Thunderbird Club

[Bassmike62]

In Bond Girl (Cherie's band) she plays an Epi, but this one - Kirstin is in my band The Sean Conneries and Paul plays guitar in both bands.
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Got it
Not the most common guitar you see being played on stage. Came across one in a shop after seeing your singer playing one and gave it a go... I remember a neck rather uncomfortable for me to play. Kudos to your bandmate

 

[PhR75]

Sounds very good to me.
Always liked MXR for their modulation pedals on bass, not so much for their dirt pedals. This, I like.

I used to own the Phase 90 but let it go since even after the so-called script mod it was too deep and distorted when the speed was increased. Would love to try the original.
My friend has an old MXR flanger which sounds great.

 

[Bassmike62]

I used to own the Phase 90 but let it go since even after the so-called script mod it was too deep and distorted when the speed was increased. Would love to try the original.
My friend has an old MXR flanger which sounds great.

The old big black 4-knob one does sound good on bass. The 2knob smaller enclosure sounds ok, but often has a volume spike.

EDIT:
MXR M117R Flanger Pedal Tested on BASS - YouTube

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

I used to own the Phase 90 but let it go since even after the so-called script mod it was too deep and distorted when the speed was increased. Would love to try the original.
My friend has an old MXR flanger which sounds great.

were those ever discontinued and reissued? @dagrev
Donnie’s sounded pretty awesome…

 

[BklynKen]

I used to own the Phase 90 but let it go since even after the so-called script mod it was too deep and distorted when the speed was increased. Would love to try the original.
My friend has an old MXR flanger which sounds great.

I have the Whirlwind Orange Box phaser, which sounds very good on bass. Seems to be as close to the original MXR as you can get.

 

[Engle]

It’s alive!

 

[Bassmike62]

It’s alive!
View attachment 4922125

That was fast. How it sounds ?

 

[JIO]

It’s alive!
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Right on - how do you like its sound?

 

[dagrev]

were those ever discontinued and reissued? @dagrev
Donnie’s sounded pretty awesome…

The newer 90s (post about 1982) are different and don't have the magic of the early P90s. That's why I was really depressed when mine died. They have something special going on. I suspect, but haven't A/B'ed the Whirlwind, but that may be pretty close depending on which version the Whirlwind seeks to reproduce. This is why I was thrilled you got my old 90 working. They are special. Had it not be fixable, the Whirlwind seems to be the logical next option.

 

[dagrev]

It’s alive!
View attachment 4922125

Looks great!

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Looks great!

+1

 

[BklynKen]

The newer 90s (post about 1982) are different and don't have the magic of the early P90s. That's why I was really depressed when mine died. They have something special going on. I suspect, but haven't A/B'ed the Whirlwind, but that may be pretty close depending on which version the Whirlwind seeks to reproduce. This is why I was thrilled you got my old 90 working. They are special. Had it not be fixable, the Whirlwind seems to be the logical next option.

Whirlwind was started by Michael Laiacona, originally from MXR. So Whirlwind's is from the original MXR schematic.

@godofthunder59 knows Michael very well. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[JIO]

Such a sparse and cool baseline on Stayin' Alive. All of their Disco-funk songs had very well constructed uncluttered bass-lines thanks to Maurice. I've always felt that leaving a lot of space made for a way funkier feel. Yah, all the slap-happy super crazy bass is cool and all - but space is the place. Because of my carpal-tunnel issues, I've pared down the amount of notes I play in our bands' songs and yesterdays show reaffirmed that that is the right direction. Less notes means choosing and articulating the few you play at the exact place where they have the most impact and support for the ensemble.

Back to Jaco momentarily - many musicians (especially band leaders) who heard him back then weren't used to hearing a bass-player playing so many notes - and they didn't like it. Part exuberance/youth - once he hooked up with Weather Report - he evolved from merely sounding 'busy' to playing bass and lead at the same time. More New Orleanian in poly-phonics - and poly-rhythmic, much like an African vibe. Ok... I'm done.

