Thunderbird Club

[dagrev]

Doubt it'll be anybody here, at least i can pretend.....

You're right. Going to have to source that one outside.

 

[Stealth57]

That would have been good. Loved Blow Your Face Out live album.

It was nothin' but a house party

 

[GBassNorth]

Great story! Did you see AC/DC there in '78 or '79? In '78 they performed in two events.
Did you see the Pat Travers Band in '78? Or Mahogany Rush? Actually, please don't tell if you did...

Unfortunately the only time I’ve seen AC/DC live was at DotG in 1975. They were a relatively new band at the time, I had never heard of them before that. They weren’t even listed in the line up for bands that day. They were the first band on stage and basically a warm up band for the headliners.
Never got a chance to see Pat Travers or Mahogany Rush live but I bet they’d be great.

Day on the Green. I was in the second deck behind home plate getting my ears blown out by a wall of Marshall stacks that don't really show up in that video.

I always went for the green, as near the stage as I could get, that’s where the wild girls were. Don’t know about the deck seating, but there was always plenty of illegal libation to buy on the green. Vendors literally walking around with a boxes of every thing you can imagine, yelling out things like, “Thai Stick, get your Thai Stick here”.

You missed the one with J Geils.

I missed a bunch of Day on the Greens. I don’t think there was a bad line up in the bunch. The prices were ridiculously low, something like $10 a ticket IIRC, of course it only took $12 to fill up my ‘65 Mustang gas tank. At the time I lived in South San Jose, we’d drive to the BART station in Fremont and take that to the Stadium.

An quick back story you might relate to - in 1975 I was a high school sophomore in San Jose. Was laying out at the pool in the backyard and listening to the FM radio station KOME (or possibly KSJO) and decided to call in a song request for Rikki Don’t Lose That Number. By the time my call made it through the switchboard the disc jockey said “ Congratulations, you’re our tenth caller, you win two tickets to Day on the Green with Chicago and The Beach Boys!” I didn’t even know what day on the green was.
I didn’t even drive at the time, so my neighbors mom took me down to the radio station to pick up the tickets. My friend and I hitchhiked to the Fremont BART station (tipped the driver with a couple fingers of Maui), had a great day on the green and imbibed in all sorts of libation. Got home the same way. Sometimes I’m surprised I’m still alive.

 

[bobyoung53]

With the out of focus part, were you drinking....or maybe needed to be drinking?

I think my favorite Jazz tone might be from Mike Levine (Triumph, best band out of Canada! ) Big and thick bass tone--as it should be. None of that baby burpy nonsense!

I don't know, I'm just a lousy photographer, maybe it's my phone? I've made some nice videos of the parks here in Lima but when I try to get a good shot of my basses they are usually not very good.
But with the Jazz, I get some nice bottom out of that Jazz, Jazzes are funny, they don't have the big low mids of a P bass or a Gibson but they go real deep. Also they're deeper if you back off the volumes a little bit on the bass, T Birds are the same at least to me. Or maybe I'm crazy?

 

[WillyW]

I get some nice bottom out of that Jazz, Jazzes are funny, they don't have the big low mids of a P bass or a Gibson but they go real deep. Also they're deeper if you back off the volumes a little bit on the bass, T Birds are the same at least to me. Or maybe I'm crazy?

Jazz basses/pickups are one of the few types that benefits from having 2 pickups.

I think it's a hinderance on firebird basses...

 

[bobyoung53]

Jazz basses/pickups are one of the few types that benefits from having 2 pickups.

I think it's a hinderance on firebird basses...

I've never played a one pickup Thunderbird...er, I mean Firebird basses although I'd like to. I was a P bass player for years but always wished I had a bridge pickup so started buying P/J's. It took me a while to find my way around Jazz basses just like with thunderbirds, I end up favoring the neck pickups on almost all two pickup basses although that can change live depending on the room. I liked the P basses because they taught me how to change the sound with my technique.

 

[GBassNorth]

I don't know, I'm just a lousy photographer, maybe it's my phone? I've made some nice videos of the parks here in Lima but when I try to get a good shot of my basses they are usually not very good.
But with the Jazz, I get some nice bottom out of that Jazz, Jazzes are funny, they don't have the big low mids of a P bass or a Gibson but they go real deep. Also they're deeper if you back off the volumes a little bit on the bass, T Birds are the same at least to me. Or maybe I'm crazy?

