

...but does it sound at all like a thunderbird, or is it the EB in T-bird's clothing?

It definitely sounds like a Thunderbird. Growly bark.
The only real difference that the new pickups bring is the versatility. You can use them in single coil mode or humbucker mode.
Not that you'd need it. The true Thunderbird sound -for me- is two humbuckers full on. And the tone pot on 10 too. 

[Granny Gremlin]

Pah, you're just jealous that those chicks in your shoegazer bands aren't as hot as Ms Lorraine Lewis!!!

Actually the hipster chicks have totally brought that style around again..... and I love them, those wonderfully tragic things that are totally off-limits to me now.

... also would you believe that this gentleman does not prefer blondes?  True story.

editted to add: don't you dare reply with a Lee Aaron video. ... or Alannah Myles.

[Blackbird]

It definitely sounds like a Thunderbird. Growly bark.
The only real difference that the new pickups bring is the versatility. You can use them in single coil mode or humbucker mode.
Not that you'd need it. The true Thunderbird sound -for me- is two humbuckers full on. And the tone pot on 10 too. 

That's the thing for me....I use both on 10 with the tone on 10.  I find dialing the neck pickup can do a very good J-bass...

Now, on the Gibson site, it says they are pearl inlays for "better appearance and value".  could you feel that value just rumble??