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Thunderbird Club

#217,781
GonePlaid said:
Throwing in my very old $.02, in the group I played keys/sax in 70, the bassist had a Ric>V4>2 2x15 cabs. I played my Gibson EB-3 through it on one song(All Right Now)[the regular bass man played cowbell]. Sounded pretty decent, IIRC.
Many mango seasons later(80-83), I had a mid 70s blue line SVT/810 rig. I was never overly impressed with it. I got it because, at that time, that's what all the "cool" bass players were using. It did the job-sorta-but I expected it to amaze me. I've since learned that they need to be 'pushed' to get the most outta them. This gig didn't require that much oomph. I woulda been better off saving the $$$ and using my Kasino(200W/2x15). Oops!
View attachment 4782946
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or a V-4..
 
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#217,784
GonePlaid said:
Cool, but as an ex-18 wheeler, it gots to be a truck.
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pink_cadillac_hearse_by_fiddlecipher_dcijw0n-fullview.jpg
 
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#217,785
GBassNorth said:
Good question on boosting the fuzz cap (yes, the blue Underdrive fuzz cap).

Just thinking out loud, but it seems the hotter the pup the more fuzz you get. I got plenty at the bridge by raising the pup as high as I could get it and still be able to dig in on the strings. But to get that full fuzz on a single note you have to dig in, or over saturate the signal with multiple strings at the same time. Very much like hitting a power chord on an electric guitar. Why it produces more fuzz with the tone knob off still has me a bit puzzled, but I guess with the pot off you might have the least resistance to the signal so more voltage is going thru the fuzz cap and saturating or clipping the diodes inside the fuzz cap.

If I needed to experiment further I’d probably go with a 250k ohm pot or less to further reduce the resistance on the fuzz cap. The Goth pups are hot so that helps a lot. Something even hotter, like a G&L pup or a Mudbucker might bring it out even more.

As I was test wiring mine, I ran thru every value tone cap I had and found the fuzz cap to be darn close to no cap at all, except with no cap you effectively have a kill switch when the tone knob is at zero. You might try eliminating the tone pot all together and just wire the fuzz cap directly to the output jack.
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what’s wrong with an overdrive pedal? you can only do so much with passives (other than completely remove them) and the little diode trick is not really linear meaning the “trip point” is always there….at least when implemented in a (active) pedal, linearizing the gain stages is possible…
 
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#217,789
GBassNorth said:
Good question on boosting the fuzz cap (yes, the blue Underdrive fuzz cap).

Just thinking out loud, but it seems the hotter the pup the more fuzz you get. I got plenty at the bridge by raising the pup as high as I could get it and still be able to dig in on the strings. But to get that full fuzz on a single note you have to dig in, or over saturate the signal with multiple strings at the same time. Very much like hitting a power chord on an electric guitar. Why it produces more fuzz with the tone knob off still has me a bit puzzled, but I guess with the pot off you might have the least resistance to the signal so more voltage is going thru the fuzz cap and saturating or clipping the diodes inside the fuzz cap.

If I needed to experiment further I’d probably go with a 250k ohm pot or less to further reduce the resistance on the fuzz cap. The Goth pups are hot so that helps a lot. Something even hotter, like a G&L pup or a Mudbucker might bring it out even more.

As I was test wiring mine, I ran thru every value tone cap I had and found the fuzz cap to be darn close to no cap at all, except with no cap you effectively have a kill switch when the tone knob is at zero. You might try eliminating the tone pot all together and just wire the fuzz cap directly to the output jack.
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I wouldn't want it on all the time, more as an option. My Grass Roots/ESP Bass IV has that option. #4 switch bypasses the tone pot and sends the signal for both pu's directly to the jack resulting in a hotter signal. It's like a clean boost - a very simple and effective option. I did discover digging-in/overloading the signal by how hard the string is played encourages 'dirt', but it's not really fuzz. Fuzz (in my book) is a warm saturation, and that's not what I'm hearing.

upload_2022-8-15_8-47-59.jpeg

#1- N-pu/#2- B-pu/#3-N&B pu's/#4- series/#5- kill switch ... V/push-pull T pot - up eliminates the T control and engages the fuzz cap, so it's sort of the same concept.
upload_2022-8-15_8-53-33.jpeg
upload_2022-8-15_9-0-47.jpeg
 
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#217,790




With the rays of the sun as my witnesses
Someday, in this brief passage of life
I will still have a Burgundy Mist bass
Me
2022

Yes, sometimes i get inspired to write :D

Lil' 30 seconds sample with chorus pedal, on Youtube link

It was nice to see the color in person; on first pic, the difference between shades is evident over the years. She is 2013.
 
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#217,791
Stealth57 said:
I was referring to the general comment "...it certainly did nothing for my dislike of Ampegs."
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Ah, I read too deeply in the weeds. Not the first time is missed the trees for the forest! I agree, I don't recall hearing one that sounded bad. Maybe not a personal preference, but not bad. Even my little Ampeg combo sounds pretty good and has a nice big clean sound to it.
 
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#217,797
icefly said:




With the rays of the sun as my witnesses
Someday, in this brief passage of life
I will still have a Burgundy Mist bass
Me
2022

Yes, sometimes i get inspired to write :D

Lil' 30 seconds sample with chorus pedal, on Youtube link

It was nice to see the color in person; on first pic, the difference between shades is evident over the years. She is 2013.
Click to expand...

I like the way your BMM finish bleached-out, amber-ing it to a Dusty Rose. My '93 American Standard J was refinished/relic'd in BMM lacquer so it can go the same route if subjected to UV rays.

upload_2022-8-15_9-44-54.jpeg
 
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#217,798
Chucky Stiletti said:
what’s wrong with an overdrive pedal? you can only do so much with passives (other than completely remove them) and the little diode trick is not really linear meaning the “trip point” is always there….at least when implemented in a (active) pedal, linearizing the gain stages is possible…
Click to expand...
An overdrive pedal will always be more effective than onboard fuzz in a passive bass. My goal wasn’t to replace a pedal, it was to change the inherent voicing of the Goth. Recall I have three Goths, one FrankenGoth with an active preamp, one Korean Goth with a cap change and now this China Goth. If I can get it to have a unique and useable voice (beyond just string changes) then I’ll keep it, if not, out she goes. Not a fan of multiple basses that all sound the same.

So did the Underdrive change the voicing of the bass? First impressions are yes. Is it dramatically different than my other Goths? First impression is yes. Is it useable? That’s to be determined with more rigorous testing, but early indications are that it just might be. Could I get the same sound or more from a pedal? Absolutely, but that’s not the goal here, the goal is to transform the inherent nature of this bass to something noticeable and useable without resorting to effect pedals. So far so good but still a ways to go before claiming success.
 
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#217,799
Chucky Stiletti said:
what’s wrong with an overdrive pedal? you can only do so much with passives (other than completely remove them) and the little diode trick is not really linear meaning the “trip point” is always there….at least when implemented in a (active) pedal, linearizing the gain stages is possible…
Click to expand...

It wasn't expensive and I just thought it might add a twist to the tone pallet. I was also thinking about '60s basses like Vox and the Gibson SG-bass with on board fuzz. The company Serek has an on-board passive fuzz option but I haven't heard it and haven't seen a pic of their harness that incorporates it.
 
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