Epiphone Vintage Pro mini review

[Basvarken]

Could the Chinabuckers have been built in that factory to test manufacturing, and quality control, and sold them un-named to test acceptance?

I was thinking along the same lines.

[Alanko]

Epiphone built a new factory to make guitars, could they be making these pickups there? Could the Chinabuckers have been built in that factory to test manufacturing, and quality control, and sold them un-named to test acceptance?

So we were all unwitting beta testers? The cheque is in the post, right? 

The construction of the Chinabuckers fits this hypothesis. The braided shielding on the hookup cable is not something I commonly associate with pickups from Chinese pickup plants. It is a nice period feature, but I would expect to see generic PVC insulation (and 4-wire + shield hookup) pretty much as standard.

Also, the Chinabuckers weren't simply generic Epiphone/Tokai black Thunderbird pickups with a different cover glued on top. It seems like they went to some effort to get these close to '60s specs. For what reason? To flog them on Eyguitars? I wager that Chinabuckers, or some variation thereof, are going into these new Epiphones.

[Dave W]

I'll stick with Scott's opinion, since he's played basses with both the new Epis and the Chinabuckers and I've played neither.

My understanding is that Epi doesn't make anything for anyone else, either for market testing or for any other reason.

[Highlander]

Now, if Eyguitars stop selling them...

[Denis]

I'm now torn between an ebony or a burst Thunderbird. Grr.

[Denis]

Not readily, not yet. As of today, Sweetwater has four black and two sunburst left in stock, Sam Ash and Zzounds/American Musical are temporarily out.

Too bad about the Australian importer. Maybe someone else will be appointed soon.

Well, as of last night, Sweetwater has no  black ones, since I ordered the last one!

[4stringer77]

They have a nice black Gibson Thunderbird though. It looks great with the all black hardware too. Uwe must be torn between that and the new RD. As cool as the new RD is, for the black finish, I think the edge goes to the birds 
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BAT43H18EBBC

[Pekka]

     I am very impressed with this bass, it really sounds like a 60's Thunderbird!

Sorry if this has been discussed many times before but are the pickups in exact 60's 'bird locations? I'm trying to kill my gas and secretly wish they aren't but since you say it does sound like a 60's bird I think I'm in trouble...

[godofthunder]

    Yes the neck pickup is, not sure about the bridge but you know me and bridge pickups.

[lowend1]

The black spacer on the bridge pickup puzzles me a little. You would think that if the pup was developed for this application...

[doombass]

I'll stick with Scott's opinion, since he's played basses with both the new Epis and the Chinabuckers and I've played neither.

My understanding is that Epi doesn't make anything for anyone else, either for market testing or for any other reason.

I would not expect them to do so either, but it just seems like an odd business decision to me if they did bother to do the whole reverse engineering, make up all the tools and start manufacturing bass pickups for two bass models, when they had those readily available at low cost. OTOH one possibility is that they buy the parts, like the cover/bobbins outdoors and wind/assembles the pickups in their own facility. We don't know if EY make their own covers right?

[Dave W]

EY isn't a manufacturer.

[Basvarken]

Who makes EY Parts then?

[Dave W]

I'm sure they buy from multiple sources. They carry some name brands, too: Artec, Grover, Wilkinson etc.

[Basvarken]

And their own brand EY Parts.
Who makes them?