The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Gibson Basses => Topic started by: calibanrecords on December 27, 2019, 08:43:38 AM
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This is my bass. Found an old post here where it suggest it could be very, very rare, maybe only one or two in this color. Original post below.
Any new info around? Anyone? Thanx.
"Gibson did a special small run of these in 1986 for key Gibson dealers in Japan, mostly in Polaris White color with ebony fingerboards. The ones from this run all have the Gibson Custom Shop decal on the back of the headstock.
I was told it was a run of only six but I ran across a post on the internet that states it may have been around 20.
Either way...they are VERY rare. I've seen three of them so far, including mine and the one Uwe owns, all Polaris White.
...I wish I could find another! I'd actually passed on a second one about a week after I'd bought this one, not realizing how rare it was at the time....and haven't found another since in six or seven years. DUH!
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It's a lovely bass, certainly one that I'd really like to own someday.
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Are those leftover '76 pickups? I see three screws!
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I doubt it, bass was made in 86`.
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Nice bass. They made the bicentennial through ‘79 so I’d think there’s a chance there were some nos pickups still around when they made this run. I’m wondering if the pickguard is original or if the logo wore off or just never was applied at all. Thanks for sharing, welcome and happy new year.
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Tell us how you found that one? It's a beauty.
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I owned a white one and the pickup was either NOS from the 76-79 models or wound with the exact components the 70's models used. Uwe owns it now. Very beautiful basses.
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I owned a white one and the pickup was either NOS from the 76-79 models or wound with the exact components the 70's models used. Uwe owns it now. Very beautiful basses.
So, any new information on how many were made? And have you ever seen another black one?
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I saw a photo of a black one about ten years ago. It was in Japan and had the custom shop sticker in the same spot. I've also seen one photo of a sunburst one. All the rest were white (well, faded into cream, like mine). Mine did not have a custom shop sticker, and I believe it was not part of the main batch that were sent to Japan (my seller was in the U.S., didn't really know what they had, and the bass came in what looked like an original (and huge/heavy) hard case with the blue fur inside).
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I doubt if there are any records of how many were made.
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Ait, thanx!
I am considering selling it, what would be a fair price, in your opinions?
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I am considering selling it, what would be a fair price, in your opinions?
The problem with setting a price for an unicorn-ish item like your Bird is lack of comparable past sales. Hence it's tough to establish a "fair price".
If you have a figure in mind, list it on Reverb or any other place of your choice and see whether the Bird flies.
Good luck.
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Price it like this to start... how much would a 60's T2 cost, then half it...
The realistic price is what someone is willing to pay... even a one off will have a price someone is willing to pay... or they won't...
Really depends how much you want and how much you need to sell yours...
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This is for sale right now...
1964 Thunderbird two (https://reverb.com/uk/p/gibson-thunderbird-ii-sunburst-1964?gclid=Cj0KCQiAxrbwBRCoARIsABEc9sjmbvZRL1-KUT1Vi5Z9OxByjeb49fmjWq-A4PWz6jG0u_Rijp5r1cMaAi3lEALw_wcB&hfid=29630969&merchant_id=101081845&utm_campaign=1726164661&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google)
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I don't think it would bring even remotely near half of what a 60s Bird would fetch. Bicentennial Birds don't go for more than $4K and that high is an exception. I wouldn't ask more than $2500 to start.
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My notes were concerning how much the seller wants to get and how much they are willing to take... the high figure (1/2 a 60's 'Bird) would be a seller's aspirations and the hope for an Uwe (true Kollektor) to step in... your figure is a high realistic starting figure... ;)
Caliban... over to you... :popcorn:
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As mentioned early most everyone here is probably somewhat interested in the bass so therefore reluctant to put a figure on it. It's value imho is somewhere a bit less than a '76 or a bit more than a '76 the variable being what is driving a particular buyer to own it.
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You could just take a T4 and turn her into a T2 and barely spot the difference with your skills... :mrgreen:
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I'd value it less than a sixties one, but a bit more than a Bicentennial - because of its limited run nature and the single pup (indeed a sidewinder like in the Bicentennials), some people like that look.
And I still have yours, Herr Carlston!
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I'd value it less than a sixties one, but a bit more than a Bicentennial - because of its limited run nature and the single pup (indeed a sidewinder like in the Bicentennials), some people like that look.
And I still have yours, Herr Carlston!
Even with Norlin's problems in general, I find it hard to believe that a Henry-era Bird would sell for more than a Bicentennial.
As always, I could be wrong.
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It is, I think, a very cool bass. But, I've always really loved the look of single pickup Thunderbirds, white ones make me weak in the knees.
During my visit, it and the Francios Bucholz custom shop were the Birds I really wanted to see.
(https://i.imgur.com/2UrSQJV.jpg)
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The Buchholzbird (literally: beech tree wood, but it's still made from korina :mrgreen:) is not only a one-off, beautiful and celebrity-connected, but also sounds great, a rare combo in my experience. It has that really warm, yet distinct, velvety tone, it "sings" all over the fretboard and invites legato playing. Would have been a dream as a fretless.
