Gibson Non-Reverse Thunderbird Bass

[ESchap]

Quite like the look of this ....

non reverse.jpg

Comes in Pelham blue as well. Specs http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Elec...st+10-18-12+V3

Might have been better as a strung through? ..... and perhaps a short scale option?

[ICBM]

It's one of the longest and most ungainly basses ever, and balances way too far to the left. The problem is the position of the bridge - it's about three or four inches further forward than it is on a P-Bass - and the front strap button is too far back, parallel to the 16th fret compared to the 12th on the P - so the whole thing sticks out a mile to the left and has a great tendency to nosedive.

I've also never understood why the do the black-hardware thing on modern Thunderbirds, it just looks wrong, and like an Epiphone. (Apart from on the black Gothic one.)

[BucketheadRules]

Oh wow, that's nasty.

I'd never use a Gibson Thunderbird - they look great but they're badly balanced, badly designed so the neck is fragile, and to top it all off, they're the size and weight of a chest of drawers.

I wonder if the active, neck-thru Epiphone Pro models address any of those problems:





I hope so, because that's dead sexy and I want one.

[ESchap]

Hey ho .. each to their own! Agree with the comments about the black hardware though, should be chrome.

[ICBM]

Oh wow, that's nasty.

I'd never use a Gibson Thunderbird - they look great but they're badly balanced, badly designed so the neck is fragile, and to top it all off, they're the size and weight of a chest of drawers.

I've never liked the non-reverse ones - I think they're ugly as well as ungainly - but the reverse ones aren't as bad. They certainly don't balance well - the front strap button is even more in the wrong place, although moving it to the back of the heel helps - and the headstocks are indeed very fragile, but they're not that heavy... and they look and sound fantastic.

I wonder if the active, neck-thru Epiphone Pro models address any of those problems:





I hope so, because that's dead sexy and I want one.

Unlikely, because the wider neck and the extra tuner will make the balance problem worse... as well as the tuner being in the wrong place and looking like a dodgy mod! And that one is *horrible* - the stripy thing doesn't suit the design at all... and I like it on some basses, I always liked the old Aria SBs which are similar.

And what on Earth were they thinking putting the battery cavity there? Right under the bridge which is about the only place they could pick that could actually have an adverse effect on the tone! Given the size of the instrument and the almost endless other locations they could have picked, it's ludicrous. Even if you think an active bass is a good idea.

FAIL.

[flyguitars]

+1 on the hardware. People buy Gibson reissues because they love the originals. I just don't understand why they can fit chrome hardware to the reissue guitars, but then use black on the basses. I know it is a deal breaker for a lot of people.