Epiphone Thunderbird Classic

[godofthunder]

 Bingo.

We forget that they are primarily a guitar maker........
It does cost more money to make basses and they make fewer of them.

[godofthunder]

 Yes the US birds sell but it is almost a loss leader for them. If they turned the resources of making Birds into guitars they would make far more.

What rumor? Some people on Talkbass? The same ones who said the Epi Elitist meant Gibson would discontinue the US Birds?

It's possible, of course, but the US Birds still sell so I can't see Gibson doing it.

[Dave W]

Yes the US birds sell but it is almost a loss leader for them. If they turned the resources of making Birds into guitars they would make far more.

You're probably right, but that still doesn't mean they're about to stop making them.

[wagdog]

I pulled this spreadsheet from the Epiphone website.  This should clear up any questions about the specs.  To me this sounds like an amazing bargain if it streets in the $500 range.

[lowend1]

That TV Silver model has the same "Epiphone TB Plus" pups as the predecessor ltd ed Siverburst TBs had. Those pups are horrible, way wore than the usual Epi angular soapbars. In fact those silver humbuckers are guitar pups (six pole pieces and all) Epi uses on its cheaper guitars, they are wound for output not sound and have an obnoxious emphasis on cheap sounding  mids with little treble and bass. I replaced mine with Gibson TB Plus humbuckers and the difference couldn't have been more stark.

I have to take issue with this Uwe. I recently purchased an Alpine White Epi LECS with the chrome pickups. At the store, my Jackie Fox / Overend Watts side was bowled over by the classic chrome and white, but I was similarly impressed with its ballsy, overwound tone. Noting comments re these pups, and knowing that chrome TB Plus pickups are readily available on ebay, I took the plunge. I also ordered a pair of the Gibson TB+ - just in case the honeymoon with the Epi pickups was brief. The next order of business was to lift a pickup out to see if there were indeed six polepieces. What I found was a brass plate with six holes, but no visible screw ends pushing through. Underneath, I could see wax potting peeking through and around the plate. Two phone calls to two different Gibson CSRs verified that the chrome pickups are the same, internally, as the black ones. Admittedly, the Gibson line on ALL TB Plus variations has been somewhat ambiguous, so this is taken with a grain of salt. Perhaps they are using the brass plate from the guitar pickups simply as an electro-mechanical element for grounding and to keep the wax in position. Finally, in a band context, the bass did not disappoint, cutting through the guitars and drums with little effort - but not what I would call overbearing in any way. The Gibby pickups will not go to waste (they may see use in a pair of EB-0 projects as bridge pickups), but I remain unconvinced that the OE pickups aren't up to the task. In fact, apart from a low fret (repaired under the Epi lifetime warranty), I found the LECS to be better than expected. Even the Epi neck profile (which I traditionally despised) has been far easier to live with than I feared.

[Dave W]

To each his own. I thought the pickups on those Alpine White specials sounded awful. I can believe they cut through, all right, since they were almost all overwound midrange and not much else. Cutting through with an unpleasant sound isn't an asset, IMHO. YMMV.

[Dave W]

I pulled this spreadsheet from the Epiphone website.  This should clear up any questions about the specs.  To me this sounds like an amazing bargain if it streets in the $500 range.

MSRP is only $832 and it's being advertised on several sites at $499 street, so I'd say it's for real. The only question is whether those specs are accurate, and we'll have to wait for it.

[gweimer]

At $499, dropping a pair of nice pickups into it would be an easy choice.

[chromium]

I have to take issue with this Uwe. I recently purchased an Alpine White Epi LECS with the chrome pickups. At the store, my Jackie Fox / Overend Watts side was bowled over by the classic chrome and white, but I was similarly impressed with its ballsy, overwound tone. Noting comments re these pups, and knowing that chrome TB Plus pickups are readily available on ebay, I took the plunge. I also ordered a pair of the Gibson TB+ - just in case the honeymoon with the Epi pickups was brief. The next order of business was to lift a pickup out to see if there were indeed six polepieces. What I found was a brass plate with six holes, but no visible screw ends pushing through. Underneath, I could see wax potting peeking through and around the plate. Two phone calls to two different Gibson CSRs verified that the chrome pickups are the same, internally, as the black ones. Admittedly, the Gibson line on ALL TB Plus variations has been somewhat ambiguous, so this is taken with a grain of salt. Perhaps they are using the brass plate from the guitar pickups simply as an electro-mechanical element for grounding and to keep the wax in position. Finally, in a band context, the bass did not disappoint, cutting through the guitars and drums with little effort - but not what I would call overbearing in any way. The Gibby pickups will not go to waste (they may see use in a pair of EB-0 projects as bridge pickups), but I remain unconvinced that the OE pickups aren't up to the task. In fact, apart from a low fret (repaired under the Epi lifetime warranty), I found the LECS to be better than expected. Even the Epi neck profile (which I traditionally despised) has been far easier to live with than I feared.

Here's a shot I took of the Silverburst's pickups:




I didn't think it sounded bad.. maybe a bit anemic.  It definitely throws a curve at you if your expecting a traditional Thunderbird sound, but you can coax some useful tones out of it.  

I was goofing around with it and recorded some sound examples here, FWIW.  I wiped the bass tracks from a Kraan and Meters song, and then played along picked and fingerstyle respectively:   .

Look forward to hearing/playing this new Epi in the OP - that looks slick!

[Rob]

Nice Chops!  But anemic is an apt description.
Rob Francis

[sniper]

i think if i bought it and didn't like the sound, i would have Curtis wind me a set of full range blade pups or TB pups

[Highlander]

I've never understood exactly what four 1/16"strips of walnut  (less than 1% of the mass of the bass) were supposed to do for tone.  It sure hasn't proved itself in the strength department... 

This construction issue might have been why PC built mine as a three-piece neck; that and the relative comparative ease of replication...

[dadagoboi]

This construction issue might have been why PC built mine as a three-piece neck; that and the relative comparative ease of replication...

No doubt!

[iamthatguy32]

These look great, and very reasonably priced. I'm waiting for the catch. There's ALWAYS a catch when Gibson comes out with something that sounds to good to be true.

[godofthunder]

 But it's not a Gibson, its a Epiphone 

These look great, and very reasonably priced. I'm waiting for the catch. There's ALWAYS a catch when Gibson comes out with something that sounds to good to be true.