Thunderbird Club

[Bent77]

Here's the other Stavem 'bird of Bent Saether's:
View attachment 4652453

That’s Bent dude has a cool bass and a cool name!

 

[bobyoung53]

Things fly fast here; dont enter thread for 4 days, and there are +/- 20 new pages

It's a whole new world here everyday.

 

[bobyoung53]

I had a friend that had a Quad system. He would buy any album in Quad. It didn't make a difference, Led Zeppelin or Boston Pops. We even had a local Quad radio station back in the day, for a minute, KQIV FM. At the time, it played fusion jazz, like you Weather Report album 24/7.

Yeah the "stereo" process at the time was not what we know of stereo today. 4 tracks ping-ponged to a mono track, could be the whole rhythm section. Then 4 more tracks down to one, maybe all the vocals and a tambourine. Then the "stereo" mix, all the band on the left and all the vocals and tambourine on the right.

Yup, all the older Beatles records were like that. I have a stereo LP copy of the Beatles Second album and it's drenched in reverb to make the channels blend together better, i actually like it. Some of the later ones not so much.
I read a book last year about the reason (Dave Dexter, Capitol records executive) we had different albums here than in England.

 

[MCF]

I'm still have some kind of lingering cold or respiratory thing (not Covid apparently), but used the NR today at church. Felt so foggy in the head I really wasn't enjoying playing like I hoped. Anyway...

QC:
I can find no flaws on the bass so far. One lower corner edge for about 2-3" is a tad not as smooth as elsewhere, but could be underlying grain or not enough buffing. I'll have to look in better light when I'm more interested. Regardless, it makes no difference to me. Frets are all in great shape and finished well. I need to polish them to make them shiny, but thats it. Fretboard looks great. Paint looks flawless everywhere thus far, with the possible exception of the edge mentioned above. Tuners work perfectly. I did lower the action via the bridge a little last night and did notice the front screw would not move either way. The back two did so with no problem. Possibly something is in a bind. I'll take the bridge off one day and see what's going on.

Sound:
It had D'Add steels. I've never used them so I have no idea how they are supposed to sound. At home OK. In a mix the bass sounded tame kind of indistinct. I don't want something aggressive, and that was certainly not a concern today. The nuances you hear alone disappeared in a live setting. I intentionally did no EQing and just wanted to do all tweaking on the bass today. Strings? No doubt much of it. I put some Roto Ultramags (Alloy52) this afternoon. They are not brighter, but tend to have more/punchy mids. Roto 66s are next which will have even more mids and be brighter. I think that might be the ideal string, but I enjoy trying different strings to find the best match, so I'm confident I'll get there. Even my '64 can sound very average without the right string.
As far as how it compares with the VPs, they are brighter and more punchy than the NR, at least in what I'm doing and in a mix. The NR has more lows possibly, but not the lows or mids of the '64. My '64 isn't what I would call aggressive, at least not with my settings. I would say the NR has the aggressive/punchy factor a little below the '76, but that's not likely accurate as I haven't tried the 66s on the NR yet. So this is very provisional.
PU height? I'll have to try various heights.

Playability: I does feel different than a Reverse, but is comfortable. The neck seems to hang more straight out and less angled up than Reverse's do. Not a problem, just an observation. Someone really short may find that to be not idea, possibly. The neck is noticeably larger. Not a problem for me. Feels more along the lines of a Pbass for reference. The neck is very comfortable. And the ergos, while different, are enjoyable. I never found myself "fighting" anything while playing or even thinking about something not being comfortable or not feeling right.
Adjusted the relief a bit today as well. I prefer them almost straight.

Initial conclusion: Love the bass! Looks great, feels great and I have no doubt I'll get the right strings to find a more idea tone. This happens with most basses I get so I'm not concerned. If I can get the '06 to a happy place, the NR will get there as well.

