Thunderbird Club Pt.IV

[Egbert89]

Sign me up with the Zebrabird:

Absolute beauty!!!! What kind of wood is it made of??

Sorry for the sorta rant response to a simple question but I just felt I needed to let it out.
Cheers.

No problem, thnx for the info

The active electronics were loud, but i made mine passive, for a more natural bass sound.
Somewere on the internet i read somthing about the pickup on the 5string, that the pickups are the same as on the 4string, so that means the that theres a 4string pickup on a 5 string bas . That why i asked the quastion.
And if you rase the pickup on the B side?

Here is my Epiphone thunderbird IV Pro, no volume on tone only a killswits just like my blackbird

Do you have any sound recordings of your passive pro??

 

[bdkthunder]

The active electronics were loud, but i made mine passive, for a more natural bass sound.
Somewere on the internet i read somthing about the pickup on the 5string, that the pickups are the same as on the 4string, so that means the that theres a 4string pickup on a 5 string bas . That why i asked the quastion.
And if you rase the pickup on the B side?

I tried different heights of the pickups and just raising the action of the B string only and I think I've found the best spot for it but its still not quite as loud as the E or any other string. I heard that lowering the pickup can actually increase the volume because the magnet pull can dampen the string vibration. I also read that you can check the pickup magnet strength by holding a metal object and feeling the force. I noticed the magnets under the B string had a weaker pull than the rest of them, which leads me to believe that its a defect, assuming each magnet should be equal strength. I also heard what you said that its just a 4 string pickup in the 5 string version. Does that make a difference in general? Are 4 and 5 string pickups much different or can then be interchanged?

I've thought about getting new pickups and going passive but I'm not sure if I want to invest more money into this bass or not. I also am not sure if I could find a specific 5 string Tbird pickup if it needs it or if 4 string ones would work as well. Can't decide if it would be better to spend money on upgrades for this one or save up for another bass.

 

[rshack]

Somewere on the internet i read somthing about the pickup on the 5string, that the pickups are the same as on the 4string, so that means the that theres a 4string pickup on a 5 string bas . That why i asked the quastion.

Believe it or not, I think you read something on the internet that's not exactly right ;-)

They had an initial batch that were bad on the low pickup pole or had the wrong pickups installed or something like that, I forget exactly what it was. Anyway, after people had fits about it, they recalled them and fixed/replaced them. Once they did that, no problems that I know of. Mine is fine.

 

[ZachM]

Lots of great looking basses in this thread, but I still have one question... Has anyone played or heard the Mike Lull Tom Petersson signature model at all?

I know this thread has contained a few mentions of it but so far I have been unable to find any assessments of this bass. Not that I'm surprised by that, as I can't imagine there's a lot of them flying around... but they look amazing and I bet they put out a beefy tone. I'm interested in how it compares sound-wise to the normal one and two-pickup thunderbirds.

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[TBird1958]

Lots of great looking basses in this thread, but I still have one question... Has anyone played or heard the Mike Lull Tom Petersson signature model at all?

I know this thread has contained a few mentions of it but so far I have been unable to find any assessments of this bass. Not that I'm surprised by that, as I can't imagine there's a lot of them flying around... but they look amazing and I bet they put out a beefy tone. I'm interested in how it compares sound-wise to the normal one and two-pickup thunderbirds.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I visit with Mike often and he's always a great guy to chat with - I remember when the TP came out he mentioned that it's tone was "wooly" compared to the standard models - So slightly less defined, no doubt due to the neck pup and the forward position of the second. At the time Cheap Trick were working Vegas performing Beatles songs, it likely worked better than Tom's usual 8's and 12's. I have Mike's first production Thunderbird after two prototypes, it's a single pup model - it's a great bass!

 

[NOLA Bass]

Finally a live shot of the Lull T4 from last night. Too bad it is just a camera phone shot. I would have played it the whole night, but I just could not see the damn side dots on the neck in that lighting. I ended up switching to my Sadowsky as I could see them better. The tone was killing with the T4 for the first half of the set though!

 

[TBird1958]

Glad you're back! You were duckin' a hurricane last I heard. Is the new Subie okay?

 

[Showdown]

Finally a live shot of the Lull T4 from last night. Too bad it is just a camera phone shot. I would have played it the whole night, but I just could not see the damn side dots on the neck in that lighting. I ended up switching to my Sadowsky as I could see them better. The tone was killing with the T4 for the first half of the set though!

I've put these Glowdotz on a bunch of basses for that reason. They are easier to see, plus they are slightly raised and I can feel them when there is not enough light to see them (they are glow-in-the-dark, but lose their "charge" after a while, but still can usually be seen).

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[Gbass75]

Here's my Epiphone Elite Thunderbird (with a few aesthetic changes).

I don't think I have a number... may I have one please?

 

[NOLA Bass]

Glad you're back! You were duckin' a hurricane last I heard. Is the new Subie okay?

Yes, loving the new Outback!! I really really need to take the official tbird behind Outback photo and post it!!!

 

[NOLA Bass]

I've put these Glowdotz on a bunch of basses for that reason. They are easier to see, plus they are slightly raised and I can feel them when there is not enough light to see them (they are glow-in-the-dark, but lose their "charge" after a while, but still can usually be seen).

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I tried those on a Spector I had. They did work, but I dudn't love "feeling" them. Not sure what I am going to do.

 

[TBirdie]

has anyone tried replacing the pick ups of a epi pro 5? im intrested in emg but dont know the exact model

 

[hillerup]

I'm considering moving the jack outputs on my 3 Epiphone T-Birds from the front of the bass to the side, as they are on the T-Bird Pro's, and adding a 3-way toggle in place of the old jack.

I would be using the following wiring:

But before I start drilling holes etc., I would like to ask if the above schematic would in any way degrade the sound?

 

[ctmullins]

...I would like to ask if the above schematic would in any way degrade the sound?

Nope. Not unless you use exceedingly cheap parts, which is unlikely if you order from a reputable source (StewMac, Mouser, etc.).

 

[Mikaelbass]

Put a deposit down on a nikki sixx mkII bird! Will now wait about 5 or so weeks till I can pay it off, this thread is making the wait all the more painful! I am following some que's from other members and replacing the pickguard with a stainless steel one. Excited to hear how it is with the band, anyone have some input on the pick ups? How do they compare to lull or thunderbuckers?
I sold
My Pelham blue bird, so I can vouch for never sell your thunderbird theory haha

Cheers

 

[TBird1958]

Here's my Epiphone Elite Thunderbird (with a few aesthetic changes).

I don't think I have a number... may I have one please?

That's a beautiful 'Bird, kinda rare, very nice!
#303 is yours good Sir.
Love to hear what you've changed on it as well.



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[godofthunder59]

I saw this on ebay and just could not let it go begging. A beautiful Cataldo custom five string in seafoam green.I got it for so cheap I almost feel bad. She should arrive home on Friday, I'm pretty excited and happy about it.

 

[NOT]

I saw this on ebay and just could not let it go begging. A beautiful Cataldo custom five string in seafoam green.I got it for so cheap I almost feel bad. She should arrive home on Friday, I'm pretty excited and happy about it.

Oh I wanted to bid on this so badly. Great buy, man!

 

[hillerup]

It seems I never got around to post some live pictures...

These are from 2010:

The followng are from 2011:

 

[jaxstarke]

Just got my Epi Goth Thunderbird. Only problem is is that it didn't have the cool neckplate on it like all the others I've seen. Just your average, everyday, run-of-the-mill, standard Epiphone neckplate. Woe is me.