 

[JIO]

Saw TI back in the early days when they were a support act in a 3 or 4 act list. They’ve basically been a Kevin Parker solo project for a good while now. TI’s Elephant being covered by The Wiggles became a bit of an internet sensation a year or so ago down here. Pretty sure there was an Epi T’bird IV involved.

I try to learn about more recent/new pop and like a lot of what I'm hearing, including Tame Impala, Other Lives, The Amazing, and most anything that ends up in a David Lynch film! In fact, Lynch, Hitchcock, Herzog, Antonioni and Wim Wenders always had great soundtracks for their films.

 

[godofthunder59]

Whirlwind was started by Michael Laiacona, originally from MXR. So Whirlwind's is from the original MXR schematic.

@godofthunder59 knows Michael very well. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Michael is my brother in law, according to him when he sold MXR he kept the schematics to the original script schematics and would eventually use them in his Whirlwind series of pedals.

 

[RedVee]

I try to learn about more recent/new pop and like a lot of what I'm hearing, including Tame Impala, Other Lives, The Amazing, and most anything that ends up in a David Lynch film! In fact, Lynch, Hitchcock, Herzog, Antonioni and Wim Wenders always had great soundtracks for their films.

A Tame Impala cover. Anthony is using the Maton JBIV, not the Thunderbird, my mistake earlier.

 

[JIO]

Michael is my brother in law.

six degrees of separation

 

[Stealth57]

Honest seller on the Ashdown. Refunded the money and said keep it. Almost $300 for a new power board off eBay so doesn’t make sense to fix it. Maybe someone local can use it for parts.

 

[dagrev]

Whirlwind was started by Michael Laiacona, originally from MXR. So Whirlwind's is from the original MXR schematic.

@godofthunder59 knows Michael very well. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Bro-in-law. Who gives him free T-shirts!
But their were a couple iterations early on. The very first version was most subtle, IIRC. It was tweaked a little (the last version like mine) before Dunlop, who also did some changing and is basically the MXR version of today.

I remember this brief history copied from an article. This helped refine my dates. My 90 is the last version.
Analyzing The Hype: MXR Phase 90
MXR was founded back in 1972. Produced in 1973, the Phase 90 was one of MXR’s first products in the original Preference series (along with the also legendary DynaComp, Phase 45, Distortion +, and Micro Amp). Over the next 11 years, these pedals went through some minor cosmetic and minor circuit changes and were thus split into three periods. The first was the Script Period (1973-1975). These were the originals with a fancy pants style script logo and the original circuits. The next was the First Block Period (1975-1981). The logo was changed in 1975 to an easier to read block letter font. The circuits were changed during this period as well (these changes were very minor and even some Script pedals had the circuit revisions, and some Block ones had original circuits). Lastly, was the Second Block Period (1981-1984), in which an AC input and a status LED were added for better functionality.

MXR went bankrupt in 1984 after some poor missteps in regards to some of their other products (2000 and Commander series pedals mainly, possibly another reverse hype article like this one?). The company was revived by Jim Dunlop in 1987 and with it, he brought back all the original pedals, including the Phase 90, and they’re still in production to this day.

So, what makes the original Phase 90 so pricey? Well…….

Why Is It So Hyped?
Eddie Van Halen.
Goodnight.
(Seinfeld theme)
In all seriousness, you could probably chalk a lot of the Phase 90’s success to EVH’s use of it throughout VH I, and most notably on Eruption.
Another key reason is the scarcity of some of the early units and the desirability of the original script circuit (which, as I said, is not much different from the block circuit. Again, some early block logos have script circuits, and some late scripts have block circuits). Lastly, they just sounded warm and rich without going over the top like some of the other phasers at the time.

 

[dagrev]

Honest seller on the Ashdown. Refunded the money and said keep it. Almost $300 for a new power board off eBay so doesn’t make sense to fix it. Maybe someone local can use it for parts.

Good on the seller and great for you!