The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Gibson Basses => Topic started by: dc10bass on March 17, 2008, 03:26:41 AM
-
Guys...
Need your input on the color...
I have noticed that the refinished TBird jobs I have seen are never in Sunburst?
Is it just too difficult to get it to look right? ...or too expensive?
There are no breaks or cracks on this bass.
...I am also adding a two piece bridge.
Let me know guys...
Thanks!
BTW...if you have time, check out my other Poll in "The Bass Zone": "John Entwistle Bass Rigs"
THANKS!
-
My vote for pelham blue, white would be my second choice.
Sunburst (2tone/3tone) finishes are just too difficult to look right, if you aren't a pro.
-
Sunbursts aren't as hard as you'd think. The problem is the look. If you're trying to duplicate a Gibson finish exactly, it can be tough for amateurs to do so. It does require some skill and practice. Here's the first one I ever did, but I wasn't trying to copy anything here:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/drbassman/Builds%20and%20Refurbs/telemasterfinished.jpg)
ReRanch makes sunburst kits in spray cans, so it is doable. I would just suggest some practice before attempting it. If it doesn't have to look exactly like a Gibson job, you have some creative latitude then.
As for me, I love pelham blue, vintage white or cardinal red TBs.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/drbassman/60s%20NR%20TB/100_1242.jpg)
-
I would have voted Cardinal Red, if you would have wanted that. I think the sunburst may be difficult when changing the bass to an original two piece bridge from a three-dolt. You will have to do a lot of work to fill and mask the 3 holes. It can be done, but it is difficult. An opaque color would mask that better. You could also take a piece of mahogany veneer and lay it down the middle strip to cover the mess, so it would look original and look nice with a sunburst. That is the way I would personally do it, but it depends on your skill level and how much you want to mess around.
-
Personally I'd do anything other than the choices you have posted............They've all been done!
So, on the conservative side.......I'd do a simple Red Cherry stain and gloss finish, how could that not look stunning with chrome parts (No Apologies Uwe!) And thanks to George (Old Man C) for suggesting it so long ago.
On the less conservative side, PINK really works for me
-
I forgot to mention Seafoam Green as another favorite of mine.
-
Seafoam! +1
-
Black. May not be traditional, but if the choice is there, I'll vote for black.
-
There's something about the old pastel colors from the 60's that look so good on a TB. Just my opinion!
-
seafoam
-
seafoam green with black hardware
-
Another Sea foam vote here
-
I like the pastels too - kerry green and frost blue look good on a bird
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/sub4-1.jpg)
Sunburst is kind of the defacto finish. Doesn't really stand out as something special, being that you see so many of 'em that way. I'd do a custom color finish if I was going thru the effort, or put a different spin on the burst like Uwe's purple-burst reverse. It had a nice vintage vibe to it, and broke away from the typical brown tone sunbursts.
-
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/76GreenBird.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/CardinalRed76.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/CardinalRedThunderbirdII.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/64ThunderbirdIVKerryGreenfrontsized.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/ESPYellowBird.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/GMPbirdad.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/BCRichBirdcopy.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/BCRichPurpleBirdcopy.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/JohnEntwistlesExplorerbcopy.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/SessionsThunderbird.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/JapaneseBlueBird.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/Thunderbirdinpurple.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Thunderbirds/64IVinwhite.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Thunderbirds/EpiBirdPellumBlue.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Thunderbirds/EpiBirdMetallicRed.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Thunderbirds/Orvilleinblack.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Thunderbirds/TP_Dude_seafoambird.jpg)
You really could do anything you like... ;)
-
Fantastic gallery, thanks George!
-
Fantastic gallery, thanks George!
My pleasure! I have more but they're at home on my computer. I should do a thread of all the various bird pictures I've collected over the last few years...
-
The B.C. Rich purple with black polka dots.......did that belong to Kelly from L.A.Guns?
-
The B.C. Rich purple with black polka dots.......did that belong to Kelly from L.A.Guns?
Yeah. I'd like to have a bird from everybody who made one in the 80s, though the Gibsons are the best!
-
Well..................
The only problem I see with sunbursts ( or any transparent finish for that matter ) will be disguising the holes when you go from the three point to two-point with tailpiece. You can replace the raised center section from the bridge pickup route to to the edge as I did when I "Pelhamed" my Orville http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=102.msg1387#msg1387 and probably get it to look right, however without some clever work you won't be able to recreate the "look" of the plys that run down the middle of a Gibson 'Bird. Having said that I agree with the Dr. that sunbursts are not as difficult to do as they may seem.
I would have voted Cardinal Red, if you would have wanted that. I think the sunburst may be difficult when changing the bass to an original two piece bridge from a three-dolt. You will have to do a lot of work to fill and mask the 3 holes. It can be done, but it is difficult. An opaque color would mask that better. You could also take a piece of mahogany veneer and lay it down the middle strip to cover the mess, so it would look original and look nice with a sunburst. That is the way I would personally do it, but it depends on your skill level and how much you want to mess around.
