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Tacoma Thunderchief Owners Unite!

#62
Thank you so much again for your help. I will get a set of the ground wounds this weekend and give those a try. I know I'll eventually bite the bullet and get a pickup installed. Once that happens I know I will have a lot more options.
 
#63
HeavyDuty said:
Mine is hard to measure, but I'm guessing either 5/16" or 8mm - but it needs to be thinwall. I'd try a Gibson 5/16" one first. The factory tool is this style:

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Nice score - enjoy!
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Thanks for the advice. I tried a 5/16" and an 8mm and neither of them fit, but the sockets themselves are pretty thick so it's hard to tell if I'm using the wrong size or the wrong kind of socket altogether. Do you know where I can find a set of Gibson sockets?
 
#67
So, I pulled my Thunderchief out of my gigbag and to my horror, the headstock was broken off! Bought this second hand and looked liked it had been repaired previously.

I've contacted a local luthier to get it fixed. But I'm not sure how strong the headstock would be after it's repaired. Should I switch to lower tension strings to be safe (currently using Chromes)? I'm thinking TI Flats?
 
#69
What makes the headstocks vulnerable to coming off?

As soon as I figure out a way how (I'm by myself),
I'm going to make a video of my 'Chief with an acoustic guitar for comparison.
I know people always want to know how loud these are.
Any suggestions? What to play? How to play?
 
#70
Im just curious if anyone out there has had experience with both the Tacoma Thunderchief and a similarly outfitted imported Olympia version. I am aware of the differences between the two (laminated vs solid, finishing and preamp differences, etc.) so im not really looking for technical differences as much as I am looking for subjective impressions. How do they compare in playability, tone, acoustic sound projection (this would be an important one for me), etc.? Are the imports close to quality and performance of the American made models or do the fall short by a significant margin? Any opinions here would be greatly appreciated.
 
#71
I didn't play them side by side or even with similar strings or anything like that, but compared to my authentic Tacoma, the Olympia was just a "mere mortal" when it came to tone and projection. Meaning that it didn't seem appreciably better than many other acoustics out there. Playability on the other hand seemed very similar to me.
 
#73
gm2_in_co said:
I didn't play them side by side or even with similar strings or anything like that, but compared to my authentic Tacoma, the Olympia was just a "mere mortal" when it came to tone and projection. Meaning that it didn't seem appreciably better than many other acoustics out there. Playability on the other hand seemed very similar to me.
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Thank u gm2. That's exactly what I wanted to know. I usually read about either-or and I was wondering how the two realistically compare. Thanks for ur input.
 
#74
I just tried putting some D'addario black nylon tapewound strings on mine, and they're a perfect match. The lower tension has evened out the neck a bit, and they sound great to boot. A bit noisier than true flatwounds, but they'll probably mellow out with age.
 
#76
Your best bet for a case is a used one - the TC is a completely different shape than any other ABG I've ever seen. Another option would be a custom road case, but it would be the size and weight of a coffin.

There was a store down in AZ (I think) that bought a lot of the Tacoma closeout stuff from Fender and that had cases a few years ago. I'll try to find their name.
 
#77
Just picked up my first thunderchief off of craigslist. She's in great shape!

image-2625678689.png

Was hoping for a fretless and I'm considering putting up a post to trade necks. Is the neck really just held on with two bolts? Anyone have experience with swapping out the neck?
 
#80
OOTB68 said:
I JUST today took delivery of the exact same acoustic-only Thunderchief but its fretless. What a tone out of this thing!!! I am curious as to how many were made as purely acoustic. I haven't seen many, if any others. I would like to find a way to transfer the sound to an amp or board if needed without making any permanent modifications to it. It would be mainly for medium sized gigs and some recording. Can it be done, and done well? Does anyone have any suggestions? Are there any pickup systems that don't involve having an entry cut INTO the guitar? Or is miking my only TRUE option, and if so, are there any recommendations?
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Is the bridge pegged or slotted on yours?
 

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