Thunderbird Club

[Count Bassie]

If I warnt broke again I'd get it!

 

[Count Bassie]

Style points here: Not much Tbird bass sound on my cell phone, but fun tune and vid...

There is cussing, just saying.

 

[Korladis]

Yep. Thunderbirds are the only ones anybody has commented on. Not the Ric I had, and certainly not the Precision. Even the EB-2 sneaks past, but Thunderbirds are not anonymous.

People comment on my Rickenbackers all the time. The Peavey is the only one they don't usually comment on.

I just can't connect with the Percision neck.

For me, the issue with the precision neck is the thickness front to back. The jazz neck, on the other hand, tapers way too much for my liking.

Take what I say for what it's worth - I'm probably CroMagnon and play rockabilly slap on an upright, so string height issues don't bother me very much. That said, I haven't noticed any problems with any of the 'Birds I own. They all have low action and no buzz. One in particular is set up with stupid low action- it's my speed bass. It sounds to me like you have a trussrod issue and your bass could use a setup.

Everyone is cromagnon. Cromagnon Man was an early, anatomically modern human.

I could, two in fact. That's why I had Steve clone the pickups from them. I know for sure that they sound like the originals. You can ask Scott what he thinks about the 66 version...BTW the originals are A3 magnets, not A5.

It's amazing what you can afford when you prioritize your life. Wives are usually the first to go. I don't own an expensive stereo, a pair of 60's AR2 and a 70's Sansui 661 sound as good as they did back then. Got over my '59 VW Kombi when I was 22.

I have $8500 in my pair of '64 TBirds and I'll get every penny, probably more, out of them when I sell. Can't say about anything else I own. At current interest rates they're much better than money in the bank. And I get the satisfaction of KNOWING they're the best TBirds ever made.

It's true, "He who dies with the best toys wins."

Never been married, no kids, I drive an ugly, beat to crap minivan, live in a cramped cave of an apartment, and eat cheap. But my music gear is nice.

My I grew up with didn't understand how I could have such nice instruments so young. But I never spent any money on video games, wore my shoes until there were literally holes in the bottom, and didn't spend much on clothes, either. I've wanted a tattoo forever, but have never been able to justify the cost against spending the money on something music related.

Just came across this, any idea's what it is? I'm quite smitten with it

Ooh. I like those pickup positions.

My problem with Epiphone is that i want a good body as possible. (Somewhere i read before that Epiphone's wood are not so finely selected like Gibson's. Might be just some marketing ********?) The pickups are same with Gibson right?
Even so Epiphone sounds little more buzzy and distorted for me in this comparision.
Although it's sounds better for slap, i'm afraid it will effect the sound with new pickups too.



Yeah i think it sounds nice and I probably would have bought it already, but their finish option is only Sunburst... I need "Glossy" Black or Classic White. I'm not interested in other ones.

Recent neck through Epiphones I've played have had more comfortable necks than recent Gibsons I've played. If you're looking for a solid finish, there will likely be no difference whatsoever between them in the wood quality. The Gibson will likely just have a better setup, and of course the Gibson badge.

I saved money and bought a used, neck through Epiphone from a friend, since I was going to replace the pickups (which are the same) anyway with Thunderbuckers. I have a T-bird with vintage style pickups, a Babicz bridge, and custom pickguard, control cavity cover, and TRC, for just about a grand. Not bad, IMO. Epiphone's better stuff, like the neck through T-birds, is very good, not just for the money, but overall. I have an Epiphone guitar, too, and it's also very good.

Duesenbergs are nice guitars, and expensive. Considering they're made in the same factory that a bunch of others are, like Chapman and Schecter, they're not much of a value in my eyes. At the Crowded House level I'm sure they're getting them at least at an artist price, if not under endorsement. I'd hate to be dropping 15 hundred on an imported from Asia instrument.

I'm old school, I guess, in that stuff made in certain places is still worth a premium to me. I was taught it's not about lowest price, it's about the best value.

I think Schecter is a way better deal than Duesenberg. I can go out and buy a Rickenbacker 4003 for around $1500. Maybe it's just prejudiced of me, since I'm from the USA, but I'm not spending that for an import before I even start buying upgrade parts for it.

Both my birds hold very different tones, at least i can suspect with the different woods & pickups used in each. One sounds like if Zeus got news he was a father....again, the other sounds more like a batarang ricocheing walls & villains with precision each time.

Well, according to Greek mythology, Zeus got that news often, as he was kind of a douchebag who would sleep with anything that moved.

We've had this conversation before. I happen to like the sounds I get from my active Pro V. Definitely different from my Classic IV passive which is only one of the reasons I like it. If I wanted it to sound like my other T-bird I'd just get another T-Bird, never have understood the reasoning for owning two or more (basically) identical basses anyway. Different strokes.

