Thunderbird short scale

[Granny Gremlin]

This is how you do a ss TB.   .....................Shame on you Gibson!   

Except for the bridge I agree.   Don't recognize the logo; one of yours?

[uwe]

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.

[TBird1958]

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.

Red, black and white..............We Germans do love those colors 

[Dave W]

Except for the bridge I agree.   Don't recognize the logo; one of yours?

That's his DocBass logo.

[Granny Gremlin]

That's his DocBass logo.

Well good bloody work then.

[Pete-C]

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 

[Pete-C]

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

[lowend1]

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

Using this criteria, you also banish the Thunderbird Studio

[uwe]

The Thunderbird Studio is a fine bass, but not a classic Thunderbird!

Does the Goth lose any warmth? Not really. Is it snappier? Perhaps a little, I always thought that was down to the souped TB Plus pups at the time ("new design"), but it might be the board. But weren't in some periods regular TBirds fitted with ebony boards too?

The Goth looks cool, I can say that for it. Not as cheapish as a Blackbird (though I'm a fan of the Blackbird's lean sound, not knocking that bass at all).

[lowend1]

The Thunderbird Studio is a fine bass, but not a classic Thunderbird!

So pretty much anything with black hardware is out then - correct???

[Dave W]

Does the Goth lose any warmth? Not really. Is it snappier? Perhaps a little, I always thought that was down to the souped TB Plus pups at the time ("new design"), but it might be the board. But weren't in some periods regular TBirds fitted with ebony boards too?

Yes, I've seen plenty of regular TBirds with ebony boards. Very few in the last 7 or 8 years, though.

So pretty much anything with black hardware is out then - correct???

[gearHed289]

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.

Don't forget the crooked knobs. 

[drbassman]

Except for the bridge I agree.   Don't recognize the logo; one of yours?

Why would I put a Gibson logo on it?  First, I built it.  Second, my QC is far superior to theirs!  I wouldn't want their logo on it.   

[uwe]

So pretty much anything with black hardware is out then - correct???

I'm not even ignoring that.

[planetgaffnet]

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 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.