Thunderbird Club

[Chucky Stiletti]

Scathing 2 minute review. Anybody play one ?

gigged mine (same exact rig) at least once a week for over 5 years without a glitch…my main rig (have a smaller MB 2x10 as well) by default. have heard their quality suffered when they started manufacturing off shore (Indonesia?) but never confirmed this……as someone mentioned, the EQ and controls are somewhat non intuitive but very powerful when you get the hang of how they interact….have also noticed their higher sensitivity to crappy mains and external noise sources…..conditioners can alleviate this….ymmv but for me, some of the best available bass amplification for guys who play often in places with crappy load in/outs and have no help….I just need one trip in and one out with a bass and an 800 Watt amplifier that weighs under 50 lbs…..can’t beat that…

 

[JJR58]

gigged mine (same exact rig) at least once a week for over 5 years without a glitch…my main rig (have a smaller MB 2x10 as well) by default. have heard their quality suffered when they started manufacturing off shore (Indonesia?) but never confirmed this……as someone mentioned, the EQ and controls are somewhat non intuitive but very powerful when you get the hang of how they interact….have also noticed their higher sensitivity to crappy mains and external noise sources…..conditioners can alleviate this….ymmv but for me, some of the best available bass amplification for guys who play often in places with crappy load in/outs and have no help….I just need one trip in and one out with a bass and an 800 Watt amplifier that weighs under 50 lbs…..can’t beat that…

Or The SVT head.

 

[JIO]

Centerfold bass. There is something of a dirty feeling while looking that tends to linger a while.

a high-class... looker?

 

[JJR58]

Chucks got an MB210 and Ashdown EVO
(which you can’t see sitting on top the 210) here.

The man was getting a killer tone.

 

[JIO]

gigged mine (same exact rig) at least once a week for over 5 years without a glitch…my main rig (have a smaller MB 2x10 as well) by default. have heard their quality suffered when they started manufacturing off shore (Indonesia?) but never confirmed this……as someone mentioned, the EQ and controls are somewhat non intuitive but very powerful when you get the hang of how they interact….have also noticed their higher sensitivity to crappy mains and external noise sources…..conditioners can alleviate this….ymmv but for me, some of the best available bass amplification for guys who play often in places with crappy load in/outs and have no help….I just need one trip in and one out with a bass and an 800 Watt amplifier that weighs under 50 lbs…..can’t beat that…

I knew I should have asked you about them first! (and being an Italian brand...)

 

[TBird1958]

Chucks got an MB210 and Ashdown EVO
(which you can’t see sitting on top the 210) here.

The man was getting a killer tone.
View attachment 4893741

No shoes, big smile in that pic!

 

[bobyoung53]

Or The SVT head.

Plus 35 lbs

 

[PaleAngel_90]

me too, but I probably wouldn’t have listened… isn’t that attitude just right for a badass Tbird slinger?

anyway, I can get the greatest range of killer tones from the Thunderbird where others seem more like one trick ponies, granted I am really new at bass. Still, I get my most convincing James Jamerson tone with the Simmons TBird and some foam. Funk, rock, it sits better than anything else I’ve tried for my use. I can even cop this tone perfectly from some Spanish rock I grew up listening to:



Hope others enjoy the bass line!

From where are you from? I'm from Canary Islands, Spain.

 

[Count Bassie]

They're not very warm sounding to me. The thing that impressed me about the amp at the club was that it could really punch out the low notes, it's a 300 watt single 15" combo. Everytime I use a house amp out here I miss my Ampegs.

I'll chime in- a small Markbass combo throws really well, and doesn't get lost in the mix.
They just have a baked-in sound that hits me just a little wrong. Maybe it's just too tailored, maybe it's so engineered that what I'm hearing is more precise. Whatever, I don't love it.
And yeah, their prices are just dumb.

 

[Count Bassie]

I made it about a year ago. It was a Gluff Flame Maple cap on an Alder semi hollow body blank with a Fender flame maple and rosewood bolt on neck. The tuners are Hipshot ultra light lollipops and the bridge and hard tail are from Philadelphia Luthiers. I designed the control layout as three independent Vol/Tone stacks and custom built the pots. The pickups are thunderbird style EY Bass humbucker pickups with the bridge and center pickups in traditional P/J locations and the neck pickup in the Mudbucker location. Strings are Optima Gold round wounds. It has an incredibly broad palette of tones available and is a dream to play.

Here’s what the rest of the bass looks like…
View attachment 4892964
View attachment 4892963
View attachment 4892965
View attachment 4892966

That is a pretty 'Bird!

 

[BklynKen]

I like that idea. A lot. As long as he doesn't want California prices.

But it might cause cancer.

 

[bobyoung53]

Sometimes I feel like an outlier in this club Don't like Gibson Thunderbird neck profiles, or the neck-dive (I'm not changing my strap height to accommodate them), the looks with black pickups; HATE the NR looks, never bonded with my Lull T5 (gave it 3 years). I love the sound of Chinabuckers. I really like Markbass LittleMark amps (since 2005,) and Markbass cabs (2 210s and 2 112s, allows for 3 different combinations, all good). I like the looks of Dingwall Drocs over the Dbirds. Good thing ya'll are so tolerant.