Actually, I don’t run any of my Tbirds with the volume knob fully open, I find it bumps up the top end and doesn’t add anything to the bottom. All mine are set between 4 and 8 all the time at the neck, with the bridge brought in as needed for clarity but never equal to or higher than the neck volume, and the tone set on 5 or less.

 

[WillyW]

I've never played a one pickup Thunderbird...er, I mean Firebird basses although I'd like to. I was a P bass player for years but always wished I had a bridge pickup so started buying P/J's. It took me a while to find my way around Jazz basses just like with thunderbirds, I end up favoring the neck pickups on almost all two pickup basses although that can change live depending on the room. I liked the P basses because they taught me how to change the sound with my technique.

on treble geetars, I'm also a predominantly neck pickup player, but if it's a single bridge pickup, I don't miss the neck pickup at all.

I built a sooper cool jazz base, but I don't play it so I think I'm going to have to list it on CL.

I really only built it out of the misguided notion that I had to have a 7ender base.

 

[bobyoung53]

Actually, I don’t run any of my Tbirds with the volume knob fully open, I find it bumps up the top end and doesn’t add anything to the bottom. All mine are set between 4 and 8 all the time at the neck, with the bridge brought in as needed for clarity but never equal to or higher than the neck volume, and the tone set on 5 or less.

Yup, same here, and same on all double pickup basses. I was the opposite when I was a kid.

 

[TBird1958]

I've never played a one pickup Thunderbird...er, I mean Firebird basses although I'd like to. I was a P bass player for years but always wished I had a bridge pickup so started buying P/J's. It took me a while to find my way around Jazz basses just like with thunderbirds, I end up favoring the neck pickups on almost all two pickup basses although that can change live depending on the room. I liked the P basses because they taught me how to change the sound with my technique.

Even though I have a lot of two pickup Birds, a single with everything dimed
That would be the Lull, Greco, and the Gibson - there's a certain something going on there.

The not quite Gibson, which for the money is damn close in tone.

 

[bobyoung53]

Even though I have a lot of two pickup Birds, a single with everything dimed
That would be the Lull, Greco, and the Gibson - there's a certain something going on there.

I have a '73 EB4-L one pickup and it sounds good full up too, an EB-2, P basses do also, it must me an interaction between the two pickups or something.

 

[TBird1958]

Less wire = Rawr!

 

[D.M.N.]

Pure Seattle.

I found this in my FB feed, had completely forgotten it. Love my city, it's quite far from perfect - doesn't matter.

I love this.

 

[bobyoung53]

Yup, same here, and same on all double pickup basses. I was the opposite when I was a kid.

Edit, I do run my 4001 wide open though but it's still got the bass/mid cut cap in the bridge pickup circuit so the pickups don't interfere with each other, there's no real mid scoop with both up on full.

 

[bobyoung53]

Even though I have a lot of two pickup Birds, a single with everything dimed
That would be the Lull, Greco, and the Gibson - there's a certain something going on there.

The not quite Gibson, which for the money is damn close in tone.
View attachment 4648641

How close is that pickup to a P bass position?

 

[JJR58]

How close is that pickup to a P bass position?

My uneducated guess is that it’s slightly more forward.

 

[bobyoung53]

My uneducated guess is that it’s slightly more forward.

Toward the bridge?

 

[GBassNorth]

Yup, same here, and same on all double pickup basses. I was the opposite when I was a kid.

I’ve noticed a lot of folks in this club dime their on board volume controls. I suppose I could do that but then I’d have to change the settings on my amp to knock down the unwanted highs. If I were gigging on a regular basis I might consider it, because it’s much quicker on stage to just roll between full open and full closed. But since I’m not playing out right now I have all the time in the world to fiddle with my knobs, and I do so enjoy fiddling with knobs of all kinds.

 

[bobyoung53]

I’ve noticed a lot of folks in this club dime their on board volume controls. I suppose I could do that but then I’d have to change the settings on my amp to knock down the unwanted highs. If I were gigging on a regular basis I might consider it, because it’s much quicker on stage to just roll between full open and full closed. But since I’m not playing out right now I have all the time in the world to fiddle with my knobs, and I do so enjoy fiddling with knobs of all kinds.

I've been basically woodshedding now for two years, this country was pretty much shut down for most of that time, gigs are just starting to come back. I've actually enjoyed it.

 

[TBird1958]

How close is that pickup to a P bass position?

I'm not the right person to answer that question, the one P bass I owned left my possession 44 years ago, haven't touched one since.