This is what happens when I post at 2:00AM............................well said eb2
BLACK goes with everything, especially Chrome ;) Uwe!
S.
-
Laying veneer down ain't so hard with a little bit of woodworking skill and lots of clamps/weights. In fact, a strip down the middle is much easier than doing the entire top.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/drbassman/98%20Les%20Paul%20Bass/100_1299.jpg)
-
How is the LP progressing?
-
How is the LP progressing?
Waiting for warm weather so I can spray the top and sides.
-
If NY is anything like Chicago you have a long wait. Winter refuses to go away and on the few days it gets to 40 degrees, it's been rainy!
We get about three months of spray time here
-
Ditto!
-
If NY is anything like Chicago you have a long wait. Winter refuses to go away and on the few days it gets to 40 degrees, it's been rainy!
We get about three months of spray time here
Ditto!
But do you have to contend with a constant 40 MPH "breeze" !?! ;)
-
But do you have to contend with a constant 40 MPH "breeze" !?! ;)
Mostly in the spring for a couple months. We get winds in the 30-40 mph range. Doesn't usually affect my garage which faces east.
-
A bit late, but Pelham Blue is nice. The more powder-ish blue's great too!
-
If you doing it yourself pelham/lake placid blue is supposed to be an easy finish to do.
-
If you doing it yourself pelham/lake placid blue is supposed to be an easy finish to do.
From my experience, Pelham and Lake Placid are "easier" metallic colours to work with, however any colour with a metallic component can be prone to " striping " if applied incorrectly.
Having said that any of these colours ( with a " U " ) would look great...............
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/76GreenBird.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/CardinalRed76.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/CardinalRedThunderbirdII.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/64ThunderbirdIVKerryGreenfrontsized.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/ESPYellowBird.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/GMPbirdad.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/BCRichBirdcopy.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/BCRichPurpleBirdcopy.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/JohnEntwistlesExplorerbcopy.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/SessionsThunderbird.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/JapaneseBlueBird.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Other%20Basses/Thunderbirdinpurple.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Thunderbirds/64IVinwhite.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Thunderbirds/EpiBirdPellumBlue.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Thunderbirds/EpiBirdMetallicRed.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Thunderbirds/Orvilleinblack.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/gcarlston/Thunderbirds/TP_Dude_seafoambird.jpg)
You really could do anything you like... ;)
I'm waiting for someone to do " Heather Poly "
Cheers,
S.
-
I'm waiting for someone to do " Heather Poly "
I was kinda eyeballing that for one of those BachBirds (fingers crossed). Here it is on an NR:
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/nrtb-heathermist-1.jpg)
decisions... decisions...
-
I have noticed another possible color that would look awesome on a Thunderbird...
"Gold Mist Poly" (I added it to the poll options)
...of course with gold knobs!!!
What do you guys think?!
For the record: I will not be the one painting it... I'm having it professionally done.
Thanks for all the input, very informative!!!
-
Gold Mist Poly is a great colour, I don't remember if I've ever seen a reverse model in that colour, but here's a Firebird.........
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bassVI/fbird65g.jpg)
-
Oh yeah, that gold mist is pretty!
-
That firebird inspired me to do my Tbird HO in pontiac gold
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d138/shadowcastaz/IMG_0006-3.jpg)
It lays down nice. Ill look for the can if u like.I bet Uwe would approve on the contrast!!!
I do love the Pelham blue(Isuzu Inca ..) with a coat of tinted clear and the kerry green pastel. Is the darker green called sheffield?
-
Golden Mist Poly is an excellent color, and according to the Vintage Guitar Info (http://www.provide.net/~cfh/gibsonc.html) guy, it's identical to Fender's Shoreline gold.
-
I'm a bit partial to "vintage white" like this Orville named Doom:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/Johnny_Crab/DoomFace0102.jpg)
To be different and purty, the gold also has my vote.
A color not mentioned is the metallic red that my EpiBird came with. In person it looks better than the pics below(pics from dealer page I got it from):
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/Johnny_Crab/RedHrozontalFace.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/Johnny_Crab/RedEpiHoriz.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/Johnny_Crab/RedEpiBack-1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/Johnny_Crab/RedEpiHead.jpg)
-
Inverness Green-Great seldom seen color. The only problem with the Poly colors is that they are hard to touch up if you get a nick in it. The NR Heather Poly Bird on the last page is my '67 clone that I ended up re-doing in Frost blue (the one in my avatar) Frost blue and Kerry green are also nice on both styles of Birds. BTW, your bridge is in the mail!
-
There was no option for "NATURAL" but that's what I'd do! I always dug the look.
(http://www.gibson.com/products/gibson/bass/img/ThunderbirdIVLE-natural.jpg)