The Last Bass Outpost

Quote from: Highlander on April 14, 2016, 12:50:49 AM
You've already "got one" Bill... deflate that GAS now...! 

Aww and I've just reduced the price to £550 as well 

Quote from: planetgaffnet on April 13, 2016, 02:31:05 PM
The neck on mine little different; it's a three-ply through-neck.  There's a central mahogany strip of around 7/8" with laminates each side of that.  To be honest, in a live context I don't hear much difference between any of my Thunderbirds, but would say that flat (ie when recording direct) the Gothic is a little fuller tonally...at the end of the day I kind of know what my desired tone is, so I'll just set everything on the bass to 10 and tweak my amplifier to achieve that sound.

Thanks for the info planetgaffnet ,again great info on here ,i'm leaning towards that version,shame theyre so rare....and i have to sell this first of course 

Quote from: uwe on April 12, 2016, 10:44:47 AM
Gothbürd (top) and Minibürd (beneath) side by side ...



The Gothbürd's only dif to a rank and file TBird is that its neck is two-ply all-maho, not 9-ply maho/walnut. They probably just made the Gothbürds on the cheap hence the more simple neck construction (which doesn't really noticeably affect sound).

The Minibürd is a fine short scale, but, let's be serious, the world needed a short scale TBird like it needs a vegan steak knife. If you get a TBird, get a real one in the Ray(mond) Dietrich original design sense and that in my book reads:

- reverse body (non-reverse Bürds are ügly dücklings, no matter what some of the resident ornithologists want to tell you, they are bad company),

- (mostly) maho construction,

- long scale and

- neck-thru (which rules most nearly all Japanese imposters out though we have a hearty pocket of Iwo Jima type supporters/resistance here).

The Minibürd only (barely) checks two of the above boxes (it is not only short scale, but also set neck). "Barely" because, if you look closely, its shape has none of the sleek Art Deco elegance of the original, but looks warped in not a good way. It really has none of the grandeur a real TBird has in your hands.

the goth looks interesting Uwe ,does it lose any warmth over a regular t'bird with the ebony board or sound any brighter/snappier?

Thanks for all the info everyone, much appreciated

Quote from: drbassman on April 11, 2016, 04:43:15 PM
Yep, Gibson did the cheaper satin unfilled finish on the ss TB.  They are nice little basses but I don't see their resale value going up any time soon.  I'd like one for my collection, but wouldn't pay over original retail for one.

I might know of one for sale 

Quote from: lowend1 on April 11, 2016, 11:27:01 AM
Eli Classic IV Pro - got my whitey used at Sam Ash for $349. Neck-thru, Gibson USA pickups, pretty much like new. I splurged an extra $100 for a hard case.

Wow they look great value ...so it's just the hardware ,electrics and quality of the woods used thats different to gibson u.s. Model?

He was a talented guy
I seem to remember that him along with percy jones , Entwistle and a couple of others were involved in the early wal bass designing and refinements ,the first run of basses were named Wal JG models after him before the pro a d custom models.
R.i.P.

Quote from: TBird1958 on April 09, 2016, 05:06:47 PM


Used on Ebay you'll see Post 1988 'Birds between 800.00 and maybe 1200.00 for a good White one. White usually fetches a bit more as they disco'd the color a few years back.

Thanks TBird ,think i'll give white a miss after seeing the start price on this! 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/gibson-thunderbird-bass-/262373266969?hash=item3d16aa5619:g:NY0AAOSw5VZXBXLD

Quote from: Nokturnal on April 10, 2016, 05:54:55 PM
The Blackbird is satin black as well. So was the Gothic Thunderbird I think??

Welcome aboard Pete!!!

Thanks Nokturnal i'll bear that in mind 

Thanks for the info Highlander,bet that rd conversion sounds sweet.
I played a nos red t'bird full scale the other day ,liked it ,nice weight and i didnt find it cumbersome/neck diver as some say,but wasnt keen on the finish so i might try and find a satin finished one when i sell this. Thanks again

Thanks a lot all for the welcomes and info , think i'll ask £650 for it see how it goes .

I love the satin finish and the warmth from this and it doesn't seem or look a small bass ,i'd say its the same length as my opb 54 type p bass.
I saw someone review this model here (i think it was UWE )and they were spot on with the description ,you can get EB type sounds with the bass pick up being further forward....also great low fundamentals ,though you lose some of the upper harmonic overtones (as with most short scale basses i think?)

I have a couple more t'bird questions as i'm relatively new to gibson basses ,
How are the models with ebony boards ,do they sound much different ? Any issues with shrinkage around frets/fret ends?
Oh and Did they ever make a fretless unlined version?

Thanks all 

Quote from: Granny Gremlin on April 09, 2016, 01:39:31 PM
Wait, am I missing something - Gibson never made a shortie TBird?

Here's what you've been missing Granny  (never thought i'd be saying that when i posted!)

Quote from: Highlander on April 09, 2016, 01:14:10 PM
Pete, Pete, Pete... just like those school reports... could do better if he tried harder...

Gibson T'birds for sale, right now, on greedbay

Welcome, btw...

Thanks, i'm aware of how to look for a thunderbird on ebay ...mine is the short scale,satin finish version though 
Just to be clear as i re-read my post and its could be taken either way,It's the price of mine i'm after determining to sell it.
I forgot to add i'm in uk....and all my school reports are jolly top-ho old bean! 

Hi new member here ,great site/ forum I've learned a lot just trawling round posts here in a few days:)
I realised after 30+ years of playing I never owned a gibson bass .
I bought a short scale thunderbird and like a lot of things about it but I'm now hankering after a long scale so will have to sell it to get one . Anybody know if there's a going ball park price for them as I can't seem to see any ads for them.
Any info appreciated thanks
Pete