Bass of the Week: Brooks Telebird

Rob van den Broek put together two classic bass designs to create the Brooks Telebird. The builder, who is a Gibson aficionado, combined the body of a Thunderbird with the neck and pickup Fender Telecaster bass. The pickup is a special 51 P split coil built by Jess Loureiro.

“The split coil P bass sound (series wiring) is really powerful and well balanced. A bit dark, like you’d expect from a humbucker,” van den Broek writes. “I love the fact that the pickup offers the option for parallel wiring too, in order to have the option of a single coil sound. In parallel, it sounds very clear. Makes me want to roll off the Tone pot a little bit. I’m not sure if it really sounds like the 51 single coil P pickup. But still nice to have the extra option.”

The Telebird is built with a two-piece swamp ash body and an Allparts maple 51 P bolt-on neck. Other features include a wide travel Thunderbird bridge and tail stop, a matte black single-ply pickguard, and Gotoh lightweight tuners.

Brooks Telebird Bass Specs: