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Thunderbird Club

#21,581
Nocturnal said:
I have never been able to try one of these basses. I don't have a problem with the looks, the brand, or the hardware. Just have had a problem finding one in a store. I think they are appealing in a way, and I kind of like the Simon Gallop sig model more than the Schecter Sixx model. They do seem to be a good deal on the used market but I would never pay what they ask for a new one.

I like the Dean hybrid bass that is all blacked out, but this version is nice too:

Dean%20Fenderbird_zps50tb0bcz.jpg



JOHN ENTWISTLE SERIES | Dean Guitars
Click to expand...

Oh yes... The Gallup signature basses are REALLY nice... Sounded great on the latest The Cure tour..
 
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#21,585
Leiria said:
Are the TBHZ really like that? Im really thinking of buying them since in other clips they seem really clear but those just sound muddy...
Click to expand...

The TBHZs are really nice. I've played the shecter ultra bass few years back & it was a great thing!. I wanted to install TBHZs in my epi goth bird but found epi deep sixx pickups on ebay for dirt cheap. They're not too bright & brittle, & not too bassy or woofed. It's a perfect balance between highs & lows, after all it is emg & still retains that clarity in passive form.

Dadagoboi said:
Just about no one seems to have bought them. There were a bunch on the Guitar Center Website about six moths after the intro'd. They were blowing them out for $499 IIRC.
Click to expand...

I've played the JE hybrid at work & although it's nice to play & sounds good, i just wouldn't. If i wanted a JE bird, i'd go for cataldo. & we're selling for 799$ CAD.
 
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#21,587
ThaCoast said:
I've played the JE hybrid at work & although it's nice to play & sounds good, i just wouldn't. If i wanted a JE bird, i'd go for cataldo. & we're selling for 799$ CAD.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Andii. Cataldos start at almost double that...in USD.
 
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#21,588
What's up with some Classic White finish!?
I mean, i know the CW is a little bit yellowish, but some CW looks almost like exactly yellow.
What happened? Did Gibson use some different paint or the color changed by the time? I mean maybe it was at a heavy smoker place or something like that.
 
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#21,589
RikiP said:
What's up with some Classic White finish!?
I mean, i know the CW is a little bit yellowish, but some CW looks almost like exactly yellow.
What happened? Did Gibson use some different paint or the color changed by the time? I mean maybe it was at a heavy smoker place or something like that.
Click to expand...

They are clear coated with nitrocellulose which yellows with age, hence why some get a "creamier" white color...

Same reason why some old Pelham Blue guitars/basses turns green with age...
 
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#21,590
Thunderbirdfan said:
$_3.jpg
This may be a repitive question but I have this model of a tbird I plan on upgrading I know the pickups in the model I have are just soapbars but Id like to put real thunderbird pickups in I know lollar pickups make some shims but I want like the chrome ring like bicentinials had
Click to expand...
That's an Epiphone with a bolt-on neck? I don't recall the exact issues, but what I remember is that the Epiphone pickups are a whole lot deeper (physically) than others. When I swapped out the pickups in the fretless 'Bird, I just used the same kind of foam that you use when you are making a fitted case or road case for an amplifier. Long springs would do the same thing. The reason I didn't go that route was because I was using Lace Alumitone pickups instead of something more normal. Once you figure out springs and/or foam, you can put whatever kinds of pickups you want in there. I don't know enough about the size of pickups in a Classic Pro, if that's what it is, to give you useful advice. But, if they are as big as other Epi pickups, then the same foam should work.

As far as leaking out into the General Population, I have been doing that a bit lately. So, how long before trouble and hilarity ensue?
 
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#21,592
Thunderbirdfan said:
$_3.jpg
This may be a repitive question but I have this model of a tbird I plan on upgrading I know the pickups in the model I have are just soapbars but Id like to put real thunderbird pickups in I know lollar pickups make some shims but I want like the chrome ring like bicentinials had
Click to expand...
The chinabuckers are available in nickel and chrome both with matching rings, according to @kat888 the makers say they are the same as the modern TB+ although that has been disputed here. They are an option at a 1/4 of the cost of thunderbuckers, there's a couple of side by side recordings a few pages back for you to compare those two that would be worth a look
 
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#21,594
ThaCoast said:
The TBHZs are really nice. I've played the shecter ultra bass few years back & it was a great thing!. I wanted to install TBHZs in my epi goth bird but found epi deep sixx pickups on ebay for dirt cheap. They're not too bright & brittle, & not too bassy or woofed. It's a perfect balance between highs & lows, after all it is emg & still retains that clarity in passive form.
Click to expand...

