Thunderbird Club

[Stealth57]

Is that for a refret?

Fret sprout. I think they want to force a leveling too, which doesn’t appear to be needed.

 

[Stealth57]

And a reacharound…

Ahem…

 

[JJR58]

Fret sprout. I think they want to force a leveling too, which doesn’t appear to be needed.

it should cost no more then 125.
At least here anyway.

 

[bobyoung53]

I haven't watched it but here is the link.

I thought it was an overly harsh review and I also thought he really hated the bridge and used it and the finish flaw to condemn the bass. Do they take some getting used to? Yes, Rickenbackers routinely get bashed too here for the same reason, for me at least it's because Fenders are so dominant and common, everyone wants all basses to play and sound like them. I don't get people complaining about bridges, I mean it's not like you have to set your intonation every day, people also bash Ric bridges, I've never had any trouble with them, with both T-Bird and Rics I just loosen the string before I intonate it. I also started playing with Fenders and yes the bent plate is simple and adjusts on the fly but again, when is the last time anyone here had to adjust their intonation between songs on the stage? Now two points? Yes they do suck and are difficult to adjust but if you can get them set they stay and you don't need to play with them again.
I long ago learned that if I don't like a reasonably well made bass for some reason, it's probably me and not the bass, which has almost always turned out to be the case. I'm not a big guy and I find these basses to play exceptionally well, the neck is a little long but again, it's just getting used to it. I have no finish flaws in mine. I need to live with a bass for a while to really be able to confidently make an accurate and unbiased judgement on a bass.

 

[bobyoung53]

I watched the review but have the disadvantage of not having touched or even seen a NR.

I thought he exaggerated the negatives a little and a one claw (out of ?) score seemed a bit harsh.

The bridge, it has plenty of detractors but it works if inelegantly. I thought scoring it down for not having adjustable string height while not mentioning that it is preset to match the neck radius was harsh.

The finish flaw looked crook. But if I understood correctly he had to part disassemble the tuner to find it. I expect if I owned the bass I would never have known about it. If I'm wrong and it was plainly visible then Gibson deserved to be marked down.

He said he liked the sound of it.

The price? Yes it’s expensive but is it in the ball park for other US built name brand basses? I don’t know.

Yes it's in the ballpark of Fender's best and Rickenbacker.

 

[bobyoung53]

I see @Nocturnal posted the link. I couldn't 'cos, after watching this and a coupla other of his reviews, I wrote him off.

He's usually pretty fair, I just think something set him off on this one.

 

[bobyoung53]

String changes aren’t an issue as long as you don’t flip over the bass with the strings off. Now, breaking a string at a gig, hadn’t thought of that.

I haven't broken a string onstage since 1977 and that was a bent plate Fender with a burr on the bridge.

 

[bobyoung53]

I change strings reasonably often as on most of my basses I prefer the brightness and clank, when that goes away I want new strings. Having changed strings many times on a lot of different basses one thing I've never done is flip it over, who does that?
Having broken E and A strings onstage a few times I can say that it's not a big deal, your broken string holds the saddle in place.........I finished the song and picked up my spare - Playing live 1 bass = 0, 2 basses = 1.
Re Lobster, I think he's mostly apeing Gibson haters, it's a popular thing to do and he's obviously on YT to make some $$$ and be some sort of celeb, he's a much better bassist than I am, I'm a hack with a pick that plays too hard, but as it turns out the NR seems to sound great when I flog it.
Regarding the QC on his bass - yes, Gibson should do better, the bow in the PG and bubbling paint should not have left the factory - My simple fix is to buy my new Gibson basses from Sweetwater, they check everything and don't ship basses with flaws, my 2021 arrived perfect, no paint flaws, nicely set up and at the same price all the major dealers were selling at.

I think you get a great sound with a pick, in fact you're probably one of the reasons I started using one again, also I bought Mile Lull pickups for my reverse because of the sound you got using them on a video you posted 4 or 5 years ago here.

 

[bobyoung53]

I don't know what George Thorogood used. An ES125 is an archtop hollowbody with no sou d block and no cutaway. I doubt he used one because there is poor access to upper frets and they feed back at high volumes.

Are they three quarter scale, a student model? I used to play with a guy who worshipped Thorogood and had a Thorogood guitar and it was a normal scale.

