NBD - NADY THUNDER BASS - 1985-87

[Razman]

Juuuuust picked this thing up from a pawn shop - it even came with the wireless system and the OHSC!! I didn't snap a pic yet - I will do that soon so I can show before/after shots (it needs a good cleaning, etc.).

But I plugged it into an amp and got sound, didn't sound too bad given the aging strings, and I couldn't tell if the wireless works or not - the main thing is having an extra bass for an upcoming show and I'll be using a cord anyway - getting the wireless working would just be a bonus.

Fyi, it's a neck-through w/24 frets, lightning bolt inlays, and a pointy headstock. The only way it could scream '80's louder would be if it were headless. Anyhoo...

Pics to follow; after a brief search I only found TWO posts on TB referencing these basses; no idea how many were made. Stay tuned...

Raz

 

[4sight]

You, sir, are a terrible tease. Congrats on the bass anyway, looking forward to seeing it - I love me some 80s... Is "style" the right word?

Get a close up of the wireless innards if you can, that sounds pretty interesting.

 

[Razman]

You, sir, are a terrible tease. Congrats on the bass anyway, looking forward to seeing it - I love me some 80s... Is "style" the right word?

Get a close up of the wireless innards if you can, that sounds pretty interesting.

Will do - it has all the battery and 'lectronics covers, etc., and sorry about the tease, lol! I know the rulez and blatantly defied them. No worries, pics are forthcoming. And not to fear, there shall not be any of me in Spandex!

 

[Razman]

Couldn’t help it - here ya go.

 

[EpicSoundtracks]

do we know who built these for Nady?

 

[Razman]

do we know who built these for Nady?

Invalid Link Removed

Apparently they were made by Fernandez in Japan, using a US-built wireless system.

 

[EpicSoundtracks]

dang! nice.

 

[Mark76]

Is this the same Nady as the guys who make the Studio Projects line of microphones?

 

[Razman]

Done! Well, almost, I have new strings on order, but I don’t know if I will install them now. More thoughts on this later today.

 

[UNICORN BASS]

Nice darts!

 

[Razman]

Here are the details of what all transpired as I cleaned it up. First, I removed the strings so that I could re-use them; I ordered some heavier DR's to make this a drop-D bass but I don't think that they'll work, more on that later.

However, I find closed bridges like this just detestable - they are so annoying! I generally avoid basses with them at almost all costs, especially 5+ stringers.

At this point is is clean; not really in that bad of shape. The top has some minor wear but that's pretty much it. There is a miniscule amount of rust on some of the pickup pole pieces.

See the neck-through lines in the paint? A little buckle rash and a couple of small dings, that's it.

Note the plastic cover revealing the truss rod access and a thin, black wire that is the antenna for the wireless system (can barely make it out in the cavity for the truss rod access).

Frets are tarnished and the FB is a little dirty, but no appreciable wear on them.

Can't really see the gunk in the pics too well.

Not sure if it is 18v or has two 9v's for more run time, but there they are - that is the wireless transmitter. The battery door is awesome - works perfectly and secures pretty good with just a small amount of friction in the cutout of the cavity.

The other electronics cavity cover fit so well that I had to use a small allen wrench to pry it out via one of the screw holes. Definitely precision cut!

After replacing the batteries, the light came on for the wireless - yahoo!! It's alive!! The transmitter - not so much. Need to dig into that one.

There they are, good 9 volt batt's...

 

[Razman]

Okay - all cleaned up and waxed, check out that long, sleek neck!!

Frets are now nice and clean, and I oiled the fretboard with teak oil.

The top has an even nicer shine to it now.

Same with the back of the body.

Ooooh... Aaahhh...

This pic came out blurry.

Note the string height - see how the fretboard sits right on top of the body? The bridge saddles bring the strings up too high, 3+ mm above the tops of the frets. It's playable with these strings and I can get it to intonate just fine, but I prefer lower action.

Even with the height adjustment screws all the way up and the saddles sitting on the bridge plate, the strings are up higher than I like them to be.

The E string machine head was toast so I replaced it with one I had from another project - thankfully I had it!!

 

[Razman]

Here she is - original case too!! It has a sticker on the outside that indicates the frequency band and it matches the one on the receiver. Still, it looks pretty cool! String spacing at the bridge is a wide 21mm, and I believe it is passive, but I haven't tried playing it with them out. Controls are vol/vol/tone. 24 frets, rosewood board, maple laminate neck. No idea what the body wings are.

Body close up...

That pointy, 80's headstock...

Sound is a little mellow, most likely due to the strings. I cleaned them with alcohol to see if I could get some brightness back but wasn't able to get much. I'll have to try this out at practice Monday through the big rig to see how it sounds - it seems well balanced through my little Roland portable keyboard rig but I'll really get a feel for it through the Mesa/fridge stack.

It will be neat when I can try it with the receiver - at least around the house or at practice, I don't think I'd use it for a live show like that. That will be the icing on the cake of a novelty of a bass!

Well, I can't seem to find much else about this thing online other than the link above and a timeline page on Nady's site - maybe that makes me the expert on it now?? I'd start a club but I think it would be a lonely one. Hope you enjoyed this thread.

Raz

 

[Razman]

Haven’t played this song in a while and my strings were dead, but maybe you can pick the Nady out in the mix:

 

[Shredder69]

Cool! I've got the Fernandes guitar version, and a bass coming. At least here you can't use the transmitter anymore due to the "new" radio laws that were passed years ago. The numbers I've heard varies - some says 100 copies, some says 200 guitars + 100 basses (for the Fernandes versions), other figures I've heard are 500 for each market (US/World). That rhymes a bit more with the serials I've seen - my Fernandes GW1000 is #0150 and I've seen others up to #360ish. Japanese transmitter was a tad sleeker, though, but it seems it was released in the US first.

 

[Pipp9601]

Looking for a wiring diagram for he Nady wireless bass. I bought this bass at auction, when I finally opened it up all the wires going to the battery compartment are cut! Any help would be greatly appreciated!