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Thunderbird Club

What the hell is that?

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Update on the 22NR string selection. Just realized I have a set of SIT Power Steels (stainless with hex core) on another bass. Took them off that and installed on the NR. Definitely in the right direction! This bass is crying to be opened up and it seems bright strings are at least one solution. Now the trick will be to get sufficiently bright without giving up on the bottom end. These strings come very close to that.
 
WLW :laugh: I just went looking for the same thing. Half a million watts.


Check this video out:




For really big transmitters, the US Navy shines with multi-MW behemoths that talk to submarines underwater. I recall building a stone simple, crystal receiver with about a 100 foot antenna in our (large-ish) back yard in Augusta, somewhere between 1966 and 1970. It fed a pair of high-Z headphones. I got the deets from a magazine; I forget it if it was Popular Something or a radio magazine. You could pick up really slow Morse code, but of course the message itself was in code. It was still cool. The trick was to ground the antenna really well and make sure the antenna was highly insulated just inches off the ground. The signal would have been from a VLF transmitter; ELF came later even though it had been conceived by 1968.

Very Low Frequency (VLF) - United States Nuclear Forces
https://pages.hep.wisc.edu/~prepost/ELF.pdf
 
For really big transmitters, the US Navy shines with multi-MW behemoths that talk to submarines underwater. I recall building a stone simple, crystal receiver with about a 100 foot antenna in our (large-ish) back yard in Augusta, somewhere between 1966 and 1970. It fed a pair of high-Z headphones. I got the deets from a magazine; I forget it if it was Popular Something or a radio magazine. You could pick up really slow Morse code, but of course the message itself was in code. It was still cool. The trick was to ground the antenna really well and make sure the antenna was highly insulated just inches off the ground. The signal would have been from a VLF transmitter; ELF came later even though it had been conceived by 1968.

Very Low Frequency (VLF) - United States Nuclear Forces
https://pages.hep.wisc.edu/~prepost/ELF.pdf


Popular Science? I think that VLF signal was about 20 Hz, how big was the coil for the radio? Giant? I started out with a regular crystal radio when i was a kid, used to pick up local AM's but also VOA they were so powerful. I have an early 50's National receiver that can receive down to 50 Hz, I can pick up the long wave signal for clocks from WWVB on 60 Hz, it's a digital signal but it has a subcarrier 100 Hz below the main carrier so it creates a 100 Hz tone.
I had a 1000' Dipole antenna for that National radio in my father's backyard right through the woods on top of the trees tuned to somewhere around 350 Hz, (forgot). During the winter I could pick up European LW broadcast stations like they were from next door sometimes.
 
Update on the 22NR string selection. Just realized I have a set of SIT Power Steels (stainless with hex core) on another bass. Took them off that and installed on the NR. Definitely in the right direction! This bass is crying to be opened up and it seems bright strings are at least one solution. Now the trick will be to get sufficiently bright without giving up on the bottom end. These strings come very close to that.
I liked those as well. They are a great choice. But I'm neurotic and can't stop till I can say, "That's clearly the best string for any given bass." Of course what rig is being used is huge, but I'm leaning towards the Power Wounds and Boomers as the best option for what I want to hear. I seem to like the Power Wounds better than the David E., thus I'm not entirely sure they are exactly the same in all respects. I'm going to have to experiment and know that for certain.

I'm interested in the NPS Foundations as well and want to try those. This is a reply from SIT from months ago about the Foundations.

The Foundations were designed with tonal balance and string flexibility in mind. They aim to sound less like an "angry piano" and more like a good old fashioned bass guitar. The Foundation Nickel variety is slightly brighter than our Power Wound series, and the Foundation Stainless will be slightly less bright than the Power Steels. The Foundations also have new core-to-wrap ratios resulting in a string that is also easier to bend. For what you're describing, we would personally recommend trying the regular Foundation Nickel variety ([Invalid or Expired Link Removed]) as they will give you the most balanced tone and feel suitable for just about any style!
 
I liked those as well. They are a great choice. But I'm neurotic and can't stop till I can say, "That's clearly the best string for any given bass." Of course what rig is being used is huge, but I'm leaning towards the Power Wounds and Boomers as the best option for what I want to hear. I seem to like the Power Wounds better than the David E., thus I'm not entirely sure they are exactly the same in all respects. I'm going to have to experiment and know that for certain.

I'm interested in the NPS Foundations as well and want to try those. This is a reply from SIT from months ago about the Foundations.

The Foundations were designed with tonal balance and string flexibility in mind. They aim to sound less like an "angry piano" and more like a good old fashioned bass guitar. The Foundation Nickel variety is slightly brighter than our Power Wound series, and the Foundation Stainless will be slightly less bright than the Power Steels. The Foundations also have new core-to-wrap ratios resulting in a string that is also easier to bend. For what you're describing, we would personally recommend trying the regular Foundation Nickel variety ([Invalid or Expired Link Removed]) as they will give you the most balanced tone and feel suitable for just about any style!
I assume the SIT PWs will be a bit warmer than the Power Steels. I have a set of boomers on my Greco and judging from that experience (which is good on the Greco) I’d think the boomers might be too dark for the NR.
 
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I liked those as well. They are a great choice. But I'm neurotic and can't stop till I can say, "That's clearly the best string for any given bass." Of course what rig is being used is huge, but I'm leaning towards the Power Wounds and Boomers as the best option for what I want to hear. I seem to like the Power Wounds better than the David E., thus I'm not entirely sure they are exactly the same in all respects. I'm going to have to experiment and know that for certain.

I'm interested in the NPS Foundations as well and want to try those. This is a reply from SIT from months ago about the Foundations.

The Foundations were designed with tonal balance and string flexibility in mind. They aim to sound less like an "angry piano" and more like a good old fashioned bass guitar. The Foundation Nickel variety is slightly brighter than our Power Wound series, and the Foundation Stainless will be slightly less bright than the Power Steels. The Foundations also have new core-to-wrap ratios resulting in a string that is also easier to bend. For what you're describing, we would personally recommend trying the regular Foundation Nickel variety ([Invalid or Expired Link Removed]) as they will give you the most balanced tone and feel suitable for just about any style!
What do you think about Rotos?
 
I assume the SIT PWs will be a bit warmer than the Power Steels. I have a set of boomers on my Greco and judging from that experience (which is good on the Greco) I’d think the boomers might be too dark for the NR.
Yes, the PWs are warmer, but in no way dull. Really nice brightness for NPS. I didn't think the Boomers would be a good fit on the NR either, but tried them just because. I was shocked how the mids in the Boomers really brought some life to the NR. Those and the PWs are the best sounding option for my purposes. Power Steels are my third favorite. One thing with Boomers is to make sure they are regular Boomers and not "Round Core" Boomers, which are darker and have less mids. Round Core is clearly on the package in big letters, so it's easy to tell.
 

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