Lots of reasons. Backups. Different tunings. A/B comparisons of different strings, pickups, bridges, etc. so that you can control basically every variable but the one you're trying. Flats on one, rounds on another. I have two Rickenbackers (a 4001 and a 4003) that are electronically near identical. The 4001 is in EADG, and the 4003 is in BEAD. Then, of course, there's just different colors.

You got a matching truss cover too, first time I've seen a picture of them

Yep. Only thing now is getting some custom tuners. The control plate also matches. Maybe I'll take close up pictures tonight.

what is that bass on the right???

My old cheapo Peavey P-bass copy. I've since modified it with a a Badass II Bridge, and a Rickenbacker pickup, which required removing most of the pickguard. Also plugged the hole where part of the P-bass pickup was with some spare wood and slapped a SubRosa (doom metal band from SLC) sticker on it. One of the knobs has been replaced with a big vintage Soviet military knob (for volume). I don't like regular barrel knobs because it's impossible to tell where they're pointing.

+1 L-2000 (system) - all pro - no cons. Wasn't that what Gibson was doing with their more recent exposed-poles pu's in the T-bird?

Those just don't look "right" to me on T-birds. Maybe just because I'm used to the solid covers.

 

[Korladis]

Anyone know of someone who makes custom tuners?

 

[hillerup]

Agreed. Easy fix.

How?

 

[hillerup]

Did a quick bit of modernizing for a show next week. Thanks to Klondike for the bridge, thanks to spray paint for the pick up rings and thanks to tack paper for the headstock fake overlay. It'll look good on stage. View attachment 997931 View attachment 997932

Is it just me, or does the clover tuners have black tape on them, and why is that?

 

[hillerup]

These three basses are all tuned to BEAD:

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Are those T-Bird Pickguard and truss rod covers, those you had made from Ertmer Music?

Would you mind posting a close-up of the TRC, as I've never seen her make one of those before?

 

[hillerup]

Can we have one more headstock shot?

Beat me to it...

 

[hillerup]

What is this?

 

[wolfkeller]

Is it just me, or does the clover tuners have black tape on them, and why is that?

You have eyes! Simple, I wanted to switch to black hardware but didn't have time/money to order tuners so.... typically DIY fashion I put tape on to make em appear black on stage. It'll do for now. Plus I have the old style long stem reverse tuners wich I literally used a chisel to make lefty so it'll be a while before I find a good priced black set.

 

[Korladis]

Are those T-Bird Pickguard and truss rod covers, those you had made from Ertmer Music?

Would you mind posting a close-up of the TRC, as I've never seen her make one of those before?

I'll do some close-up shots tonight when I get home from work.

 

[wolfkeller]

You have eyes! Simple, I wanted to switch to black hardware but didn't have time/money to order tuners so.... typically DIY fashion I put tape on to make em appear black on stage. It'll do for now. Plus I have the old style long stem reverse tuners wich I literally used a chisel to make lefty so it'll be a while before I find a good priced black set.

My band has an XXX mass show this sat, alot of last minute stuff as we completely changed our look, show and set for just one show. We got a guarantee from a place that never pays locals a guarantee so we needed something special to hopefully fill the joint.

 

[hillerup]

You have eyes! Simple, I wanted to switch to black hardware but didn't have time/money to order tuners so.... typically DIY fashion I put tape on to make em appear black on stage. It'll do for now. Plus I have the old style long stem reverse tuners wich I literally used a chisel to make lefty so it'll be a while before I find a good priced black set.

That's atypical... Everybody else chrome out the birds, and you black them out... I like that...

 

[DerekW]

My band has an XXX mass show this sat, alot of last minute stuff as we completely changed our look, show and set for just one show. We got a guarantee from a place that never pays locals a guarantee so we needed something special to hopefully fill the joint.

Where you playing at?

 

[wolfkeller]

Where you playing at?

Token Lounge Westland Michigan

 

[wolfkeller]

That's atypical... Everybody else chrome out the birds, and you black them out... I like that...

I chromed mine to look like Sikks first bass but now were on to something different, I can't just go buy another white bird like you guys so I had to do a quick improvisation. Originally it was blacked out lol.

 

[JIO]

What is this?

I designed/made it years ago (late 90's) I call it the Factorbird. The body is 3-piece Koa to exact specs of my '64 T-bird II (aside from it being a bolt on with a Kubicki Factor bridge/tuner unit and ergonomic contouring) I bought the lined fretless neck new from Phil in '94, to put on my fretted neck '86 Ex-Factor. It's currently strung BEAD. Low A anyone?

I go way back with T-birds - for years my '64 was the only bass I owned.

(this one has zero neck dive!)

 

[Feral Feline]

FACTORBIRD IS TOO CL, and that's a fact.

 

[kat888]

Style points here: Not much Tbird bass sound on my cell phone, but fun tune and vid...

There is cussing, just saying.

Didn't notice any swearing at all.

Aaah the Datsuns - I'll spare you my comedy NZ accent.

 

[Korladis]

Close-ups, as promised. Sorry, they're not great quality pictures. Taken with a cell phone.

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