That Gibson never opted for a fretless TBird in all those decades of production baffles me - it's like a TBird from its wood and construction is made for just that.
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And I still have yours, Herr Carlston!
I knew it was going to a good home.
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That Gibson never opted for a fretless TBird in all those decades of production baffles me - it's like a TBird from its wood and construction is made for just that.
A poorly balanced fretless is probably not a great idea, but I bet that would sound great with a nice ebony 'board.
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Remember how the TBird/Firebird range was initially aimed a the serious musician market - those people sit down while playing!
(http://www.flyguitars.com/graphics/Firebird_Thunderbird_flyer_1.jpg)
A TBird isn't the most stable balancing bass in the world, but "neck-diver" is overstating it a bit I think. It doesn't balance like, say, a Jazz, but it's not much worse than a Ric either. Dangle in the wind. :mrgreen:
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is not only a one-off, beautiful and celebrity-connected,
do tell the story ..
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It has a Sting in the tale... :mrgreen:
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That has been done so often before! :mrgreen: It goes a bit like this,
based on inspired by a true story:
"The year is sometime in the early 80ies of the last century - dark and evil forces have conquered the US. The SS-Squad "Skorpion" visits Gibson facilities in Nashville.
(https://images.derstandard.at/img/2015/11/29/amazon.jpg?w=750&s=fd612166)
Hauptsturmführer Rudolf S. is there to pick up his custom-produced Flying V Vergeltungswaffe - he is pleased with the result: "You Amerikaner do good work under our leadership." Not so his colleague Rottenführer Francis B.: "Ze Donnervogel BaSS was made to the exacting wood specifications - korina - I ordered, but I do not like ze finish!!! I will give you and your men from the spraying booth one more chance before taking reprisals when I return; do not take zis lightly!" So the bass is left behind, but Rottenführer Francis B never returns. It collects dust. Meanwhile, a member of the US resistance movement, Phil J, has infiltrated Gibson under a luthier guise:
Phil:"That bass there, what's wrong with it, not bad looking really, I do like korina as a wood ..."
Gibson co-worker:"Damn Nazis didn't like it." (spits in disgust)
Phil:"In that case, I like it even more. Mind if I work a little on it?"
Gibson co-worker:"Feel free."
So Phil secretively strips the bass (of most likely: Nazi insignia) and it turns into a labor of love of his. He even winds 60ies style pups for it.
Many moons later, the Nazis are defeated, America is once again the Land of the Free, young Phil leaves Gibson for greener pastures and takes the unloved piece of resistance with him as his own private stock. Later still, an unknown German collector gets wind of the whole thing ... and the rest is - as they say - history."
[Viewer advice: Rudolf S and Francis B were never Nazis or members of the SS. No SS entity named "Skorpion" ever existed. In fact much to the contrary: When an American photographer talked the then still young, inexperienced and naive Scorpions into donning Wehrmacht-regalia and gas masks and such for an early 80ies promo shoot, the band were collectively so aghast about the result, they moved hell and high water to not have the pictures released. They cannot be found on the internet today, but I saw one of them in an early 80ies paperback Scorpions fan biography, captioned as "an ill-advised early promo photo shooting for the US the band immediately much regretted and subsequently binned". They all looked uncomfortable in that pic.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4RjJKxsamQ
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:popcorn: :thumbsup:
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It doesn't balance like, say, a Jazz, but it's not much worse than a Ric either.
STRONGLY disagree. At least in my experience. I was in possession of a Bicentennial for a bit, and I owned a Bach non-rev for a few years. The '76 had more of that "leaning forward" feel, but the Bach was a total neck diver. ;D ;D My Fenderbird OTOH balances perfectly (which has much to do with the 44.45mm thick body).
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I'll get killed for this here, but for me a Non-Rev is not a TBird, full stop. And those instruments do dive, yes. Also, the Revs "lean forward", but that is why you have those strong, manly and hairy hands of yours, honey. :-*
With a Ric or a TBird, neck-thru is the defining factor for me above all else - if a bass looking like a 4001/4003 or a TBird doesn't have that feature, it's an impostor to me.
And don't tell me you don't hear the difference: If you play legato in the mid region of the neck - 7th fret and upwards -, there is a world of a difference how the tone develops, both in your ears and hands.
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You play above the 7th fret? :o Weirdo! ;D
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You play above the 7th fret? :o Weirdo! ;D
LOL! Totally off topic, but years ago, Scott Ian of Anthrax had a guitar made that was fretless from like the 12th fret up because he was strictly rhythm. ;D
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LOL! Totally off topic, but years ago, Scott Ian of Anthrax had a guitar made that was fretless from like the 12th fret up because he was strictly rhythm. ;D
If you could have seen the ugly redneck chick he was trying to nail when I saw them in 2004-5 when he had Meatloaf's hot daughter at home, you would understand.
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What happens on tour stays on tour. 8)
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If you could have seen the ugly redneck chick he was trying to nail when I saw them in 2004-5 when he had Meatloaf's hot daughter at home, you would understand.
I guess some guys never grow out of that.