Epi Silverburst Special Run T-birds

[TBird1958]

 Well, watch him work the neck of the banjo.......... You can tell he's got a certain "talent" 

[OldManC]

Well, watch him work the neck of the banjo.......... You can tell he's got a certain "talent" 

That's the same damn thing that occurred to me as I watched that video. I guess great (sick) minds do think alike!

[uwe]

Sick minds or not, if that vid reminds you of something, your technique needs honing, gentlemen!

Moving on to even stiffer news: I picked up Silverburst at my luthier and look and behold! The wonders of the TB Plus are manifold. What used to be a middish squeal, now is a warm mild growl with ample bass and a nice shine of presence. If it weren't for the more focused response of this bolt-on fellow in the upper registers were a real TBird is all sustainy, the Epi could be mistaken for the real thing. And, yes, those pups are indeed six pole geetar gadgets, Epi has quite some nerve to refer to them as "Epi TB Plus" pups!!! They read 12.000 something, any of you parttime guitards interetested in having them for free?

[Dave W]

At over 12K they would probably be more of a shredder type guitar pickup. I'd have to buy new outfits to go with 'em. 

[SKATE RAT]

hey i'd be int those pups.i'd put 'em in the Mustang.

[jmcgliss]

Oh great.  If one can't trust what's under the covers of "TB Plus" pups, how does one identify the correct replacement pickups?  Did your luthier install the guts inside the chrome covers or discard them?

[uwe]

Oh great.  If one can't trust what's under the covers of "TB Plus" pups, how does one identify the correct replacement pickups?  Did your luthier install the guts inside the chrome covers or discard them?

No, he used chrome Gibson TB Plus pups which are epoxied (and hopefully not guitar pups inside ...). You're safe with buying anything that says "Gibson TB Plus", be it soapbar, chromeling or mockmudbucker. But Epi I think have only taken on the description. They are even referring to their old style soap bars that used to grace all their basses and still ferature on, say, the regular Epi TBird as "TB Plus". And while "TB Plus" says nothing about it being not a guitar pup, it certainly insunuates that via the use of TB (Thunderbird) rather than FB (Firebird). I find that a trifle tricky. 

[uwe]

hey i'd be int those pups.i'd put 'em in the Mustang.

Hey, you sliding Brooklyn rodent, mail me your postal address and the pups are on their way to you. No guarantee that they will fit your mustang though.

[uwe]

Had the souped up (Gibson TB Plus pup equipped) Silverburst Bird at a rehearsal and, man, it doth sound commanding! More ooomph and presence bite than my B&CH Non Rev with its Artec pup which is no slouch.

Sometimes, it is worrying to disconcerting how much the Epi stuff improves once it has Gibson pups. Selling the Silverburst with real TB Plus pups would probably hike its street price by a mere 50 bucks, but it would be a so much better bass! Makes you wonder whether they use the cheaper pups not so much for pricing reasons but to keep a large enough acoustic quality gap between a Gibson and an Epi TBird. Certainly, if you are not playing much in the upper register (where the Epi's bolt-on construction can't compete with a set neck or neck-thru TBird as regards sustain even though it has better upper register access - 17-19th frets can be reached with ease), then you are not going to miss playing a Gibson rather than an Epi for all practical purposes. Some people might even prefer the plus on attack the bolt-on neck has in the upper register though I will forever prefer the mellow sustain of a neck-thru TBird.

The installation of the Gibson TB Plus pups on the Silverburst Epi has also solved the riddle of whether the Epi Elitist TBirds had real TB Plus pups or not. They did, my Elitist sounds surprisingly similar to the now modded Silverburst, the Silverburst is just a bit more aggressive, no doubt due to the maple neck.

[exiledarchangel]

That sounds good!

slightly offtopic: I'm planning of install a pair of those artec pups that bach uses on my epi tbird, some time in the future. I'll keep ya posted when that 'll happen.

[jmcgliss]

And another 'stay tuned' message...I scored a pair of Gibson pups for the silverburst TB IV. Just waiting for a quiet day at home to install them.  Uwe's review is encouraging.

[uwe]

You vill nöt be disappöinted!!!

[jmcgliss]

Here's a quick update on the pickup replacement. The Gibson TB Plus pups measured in at 9.8K.  Thanks Uwe, for your assistance identifying a replacement set.

One delay involved ordering flat pickup rings since the Epi rings had a ramp angle better suited for an archtop LP. Now the pickups actually lay parallel to the strings (better kharma already).  Soldering in the control cavity was secure but gloppy so I cleaned that up a bit.  I also discovered the input jack was being held by one thread, so that required clearancing the hole from inside to let the jack threads spring forth for a better grip.  First impressions thru a small practice amp sound promising across the tonal range. I'll take it to band practice tomorrow for a proper workout. 

[uwe]

You will see the light tomorrow!

[gearHed289]

Forget the TB Plus, have him drop a couple of 6-pole RIC toasters in there.

Got 'em on all 3 of my Rics. They sound great, with a vintage-y, warm, snarly, fat low end. All toasters are the same 6 pole "guitar" pups.