Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

64 Thunderbird questions


Gibson Artist

Recommended Posts

So i was watching this video and i noticed his 64 just has a phenomenal tone. I was wondering was the woods used back then better or were the pickups different? Interestingly enough,when he plays other basses i actually thought the tone on the Epiphone was better than the American. So many would probably pass by that bass but man, it rocks hard.

 

Recently saw a guy with a nice T bird for sale with a P bass pickup in the bridge, does that really hurt value? Out of curiousity, how much would the pups in that 64 Bird cost?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The pickups in the 60's 'Birds are recognized as the best sounding over all for true vintage TBird tone.

 

The reissues in '76 weren't nearly as good and IMO I'd have to agree. I had a Closet Classic '78 that played beautifully, but honestly I thought it sounded like crap. Maybe through an SVT with a pick it came alive, but that wasn't my tone. Too much midrange, very aggressive. Not for me.

 

I had a modern '00 TBird and thought the TB+ pickups were great. Got a great R&R tone and yet had enough flexibility to do other things.

 

You would be very hard pressed to find original 64 pickups that weren't wrapped in a TBird, so consider that as your price.

 

Mike Lull is one of the current makers of reproductions and his pickups get high grades for copping that original tonality. There are several others as well and they're easy enough to look up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...