Tbird 5 question

[kebo]

I got offered a trade on a bass I know little about, a Gibson Tbird 5.  Im hoping you guys could help me with a few questions..
* Was this ever offered as a non-studio version or were they all studio 5s
* Anyone ever see a factory bass with a flame paint job
* Im being told its a CS, um no...  No doc, no cert, no decal - Thoughts
* Lastly whats the realistic retail on one of these..

Like I said, I've never even held one of these.

Thanks, Kevin

[Bionic-Joe]

I did hear of a studio 5. I think I've seen pics of one about 6 months ago on Ebay. Kinda seemed boring to me...but there are many guys who dig 5 strings and t birds...But all custom shops have decals on them. So I'm thinking....it could just be a one up they did...without putting the decal on. My $.02.

[godofthunder]

The only 5ver Tbird I know of is the studio, Well there is the Epi pro but that doesn't really count. I don't know about the flame paint job, sorry not much help. Could be legit ya never know. Picture ?

[gearHed289]

All Studios as far as I know. Never seen a flame paint job. I've seen them go in the $800-$900 range on ebay. Sometimes more.

[uwe]

I got offered a trade on a bass I know little about, a Gibson Tbird 5.  Im hoping you guys could help me with a few questions..

* Was this ever offered as a non-studio version or were they all studio 5s The latter.
* Anyone ever see a factory bass with a flame paint job They came in cherry or black, no other color, but who knows what the CS might do for you if you ask (and pay) nicely.
* Im being told its a CS, um no...  No doc, no cert, no decal - Thoughts If the headstock's back is not all black with the black triangularly merging into the back of the neck, then it's not an official CS item.
* Lastly whats the realistic retail on one of these.. 900 bucks for the 4s, 200 bucks more for the 5s.

Like I said, I've never even held one of these. It's heavier than a reg Bird. The neck has aircarft carrier flight deck dimensions and is phat to boot - no sleek TBird feel there - but rewards the manly player with added sustain and a B string mighty enough to fall under the S.A.L.T. Treaty. None of the 5 string Epis, active or not, have a chance against the Gibbie's B string.

Thanks,

Kevin

If a 5 string TBird is what you want/need, look no further.

[TBird1958]

Regardless of parentage, a pic of the bass would quite interesting.

[stiles72]

Cut sheet for the Studio Thunderbirds:

http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.gibson.com/Files/USA_PDFs/Data_ThunderbirdStudio_bass.pdf&sa=U&ei=1rtOTsLZFsLk0QGnqKHoBg&ved=0CBoQFjAB&sig2=pkXfPUE5Zxve20NXNSE0ww&usg=AFQjCNEWFVmrzrYewTFwhPKrjbkRhDjYrQ


Musicians Friend had the 5'ers priced at $1049, but I got mine for just a little over $800 on clearance. I got it in 2008 right before they were discontinued, and it was the last black one available.  They also had a cherry one,  and I've kicked myself in the butt for not buying both of them.

[mc2NY]

The only flametop TBird 5-string I know of is this one I have.....but it ain't a Gibson and the flame is in the wood grain.

I haven't heard of a non-Studio Gibby 5 Tbird. Maybe an aftermarket respray to spiff it up (is it flames over a typical black one?)  Is it definitely Gibson and not a converted/resprayed/retagged Epi TBird 5?

Maybe it was resprayed for Henry J. to use on a TV/trade demo and billed as "Gibson's Hot New Bass"

Suspicious that there is no CS decal or SN stamp if it really is from Gib CS and not aftermarket. Maybe a last minute respray/overspray for a NAMM or Frankfurt trade show in an effort to sell what proved to be a dead horse model...but you'd think someone would have a pic of that from a show/magazine if that was the case?

Several years back, there was a UK clothing chain that did a run of custom finish Gibsons and there were a couple of TBirds in it. I recall a 4-string with a Union Jack finish. I think there was a Studio 5 but do not recall what the graphic was. Some of them were cool, some sort of ugly. But I think the graphics were actually done with cloth material and then cleared over....and I am pretty sure they were done outside of the Gibson factory aftermarket.

I think used Gib Studio 5-strings go for around $1,000 used when they pop up.

[uwe]

It is easy to detect whether it is a made up Studio or the real thing. Studios had a headstock in the Victory look, albeit smaller, and they are set neck. And for all the massive neck and body, they do not offer the sweet upper register sustain of a real neck through Reverse TBird. That is where all set neck Non-Revs, Orvilles, Elitist Epis, Grecos and TB Studios find their master. Play a slow melody between the 10th and 15th fret on a neck thru Rev and any of the others and you'l know what I mean.