Wait... is this to say that the Deep Sixx pups are EMGs? Or am I just not reading this correctly (disclosure time... I'm sort of a Grammar/Syntax Nazi...)?
 
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#21,596
Christine said:
The chinabuckers are available in nickel and chrome both with matching rings, according to @kat888 the makers say they are the same as the modern TB+ although that has been disputed here. They are an option at a 1/4 of the cost of thunderbuckers, there's a couple of side by side recordings a few pages back for you to compare those two that would be worth a look
Click to expand...
And here it is
Dadagoboi said:
Side by side with Steve Soar ThunderBuckers. ThunderBucker 66 set , clip 1 and 3, Chinabucker set 2 and 4



Recorded with everything set the same on the same bass. Compared to ThundeBuckers, Chinabuckers are less defined. YMMV
Click to expand...
 
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#21,597
Yeah, go ahead and crank up my GAS pains. I really want to replace the Chinabuckers in my 1991 with ThunderBuckers after hearing that comparison the first time. I might even put them in the 2001, which has some kind of pixie dust in it that makes me think twice about making changes. The difference is clear. Well, clarity, really. Repetition just makes the GAS pains worse. Or is that the point? :roflmao:
 
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#21,598
mrb327 said:
In her new home. She needs some cleaning and a little wood care, but I think I know a guy to treat her right.

Really like the neck on this one in spite of being a 1.5". Super easy to play and lots of tone(s)!

Sounds righteous through some tubes!View attachment 1007949
Click to expand...
Tubes.

After being the recipient of a sleazy deal :banghead: involving a mildew-impregnated Sunn 215-S cab (I found out only a good bit later that it was mildewed- after it made my wife and daughter sick. Apparently I'm a well-calloused, skinny ape :(), I stripped off the Tolex, gave the Mildew my best kill-shot with a double full-on bleach hit, then hit it with a thick coat of urethane spar varnish to seal the inside surface. Then came handle mods to suit a side-tilt casters arrangement, and a garage-style primer/paint job (rolled-on alkyd primer and flat-black latex). It's just this side of ugly now. drool Then I found some new-old-stock Sunn (brand name is SPL) 15s for it, supposedly designed after some old JBLs and built by a dude named Hartzell in the 70s. They'll add a good 40+ lbs to the +/- 50 lb box. Yay!! I'm getting them wired in this week, taking 'er out to a gig Friday. Hoping for the best. :)

Tubes, right. I'm getting to the point... :eyebrow:

For the time being, I've found an old SWR SM400 to power it- I like that old SWR stuff, especially when you can get it for dirt cheep... and it'll deliver 400 watts @ 8 ohms, so it'll power my 8 ohm GK cab as well as the 4 ohm 215 box, unlike my Crate BT-350. This coming year however, I'm hoping to find a nice tube head to set atop the newly-rescued Sunn cab. I love a good 215, and I love tubes done right. I've had a few, and it's among my "Mistakes Learned From" items list. :thumbsup:

So yes, tubes... I'm feeeling it. I had an Ampeg V4-B when I was young, and later an SVT, both were the old Blue-Line versions. Sometimes I think I've outgrown the simple, but potent thump-and-howl of an SVT, and need a more dimensional, sophisticated kind of a sound. But I heard a bassline by that German sounding girl (Melissa Auf Der Mar?...) who played with Courtney Love's "Hole" (sorry :laugh:), and thought that, maybe, I was wrong. Hmm.

Anyway, there shall be tubes again. Until that time, who cares, me and my 'Bird can still bring it. But that's a pretty picture there of your Bird and her launch pad, @mrb327 . That's all I really wanted to say.

Carry on, don't let me interrupt... :smug:
 
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#21,599
Funny thing about tubes. I have played through an SVT and an old Sunn. Both were pretty nice, and the Sunn was far better than the Ampeg to my ears. But, given the choice, I'll still play through sold state Acoustic Control equipment. There's tubes, and then there's tubes. Solid state is the same way. There's solid state and then there's solid state.
 
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