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Thunderbird Club

#207,382
bobyoung53 said:
Nope, it's a Markbass on the gig, an early Jeff Berlin model. At home it's a Ampeg SS B-15T with a polarity switch which works with buzz but doesn't stop the hum but reversing the plug eliminates it. The wiring inside the bass looks good, everything is grounded and it's contiguous, I'm beginning to think the pickups are picking up 60 cycle hum. I haven't checked it with the SVT, I'll do that later today.
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pull the guitar cord off and see if it persist, if it doesn’t plug the cord back in without a bass plugged in and short the tip to the sleeve with something….if it goes away it could be a bass or cord issue, if it persists it’s probably the amp. the MB stuff might as well be disposable…..
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#207,383
bobyoung53 said:
Yes, factory wired, today was the first time I ever opened the cavity. It's not shielded at all, I may have to try that. Funny none of my other basses hum though with both of their volumes partially down. I think the main problem is no grounds out here. What is "star-grounding"?
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Star grounding is connecting every component to one common ground point, as opposed to daisy chaining which goes from point to point.
Star grounding is a best practice (we do it in telecom rooms),but I’m not convinced it makes much difference in a control cavity.
 
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#207,384
Chucky Stiletti said:
pull the guitar cord off and see if it persist, if it doesn’t plug the cord back in without a bass plugged in and short the tip to the sleeve with something….if it goes away it could be a bass or cord issue, if it persists it’s probably the amp. the MB stuff might as well be disposable…..
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None of them hum with no cord plugged in except the SVT and that's minimal although it could probably use a cap job, it's very humid out here, it was last done about 20 years ago..
 
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#207,386
JIO said:
Michael Henderson rules. The period with him in the band is my favorite Miles. There's some awesome vids on YouTube from that period. He was an R&B player in Chicago when he got the call from Miles and went on to do a smooth soul hit (singing lead) after Miles went into hibernation post '75.

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Mine too. Especially "Dark Magus", "Agharta" and "Pangaea". Henderson even downtunes at times, going into the Jannick Top/Magma territory and the intensity of the band is certainly there too.

Listened to the whole of "Pangaea" a few days ago while driving. It reslly works in a car where you can blast it loud. Needless to say I drove alone...

This is a great read:
2.1.1975 Osaka
 
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#207,388
Chucky Stiletti said:
pull the guitar cord off and see if it persist, if it doesn’t plug the cord back in without a bass plugged in and short the tip to the sleeve with something….if it goes away it could be a bass or cord issue, if it persists it’s probably the amp. the MB stuff might as well be disposable…..
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Whoa!!

Watcha workin on there Chuck?
 
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#207,390
factory presets said:
Thunderbucker Ranch pulled the plug on the 5 string model due to lack of interest. And Mr. Lull don't seem to have any pickups on his website at all. Even saw a couple of resellers with T4 and T5 pickups marked "out of stock." Or maybe it's just my web skills. I believe Epiphone have discontinued their T-bird 5er and all. Could be a sign that birds and b's don't get along, after all.
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Regarding Mike Lull's I would suggest calling during business hours, they are still making T4 etc to my knowledge - though not advertising them. I have seen several in my FB feed in recent months.
 
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#207,391
PillO said:
I think others here may have some experience with the passive TBHZ pickups; I do not.

They are the right size and shape and will cover a 5 string as long as you are OK with the spacing.
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The price is kind of persuasive as well. I've got EMG PJs in a bass that I find to be very polite sounding. For want of a better adjective. I get the impression that that's not how most people like to think of their birds.

At this stage I'm just starting out on my due diligence. And any and all advice is helpful and appreciated. It could be that the EMGs turn out to be my best available option. In which case, in they go. Everything is gonna be a compromise on some level. I only raise my concerns about them in the hope of the members being able to address them. After one day, I'm already much better informed than I was yesterday. Thanks to all who contributed so far.

Edit: and please feel free to keep 'em coming
 
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#207,394
bobyoung53 said:
None of them hum with no cord plugged in except the SVT and that's minimal although it could probably use a cap job, it's very humid out here, it was last done about 20 years ago..
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right, but many have input jacks that auto-ground when you yank the cord…….try shorting an inserted cord at the instrument end….
 
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#207,396
factory presets said:
Thunderbucker Ranch pulled the plug on the 5 string model due to lack of interest. And Mr. Lull don't seem to have any pickups on his website at all. Even saw a couple of resellers with T4 and T5 pickups marked "out of stock." Or maybe it's just my web skills. I believe Epiphone have discontinued their T-bird 5er and all. Could be a sign that birds and b's don't get along, after all.
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Not that I am aware of. But I don't play 5ers, so I wouldn't know for sure.
 
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#207,400
GonePlaid said:
The 'sparkles' in the paint are picking up random 120 cycle interference but, 'cos they're not all touching, reducing the hum to 60 cycles. Or so I've been told.:angel:
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That makes perfect sense :laugh:. I'm going to look into shielding it, it's because there's no grounds out here I'm willing to bet.
 
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