Any interest in a 60's spec Thunderbird ?

[the mojo hobo]

Well there would be the warranty issues when the headstocks started breaking.

[uwe]

I'm also adamant that the two piece bridge be faithfully positioned so the bass intonates flat. Small details count. Everything just right which in this case of course means wrong! 

[Denis]

Well there would be the warranty issues when the headstocks started breaking.

I'd thought about that aspect, too. It would happen and then Gibson's reputation would slide even more, especially in the bass category.

[Bionic-Joe]

Then they need to let everyone know that this is a fragile worl of art and if not treated as such it will break. And I agree with Uwe....it should be properly intonated when Installed. It's not rocket science to do this...t

[mc2NY]

Well.....exact vintage spec EXCEPT put the damn bridge posts in the right spot so it intonated.

....and maybe a couple graphite rods burried inside the neck in the nut area to lessen the chance of snapped necks.

[Lightyear]

Well there would be the warranty issues when the headstocks started breaking.

Even that could be mitigated to a certain degree.  Less angle and, perhaps, make the head stock larger but not quite as large as the originals - add a volute even.

[Denis]

Sounds like we're almost back to the one Gibson DID make in 2012!

[the mojo hobo]

Which I would be happy with if it wasn't so damn heavy.

[Lightyear]

Sounds like we're almost back to the one Gibson DID make in 2012!

Not quite.  How much break angle is needed for good contact on the nut anyway?  Look at how little is needed for the E and A on Fender basses with the D and G gaining minimal angle from the added piece of hardware.  I'm thinking three or four degrees would be plenty instead of, what, eleven?.  As for the size, I agree, the modern headstock is too small and I think that splitting the difference between the new and old would be a half decent compromise.

[gearHed289]

 

[FrankieTbird]

Well there would be the warranty issues when the headstocks started breaking.

Warranty doesn't cover busted necks.

[Lightyear]

  Indeed!  We're all just pissing up a rope anyway - if Gibson were to build it they'd screw it up like everything else 

[TNF]

Meh.  I'm happy with my reissue NR TBird, warts and all.  Eventually I will probably try to chrome it out, but I still love it.  I'd never be able to afford one of the originals.  Besides, it's featherweight compared to my RD Artist!

[lowend1]

None of the Custom Shop TBirds I have seen ever went back to 60ies specs. The one exception is Phil Jones' Korinabird he built from a discarded Francis Buchholz project. But that was more a love child of his (he built it for himself) rather than regular CS fare.

The BuchholzBird still remains my dream bass. Since there is only the one, it is unlikely that I will ever stumble across one in a pawnshop with no money in my pocket. That alone is a great stress reliever.

[uwe]

"BuchholzBird"  Interestingly enough his name would translate as "Beechwood" in English. I'm actually seeing him play with Michael Schenker on Friday, he and Hermann Rarebell are in the current line up. Except for a short stint of the Lovedrive tour, Francis and Michael never played in the same Scorpions line up. Francis came from a different branch of the family tree (together with Uli Roth from a trio called Dawn) after Michael had initially left the Scorpions for UFO.