Thunderbird Club

[wolfkeller]

After a lot of consideration I have decided to put EMGPJ pick UPS in my Thunderbird. That being said I'm going to sell the complete electronics from this base the Gibson pick up the pots and the output Jack if anybody's interested 200 bucks for anyone in this group

 

[Engle]

Agree the bass is amazing but I had a hard time with the original pickguard
Now it looks great
thanks my friend for a great job
I might get a black one next

Glad to help!

 

[JIO]

@JIO

I can't find the post but you have a headstock detail I would like to steal from you.

I am doing a full paint on my 7ireBoid, with a reverse strat headstock.

I am looking for a little detail like the peripheral routing on a reverse bodied bird headstock.

IIRC you were scraping down the edge of the painted wood to expose the natural wood underneath?

Are you referring to this? If so, the lettering was bought at a craft store (Michael's) which I then painted gold. And yes - I used a flat-blade to remove the matte-blk Epi Goth factory finish to wood. As you can see, it's not an inset - it's a bevel so relatively straight-forward.

On my Calabrone med scale (which is wet-sanded ready for clear in this pic) I made a specific jig for the router to follow to make a 1/16" edge inset.

 

[WillyW]

Are you referring to this? If so, the lettering was bought at a craft store (Michael's) which I then painted gold. And yes - I used a flat-blade to remove the matte-blk Epi Goth factory finish to wood. As you can see, it's not an inset - it's a bevel so relatively straight-forward.

View attachment 4722295
On my Calabrone med scale (which is wet-sanded ready for clear in this pic) I made a specific jig for the router to follow to make a 1/16" edge inset.
View attachment 4722310

Those ones too, but I remember a tiescoboid I’m imagining a blue or green headstock that I think didn't have the bevel routed and something similar was done maybe it was your second pic.

I don't have a proper router, and am considering making a jig to add a bevel or faux bevel then a clearcoat over the whole mess.

possibly a non-navy blue with the exposed maple should look good.

still waiting on the non-reverse body….

but I can already see the finished product…

 

[dagrev]

Yeah they came out good. I'm very happy with them. The 370 head is now covered in white also to match.

Made those two cabs from fiberglass/foam sandwich with neo speakers. Came out to 20 lbs each.

Nice work. They sure look great. I made a tallish 115 decades ago. It was white as well, but didn't look as good as yours. I was young and dumb and thought, why not.

 

[dagrev]

hey, round these here parts I’m known as the guy with the javelin and the reverse firebird bass…..

 

[dagrev]

Those ones too, but I remember a tiescoboid that I think didn't have the bevel routed and something similar was done.

I don't have a proper router, and am considering making a jig to add a bevel or faux bevel then a clearcoat over the whole mess.

possibly a non-navy blue with the exposed maple should look good.

still waiting on the non-reverse body….

but I can already see the finished product…

A Willy Armstrong?

 

[bobyoung53]

Is there going to be a R U M B L E in the streets if the rhetoric gets heated?

 

[JIO]

The Gene Simmons G2 TBird is a pretty cool bass, except for that pickguard. @simongpaez asked me to make a white pg with a TBird for his. 3 ply with a Gibson style decal:
View attachment 4722076 View attachment 4722077

I agree. A pg that could work would be on the line of my Custom Kraft, which is screened on the bottom of a clear pg. So it would need to be screened with a white border and the T-bird icon and screened black over it.

you can see how it's clear with a screened bottom in this detail shot

in this pic you can see the black overlapping the white border and covering the name

name and outline was screened over black plastic w/the circular metal badge attached on top

 

[dagrev]

Oh yeah!

Got me to wondering...which song was the first to have a guitar distorted to some degree?

 

[WillyW]

A Willy Armstrong?

wet willy

 

[Gaolee]

Yeah they came out good. I'm very happy with them. The 370 head is now covered in white also to match.

Made those two cabs from fiberglass/foam sandwich with neo speakers. Came out to 20 lbs each.

I have thought about recovering my ACC 360 stack with white tolex. It hasn't happened yet, but it may someday. I still have to clean up the faceplate where somebody painted over the blue with flat black.

 

[Gaolee]

Oh yeah!

Got me to wondering...which song was the first to have a guitar distorted to some degree?

 

[Stealth57]

Hey guys and gals just found out about this thread via another TB member. I have a (hopefully) straight foward question for the group here. I am interested in finding a five string Thunderbird which seem to be somewhat rare. As such I am contemplating building one from a kit. Does anyone have any recommendations for or against any particular kit.

Many thanks in advance.

Studio V is an active version. Any other 5ers?

 

[stlrocker]

I have thought about recovering my ACC 360 stack with white tolex. It hasn't happened yet, but it may someday. I still have to clean up the faceplate where somebody painted over the blue with flat black.

Do it! It will look great. Heres a shot of the recovered head with just one of the cabs. If I cant play good, at least I can look good.

 

[Engle]

I agree. A pg that could work would be on the line of my Custom Kraft, which is screened on the bottom of a clear pg. So it would need to be screened with a white border and the T-bird icon and screened black over it.

View attachment 4722314
you can see how it's clear with a screened bottom in this detail shot
View attachment 4722319
in this pic you can see the black overlapping the white border and covering the name
View attachment 4722322
name and outline was screened over black plastic w/the circular metal badge attached on top
View attachment 4722320

Cool! I haven’t done a clear pickguard for a long time, but you’re giving me ideas! Time for some experimentation

 

[GBassNorth]

That thing of your's is backwards....

View attachment 4722246

…That thing of yours has too many pickups…

 

[JIO]

Cool! I haven’t done a clear pickguard for a long time, but you’re giving me ideas! Time for some experimentation

My '68 Coral Deluxe Bass has an amber'd clear pg w/printed outline (on backside) and a thin swirl translucent sheet under. The underside of the trans swirl plastic is sprayed (opaque) silver.

I have bought something very much the same at a plastics store here in SF. It's swirly but not as graphically. I used a thin mylar (chrome) sheet under it. I haven't tried it yet, but the underside could be sprayed any colour which would effect how the swirl looks. It could also have an image underneath that would ghost through subtly.

 

[bobyoung53]

Oh yeah!

Got me to wondering...which song was the first to have a guitar distorted to some degree?

A lot of early R&B and blues had distorted guitars, the early amps were not very loud, Howlin' wolf 1951, listen to this sound, unbelievable:

Ike Turner on piano BTW, he was a scout and discovered a lot of these early greats and played piano on a lot of well known blues records, piano was his first instrument.

Willie Johnson- guitar

 

[GBassNorth]

The Gene Simmons G2 TBird is a pretty cool bass, except for that pickguard. @simongpaez asked me to make a white pg with a TBird for his. 3 ply with a Gibson style decal:
View attachment 4722076 View attachment 4722077

Came out beautiful!

My first Thunderbird Thursday.
View attachment 4722225
View attachment 4722226

Nice color coordinating! Nothing beats a white bird on stage. Well, maybe white cabs as well.