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Thunderbird Club

#216,221
Got the neck for my Kent project:
B368FADE-F3F1-4DC3-9C74-F2FA768330C1.jpeg
 
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#216,223
JIO said:
Instead of %'s, 'barely played' or... 'very little fret-wear' would go a lot further to describe the condition of the frets.
Click to expand...
Agree.
From an interpretation standpoint, you have to use a bit of logic and understanding of intended meaning. Unfortunately, it’s a long distance purchase and the old adage of “buyer beware” certainly applies. I suppose in a bizarre world this bass could be missing 20% of its frets based on the write up. Fortunately the pictures of the bass don’t support that worst case scenario. So, logic and visual confirmation brings us back to reality, which is exactly what you stated, some fret wear but plenty of use left in them.
 
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#216,225
GBassNorth said:
Agree.
From an interpretation standpoint, you have to use a bit of logic and understanding of intended meaning. Unfortunately, it’s a long distance purchase and the old adage of “buyer beware” certainly applies. I suppose in a bizarre world this bass could be missing 20% of its frets based on the write up. Fortunately the pictures of the bass don’t support that worst case scenario. So, logic and visual confirmation brings us back to reality, which is exactly what you stated, some fret wear but plenty of use left in them.
Click to expand...

A number of in-focus detail/close-up pics is mandatory when considering buying anything on-line. If a seller doesn't provide such - they should not be rewarded with a sale.
 
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#216,230
So what's the state of aftermarket pickups these days? It looks as though Thunderbucker Ranch has closed shop, so what are we left with? Lollar, Novak, Seymour Duncan, EY parts? I'd like to get my hands on some of the new Gibson pickups, or another Epi 760, but scouring sites, those seem pretty few and far between.

Reason I ask is I'm looking at doing some pickup shuffling. I hope to FINALLY get my NR project buttoned up before the end of the year, and I'm also looking at popping a T-bird pickup into the neck position of my Greco 4001 (checked with my Grevo 'Bird pickup and the existing cavity fits perfectly). The Greco pickup has been waiting for the NR project, I have an EY pickup in the Greco bird currently. I was thinking of putting the Greco pickup back into the Greco, getting a Gibson pickup or 760 for the NR, and putting the EY into the neck position of the 4001 (figured the lower output might match the Hi-gain pickups better). I was also contemplating pulling the 760 out of the bridge position on my Epi (since I never use the bridge pickup), swapping that into the Epi neck position, and then putting the neck 760 into the 4001, and the EY into the unused bridge position on the Epi.

Confusing, I know, a bit of pickup musical chairs.

Anyways, any thoughts or advice are always appreciated.
 
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#216,231
D.M.N. said:
So what's the state of aftermarket pickups these days? It looks as though Thunderbucker Ranch has closed shop, so what are we left with? Lollar, Novak, Seymour Duncan, EY parts? I'd like to get my hands on some of the new Gibson pickups, or another Epi 760, but scouring sites, those seem pretty few and far between.

Reason I ask is I'm looking at doing some pickup shuffling. I hope to FINALLY get my NR project buttoned up before the end of the year, and I'm also looking at popping a T-bird pickup into the neck position of my Greco 4001 (checked with my Grevo 'Bird pickup and the existing cavity fits perfectly). The Greco pickup has been waiting for the NR project, I have an EY pickup in the Greco bird currently. I was thinking of putting the Greco pickup back into the Greco, getting a Gibson pickup or 760 for the NR, and putting the EY into the neck position of the 4001 (figured the lower output might match the Hi-gain pickups better). I was also contemplating pulling the 760 out of the bridge position on my Epi (since I never use the bridge pickup), swapping that into the Epi neck position, and then putting the neck 760 into the 4001, and the EY into the unused bridge position on the Epi.

Confusing, I know, a bit of pickup musical chairs.

Anyways, any thoughts or advice are always appreciated.
Click to expand...
I could be mistaken, but I thought TB Ranch just discontinued its 5 string bird pups but still made the 4 strings. Lull might still have something available but you’d have to call them to find out, they don’t list them on their website, and they are very expensive.

The Eppi 760’s or Gibby TB+ pups are still my overall favorite sounding. I’d think a good combo would be a TB+ in the 1960’s neck position for warmth and depth and a 760 in the 60’s bridge position for crunch and grit. Good luck in finding those pups for sale though.

If I were looking for 760 pups I’d probably end up going this route…
Epiphone Embassy Bass 4-String Bass Guitar Graphite Black Finish | Reverb
for about $350 you get two 760 pups with trim rings and all the pots and wiring along with a nice two piece vintage style bridge and some strap pins. Then after stripping those components out you could probably sell the Embassy husk for a hundred bucks to further offset your costs.
 
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#216,232
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#216,234
GBassNorth said:
I could be mistaken, but I thought TB Ranch just discontinued its 5 string bird pups but still made the 4 strings. Lull might still have something available but you’d have to call them to find out, they don’t list them on their website, and they are very expensive.

The Eppi 760’s or Gibby TB+ pups are still my overall favorite sounding. I’d think a good combo would be a TB+ in the 1960’s neck position for warmth and depth and a 760 in the 60’s bridge position for crunch and grit. Good luck in finding those pups for sale though.

If I were looking for 760 pups I’d probably end up going this route…
Epiphone Embassy Bass 4-String Bass Guitar Graphite Black Finish | Reverb
for about $350 you get two 760 pups with trim rings and all the pots and wiring along with a nice two piece vintage style bridge and some strap pins. Then after stripping those components out you could probably sell the Embassy husk for a hundred bucks to further offset your costs.
Click to expand...
Steve at Thunderbucker Ranch has discontinued operations.
 
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#216,236
D.M.N. said:
So what's the state of aftermarket pickups these days? It looks as though Thunderbucker Ranch has closed shop, so what are we left with? Lollar, Novak, Seymour Duncan, EY parts? I'd like to get my hands on some of the new Gibson pickups, or another Epi 760, but scouring sites, those seem pretty few and far between.

Reason I ask is I'm looking at doing some pickup shuffling. I hope to FINALLY get my NR project buttoned up before the end of the year, and I'm also looking at popping a T-bird pickup into the neck position of my Greco 4001 (checked with my Grevo 'Bird pickup and the existing cavity fits perfectly). The Greco pickup has been waiting for the NR project, I have an EY pickup in the Greco bird currently. I was thinking of putting the Greco pickup back into the Greco, getting a Gibson pickup or 760 for the NR, and putting the EY into the neck position of the 4001 (figured the lower output might match the Hi-gain pickups better). I was also contemplating pulling the 760 out of the bridge position on my Epi (since I never use the bridge pickup), swapping that into the Epi neck position, and then putting the neck 760 into the 4001, and the EY into the unused bridge position on the Epi.

Confusing, I know, a bit of pickup musical chairs.

Anyways, any thoughts or advice are always appreciated.
Click to expand...


Seymour Duncan Custom shop.
 
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