Thunderbird Club

[PhR75]

Looks superb! I especially like the ThunderJag.

 

[Bent77]

Looks superb! I especially like the ThunderJag.

Thanks! I’d be lying if I said this place wasn’t an influence on the idea for that

 

[PhR75]

Did you model the pickup placements after a particular model?
I have found that the T-Bird pickup seems to work with any kind of bass. Especially the octave-stringed kind.
BTW, has anyone tried the singlecoil/humbucker switch with the T-Bird pickup? Especially with the old style version.
Just thinking about an excuse for that fretless Thunderjazz...

 

[Bent77]

Did you model the pickup placements after a particular model?
I have found that the T-Bird pickup seems to work with any kind of bass. Especially the octave-stringed kind.
BTW, has anyone tried the singlecoil/humbucker switch with the T-Bird pickup? Especially with the old style version.
Just thinking about an excuse for that fretless Thunderjazz...

A few months back @GBassNorth was messing with pickup placement. I used his Greco measurements

The 2015s had a coil tap

 

[PhR75]

The 2015s had a coil tap

Yeah, but the pickups are different too (no bar magnets).

 

[Bent77]

I contemplated opening up a Chinabucker in the name of science

 

[dagrev]

I measured mine several times to be certain, using a soft tape measure so I could get the zero line at exactly the center of the 12th fret. Here are mine to the closest 16ths:

• 2012 Epi IV: 10 11/16, 14 1/2
• 2019 Epi CP: 10 3/16, 14 7/16
• 2019 Epi VP: 10 15/16, 14 13/16

The VP and CP are essentially the same as those you listed.

Interesting. So Gibson seems to have done most of the changing and Epi was more traditional.

 

[dagrev]

Been a Thursday here for almost nine hours.
Too early to show her the T-bird (because of her age and teeth...) but instead I decided to amuse her with my Grace Slick impressions. The dog is clearly impressed.
View attachment 4632944 View attachment 4632945

"One more of that kind and the T-Bird gets it!"

Good dog to put up with such antics. She's cute.

 

[dagrev]

Took a break from trying to make the dog laugh (the rest of the family is already a lost game...) and played around with the custom-made NR with that Schaller bridge. I haven't used it that much for live work but it records very well. The pickups are custom made too in 2010ish. I had the NOS Bicentennial covers lying around and a friend built me the pickups with whatever information we could gather from any source (The Last Bass Outpost was a big help). The pickups are apparently a bit taller than the regular 60's T-Bird pickups since the Bicentennial covers are taller too. There's also not a metal plate at the bottom (I've been thinking about adding those just to see if it makes any difference).
I recorded something with it with my home setup, first it's both pickups on w/fingers, then it cunningly crossfades into a picked 'n' overdriven (Bad Monkey) neck pickup dash around the neck.
View attachment 4632981

I can't listen again or I'll start wanting one. More. Great playing too!

 

[JJR58]

I think that's the bass that I wanted but it was in the sellers personal collection. Geddy ended up with it. I'm sure I would not have offered to pay what he did. My white '76 came from the same seller.

Ah, ok. I didn’t know Geddy wound up acquiring that bass. But I know about the guys collection in general.
That’s cool you got your ‘76 from him.

 

[JJR58]

Looks like a Schaller 460. I sold one a while back (460C). Had it for 15 years and never had a project that needed it so I figured I should pass it along. I'm pretty sure they stopped making them.

View attachment 4632823

Id love one of those.

 

[PhR75]

I contemplated opening up a Chinabucker in the name of science

I should open up the bridge pickup from the Telebird as it needs the vaxpotting.

 

[GonePlaid]

Took a break from trying to make the dog laugh (the rest of the family is already a lost game...) and played around with the custom-made NR with that Schaller bridge. I haven't used it that much for live work but it records very well. The pickups are custom made too in 2010ish. I had the NOS Bicentennial covers lying around and a friend built me the pickups with whatever information we could gather from any source (The Last Bass Outpost was a big help). The pickups are apparently a bit taller than the regular 60's T-Bird pickups since the Bicentennial covers are taller too. There's also not a metal plate at the bottom (I've been thinking about adding those just to see if it makes any difference).
I recorded something with it with my home setup, first it's both pickups on w/fingers, then it cunningly crossfades into a picked 'n' overdriven (Bad Monkey) neck pickup dash around the neck.
View attachment 4632981

 

[GonePlaid]

@GBassNorth has been peer pressuring me to post, even though they’re not Thunderbirds. I finished 2 basses for the winter build off in the luthiers corner


WBO 2022 ReReRebuilt little mule

View attachment 4632989 View attachment 4632990

Winter Build off 2022 - ThunderJag
View attachment 4632991 View attachment 4632992 View attachment 4632993

Nice x2.

 

[dagrev]

Ah, ok. I didn’t know Geddy wound up acquiring that bass. But I know about the guys collection in general.
That’s cool you got your ‘76 from him.

There are pics in the book of it and some floating around the interwebs of it hanging behind him at home.

My wife actually made the deal for a (very nice!) Christmas present several years back. Got him down $500, but sill paid too much. But it's an oddity. White was uncommon and it is in great shape. To make it really weird, it has a stamped 1976 serial number (and stamped Second). Making it the only white 1976 produced (and unrecorded), or at least with a serial number from 1976. Heavy sucker, but sounds good.

TT

 

[Engle]

So is there any benefit in loosening strings on a bass that may it be played for a while? Or best to leave it in proper tune tension?

I always leave them tuned.

 

[MCF]

I always leave them tuned.

I do too. Even if a bass has hung on the wall for awhile without being played, I’ll periodically made sure it’s in tune and that that the relief is proper.

 

[PhR75]

The pickups are custom made too in 2010ish. I had the NOS Bicentennial covers lying around and a friend built me the pickups with whatever information we could gather from any source (The Last Bass Outpost was a big help). The pickups are apparently a bit taller than the regular 60's T-Bird pickups since the Bicentennial covers are taller too. There's also not a metal plate at the bottom (I've been think

Found old pics of the pickups. "Naapuri" means neighbor as the pickup builder lived literally next door.

And that must be neckpickup as the bass was originally a "II" and there's no bridge PU hole in sight...yet, at least. Or (as the bridge has been removed) we were just about to make that hole and it is the pickup to that position.
Originally the bass had a Schaller bassbucker as a neckpickup.

 

[Stealth57]

Want to see a long neck beauty wearing black nylons? Hubba hubba.

 

[Engle]

I do too. Even if a bass has hung on the wall for awhile without being played, I’ll periodically made sure it’s in tune and that that the relief is proper.

Unless they are there just for display, or have a specific issue, all my instruments are ready to play.