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Lefty Thunderbird Copies
http://leftybassist.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=310		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  chris_e [ July 30th, 2008, 11:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Lefty Thunderbird Copies
Hello everyone!

I'm new and glad to have found this forum while looking for a lefthanded Thunderbird. I know neither Gibson nor Epiphone produces them (God knows why?) - but I have found a version of the japanese company Tokai (see http://tinyurl.com/5ue8lc)... It's called Tokai TB48. Do you know these? How do they sound and are they crafted well? And much more important - can i buy them somewhere in Europe?

I want a TB so badly, I guess some of you feel the same and it's a shame they're not available for Leftys. So I'd even take a copy if it's well made and offers at least a bit of authentic TB feeling ;)

Thanks for your help!
Chris
Author:  pjmuck [ July 31st, 2008, 1:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lefty Thunderbird Copies
I own an lefty Epiphone T-Bird that I got back when they were making them for 5 minutes. I like it, it's got a deep low-mid tone drive especially with a pick, even though the Gibson purists dismiss them as sounding nothing like the real deal. They have bolt on necks vs. neck thru on the real Gibsons, which I personally feel gives the bass better attack to cut through the mix than the real T-Birds.

Tokai and Greco make T-Bird knockoffs, but only for the asian market. The Tokai looks nicer than my Epiphone because they're neck thru and I believe they may even be mahogany (my Epi's maple painted to look like mahogany, I believe). The knobs also look better, and the bridge, though not accurate to a real T-Bird, probably works better (most agree the real T-Bird bridges suck).

You might be able to order a Tokai from Japan and have it shipped. Contact Ken at http://www.guitarshogun.com and see if he can get you one. I just ordered a lefty Jaguar bass through him that's due to arrive any minute, and his price was very reasonable.

Good luck.
Author:  Matt R. [ July 31st, 2008, 3:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lefty Thunderbird Copies
pjmuck wrote:
I own an lefty Epiphone T-Bird that I got back when they were making them for 5 minutes. I like it, it's got a deep low-mid tone drive especially with a pick, even though the Gibson purists dismiss them as sounding nothing like the real deal. They have bolt on necks vs. neck thru on the real Gibsons, which I personally feel gives the bass better attack to cut through the mix than the real T-Birds.

Tokai and Greco make T-Bird knockoffs, but only for the asian market. The Tokai looks nicer than my Epiphone because they're neck thru and I believe they may even be mahogany (my Epi's maple painted to look like mahogany, I believe). The knobs also look better, and the bridge, though not accurate to a real T-Bird, probably works better (most agree the real T-Bird bridges suck).

You might be able to order a Tokai from Japan and have it shipped. Contact Ken at http://www.guitarshogun.com and see if he can get you one. I just ordered a lefty Jaguar bass through him that's due to arrive any minute, and his price was very reasonable.

Good luck.


What did you pay for the Jag with shipping?
Author:  pjmuck [ July 31st, 2008, 5:52 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lefty Thunderbird Copies
Matt R. wrote:
What did you pay for the Jag with shipping?


Matt et. al: It came to a little over a grand including shipping.
Author:  chris_e [ July 31st, 2008, 11:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lefty Thunderbird Copies
Thanks a lot for your answer. I'll try and contact the given adress... And will have a look on Ebay. Maybe I'm lucky and get a lefty TB there...
Author:  Pro Stock John [ August 22nd, 2008, 8:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Lefty Thunderbird Copies
Do the Epiphone ones ever come up for sale? I'd love one of those.
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