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Thunderbird Club

#224,623
JIO said:
Years ago I had a guy buy one of my (very cool) custom Gildaxe basses, and the next day he wrote a PM to me saying he was drunk when he hit the BIN tab. Begrudged, I offered to renege his offer to buy it - but quite honorably, he accepted his responsibility to follow thru and accept the sale. Who knows if he was actually happy with the bass - but I respected his responsible addressing of the reality of his inebriated on-line purchase.
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If he sobered up and stayed they way, he kept it. ;)
 
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#224,625
see. fb
GonePlaid said:
For me, the holy grail-soundwise-was when I had 2 of these. 1 head into both 2x12 cabs was heaven. Not a lotta 'oomph', but tone up the ying-yang.
View attachment 4840198 I also got to play a few times through a B-18 at a rehearsal situation. The guy was selling it. Unfortunately, he knew what it was worth.
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don't think I ever played in an ensemble (non recording) where a single B-15 or 18 was enough from a SPL perspective…
 
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#224,628
TBird1958 said:
I dig this bass!
Having always liked Kubicki's, this bass is total coolness.


eZM2Hqr.jpg
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lotta eye candy in that pic!….
 
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#224,630
Miles_ONeal said:
if only you knew someone within a couple of hours drive who’s an amp genius…
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JIO said:
I feel very fortunate that Chucky (as the amp guru he is) was within driving distance to revive my beloved Ashdown Spyder... but more importantly it established a friendship related to our shared interest as musicians and as people/friends! If you are open to it - really positive things always can 'happen'. Life is filled with positive avenues as long as you are open to navigate them!
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you guys are way kind! honored and humbled…..it’d be awesome to meet Kara but if you can do luthier work on your basses, you can surely squeeze some contact cleaner onto a pot….:)
 
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#224,634
Chucky Stiletti said:
you guys are way kind! honored and humbled…..it’d be awesome to meet Kara but if you can do luthier work on your basses, you can surely squeeze some contact cleaner onto a pot….:)
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The pot should be easy enough....the problem on the B channel is more involved.
All of the pots act like they're bad/need cleaning - unless the graphic EQ is engaged for that channel. Then they're all fine :meh:


I just haven't had a chance to take it apart again to see what I can figure out.....
 
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#224,638
Chucky Stiletti said:
see. fb

don't think I ever played in an ensemble (non recording) where a single B-15 or 18 was enough from a SPL perspective…
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It was in the B-18 owner's house. He told me he had an amp I could play through. I brought one anyway. When I saw his amp, mine stayed in the van. Sort of a Dixieland band instrumentation, IIRC. All acoustic 'cept for me.
 
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#224,639
GBassNorth said:
Geo - I love the organic look you achieved with that bird body. The soft corners and compound curves with that finish almost make the bass look like it grew that way naturally. I’ve never been fond of the kabuki style headstocks or headless basses, but with the unique drop tuner/multi scale feature it makes sense. Are those G&L pups? If so, I bet she’s a screamer.
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Thanks man! It was my first custom design/build back in the late '90s. At that point I owned two basses, my '64 II and and a black '86 Kubicki Ex-Factor. I bought an early '90s FCS fretless Ex-Factor (also black) for a good price that someone replaced the pu's/electronics and used the bridge-tuner for the Factorbird. I had the fb planed/leveled and sold the fretless neck, made a plug for the cavity to support a standard bridge, and mounted a maple w/blk-blocked Fender Jazz neck turning it into what I called the J-Factor. You can see it and the Factorbird, both on The Kubicki Factor fb page. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.550185941738870&type=3

At the time Phil sold his tuner-bridge for $500. I already had the lined fretless neck that I bought new from Phil in '94. My friend who is a journeyman carpenter helped me cut out the 3-piece old growth Koa in the exact manor as my '64 with V joints connecting the tapered wings. Koa is a very dense wood - similar to ebony but not as brittle. It's also heavy. Cutting the bridge-tuner pocket was very tricky, but we did it. My goal was shaping it ergonomically to fit how I played my T-bird, which is to ride the body higher to access first-position more comfortably. And yes, G&L L2000 MFD pu's and 9v pre.

moquette for the 'plug' I made for the J-Factor
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lower horn scallop for access to the upper register
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the upper horn is scalloped to rest against my body - I have a permanent sore spot on my rib from years of playing my II
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upper side profile shows the upper & lower bevels - it's the same thickness as my '64 II
image.jpeg

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