Glad you’re liking it! I have the Dunlop Marcus Miller Stainless Steel Superbrights (45-105) on mine. They’re similar to the SIT Power Steels in feel and tone. Figure out the right amp eq settings (don’t forget to take a pic of the settings) for your taste and you’ll really enjoy having it as an option. I think it’s a lot more comfortable to play than my VP (I’m only 5’8” and don’t have Gaolee’s reportedly long arms). I love the ergos on it and the ‘13 NR as much as I love the ‘15 Reverse. I envy your Thunderbird Collection of different vintages and pickups. It just got even better now that you have your NR!

You’ll hardly ever play your 7enders again.

 

[PillO]

You know, sometimes not thinking can help. Think of all the famous people who do that all the time. Well, what I mean is maybe try not to think and focus on it and see if it doesn't just start coming to you naturally. At times we can think about some activities and it actually interfere to some extent. (Like a certain uncorking of liquid in a crowded restroom.) It's rock...so muting is something for fancy-pants music anyway.

I believe I am well skilled in not thinking...

 

[PillO]

TV has certainly changed since The Honeymooners.

Yeah, casual domestic violence is somehow no longer acceptable...

 

[MCF]

Yup, all the older Beatles records were like that. I have a stereo LP copy of the Beatles Second album and it's drenched in reverb to make the channels blend together better, i actually like it. Some of the later ones not so much.
I read a book last year about the reason (Dave Dexter, Capitol records executive) we had different albums here than in England.

A Hard Day’s Night is like that too.

 

[PillO]

Things fly fast here; dont enter thread for 4 days, and there are +/- 20 new pages

It was a slow week.

 

[PillO]

Well just swam through 15 pages

Totally worth it, I got to see Donnie's red rocket!

Ahem

 

[bobyoung53]

Yeah, casual domestic violence is somehow no longer acceptable...

They were only threats.

 

[PillO]

They were only threats.

I believe that in many/most jurisdictions in N America, threats are enough for removal and spending a night in custody waiting to see a judge.

 

[Bent77]

They were only threats.

 

[Stealth57]

View attachment 4653478

Reminds me of a girlfriend long ago…ahem, never mind.

 

[bobyoung53]

I believe that in many/most jurisdictions in N America, threats are enough for removal and spending a night in custody waiting to see a judge.

Pretty much the whole civilized world is (civilized being the operative word here), they're very strict out here too, when i was a kid i used to love National Lampoon too but you wouldn't be able to print half the stuff that was in it nowadays. I still love The Honeymooners though.

 

[Bent77]

I believe that in many/most jurisdictions in N America, threats are enough for removal and spending a night in custody waiting to see a judge.

That’s how it is here in CO, and it’s a solid plan. Joking aside, nothing good comes from a DV

 

[bobyoung53]

View attachment 4653478

That's more than a threat, that's imminent violence.

 

[dagrev]

I had a friend that had a Quad system. He would buy any album in Quad. It didn't make a difference, Led Zeppelin or Boston Pops. We even had a local Quad radio station back in the day, for a minute, KQIV FM. At the time, it played fusion jazz, like you Weather Report album 24/7.

Yeah the "stereo" process at the time was not what we know of stereo today. 4 tracks ping-ponged to a mono track, could be the whole rhythm section. Then 4 more tracks down to one, maybe all the vocals and a tambourine. Then the "stereo" mix, all the band on the left and all the vocals and tambourine on the right.

I recall the first time a I heard four great speakers in one room. A friend from HS. I remember setting on his bed which was perfectly in the center of all the speakers listening to music and was blown away. His parents were very much "free spirits" and herb was often enjoyed in their house. Seemed to always make the music sound even better.

 

[bobyoung53]

A Hard Day’s Night is like that too.

I don't think I've ever heard the American stereo version.

 

[bobyoung53]

Reminds me of a girlfriend long ago…ahem, never mind.

Yes, that triggers some very distant memories for me too but no brush .

 

[PillO]

Pretty much the whole civilized world is (civilized being the operative word here), they're very strict out here too, when i was a kid i used to love National Lampoon too but you wouldn't be able to print half the stuff that was in it nowadays. I still love The Honeymooners though.

I thought it was hilarious.