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Thunderbird Club

#202,282
RedVee said:
Conversely, I have had friends comment to me about the poor old bass player, has to play the same bass all night. That was at a Led Zepp tribute show where the two guitarists changed guitars EVERY song :laugh:
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Sounds like Tom Petty. I think he would have changed in the middle of songs if it wouldn't have looked odd. Hardly even could you tell there was a different tone. Possibly he heard something different that what listeners got. Bass player changes once, I think.
 
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#202,283
JIO said:
I've never, ever broken a string and play passive basses. Bringing one bass is simply one less thing to deal with. Just never considered a 'back-up' a need. Amps... now that's a different story, and I do bring a backup based on past experience.
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For me 2 basses = 1 bass when it comes to a show, I've broken E and A strings many times during a show with a large crowd ( I guarantee no one wants to watch me change a string, much less stop the show). I remember one night that we opened for Aurelio Voltaire at Seattle's El Corazon on a Saturday night and the A string on my green '76 blew half way through the first song, I was quite glad to be able to gracefully put it on it's stand and grab the white '89 to finish the show. So 2, at least always 2 for me.
 
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#202,284
PhR75 said:
I usually bring my both Lab Series L2 amps to gigs. Looks cool to have two heads and you'll never know...


...when the guitarists amp dies and he'll borrow the other L2. Happened with one band last December. "Hey, this sounds great!".
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Yep, I bring a small, light TC Electronics 250w bass head that we use for the keys at our rehearsal space. I had an amp die mid-set once and luckily lived close so got a back-up during a break.

4C4FBC9B-92D4-460E-BAB3-0A0D23BCAE0B_4_5005_c.jpeg
 
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#202,285
PhR75 said:
Just did a quick comparison of the VP and the custom made NR of mine. Played through my "amp", no adjustments made when switching the basses. Both have fairly fresh sets of D'addario Pro Steels. The NR has slightly less output.

Some longish prog riffs you may or may not recognise (I hope I played them right), VP first in all three.

View attachment 4644838
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Thanks for the comps. Both sound great to me. The NR is a little more mellow (sweeter, some may say), than the VP which is a little more aggressive, but both sound like Real thunderbirds should. I may like the NR pickups as my tone even with the VPs is bigger with punch than aggressive sounding. Now I just need to not see a NR in a store and get to try one for myself! Heaven forbid they have one in Burgundy..... Might be all over at that point.
 
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#202,287
JIO said:
Less about "lazy" and more about "who actually cares other than you?" - and not to dis that, if it's important to you - go for it! At least that's they way I (rock &...) "roll".
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I said lazy, but the truth is for those gigs, I would bring most of the PA and lights, and be responsible for running them. I had to streamline somewhere.
 
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#202,288
dagrev said:
Thanks for the comps. Both sound great to me. The NR is a little more mellow (sweeter, some may say), than the VP which is a little more aggressive, but both sound like Real thunderbirds should. I may like the NR pickups as my tone even with the VPs is bigger with punch than aggressive sounding. Now I just need to not see a NR in a store and get to try one for myself! Heaven forbid they have one in Burgundy..... Might be all over at that point.
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Remember that this NR isn't a Gibson but a custom made and also the pickups aren't the same (60's style but a bit taller as the covers are '76 style). With that in mind, I was a bit surprised how similar they sounded. I hsven't checked but I think the pickups are roughly in same locations.

Anybody recognised the riffs?
The first was by a British band from their third album released in 1972. Three brothers in the band, bassist played also violin, trumpet, guitar etc.
The second was from a US renaissance man who decided to have his own prog band with three keyboard players.
The third is from an Italian band whose singer went lenghts for voice research and was an inspiration to Mike Patton for example.
 
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#202,289
Engle said:
I said lazy, but the truth is for those gigs, I would bring most of the PA and lights, and be responsible for running them. I had to streamline somewhere.
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I hear you, I bring the keys combo amp also - also less to keep an eye on. A guitar/bass can walk away during hectic band transitions in a crowded space if you're not present/paying attention.
 
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#202,291
TBird1958 said:
For me 2 basses = 1 bass when it comes to a show, I've broken E and A strings many times during a show with a large crowd ( I guarantee no one wants to watch me change a string, much less stop the show). I remember one night that we opened for Aurelio Voltaire at Seattle's El Corazon on a Saturday night and the A string on my green '76 blew half way through the first song, I was quite glad to be able to gracefully put it on it's stand and grab the white '89 to finish the show. So 2, at least always 2 for me.
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As Telly Savalas said about Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear; "...he's an animal!" :D He also was fond of saying this also. :)

upload_2022-4-3_8-21-40.jpeg
 
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#202,292
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#202,294
PhR75 said:
Remember that this NR isn't a Gibson but a custom made and also the pickups aren't the same (60's style but a bit taller as the covers are '76 style). With that in mind, I was a bit surprised how similar they sounded. I hsven't checked but I think the pickups are roughly in same locations.
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I thought the PU covers were not right for NRs. Are they sidewinders like the 70s version? My '76 is more tame but the tone is nice and I like it. Not as much as the original 60s or VPs, but much closer than other Gibson versions. I can see how if someone wanted "in your face" tone, the 70s may not be as idea as other options.
 
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#202,296
dagrev said:
I thought the PU covers were not right for NRs. Are they sidewinders like the 70s version? My '76 is more tame but the tone is nice and I like it. Not as much as the original 60s or VPs, but much closer than other Gibson versions. I can see how if someone wanted "in your face" tone, the 70s may not be as idea as other options.
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No, they are otherwise like the 60's pickups or as close as we could imagine them to be. My friend built the pickups for me using all the info and pics we could gather back in 2010. I had the NOS Bicentennial covers (they might be replicas) which of course are taller but I hadn't seen a 60s pickup back then.
TB pickup.jpg
TB pickup2.jpg
 
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#202,298
PhR75 said:
No, they are otherwise like the 60's pickups or as close as we could imagine them to be. My friend built the pickups for me using all the info and pics we could gather back in 2010. I had the NOS Bicentennial covers (they might be replicas) which of course are taller but I hadn't seen a 60s pickup back then.
View attachment 4645037 View attachment 4645038
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Thanks, I remember you posting pics a few days ago now. This place is at times information overload!
 
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