[dadagoboi]

It is easy to detect whether it is a made up Studio or the real thing. Studios had a headstock in the Victory look, albeit smaller, and they are set neck. And for all the massive neck and body, they do not offer the sweet upper register sustain of a real neck through Reverse TBird. That is where all set neck Non-Revs, Orvilles, Elitist Epis, Grecos and TB Studios find their master. Play a slow melody between the 12th and 15th fret on a neck thru Rev and any of the others and you'l know what I mean.

Let's not forget the pickups in a 63-65 Reverse.  Except for the overwound NR pickups, no subsequent Gibson or Japanese 'Thunderbird' of any type has the same design pickups, which is generally considered the main determining factor of an instrument's tone.

If you like the tone of whatever you play, fine.  But be aware of the differences.  Like a real Mudbucker, '60's TBirds have fairly weak magnets and lots of copper (2 or more miles of wire per pickup).  The magnets in an Orville are 4 times stronger with a lot less wire and a big difference in quantifiable physical properties.  The cost is a lot less to make, both in materials and labor for winding time.  They sound harsh to me compared to Reverse pups.

The subtlety of nickel vs chrome is what appeals, it has a warm amber hue vs the cold blue of chrome.  The difference is indistinguishable to the chromatically challenged.

[uwe]

Nostalgy!!!

I've said this before: If you went via time tunnel to the late sixties and offered JAE (or any other bass player) a sixties and a modern day Revbird side by side, the TB Plus equipped instrument would win for sheer consistency of tone hands down.

Fair enough: If you also had a Stingray with you, JAE would have clamored for that!   Funny that he never played one after they were introduced, they must have offered the sound of his dreams. I guess he wasn't probably too excited about the body given his penchant for off-set shapes.

[dadagoboi]

Nostalgy!!!

I've said this before: If you went via time tunnel to the late sixties and offered JAE (or any other bass player) a sixties and a modern day Revbird side by side, the TB Plus equipped instrument would win for sheer consistency of tone hands down.

Fair enough: If you also had a Stingray with you, JAE would have clamored for that!  Funny that he never played one after they were introduced, they must have offered the sound of his dreams. I guess he wasn't probably too excited about the body given his penchant for off-set shapes.

I don't care about consistency, I want the ONE I own to sound right for ME.  That's the whole point about Gibsons of that era, some are dogs and some sound great.  It's well documented that Gibson's QC regarding pickup winding was spotty in those days.  The advantage of today is that any pup maker can duplicate whatever vintage pup he wants to, consistently.

I've also wondered about the StingRay/JAE thing and why he was never seen with one to my knowledge.  My first Fenderbird was going to have the neck, pups and hardware from my '76 Ray.  Incredible tone (2 band EQ set flat), great P style neck. 12 lb weight was the drawback.  JAE's tone of the Fenderbird era is the one I want to hear, he lost his way after that IMO.

[uwe]

I didn't mean consistency from specimen to specimen but string to string, a lot of attack/little attack and across the frequency spectrum of a single bass. The sixties pick ups, great as they are, miss out on certain frequencies you'd find helpful with, say, a busy bass drum or loud keyboards. If you grind on the E string with heavy attack on a sixties Bird it compresses much earlier than TB Plus pups would. In that way, the TB Plus is more suited to modern heavy music if that is worth anything to you. That said, I find the sixties pups still a lot more forceful than the Bicentennial pups.

[dadagoboi]

I didn't mean consistency from specimen to specimen but string to string, a lot of attack/little attack and across the frequency spectrum of a single bass. The sixties pick ups, great as they are, miss out on certain frequencies you'd find helpful with, say, a busy bass drum or loud keyboards. If you grind on the E string with heavy attack on a sixties Bird it compresses much earlier than TB Plus pups would. In that way, the TB Plus is more suited to modern heavy music if that is worth anything to you. That said, I find the sixties pups still a lot more forceful than the Bicentennial pups.

As I was reviewing my response in my head while packing Ken's 'bird I realized that's what you might have meant.  The 'Modern Music' I prefer is pretty retro.  I'm not a fan of busy bass drum or busy anything for that matter.

[uwe]

  Most music I listen too isn't that modern either, I'm still a man who loves his harmony guitar intro (which causes laughs with everyone under 40 I guess):