Thunderbird Club

[bassclef112]

Cherry Bombs were fireworks when I was a kid. I believe they were red, round, and looked a bit like a cherry. They were stronger than regular fireworks, but IIRC not as powerful as an M-80.

That's correct. Cherry Bombs were equivalent to what we called an "ashcan", a slightly smaller version of an M-80.
Each of these was waterproof with underwater fuses. This allowed for a new level of fireworks mayhem, like lighting one and flushing it down a toilet. The bane of school custodians back in the day...

 

[GonePlaid]

I believe two caps wired like that will have an additive value, so two .02uf caps will be .04uf, effectively the same as one .047uf tone cap. I’d suspect you’d find a number of 1964 Tbirds with one .047uf cap. I wonder if the two in yours might have been done because they were running low on .047 caps that day, or was this a norm for Gibby at the time.

Errmm, it's Gibson.

 

[GonePlaid]

Warning: no TBd related.
I could have chosen to receive the bass at home, but as I love aviation, I ask to pick it up at the carrier's warehouse (freight is cheaper too); here we go:

So, I'm guessing they aren't active?

 

[GonePlaid]

Maybe it's a Frankenstein set.

"That's 'Fronk-en-steen'"-Gene Wilder

 

[GonePlaid]

Is this the cap that others have in their NR? I thought I got a good pic of the other side, but it didn't show any writing. Do the numbers that can been seen tell anyone something?
View attachment 4716594

Send it to me. I'll get a nice, clear pic of it.

 

[GonePlaid]

That's correct. Cherry Bombs were equivalent to what we called an "ashcan", a slightly smaller version of an M-80.
Each of these was waterproof with underwater fuses. This allowed for a new level of fireworks mayhem, like lighting one and flushing it down a toilet. The bane of school custodians back in the day...

Either one could be used as a sorta 'depth charge' by filling a glass mayonnaise jar with pebbles, leaving room for the "ashcan", poking a small hole in the lid for the fuse to stick out, lighting it, and dropping into the water to "catch" baitfish.

Or so I've been told.

 

[Engle]

Not a Tbird, but I see a local BC Rich Warlock Platinum for $100. It’s the one with twin Ps. Black gloss with a lot of chips on the sharp edges. Any thoughts on that bass?

They are huge beasts! Makes a VP look like a Firebird.
For $100 I’d be all over it

 

[dagrev]

So, I'm guessing they aren't active?

I know a guy who has flown on planes where crates and boxes were the "seats." Parts of Asia. Didn't need inflight entertainment. Too busy praying the whole time and looking at the wires hanging down in some places.

 

[dagrev]

Send it to me. I'll get a nice, clear pic of it.

For two reasons I'm thinking this is a trick.

 

[icefly]

So, I'm guessing they aren't active?

Naturally relic, road worn

 

[GBassNorth]

Hey question I’ve had for a long time but I heard the song again today.

In the JCM song CherryBomb what the hell is a cherrybomb in the context of his song? I remember looking it up when the song was new and the answer was something like ‘a small incendiary device’. ????

As others have said, the literal definition is it’s a potent little firecracker. However, I’ve always assumed the reason that term was put in the song was because of its double meaning. Because this site is rated G I’ll have to PM you with a more detailed response. So for now, just think about any parents worst fears about their wild child teenage daughter and you’ll be close to the getting the meaning of the song.

 

[Count Bassie]

Shouldn't Betty Paige be in there?...

 

[dagrev]

Shouldn't Betty Paige be in there?...

Because of her poor mental health and outbursts or...?

 

[bobyoung53]

Hey question I’ve had for a long time but I heard the song again today.

In the JCM song CherryBomb what the hell is a cherrybomb in the context of his song? I remember looking it up when the song was new and the answer was something like ‘a small incendiary device’. ????

Boom! They were hard to get in Massachusetts when I was a kid but they blew up nice and loud when you found them (illegal in my state), dangerous, you stayed away from them.

 

[Stealth57]

They look cool but thats it. I have 2. Pickups are garbage, very uncomfortable to play. Did I say it looks cool?

My magic decoder ring says you mean $100 isn't even worth it. Thanks. If it don't sound good, cool is an illusion that is easily broken.

 

[Stealth57]

But for $100 Definitely grab it. Something to play around with and mod.

Practice my lack of refinishing skills? I know how to rip out electronics and do a setup.

 

[KB5]

Was just about to pull the trigger on this order. Sadly my wife got laid off and my health insurance is costing me $1500 per month. Thanks Afordable Care Act! More layoffs coming. Greatest economic comeback in history....

 

[Stealth57]

They were good sized "firecrackers" (not M80s as Nocturnal said), or certain loud straight through mufflers. Not sure they are even made today since the cool sound is a turbo charged weed-eater sound.

Wonderful bass effects when dropped into the school toilet...

 

[bobyoung53]

I agree - assuming in this case wouldn't make a fool of you and Uma Thurman. .047 is my cap of choice. I use them on singles also. (my Teiscobird has a vintage Black Beauty .047 cap)

View attachment 4716690

BUT... my unaltered, as far as I know, "closet queen" (...) '64 T-bird II bought in '78 has TWO .02 (another common cap) tone caps! I added the center V pot in '86 which accounts for more wiring/solder, but the twin caps are from Gibson sans 1964. It was my second foray at wiring, the first being my '66 Heathkit 2x15 SS amp that my dad & I assembled/soldered.

"I love the smell of napalm solder in the morning..."

View attachment 4716693

I know you know this so I post this just for general info in case someone doesn't know but most of my basses have .047 uf caps too except for my 1996 RI 62 Fender Jazz, it was still way too bright with the tone rolled all the way off, I opened it up and it had a .022 uf cap, I then tried a .047 uf cap which still didn't shut off the treble enough so I put in a 0.1 which did the trick and the nice thing is that it is just as trebly when wide open but very deep when closed. All it did was make the control "faster" with much more range. 0.47 uf are very common in a lot of different basses. I like "fast" controls anyway, also like "fast tuners". The new Fender dinky tuners are way too slow for me but that's what comes on most of them though. The little Hipshot tuners on the NR seem to have a more traditional ratio though and I like those.

 

[bobyoung53]

Either one could be used as a sorta 'depth charge' by filling a glass mayonnaise jar with pebbles, leaving room for the "ashcan", poking a small hole in the lid for the fuse to stick out, lighting it, and dropping into the water to "catch" baitfish.

Or so I've been told.

When I was a kid, my buddy and I used to fill copper tubing with match heads and seal the ends and put them on top of a big rock across the street from my parents house and drop the biggest rock we could hold onto them. We'd make them anywhere from a couple of inches long up to maybe 5 or 6 inches. They blew up nice and loud, maybe the equivalent of a cherry bomb depending on how big they were. It was a pain to cut all the match heads off though and dangerous as heck because they had no fuse. I had a couple of little scars on my chest from that. You would drop the rock and turn around as fast as you could, of course you can't turn very far in the time it takes a rock to fall two or three feet hence the scars on my chest, it was Massachusetts's fault for outlawing firecrackers.