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Tacoma Thunderchief Owners Unite!

#82
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#83
Steve K said:
Today has been a sad day in bass world. A very, very sad day.

I came home this morning to find out that my roommate had accidentally knocked over my Tacoma Thunderchief. The neck took all of the damage and as a result, the headstock is no longer connected to the rest of it. I have come here seeking advice. Is there anything I can do about it? The neck looks damaged beyond all repair but is there anywhere I could find a replacement one? I am still in shock and I really don't want to have to say good-bye to my Tacoma.

Thanks in advance for your advice.
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This may come too late but you are fortunate to live in Vancouver. Eiichi at Invalid Link Removed is absolutely among the best in the world at this kind of repair. Not cheap but well worth what he charges. A friend of mine has a 61 ES175 the airline broke the headstock off of and the repair Eiichi did while not invisible is simply beautiful.
 
#85
I just picked up a fretless 'chief (defretted with maple lines) and I'm quite happy with it. Previous owner had bronze rounds it that I didn't care for so I put an old set of flats (chromes I think? blue silk and colored ball ends) and it sounds great. My only complaints so far are the action is a little high which I think has to do with the fact that the nut and bridge look like they weren't adjusted after it was defretted and I had a hard time with feedback when using it the first time at band practice. I'm sure the feedback issue can be fixed with me figuring out how to use the electronics better (LR Baggs Miratone) and getting a feedback buster for it.

At the moment I'm not sure I dig the lack the lack of sustain and "mwah" of the flats...I'm going to wait and see how things work out after I get the bass professionally set up for lower action but I may need to try different strings to get what I want. Have any of you guys tried pressure wounds on a fretless 'chief? I use stainless rounds on my fretless warwick but I don't want to scar the rosewood board on the chief too badly so I think those are out of the question. I don't want a lot of mwah, I've got plenty of that on the warwick and I definitely like the flat wound thump on the 'chief so I've got a slight predicament....maybe TI Jazz Flats? I've never tried them....Any thoughts?
 
#86
Just got a chief after wanting one for past decade. Looks to have been made 10/25/2001. 2 questions for those with experience
1. I want to help protect the finish but know that the instructions rec only water/soap for light cleaning. Has anyone tried to apply a protective finish to a thunderchief (was thinking along the lines of warwicks wax for unfinished basses)
2. Has anyone experimented with changing the end-pins. It looks like one of the photos from the first thread shows some with pearl inlays. Just curious what you've used (bone, tusq, brass etc) and how you thought it affected the tone if at all.
 
#87
nsh50a said:
Just got a chief after wanting one for past decade. Looks to have been made 10/25/2001. 2 questions for those with experience
1. I want to help protect the finish but know that the instructions rec only water/soap for light cleaning. Has anyone tried to apply a protective finish to a thunderchief (was thinking along the lines of warwicks wax for unfinished basses)
2. Has anyone experimented with changing the end-pins. It looks like one of the photos from the first thread shows some with pearl inlays. Just curious what you've used (bone, tusq, brass etc) and how you thought it affected the tone if at all.
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1. Wax will not take very well to that finish. I use orange oil (like lemon oil) to wipe down finished bodies. Same effect as furniture polish on a table.

2. I think end pins changed are mostly for appearance. End pins have specific dimensions (length, diameter, taper), so you need to match the spec of the endpins in your Thunderchief. The folks over at Tacoma guitar forum can probably recommend endpin sources.
 
#88
Question #3. Looks like Lawrence pimental is no longer in business making feedback busters (I emailed his fathers business, pimental and sons guitars and was told he is now working for Boeing). Does anybody have any other source for feedback busters?
 
#89
nsh50a said:
2. Has anyone experimented with changing the end-pins. It looks like one of the photos from the first thread shows some with pearl inlays. Just curious what you've used (bone, tusq, brass etc) and how you thought it affected the tone if at all.
Click to expand...

I assume you mean the bridge pins, which are actually guitar end pins. I changed mine to koa, and they look pretty good, much better than the black plastic ones that came on it . Any end pin should fit, and there are a lot of choices out there.

end-pins.jpg
 
#90
Those are precisely what i meant. I ordered a set of ebony ones to get rid of the stock plastic pins. When you changed yours to the Koa, did you notice any difference in sound?
I've been looking at places to buy wood blanks to try my hand at making a feedback buster similar to the pimental ones. Between ebony (http://www.woodnshop.com/Hardwood/KATALOX.htm) or something crazy like lacewood (http://www.woodnshop.com/Hardwood/LACEWOOD.htm) what do you think would look better?
 
#93
nsh50a said:
Those are precisely what i meant. I ordered a set of ebony ones to get rid of the stock plastic pins. When you changed yours to the Koa, did you notice any difference in sound?
I've been looking at places to buy wood blanks to try my hand at making a feedback buster similar to the pimental ones. Between ebony (http://www.woodnshop.com/Hardwood/KATALOX.htm) or something crazy like lacewood (http://www.woodnshop.com/Hardwood/LACEWOOD.htm) what do you think would look better?
Click to expand...

I didn't notice any significant change in sound when I changed the pins.

Of the woods you picked I would choose the gabon ebony. Although the one I got for mine is koa and looks really good. I think I posted a picture of it early in the thread.
 
#96
Turns out that the guy that used to make the feedback busters now works for Boeing so I decided to make my own. I used a piece of 1/4" fun foam cut to fit the sound hole and then bought a piece of 1/8" rosewood on eBay (around $6.50). I cut it just a bit larger than the hole with a dremel, sanded it smooth, finished it with some birchwood Casey's gun stock oil and then glued the the foam to it with rubber cement
 

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#97
While I was at it I made a matching trussrod cover and then made a second sound hole cover out of 2 pieces of the foam so I could cut a piece in the middle to accommodate a humidifier while it's in the case.
 

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#99
I am in the market for a Thunderchief 5 String Fretless but since they were discontinued and people love them so much I have a feeling it will be hard to come by. I recently found one new in box on ebay but was outbid in the last second. If anyone would like to part with theirs or knows anyone who would please let me know. I'm guessing I will just have to drool over these for a while though to get exactly what I want.
 
#100
Ive been doing a lot of reading into Tacomas, since I am in the market..
I basically lusted after an acoustic for a while, hearing that Tacomas were the top of the bar, but I set my sights on a AEB10......
Now I have changed my mind and want to skip past and get a Tacoma. I have a chance at getting a Prefender or a Postfender Mint Tacoma.....but all the things ive read have made me scared at getting a postfender Tacoma and scared to spend 700+ on a Tacoma (prefend or not) that will eventually split, head snap off, other easily inflicted issues.....
Were the Tacomas coming out after 2004 and Fenders buyout really as bad as people say?
 

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