 

[Butcherboy]

That's the gig bag I got from Dean for my 67NR. Currently using it-with some extra padding-instead of the CoffinTM Case.

…without extra padding that gig bag is a bit weak…but not as heavy as a coffin case (without TM)…

 

[Butcherboy]

The Bird.

A well loved backside.

….new project…sold as Hamer body…should fit my 60s Tbird neck…

 

[RedVee]

Are they three quarter scale, a student model? I used to play with a guy who worshipped Thorogood and had a Thorogood guitar and it was a normal scale.

It looks full size when I’ve seen him using it (video and one concert). I think he meant student as in ‘the cheap one’

 

[GBassNorth]

And a reacharound…

…with a bend over!

 

[TBird1958]

….new project…sold as Hamer body…should fit my 60s Tbird neck…

View attachment 4864658

I'm jealous......... 7enderbird on my brain. Nice score!

 

[GBassNorth]

Fret sprout. I think they want to force a leveling too, which doesn’t appear to be needed.

Heck, they could darn near Plek it for that price.
With the right tools, filing down fret sprout should take less than one hour. At a $50 hourly rate the most you should pay would be $100. Leveling is a whole different story and much much more involved.

Just to be clear, fret sprout as I’ve always used the term, refers to the ends of the fret protruding ever so slightly out each side of the neck. So that when you run your hand down the length of the neck, like you would do on a typical slide, your hand catches on each fret end. It’s annoying at best and even be painful in some circumstances. It can happen to any bass, I’ve had it happen on an Alembic with otherwise pristine fretwork.

 

[bobyoung53]

Heck, they could darn near Plek it for that price.
With the right tools, filing down fret sprout should take less than one hour. At a $50 hourly rate the most you should pay would be $100. Leveling is a whole different story and much much more involved.

Just to be clear, fret sprout as I’ve always used the term, refers to the ends of the fret protruding ever so slightly out each side of the neck. So that when you run your hand down the length of the neck, like you would do on a typical slide, your hand catches on each fret end. It’s annoying at best and even be painful in some circumstances. It can happen to any bass, I’ve had it happen on an Alembic with otherwise pristine fretwork.

Doesn't that happen when the wood really dries out like during a prolonged hot dry spell?

 

[GBassNorth]

I thought it was an overly harsh review and I also thought he really hated the bridge and used it and the finish flaw to condemn the bass. Do they take some getting used to? Yes, Rickenbackers routinely get bashed too here for the same reason, for me at least it's because Fenders are so dominant and common, everyone wants all basses to play and sound like them. I don't get people complaining about bridges, I mean it's not like you have to set your intonation every day, people also bash Ric bridges, I've never had any trouble with them, with both T-Bird and Rics I just loosen the string before I intonate it. I also started playing with Fenders and yes the bent plate is simple and adjusts on the fly but again, when is the last time anyone here had to adjust their intonation between songs on the stage? Now two points? Yes they do suck and are difficult to adjust but if you can get them set they stay and you don't need to play with them again.
I long ago learned that if I don't like a reasonably well made bass for some reason, it's probably me and not the bass, which has almost always turned out to be the case. I'm not a big guy and I find these basses to play exceptionally well, the neck is a little long but again, it's just getting used to it. I have no finish flaws in mine. I need to live with a bass for a while to really be able to confidently make an accurate and unbiased judgement on a bass.

I completely agree on all points.

 

[Stealth57]

Heck, they could darn near Plek it for that price.
With the right tools, filing down fret sprout should take less than one hour. At a $50 hourly rate the most you should pay would be $100. Leveling is a whole different story and much much more involved.

Just to be clear, fret sprout as I’ve always used the term, refers to the ends of the fret protruding ever so slightly out each side of the neck. So that when you run your hand down the length of the neck, like you would do on a typical slide, your hand catches on each fret end. It’s annoying at best and even be painful in some circumstances. It can happen to any bass, I’ve had it happen on an Alembic with otherwise pristine fretwork.

Correct

 

[GBassNorth]

Doesn't that happen when the wood really dries out like during a prolonged hot dry spell?

It certainly can. The key is not to confuse a full fret job with a fret sprout correction.

 

[Stealth57]

Doesn't that happen when the wood really dries out like during a prolonged hot dry spell?

The bass lived it's first 7 years in San Francisco. So, unlikely it was exposed to any excessive heat. I oiled the fret board when I got it about a year ago and it didn't seem to be overly dry.