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Slapping a Thunderbird (TBird)

Baird6869

Baird6869

Feb 16, 2007
16,717
5,037
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
#1
I just picked up a new Gibson Thunderbird and the slap tone is blowing me away***....:cool:

***When I say "blowing me away", I mean in an unexpected way, not that it sounds better than a Jazz bass or Stingray. I just thought it would suck as everyone seems to focus on the huge bottom end

Bottom line? I am comfortable enough to slap (a bit) on a TBird(own 1) and I am not on a P (own 3).

Anyone agree or think I am nuts?
 
#5
I found the same thing the first time I slapped a T-bird, I didn't think it would work. It works pretty well. But, to me, the best way to play a T-bird is with a pick. I play 99% fingerstyle, but something about the sound of a picked T-bird is just perfect IMO.
 
#6
Baird6869 said:
I just picked up a new Gibson Thunderbird and the slap tone is blowing me away***....:cool:

***When I say "blowing me away", I mean in an unexpected way, not that it sounds better than a Jazz bass or Stingray. I just thought it would suck as everyone seems to focus on the huge bottom end

Bottom line? I am comfortable enough to slap (a bit) on a TBird(own 1) and I am not on a P (own 3).

Anyone agree or think I am nuts?
Click to expand...

i agree totally and do the "thunder-slap" all the time and rarely use a pick. the attack is a bit slower than my fenders (a new jag and an old jazz) and it seems to be a bit more subtle. this allows me to slap more often and in different contexts. not sure why t-birds are considered such a one-trick bass, but the band is always bummed on the rare nights I leave it home. t-birds elevate guitars and let the vocals shine but take a two measure rest and the band sounds like an old AM car radio. yeah. ok fenders do ring a bit "clearer" in my bedroom when EQ'd flat at a vol=1.

ps.. i think the strings seem tighter on the t-birds, maybe the scale is a bit longer?..well-that may make them easier to slap.. seems like that to me.. also they drop-d tune real well..
 

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