Thunderbird Club

[GBassNorth]

toobey Tues…..69 Leslie amp…the 6550 ones make stellar bass amps….
View attachment 4663476

They're good enough that I think just about everyone here has at least one?
And here I was, thinking it was tube-less Tuesday.....
View attachment 4663541

Tubes? No tubes?
If you guys (figuratively speaking of course) can’t make up your mind maybe this will help…

A 1980ish MusicMan Hybrid HD150 bass amp with tubes in the power section where they belong!

 

[PillO]

I am #875. Resistance is futile . You will be assimilated.

Get yourself a melon helmet. The ride can get bumpy!

 

[bobyoung53]

toobey Tues…..69 Leslie amp…the 6550 ones make stellar bass amps….
View attachment 4663476

What are those 6V6's (look too small to be 6L6's)?

 

[godofthunder59]

Funny I just came here to mention something about that bass, I got it in my email from Gibson. I really like it too, especially that binding, are those the regular TB+ T Bird pickups, ceramic? It sounds great and looks great.

I presume they are TB plus. When I did the review a spec sheet had not been distributed to dealers so I avoided such details. I presume construction is mahogany but again if I wasn't completely sure I avoided it because I didn't want to post conflicting information.

 

[bobyoung53]

Tubes? No tubes?
If you guys (figuratively speaking of course) can’t make up your mind maybe this will help…
View attachment 4663648
A 1980ish MusicMan Hybrid HD150 bass amp with tubes in the power section where they belong!

I remember those.

 

[Stealth57]

It couldn't be anything to do with the cab, is that old enough to have a polarity switch? You say you can't hear it when you play, is it just about audible or is it very apparent when you're not playing?

Definitely audible when not playing. If I plug something in, it gets a little louder, but it is clearly audible with or without anything attached to the amp input.

 

[PillO]

Today's the day! I can finally share my review of the G2 Thunderbird done for The House of Guitars.

Wow! It exists!

It sounds great. And an added bonus that it can be played with boxing gloves on

 

[TBird1958]

Is it VP Tuesday again?

 

[Stealth57]

I can't open it, it wants me to create an account. From your earlier description sounds like it's a power supply problem, but you did say when you brought it someplace there was no hum, did they let you hear it or just tell you it was "clean"?

I went to Rance Electronics in Berkeley, CA. I was there with Lance (don't ask about Lance vs Rance) plugged it in, scoped the output, plugged in one of his cabinets, and then plugged in a bass. No hum all around.

https://www.ranceelectronics.com/about

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Definitely audible when not playing. If I plug something in, it gets a little louder, but it is clearly audible with or without anything attached to the amp input.

sounds like it needs a bias adjustment…

 

[Stealth57]

You should have an electrician check it, you could have some kind of low grade arcing going on could be a bad circuit breaker, loose wire in the breaker (fuse?) box, something like that, that's not normal.

The only thing is that the exact same power circuit (same exact wall plug) doesn't give any hum using the SVT Micro VR head. Could the Ampeg just do a better job of filtering out any noise on the line, sure. Given all the junk potentially running on that circuit (electric motor, transformer, LED and florescent lights...).

 

[PillO]

OK, here's mine:

Same as mine!

 

[BklynKen]

Scott's got a review of it on Instagram - it's a cool bass!

" A little grit"

I'd like to know if there's any difference in sound and feel compared to the standard Thunderbirds, other than the neck-through vs. set-neck.

 

[bobyoung53]

Definitely audible when not playing. If I plug something in, it gets a little louder, but it is clearly audible with or without anything attached to the amp input.

I would guess bad power supply caps, does the hum get any softer after it's been on for a while?

 

[bobyoung53]

I went to Rance Electronics in Berkeley, CA. I was there with Lance (don't ask about Lance vs Rance) plugged it in, scoped the output, plugged in one of his cabinets, and then plugged in a bass. No hum all around.

https://www.ranceelectronics.com/about

That's weird. Was the cab big enough for you to hear the hum (wasn't a tweeter)? He didn't see ripple on the scope?

 

[PillO]

Saint Croix Monsieur…….get it right..

There is a saint named for a grilled ham and cheese sandwich??

 

[Stealth57]

I would guess bad power supply caps, does the hum get any softer after it's been on for a while?

No, very stable.

 

[godofthunder59]

Did someone say Vintage Pro Thunderbird?

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Tubes? No tubes?
If you guys (figuratively speaking of course) can’t make up your mind maybe this will help…
View attachment 4663648
A 1980ish MusicMan Hybrid HD150 bass amp with tubes in the power section where they belong!

yep….ss meets vacuum on those…..

 

[bobyoung53]

The only thing is that the exact same power circuit (same exact wall plug) doesn't give any hum using the SVT Micro VR head. Could the Ampeg just do a better job of filtering out any noise on the line, sure. Given all the junk potentially running on that circuit (electric motor, transformer, LED and florescent lights...).

Didn't you say a bass was very noisy in your cellar but not noisy elsewhere? Maybe I crossed up posts?