Until they start cashing endorsement checks and other royalties. Then that pain will not be such a problem. And, "her people" can lug that stuff around for her.
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Thunderbird Club
- Thread starter TBird1958
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- club thunderbird
There is the magical Probucker pickups (in VPs) that trounce modern Gibsons for vintage Thunderbird tone.
Jamerson worked magic and clicked for me way more than the others. And seems to have been way ahead of the others in terms of doing new melodic things on bass. That said. Many Motown and R&B type bassists were fantastic. David Hood, Bob Babbit.... Some guy named Duck....I'd never heard of Jaco, or Jamerson, until probably Scott Devine mentioned them in his YouTube videos that I watched, maybe 3-4 years ago. And Charles Mingus, I had to look him up just now
It's just that where and when I grew up, and the kind of music that exposed me too, those guys were so far out side of that .... Jamerson would be the only one I'd even heard in passing. Even Entwistle....I'd heard a couple of The Who songs, but only what played on the radio by the late 80s, and I didn't know him by name until probably the last decade or so.
I didn't get into music at all before the mid 80s, when I was able to move to stay with my dad, and as a new teenager, if it wasn't some kind of rock or metal, I didn't have much to do with it until probably the late 90s? I guess. Then it was country & alternative rock for a while, then (modern) rock & metal.
Then I started hanging out with you guys
So now I've heard of those guys, and listened to some of their music, but really not my cup of tea for the most part....
That's something at least.There is the magical Probucker pickups (in VPs) that trounce modern Gibsons for vintage Thunderbird tone.
Happy New Year, Mate! Have one on me, Geoff!
Ok, maybe you'd rather not and have a better option!
Best non $1000+ Thunderbird since the 60s. (VPs, that is.)
I was seriously expecting to see her name on the grille when she pulled off the sticker.
Ken’s ‘13 RNR has apparently turned out to be a fantastic bass after the conversion and neck shaping. It goes to show how tweaking things to your liking pays off in the long run.I’m sure half the reason it sounds terrible is because there’s no pickguard screws to drive the upper mid high nuances that most of us enjoy in the Tbird (especially with the chrome screws, the black screws sound darker to my ear). But the other and possibly bigger reason is that you’ve installed the strings in the wrong order. I bet you have a devil of a time getting an open G to ring out on that thick string, and I’m sure the open E sounds thin and underwhelming.
I think you need to ship that bass to me so I can fix it for you, it should only take a couple of years to get it all sorted out.
My ‘13 NR is getting a lot of playing time since I got it out of the shop. Turns out they did more to it than was clear from the receipt. John’s assistant did the work on this one and I didn’t have time when I picked the three basses up to go over it. And John was really happy with how the Pelham Blue Epi turned out.
Fret sprout was addressed after all. The nut slots were lowered a tad, at least the E and A slots were. They may well have reset the 9th and 11th frets, but I’m not messing with the setup to confirm. The improvement in playability is really noticeable. Of all my Tbirds, this and the shorty are the only two with the Tbird Plus pickups. Although the two basses sound different due to pickup placement. I’m a happy Thunderbird player getting reconnected with this one again.
Now I’m thinking it needs a clear pickguard. I’ll be talking to Irv in the next months about that.
Come on down! And be sure to bring my buddy Frank. That day at the party was huge fun. Great friends and music. Can’t ask for any more than that.You're making me really want to come on back for another visit, so beautiful there.
Have a good visit with Geo!
That was quick! I’m glad he is selling those again. And yep, you’re definitely on the right track Geoff.
That's OK. I met Jaco in 71-before he became JACO. The band I was in(on keys and sax)was looking for a bass player. We were doing late 60s/early 70s R&R. He came-with an attitude-and either wasn't interested, which he could've said from the get-go, or couldn't play the stuff we were doing(Who, Free, Sly and the Family, etc.). I s'pose that colored my opinion of him from then on. Amazing technician, horrible tone-IMNSHO.I'd never heard of Jaco, or Jamerson, until probably Scott Devine mentioned them in his YouTube videos that I watched, maybe 3-4 years ago. And Charles Mingus, I had to look him up just now
It's just that where and when I grew up, and the kind of music that exposed me too, those guys were so far out side of that .... Jamerson would be the only one I'd even heard in passing. Even Entwistle....I'd heard a couple of The Who songs, but only what played on the radio by the late 80s, and I didn't know him by name until probably the last decade or so.
I didn't get into music at all before the mid 80s, when I was able to move to stay with my dad, and as a new teenager, if it wasn't some kind of rock or metal, I didn't have much to do with it until probably the late 90s? I guess. Then it was country & alternative rock for a while, then (modern) rock & metal.
Then I started hanging out with you guys
So now I've heard of those guys, and listened to some of their music, but really not my cup of tea for the most part....
Jamerson I didn't know by name until long after I was influenced by his playing. He-and other studio players-weren't in the credits on albums I bought.
Growing up in the late 60s/early 70s, my parents had a few records and a large portion of those records were Motown, with some Beatles, which is what my Mom listened to. I was exposed early at music that moved and remember playing air drums on the couch to that music, 'cause I was gonna be that fantastic drumner, see? Fast forward to 2008 and I start playing bass and get into understanding where those sounds came from and who'n'what makes'em. Then I start hanging out here and get those answers and one of those answers was James Jamerson and I finally understand he was the guy that made the music move when I listened to those records as an 8-10 y.o. and also read about the Jamerson/McCartney connection. I don't play Motown (or Beatles) stuff with the current band, but I regard JJ as being the one that made me notice the bass as an instrument, even if it took me 35 years to figure it out.
I’ve come clean and admitted I have a problem. I’ve told her about the 11th Tbird that will soon be joining the flock. Although I don’t think she has figured out there are already ten spread out in various places. I’m a goner when the music room is set up and all are in one place.
Egg-zackly! Add Carol Kaye. Who knew that some of the best bass lines ever came from that little lady?Growing up in the late 60s/early 70s, my parents had a few records and a large portion of those records were Motown, with some Beatles, which is what my Mom listened to. I was exposed early at music that moved and remember playing air drums on the couch to that music, 'cause I was gonna be that fantastic drumner, see? Fast forward to 2008 and I start playing bass and get into understanding where those sounds came from and who'n'what makes'em. Then I start hanging out here and get those answers and one of those answers was James Jamerson and I finally understand he was the guy that made the music move when I listened to those records as an 8-10 y.o. and also read about the Jamerson/McCartney connection. I don't play Motown (or Beatles) stuff with the current band, but I regard JJ as being the one that made me notice the bass as an instrument, even if it took me 35 years to figure it out.
True dat. Read her story of how it worked back then, quite an amazing woman.
No. He was already on a different path. My guess would be that if he had joined us, he would've left soon after.
(FWIW, we were a no drug usage with a light religious message band)
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I like them fine fresh out of the pack for Tbirds. They’re what Nikki uses. But they get dull too fast for me to mess with. That’s one reason I’ve settled on stainless. A nice mix of bright and a little more longevity.
I watched a ~90 minute video on her. Really interesting history.
I have a friend who bought her then-husband a lesson/session with Ms. Kaye. He wanted to do things "his way". Ms. Kaye 'encouraged' him to leave.
The vid of her and Simmons that is out there is all you need to know about how much respect she has in the industry.
