Thunderbird Club

[dagrev]

I haven't played mine with the band yet, but I really do get where you're coming from.......the real deal!

Wait till you unleash it at a gig with a decent sized room. You're going to very impressed.

 

[dagrev]

Maybe they will make a 17 string Thunderbird one day. Going to have to beef up the neck a bit. Clearly a "just because you can" kind of bass.

 

[WillyW]

Time to prep the body while I wait for the neck…

 

[PaleAngel_90]

This thing never gets old. Used it today. A former sound guy and drummer complemented the bass after church today. He said, "You have some basses that sound amazing--but nothing sounds like that one. I can tell when you're playing it without even looking." I told him I feel the same. I don't know what it is, but there's some magic this bass has that others just don't.

View attachment 4872644

Is that a Greco? An Epiphone or a Gibson?

 

[PaleAngel_90]

Maybe they will make a 17 string Thunderbird one day. Going to have to beef up the neck a bit. Clearly a "just because you can" kind of bass.

My condolences for his spine and back. That thing must weigh like a casket... Also that's one of the ugliest basses I've seen.

 

[dagrev]

Is that a Greco? An Epiphone or a Gibson?

1964 Gibson. The gold standard of Thunderbird tone in my opinion. Buying it decades ago was one of the non-stupid things I happened to pull off.

 

[dagrev]

My condolences for his spine and back. That thing must weigh like a casket...

I'm sure it's chambered (hollowed in some places), but the strings alone would weight 5lbs. I don't know how you'd keep the neck straight unless it has another 5lbs of rods or was made out of a 2x12.

 

[BklynKen]

My condolences for his spine and back. That thing must weigh like a casket... Also that's one of the ugliest basses I've seen.

Dude's playing with ZZ Top. I don't judge.

Here’s Why ZZ Top Just Performed With a Massive 17-String Bass

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Epic!!!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

The kind of case you need might depend a bit on how you intend to use it. I like a hard case for home storage or long term storage and shipping. I like a well padded gig bag for hand transport in cars, cabs and buses. I don’t like cheap light weight gig bags for much of anything.


LOL - the day it goes out of rotation I’ll PM you, don’t hold your breath though.
Interestingly, the wife has expressed an interest in various Texas properties just east of Dallas. No idea how far that is from you, but if it happens feel free to stop by and play the BlingBird as often as you want.

Somehow I knew the answer, but I’ll take that tenuous hope! 8^) I’m glad you enjoy that beautiful bass.

Dallas is about 3 hours away when traffic is reasonable, so likely 3-4 hours. Not bad.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

The lightest non-acoustic bass I've owned is my '89 Soundgear sr885le.
7 3/4 lbs.
Lighter even than the '88 I have in the same model - probably Sunset Red paint is heavier than plain black?


The heaviest bass I have atm is my Pro 5 Thunderbird, almost exactly 2 lbs. heavier than the Ibanez.......



View attachment 4871015

Yeah, that Pro 5 is a heavy beastie!

 

[Stealth57]

Something you don’t see everyday.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

C’mon!! LETS DO THIS!!

Indeed!

 

[PaleAngel_90]

C’mon!! LETS DO THIS!!

Who's Jackson? Your son?

 

[Blazer]

Glen Campbell covering the Foo Fighters with a T-bird being played by his bass player.

 

[godofthunder59]

There's a second clip out there from a different angle that makes it look even more like it was intentional. No idea if it was, but the clip is pretty damning. So sad...

There's a second clip out there from a different angle that makes it look even more like it was intentional. No idea if it was, but the clip is pretty damning. So sad...

This picture shows the P-63 immediately before it rammed the B-17. At this point I would hate to speculate that it was deliberate. There are any number of possible reasons for the crash, usually in situations like this there is a cascade of errors. Mechanical failure is always a possibility. We'll know soon enough.

 

[Blazer]

Showed that to a friend, whom is executive pilot; he said (of course) was terrible, and in airshows, radio comunications must be used more than normal.

I can't find it any more, but there was this clip where the collision was examined by an experienced pilot and here's what he had to say.

This is the cockpit of a P-63 Kingcobra, note that it has doors very much like the ones on a car.

And this is what you see when you're the pilot actually flying the Kingcobra. Forward visibility is adequate to say it mildly, but sidewards visibility is worse, as that car door and the struts that keep it and the panels of the cockpit in place hamper visibility even more.

The guy said that based on the evidence that the footage shows, the Kingcobra, which was flying in formation with other fighters (a couple of Mustangs, Spitfires, and the likes) over shot with which the plane went out of formation and was turning to get back into the line. In doing so, tilting his right wing up and blocking his downwards view completely. The pilot never saw the B-17.

As for the B-17, even if the crew saw the Kingcobra, there's very little they could do. A B-17 was never designed to pull nimble evasive moves, it's simply too big for that.

 

[Bassmike62]

Maybe they will make a 17 string Thunderbird one day. Going to have to beef up the neck a bit. Clearly a "just because you can" kind of bass.

Only ZZTop can get away with this.

 

[Blazer]

This picture shows the P-63 immediately before it abruptly changed course and rammed the B-17. At this point I would hate to speculate that it was deliberate. There are any number of possible reasons for the crash, usually in situations like this there is a cascade of errors. Mechanical failure is always a possibility. We'll know soon enough. View attachment 4873198

Nope, it was not intentional.

Look at that picture, how the Kingcobra has its right wing upwards, it was turning to get back in formation with the other fighters in the display. The pilot simply couldn't see the bomber flying underneath.

Also don't forget the element of "Oh crap, I overshot, better get my course right, the others are on my eleven O clock. I can get back to them if I ..." CRASH!

 

[dagrev]

This picture shows the P-63 immediately before it rammed the B-17. At this point I would hate to speculate that it was deliberate. There are any number of possible reasons for the crash, usually in situations like this there is a cascade of errors. Mechanical failure is always a possibility. We'll know soon enough. View attachment 4873198

I know. Many possibilities. Given the B-17 was the only other big thing in the sky in front of you it's certainly difficult to think about. Mechanical failure (likely but unlikely it would direct it right to the B-17), trying to do a cool swoop on the B-17 that was above skill level, looking everywhere but where you are headed, and a few others, and then your other option that you don't want to think or believe. I'm not sure we'll ever know. But it's horrible all the way around.