PM sent.

 

[bobyoung53]

I'll chime in- a small Markbass combo throws really well, and doesn't get lost in the mix.
They just have a baked-in sound that hits me just a little wrong. Maybe it's just too tailored, maybe it's so engineered that what I'm hearing is more precise. Whatever, I don't love it.
And yeah, their prices are just dumb.

It actually wasn't that small, had a 15" speaker in it and was deep, it wasn't light either.

 

[dagrev]

Even without a Thunderbird, this is just about perfect.

Lord have mercy! That's lightning in a bottle magic. I had never seen that and am not ashamed to say that gave me chills from about half way to past the end. Thanks for posting that Miles.

 

[GBassNorth]

Marty Bell has retired - who are the other two? Mark Jennings is probably one.

Good catch, forgot about Marty’s retirement. Hadn’t heard much about Jennings. This was the other finisher I was thinking of…
GuitarPaintGuys - Custom Guitar Finishing

Sometimes I feel like an outlier in this club Don't like Gibson Thunderbird neck profiles, or the neck-dive (I'm not changing my strap height to accommodate them), the looks with black pickups; HATE the NR looks, never bonded with my Lull T5 (gave it 3 years). I love the sound of Chinabuckers. I really like Markbass LittleMark amps (since 2005,) and Markbass cabs (2 210s and 2 112s, allows for 3 different combinations, all good). I like the looks of Dingwall Drocs over the Dbirds. Good thing ya'll are so tolerant.

This club has pretty much all the basses (see what I did there) covered.

My Gibson 2022 NR has a completely different neck profile from my other Gibson Tbirds and those have a different neck profile than my China built Goth bird, which is different from my Korean built Goth bird, which is completely different from my BaCH bird, not to mention my Greco birds and nothing like my BlingBird or Acaica NR fanned fret bird.

I’m with ya on black plastic pickups, much prefer the look and feel of metal cans. I have chrome, nickel, black and gold and like them all. My least favorite are the black plastic exposed pole pups on the Gibson 2015. I do like the look of the Nordstrand Zen exposed blade sidewinders on my Acaica though.

I’m OK with the NR look but prefer the ergonomics and general look of the standard reverse Tbird.

The BlingBird in my avatar has a set of 3 Chinabuckers. I find them lacking in depth or complexity if soloed but think they sound quite nice when blended with a second or third Chinabucker to thicken up the tone a bit. Gotta love the metal can look and the bargain basement price though.

The only Markbass I’ve tried sounded phenomenal in the store. It was a little tiny 1x12 combo thing that punched way above its weight. Unfortunately the asking price was quite literally absurd. Nearly $1100 out the door for a 12” combo is Phil Jones level insanity.

I’m still lusting over the original Dbirds. I regrettably passed on one at a great price because I wasn’t sure I could get along with a fanned fret layout. I know better now. I haven’t warmed up as much to the look of the DRock - yet.

 

[GBassNorth]

That is a pretty 'Bird!

Thanks, it was a fun build.

 

[GBassNorth]

But it might cause cancer.

Everything in this state might cause cancer, even including the dumb signs that claim this product might cause cancer. Stupidest law I’ve ever seen.

 

[GBassNorth]

See.... Further proving my point. I'm going to call it the Naughty North Bass. A little something sheer draped across the middle pickup would complete the image.

From what I've heard about such things.....

LOL - the bass just needs a photo shoot in a dimly lit room on a red satin chase lounge with a pair of silk stockings with seams up the back draped over it; and in the background - two half empty glasses of champagne and a couple of strawberries dipped in chocolate. You’ll have to use your imagination, I’ll pass on taking the photo.

 

[GonePlaid]

Sounds like the show we (TSC's) did with a sub drummer we never met/rehearsed with before. (our drummer then had Covid) I don't think he even bothered to listen to our set that we sent him recordings of. Should have just canceled - lesson learned.

Oh, and "very good player" ? The too-loud part for me negates how "good" a musician is if they don't 'get' playing at a compatible volume in any ensemble. The bands I play with dealt with a guitarist and drummer who didn't 'get' that. Both were 'very good', but both are gone from our bands.

I'm inclined to think the drummer/BL was reluctant to say anything to the guitarist-who has all sorts of credentials. Unfortunately, both of the guys we normally woulda used were booked.

 

[GonePlaid]

That’s breathtaking! If you get a ‘57 or ‘59 I’m movin in with you!

I like the ‘57 model best in the C1 series, but only because it’s my birth year. I like the C2 model best for its racing heritage with ‘67 as my favorite year. I had two C3 models, a ‘71 and a ‘74 but my favorite year for the C3 would be ‘73 with the rubber nose and chrome tail look or the ‘69 for the high performance engine options. At the time of the C4 launch I really liked that model and almost bought one but I’m kinda glad I didn’t, I don’t think the look aged very well compared to previous models. The current offering is a super car by any standard except cost and has a definite Ferrari vibe, but I’d still take a ‘57 or ‘67 over it.

I get the birth year thing-did Corvette make a prototype in '45?