The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Gibson Basses => Topic started by: georgestrings on March 24, 2014, 09:04:18 AM
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I picked this up off my local CL last friday, and just took a couple of pics... I wasn't really in the market for one, since I already have a Gibson T-bird, but the deal was really good, and came with a factory hardshell case... I've been toying with the idea of doing a Fenderbird build for awhile, so I grabbed it... After a fair amount of cleaning and setup work, it plays and sounds great - actually far closer to my Gibson than I care to admit... I'll probably still do the Fenderbird build eventually - then someone will end up with a great neck for the money... It's an '06 MIK model, and has a nice straight neck, with great fretwork - and no truss issues whatsoever... I spent a few minutes on the nut, moved the strap posts, and it's just about perfect - a real player for the money...
Here's a couple of pics:
(http://i567.photobucket.com/albums/ss118/georgestrings/IMAG1279_zps078fd8b6.jpg) (http://s567.photobucket.com/user/georgestrings/media/IMAG1279_zps078fd8b6.jpg.html)
(http://i567.photobucket.com/albums/ss118/georgestrings/IMAG1283_zps4cd67c6b.jpg) (http://s567.photobucket.com/user/georgestrings/media/IMAG1283_zps4cd67c6b.jpg.html)
(http://i567.photobucket.com/albums/ss118/georgestrings/IMAG1287_zps3cd0ec9a.jpg) (http://s567.photobucket.com/user/georgestrings/media/IMAG1287_zps3cd0ec9a.jpg.html)
- georgestrings
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Nice score George, I think those are a reasonable starting point for a fun 7enderbird project :thumbsup:
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Gots da big neck, like my white CS/LE. It appears the newest bolt-on Epis finally went to a 1.5" nut width.
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Nice score George, I think those are a reasonable starting point for a fun 7enderbird project :thumbsup:
Thanks - with an Epi T-bird hardshell in nice shape, I didn't figure I was doing bad for a C note, a beat up sm58, and old passive DI... I'm thinking a P Bass neck, different pickguard, and seafoam green paint, maybe???
I've been pleasantly surprised - I've probably played more than half a dozen Epi T-birds over the years, and been underwhelmed every time... After some time spent on cleaning, setup, adjusting pups, a set of Boomer mediums, and changing the cap out for a .047uF, it plays and sounds really good - definitely good enough to gig... I just hope I don't lose anything when I bolt a Fender neck to it, since I really have my heart set on a Fenderbird...
- georgestrings
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Gots da big neck, like my white CS/LE. It appears the newest bolt-on Epis finally went to a 1.5" nut width.
Yeah, it's a shade under 1.7" at the nut - but feels just like my P basses, which isn't a bad thing...
- georgestrings
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Denis (with Carlo's input) converted one of those with good results, or am I mixing up something...?
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Denis (with Carlo's input) converted one of those with good results, or am I mixing up something...?
Yeah, I don't think it'll be all that difficult - I *think* I just have to widen the neck pocket a bit, and it should work out OK... I'll know more when I start taking some measurements...
- georgestrings
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I think Mark did one also. Metallic red??
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I think Mark did one also. Metallic red??
Yep, I didn't want to wreck it's garish color so I narrowed the neck and shaved the neck heel down, much easier since I don't have an exstensive shop facility to work on this kind of stuff.
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I think Mark did one also. Metallic red??
With a collection of 'birds like his, I'm sure there's one in there somewhere...
- georgestrings
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Yep, I didn't want to wreck it's garish color so I narrowed the neck and shaved the neck heel down, much easier since I don't have an exstensive shop facility to work on this kind of stuff.
My thinking is, I'm going to paint the body anyways - and since the neck is going to cost me more than the body, it would be worth it even if I have to pay someone to route out the neck pocket... I'm leaning towards buying a router, and doing it myself, to be honest - the depth is fine, I just have to widen the pocket a smidge under 1/8" on each side, and make sure it'll seat in enough to properly intonate... Heck, we're not talking about building a watch here, hahaha!!!
- georgestrings
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I ended up marking the original fret locations with tape on the body, it was srprising how much material had to be removed from the heel to get the new neck's frets to be in the same place - I didn't want the reach for the low frets to be too long.
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I ended up marking the original fret locations with tape on the body, it was srprising how much material had to be removed from the heel to get the new neck's frets to be in the same place - I didn't want the reach for the low frets to be too long.
Interesting - I appreciate the sharing of your experience on this, Mark - I'll be sure to post about it when the time comes for the build... In the meantime, I'm going to play it as is until I score a Fender neck for it - gonna gig it friday, actually - just for grins...
- georgestrings
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If I remember correctly the neck pocket on the Goth has an angle to it, it's not flat like a Fender pocket. I think the amount of routing that needs to be done depends on the bridge you use with the neck??? Anyone have better details about that?
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If I remember correctly the neck pocket on the Goth has an angle to it, it's not flat like a Fender pocket. I think the amount of routing that needs to be done depends on the bridge you use with the neck??? Anyone have better details about that?
That's pretty much it in a nutshell.
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I did a candy apple red one like Marks but routed the body instead of the neck heel. It needs to go about a 1/4" deeper and 1/8" wider on each side. If you stay with the original 3 point it needs a thin shim under the neck to get the neck angle right, the original necks heel is tapered but the pocket is flat. When I routed the body I covered the edges of the neck pocket with blue painters tape and went real slow with the router and got a real clean edge with no chipping.
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Thanks for the additional info, everyone - it's been very helpful...
- georgestrings
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I did a candy apple red one like Marks but routed the body instead of the neck heel. It needs to go about a 1/4" deeper and 1/8" wider on each side. If you stay with the original 3 point it needs a thin shim under the neck to get the neck angle right, the original necks heel is tapered but the pocket is flat. When I routed the body I covered the edges of the neck pocket with blue painters tape and went real slow with the router and got a real clean edge with no chipping.
This has been especially helpful, as that's the exact approach I'm considering...
Which end of the neck pocket did the shim have to go??? It would be nice if I could figure a way to route it so that I don't need a shim, to be honest... I'm sure I'll have a better idea once I remove the neck - although I don't have alot of wood working experience, I'm a very experienced mechanic - and have successfully built a few nice Fender basses and guitars, besides doing all my own setups for quite a few years now..
- georgestrings
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While I did a lot of work on mine, it did go to Mike Lull for a set up, when I picked it up he did mention that he shimmed the pocket. It's my only project bass and as that it's fun, a semi polished turd that sounds very 7enderish to me - which means if I want that tone I don't have toplay or own a 7ender.
It'll be a fun project George!
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Denis (with Carlo's input) converted one of those with good results, or am I mixing up something...?
Mine was a '76 Gibson Thunderbird which was converted to a Fenderbird in New York City sometime in the 1970s. I bought it without a neck on it and it now has a '76 P-bass neck on it. The Fender neck originally on it had a slightly different heel than the '76 neck so Carlo had to fill out the neck pocket a little.
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Gots da big neck, like my white CS/LE.
Me loves dat neck.
It appears the newest bolt-on Epis finally went to a 1.5" nut width.
(http://nooooooooooooooo.com/vader.jpg)
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Me loves dat neck.
(http://nooooooooooooooo.com/vader.jpg)
Yeah, it's way nicer than I would've guessed - feels just like my Highway One P neck, just painted...
- georgestrings