Check this out:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1976-Gibson-Bicentennial-Thunderbird-Bass-OHSC-Rare-White-/330616833857?pt=Guitar&hash=item4cfa4c8741#ht_5104wt_1172
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO dats nice! A couple of Thunderbuckers and your all set. Man I can't believe what folks want for these now. In the 80's and 90's they were 400 bucks. I like , I mean really like it but not 3.5K worth of like. My black unbroken '76 only cost me $880.00. 'Course I had to put Steve's Thunderbuckers in it as it came with TB Plus pups, but still.
Yeah...If it wasn't cracked and if it wasn't a second...I might have been tempted......
I just keep repeating no upper register access,no upper register access,no upper register access. Besides Overend played a II.
That was my first new bass after my Kent/Teisco POS. None was shipped until mid '77. I had a deposit on a black TBird when our singer who worked at Betnun's Music in Hollywood called and told me they had just received a white one. I said "YEAH!" As soon as I got it I took off the goofy Bicentennial pick guard and made myself a black one.
I missed it for quite a while but am much happier with Baz's '65 IV now, especially considering the asking price for a refin with broken headstock.
I am never surprised by what people ask, and occasionally surprised by what people pay. Seconds from Gibson never bother me, but a headstock break (minor? What does that mean?) makes any guitar worth substantially less than the non broken. This thing is nose bleed.
Is it normal that the bridge ground wire is painted on these? Could this be a re-fin?
Really nice looking bass.
My memory might be a little hazy but I seem to remember Gibson "second" stamped 2nd. Also shouldn't the serial # be stamped along the bottom edge of the headstock ? That's where it would be on a '79. '76s have the decal, just when did they switch to the stamped serial # ? Come to think of it I thought '77s had a decal also.
Scott, I'm pretty sure they changed over to the stamp in '77, so some have the 06 sticker and some have the 7xxx7 stamp.
I'd say there's not enough figures in that serial nr for being the present system. My guess is that they did a refin of the headstock during the repair and someone tried to duplicate the decal nr. It starts with 00 like a '76 but there's still not enough figures unless they stamped them outside the camera view on that pic.
According to Fly Guitars, no white RIs were shipped until '77. Mine was the first I ever saw, it didn't get to Betnun's until around June '77. I can't remember if it had a decal or stamped serial number
http://www.flyguitars.com/gibson/bass/Thunderbird_1976.php
This is Dec 4, 1977
(http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae241/cata1d0/2010%20Fenderbird/MasqueBest-1.jpg)
The stamped serial numbers were at the tip of the headstock. Decals are under the e tuner.
I have two '77s the purple one was a decal, the black is stamped - and just a question then - where they all made in Kalamazoo? Or some in Nashville?
Quote from: dadagoboi on September 22, 2011, 03:04:31 PM
it didn't get to Betnun's until around June '77.
As in Betnun's on Larchmont? I bought a late 70's BC Rich Eagle there in 1981. That was one funky music store!
Quote from: OldManC on September 22, 2011, 03:56:51 PM
As in Betnun's on Larchmont? I bought a late 70's BC Rich Eagle there in 1981. That was one funky music store!
Yep, the same. It was a 3 bedroom house converted to a store. Excellent deals to be had, especially out the back door.
I have some stamped "second" and some "2nd". I don't think that with a stamp devaluing the bass and nothing else, they were to fussy about it.
Quote from: dadagoboi on September 22, 2011, 04:18:13 PM
Yep, the same. It was a 3 bedroom house converted to a store. Excellent deals to be had, especially out the back door.
As a dumb kid I'm sure I didn't get much of a deal on my Eagle! The thing I remember most was being chased from room to room every time I went there by what I remember as an old lady who wasn't very pleasant at all. I'm sure she thought we were there to steal stuff. :rolleyes: Then again, the friend I always went with did steal a TRC from a Paul Stanley model Iceman on one of our visits, so I guess she was right! I was such a sheltered suburb kid at the time that I was sure we were going to jail! My heart was just about jumping out of my chest when we walked out the front door. I wasn't built for a life of crime... ;D
Quote from: OldManC on September 22, 2011, 06:26:40 PM
As a dumb kid I'm sure I didn't get much of a deal on my Eagle! The thing I remember most was being chased from room to room every time I went there by what I remember as an old lady who wasn't very pleasant at all. I'm sure she thought we were there to steal stuff. :rolleyes: Then again, the friend I always went with did steal a TRC from a Paul Stanley model Iceman on one of our visits, so I guess she was right! I was such a sheltered suburb kid at the time that I was sure we were going to jail! My heart was just about jumping out of my chest when we walked out the front door. I wasn't built for a life of crime... ;D
That was Lil Betnun, wife of Sol and mother of Mel. Quite a trio.
My brother bought a black Thunderbird there a little after I got my white one. Someone stole it from his apartment leaving the case. He went back to Betnun's with the empty case, picked another black TBird off the rack, put it in the case and walked out.
Quote from: godofthunder on September 21, 2011, 07:03:51 AM
I just keep repeating no upper register access,no upper register access,no upper register access. Besides Overend played a II.
There's no money above the 5th fret anyway...
....................................Trust me there is no money below the 5th fret either.
Quote from: JazzBassTbird on September 23, 2011, 06:24:50 PM
There's no money above the 5th fret anyway...
True! Not for almost any musician. At least not anymore.