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Thunderbird Club

#20,261
It seems that between modifying my jazz and the Epi bird I have the makings of a fenderbird sat in boxes on the shelf, somehow it seems logical to make one despite saying but yesterday I didn't really want one. I have fender tuners, a badbird II bridge and a couple of modern Gibson pups that could be chromed easily enough. All I'm short of is a neck, body and some electrics. The neck can be bought cheaply enough, the body I can make easily enough too and soldering isn't a problem either. The electrics are though:

What pots do I need? 500k for the volume and 250K for the tone with a 47u capacitor? Linear or audio taper? I'm assuming audio for the volumes and linear for the tone but that is guesswork
 
#20,262
Christine said:
It seems that between modifying my jazz and the Epi bird I have the makings of a fenderbird sat in boxes on the shelf, somehow it seems logical to make one despite saying but yesterday I didn't really want one. I have fender tuners, a badbird II bridge and a couple of modern Gibson pups that could be chromed easily enough. All I'm short of is a neck, body and some electrics. The neck can be bought cheaply enough, the body I can make easily enough too and soldering isn't a problem either. The electrics are though:

What pots do I need? 500k for the volume and 250K for the tone with a 47u capacitor? Linear or audio taper? I'm assuming audio for the volumes and linear for the tone but that is guesswork
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gibson wiring

gibson wiring

  • Media owner kat888
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#20,266
kat888 said:
People here mostly use 250k for tone I think, with a .047μF or .022μF cap.
Click to expand...
Sounds good to me, the diagram you posted above shows that too, besides it's not the end of the world to get it wrong.

Then the other dilemma, not liking the precision neck that much the jazz neck would be the obvious choice but the precision neck was such a big part of the original Fenderbirds. It seems wrong to put the jazz neck on but then the badbird II and the modern pickups are wrong so perhaps I shouldn't worry that much
 
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#20,270
Thunderbox. Crate BT 350, Sunn 215S/some old Celestion 15s, Blackbird. Not shown, six of my favorite session ale, 21st Amendment "Down to Earth"...

The amp's switch is broken, you plug it in to turn it on, like my first acoustic 370... this little rig smacks pretty hard. Digging it- first outing may be at a band audition Wednesday night. I'll probably say something about it when it's over. Lol.

IMG_20161030_111051.jpg
 
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#20,276
I've ordered all the bits I need, 500K pots all round and see what they sound like. I went for the precision neck in the end, if I really hate it then I can always get a jazz again.

I've been looking at pictures of Entwistle's, the fretboard looks close to the body face like the Tbird, I assume that the neck geometry is the same as on the bird rather than being flat as on the Fenders?
 
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#20,277
Christine said:
Sounds good to me, the diagram you posted above shows that too, besides it's not the end of the world to get it wrong.

Then the other dilemma, not liking the precision neck that much the jazz neck would be the obvious choice but the precision neck was such a big part of the original Fenderbirds. It seems wrong to put the jazz neck on but then the badbird II and the modern pickups are wrong so perhaps I shouldn't worry that much
Click to expand...

When it comes to building your own Fenderbird I feel like you have the freedom to use whatever neck you prefer. Most likely you are the only one that will know or care whether it's a P or J neck. If a P neck is too unwieldy for you then you are going to be less likely to play the bass IMO. The comfort level will also depend on the dimensions of the neck. If it's a baseball bat neck I find them uncomfortable but some of the more recent P necks have felt pretty good in my hands.

Ultimately your Fenderbird is YOUR bass so the parts that go on it should be what YOU want them to be. If that means a Jazz neck, a Badbird bridge, and modern pickups then there is nothing "wrong" with that. Make it a bass that has the features you want and a bass you want to play :bassist:
 
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#20,279
Nocturnal said:
When it comes to building your own Fenderbird I feel like you have the freedom to use whatever neck you prefer. Most likely you are the only one that will know or care whether it's a P or J neck. If a P neck is too unwieldy for you then you are going to be less likely to play the bass IMO. The comfort level will also depend on the dimensions of the neck. If it's a baseball bat neck I find them uncomfortable but some of the more recent P necks have felt pretty good in my hands.

Ultimately your Fenderbird is YOUR bass so the parts that go on it should be what YOU want them to be. If that means a Jazz neck, a Badbird bridge, and modern pickups then there is nothing "wrong" with that. Make it a bass that has the features you want and a bass you want to play :bassist:
Click to expand...
It's been a long time since I tried a precision, my memory has faded but I do remember preferring the jazz. I'm going to give it a go, I'd like to keep the build as close as I can to the originals using what I have of course. Now I play with a plastic cap on my index finger I may even like the wider neck
 
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