Epi Vintage T-Bird Pro... Any impressions?

[OVERDRIVEN66]

     Got a pretty good 'woody' checking out these Epi Vintage Pro 'Birds especially after hearing the clips online. The GC here in town doesn't stock them (or the Embassy with all the right stuff EXCEPT the 2x2 headstock! ) so I would have to order it in without playing it. Any feedback or impressions? Multi ply neck, sounds like a freekin' Steinway like the '66 NR I toured with for years (or close). Like I really need another  stringed instrument, right?  Would probably do something like strip the resonance sucking poly off of it and do it in a correct 'color chart' custom color like Heather Poly in  nitro and do a realistic light relic on it.  Can only make it a better natural sounding bass!  Steinway,Baby!! Your feedback would be greatly appreciated!   Love my old Jazz Bass, but when you hear a good T-Bird, you KNOW it is that classic round, resonant, unmistakable 'you know it is a T-Bird' tone.

[TBird1958]

  I have one and like it quite a lot, it's certainly got the "tone" and a great look/build quality about it, even right off the shelf. I'd have another if Epiphone would bother to produce them in some of the vintage colors and/or a Thunderbird II. I will say that I much prefer the necks of either my '76s or newer Gibsons, for that matter really any of other Birds over the Epi's neck - it's not bad, just a bit big for my hands.
I would unhesitatingly purchase from Sweetwater, you can't go wrong with them.   

[OVERDRIVEN66]

     Thanks for your input!  You are right about the 70's T-Bird necks.  The neck on my 76 Bicentennial was fantastic.... nicer than any of the 60's Birds I have ever owned which were many, many. It (that particular one) was tonally a total dud though.  Not even close to the signature tone that tells you that it is a T-Bird.   The sound clips I have heard of the Epi Pro sound pretty damn good with 'the tone'.  Will be nice to just own one and let my buddy Dave use it in his killer studio. Any other comments/ opinions are appreciated!

[TBird1958]

We clatter on about the VP quite a bit on TB, the other thing of note would be string choice, without doubt, you're going to get some radically different tone - I tried some DR Jonas Hellborg Rounds with mine and did not like the result, it'll be getting some Ken Smith RockMasters next. 

[godofthunder]

    I was skeptical but I bought a early white one.......holy cow is all I can say. Epi really nailed it. Is it 100% accurate? No but it is where it counts. The pickups are wonderful,  the bridge a updated vrrsion of the two piece and of course the 9 ply neck through construction.  I was so impressed I bought a sunburst. I'll buy more if they come out with custom colors or hope against hope a II ! Here's my mini review.

[uwe]

Here's a comparison of an Epi Pro Vintage, a 2019 Gibson TB and an RD Artist Reissue. Dunno if this has been posted here before, but I found it illustrative. There is a lot of fast talk, but still enough bass playing to gain an impression. I'd say the Gibson sounds leaner and - as TBirds go - a bit more contemporary than the Epi. Or you can say that the Epi has more Mojo in its sound (sacrificing some clarity, perhaps not the bass for a PROG outfit doing fast unison runs). But they both sound fine to my ears (though I'm not a great fan of that distorted sound those two guys - and God of Thunder! - seem to prefer; even natural distortion with bass always brings bad memories back to me from the days when my rigs did not have enough headroom to compete with the guitars - I wanted to be louder than them AND UNDISTORTED!!!  ).

[gearHed289]

Good video. I watched the opening jam, then jumped ahead to the RD. I thought both birds sounded great with a nice bit of fuzziness. As expected, the RD was a little more modern sounding, but the EQ controls allowed some nice grind to be dialed in.

[uwe]

Good video. I watched the opening jam, then jumped ahead to the RD. I thought both birds sounded great with a nice bit of fuzziness. As expected, the RD was a little more modern sounding, but the EQ controls allowed some nice grind to be dialed in.

That's what I thought too, all three bases sound like "family" to me. And each one sounded good in my ears.

I wonder why Gibson never took the step of an active TBird - not as a replacement of the passive one, but as a niche model for people who want their TBird sound beefed up in a modern way. Of course, the RD was always an active TBird of sorts, but the TBird shape and construction is more of a cult classic and its maho construction more Gibson-typical. A TBird with something akin to WAL-electronics would have been something - not for everyone, but there are (still) enough bassists out there, who like to play active basses.

I also never understood why they never released a fretless TBird  - if there is one bass that lends itself wood- and neck-thru-construction-wise for a fretless bass, then it is the TBird.

[TBird1958]

I didn't play this bass all that much when I first got it, I find that I really enjoy it a lot of late, it may not be for everyone but it certainly has a nice tone about it and never get lost in the mix. Pointy headstock and black hardware

[amptech]

I also never understood why they never released a fretless TBird  - if there is one bass that lends itself wood- and neck-thru-construction-wise for a fretless bass, then it is the TBird.

I pulled the frets off the SB-300 i bought from Scott last week, and like I had hoped it works great as a fretless.
All EB-0 attempts have failed, but this one is good. Set neck, maple and alder seems to work.

[gearHed289]

An active bird would make sense. I've seen a few where the owners dropped in EMG pups (probably 35DC), and now EMG makes an actual TB+ sized pup casing. They have a pretty specific sound, no matter what bass you attach them to. Great for certain things, particularly cover band situations. IMHO of course. 

Mark, I remember watching a live video of your band with the Jackson and it sounded killer!

[uwe]

"Pointy headstock and black hardware "

ALWAYS an improvement. It is never too late to reenter the light, young Padawan.

[TBird1958]

"Pointy headstock and black hardware "

ALWAYS an improvement. It is never too late to reenter the light, young Padawan.

Well, I don't have a problem seeing that the black hardware and pointy headstock seem to work on this specific bass, in fact it's the Bird I have that doesn't have a PG - It came with one but it'd look like cack if I put it on.

[doombass]

"Pointy headstock and black hardware "

ALWAYS an improvement. It is never too late to reenter the light, young Padawan.

Oh, I always thought that black hardware = The Dark Side. 

[amptech]

Oh, I always thought that black hardware = The Dark Side. 

No, that's the three point bridge