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FenderBird

redstrand

redstrand

May 18, 2007
6,837
12,155
Saint Louis, MO
Disclosures
Fool For Four Strings
#1
So I want to put together a player bass, something I can beat and play and lug everywhere. I miss my tbird when I put the thundertrons in it but it was unplayable at times. Love the old 60's tbird sound. Then I saw a pic or two on here of some fender bodies, lakland and so on routed out and old style tbird pups put in them.
My question is where to start, if I'm going to mod I'd rather have a bass like that from the get go. Any builders you guys know?
 
#2
Cataldo Basses makes a excellent Fenderbird. Check them out, I own two of his creations. Carlo's basses loaded with Thunderbucker pickups are the closest you will ever get to a real Entwistle Fenderbird (built by Peter Cook) and his take on the 60's Thunderbird is also spot on. I highly recommend his basses. https://www.facebook.com/cataldobasses http://cataldobasses.com/index.html
 
#3
My Cataldo NR :)
CataldoGOTsignature1.jpg
 
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#5
I have JAEbird #009 :) I'll get some pictures up. Mine was delivered before Thunderbuckers were available, here's mine on the bench getting a set of Thunderbuckers. Geeze I gotta take better pictures of this bass.
Thunderbuckersblacktbird005.jpg
 
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#6
I'm building one now. Starting out with an Epi Tbird body and a Squier VM neck (rosewood with pearl blocks). Will have black body and headstock and a reverse style PG like the one shown in GOT59's post above... and a "Fenderbird Custom" waterslide for kicks.
 
#19
BFunk said:
I love this. I was just thinking about doing something very similar. What can you tell me about the bass? Pickups? Woods? Manufacturer? Model? Thanks.
Click to expand...


It's a Dillion 5204. Originally a single coil P, just grew bored with it, and it's not an expensive bass, so I went to town.
deryta9y.jpg

Ash body, maple neck.
Seymour Duncan SSB4 pickups

I obviously rerouted for the new pickups, and I gave it a new paint job, as well as tolex on the pick guard. Also did some minor fretwork that was needed, and stripped the gloss from the neck. The paint is Duplicolor Pacific Green Metallic.
e9ezyhej.jpg

I measured an Epi bird for pickup positioning. It sounds great with both pickups on full, gets a nice slap sound or sounds monstrous with a pick. If I favor the bridge pickup it gets a really cool almost jazz bass kinda tone. The Duncans are dead silent, compared to the noisy generic single coil they replaced.

Oh, and Thunderbird knobs.
 

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