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Thunderbird Club

#233,741
BklynKen said:
I'm curious about the three Spark pedals.
Click to expand...

A little background first: 1, at 70, I'm no spring chicken. 2, due to genetics my L5 disc is thinner than normal. 3, after 35 years playing soccer, my L5 is half as thick as my other discs and is also bulging. The bottom line is I'm no stranger to back issues and only have so many Bend-overs left in my back.

The best tone I've ever had was when I was running an Eden WT 300, which ran a Tube pre-amp (never cared for my 16 tube Mesa 400+). While I've always liked my Markbass (since 2005), it never sounded the same since I removed the Markbass Compressore (also tube driven) due to its large footprint and 15v power requirements.

Enter SushiBox, tube pedals that add that tube grit, sheen, sparkle, but need a boost to really shine. Enter TC Sparks, they drive the SushiBox pedals wonderfully. The Sparks have a mini toggle with 3 settings, fat, mids, and clean and I use all 3 (fat for EB-O/P with flats tone, mid for Pbass with rounds/Jazz bass, Clean for Tbird). I use all 3 running both PUPs at 10, tone wide open. Using the SushiBox pedals I can also get pick tones, wenge neck Warwick vibe, or Stingrayish tones. By running 3, I can toggle the tones I want without having to bend over or mess with my bass settings.
 
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#233,743
bobyoung53 said:
I'm not sure what new 4003's are going for here in the U.S. I bought a new 4003S online before the prices went up for $1500.00 a few years ago, the 4003's were probably $1700-1800 then. I would guess 2535 Euros would not be out of line now in Europe but that's just a guess. It's a nice bass. This has the new type bridge.


Obligatory lousy picture from a hotel room.


View attachment 4930279
Click to expand...

I like this version w/fb dots and no binding. Simpler/more elegant visually - especial in black & white.
 
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#233,744
Thumper said:
A little background first: 1, at 70, I'm no spring chicken. 2, due to genetics my L5 disc is thinner than normal. 3, after 35 years playing soccer, my L5 is half as thick as my other discs and is also bulging. The bottom line is I'm no stranger to back issues and only have so many Bend-overs left in my back.

The best tone I've ever had was when I was running an Eden WT 300, which ran a Tube pre-amp (never cared for my 16 tube Mesa 400+). While I've always liked my Markbass (since 2005), it never sounded the same since I removed the Markbass Compressore (also tube driven) due to its large footprint and 15v power requirements.

Enter SushiBox, tube pedals that add that tube grit, sheen, sparkle, but need a boost to really shine. Enter TC Sparks, they drive the SushiBox pedals wonderfully. The Sparks have a mini toggle with 3 settings, fat, mids, and clean and I use all 3 (fat for EB-O/P with flats tone, mid for Pbass with rounds/Jazz bass, Clean for Tbird). I use all 3 running both PUPs at 10, tone wide open. Using the SushiBox pedals I can also get pick tones, wenge neck Warwick vibe, or Stingrayish tones. By running 3, I can toggle the tones I want without having to bend over or mess with my bass settings.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear about the back problems, but I fully commend you for finding a system that works for you! Sounds like a great solution.

I love my GK sound, but I also do love my dirt pedal pushing the B-15 at our rehearsal space. The thought of the SushiBox Slampegg has crossed my mind more than once.
 
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#233,745
JIO said:
I like this version w/fb dots and no binding. Simpler/more elegant visually - especial in black & white.
Click to expand...
Yes, I liked it too, went back and forth between this and Fireglo, unfortunately at this time it's sitting in my storage space in Mass along with my reverse Thunderbird and several other nice basses, I have a nice cherry '66 EB-2 there too.
 
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#233,746
After numerous phone calls to FedEx I was eventually was able to talk to someone here in town. Apparently they can't find the package. The lady even walked the line where it would've traveled and said she didn't see it anywhere in case it possibly fell off and fell under something. She assumed that it has been misplaced or lost. May take another couple days to sort out on its own. If it ended up someplace else, they should find it when they sort through that stack of things. She was not optimistic, but gave me several options as to how to proceed. Really nice. Said to call back on the number she used if I haven't heard anything in a few more days.
 
Last edited:
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#233,747
Thumper said:
A little background first: 1, at 70, I'm no spring chicken. 2, due to genetics my L5 disc is thinner than normal. 3, after 35 years playing soccer, my L5 is half as thick as my other discs and is also bulging. The bottom line is I'm no stranger to back issues and only have so many Bend-overs left in my back.

The best tone I've ever had was when I was running an Eden WT 300, which ran a Tube pre-amp (never cared for my 16 tube Mesa 400+). While I've always liked my Markbass (since 2005), it never sounded the same since I removed the Markbass Compressore (also tube driven) due to its large footprint and 15v power requirements.

Enter SushiBox, tube pedals that add that tube grit, sheen, sparkle, but need a boost to really shine. Enter TC Sparks, they drive the SushiBox pedals wonderfully. The Sparks have a mini toggle with 3 settings, fat, mids, and clean and I use all 3 (fat for EB-O/P with flats tone, mid for Pbass with rounds/Jazz bass, Clean for Tbird). I use all 3 running both PUPs at 10, tone wide open. Using the SushiBox pedals I can also get pick tones, wenge neck Warwick vibe, or Stingrayish tones. By running 3, I can toggle the tones I want without having to bend over or mess with my bass settings.
Click to expand...


Eden's are nice sounding heads, too bad they're gone. I've thought of picking one up to drag around in taxis out here but I guess some of them can't be fixed and I don't want to take the chance.
 
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#233,748
Thumper said:
A little background first: 1, at 70, I'm no spring chicken. 2, due to genetics my L5 disc is thinner than normal. 3, after 35 years playing soccer, my L5 is half as thick as my other discs and is also bulging. The bottom line is I'm no stranger to back issues and only have so many Bend-overs left in my back.

The best tone I've ever had was when I was running an Eden WT 300, which ran a Tube pre-amp (never cared for my 16 tube Mesa 400+). While I've always liked my Markbass (since 2005), it never sounded the same since I removed the Markbass Compressore (also tube driven) due to its large footprint and 15v power requirements.

Enter SushiBox, tube pedals that add that tube grit, sheen, sparkle, but need a boost to really shine. Enter TC Sparks, they drive the SushiBox pedals wonderfully. The Sparks have a mini toggle with 3 settings, fat, mids, and clean and I use all 3 (fat for EB-O/P with flats tone, mid for Pbass with rounds/Jazz bass, Clean for Tbird). I use all 3 running both PUPs at 10, tone wide open. Using the SushiBox pedals I can also get pick tones, wenge neck Warwick vibe, or Stingrayish tones. By running 3, I can toggle the tones I want without having to bend over or mess with my bass settings.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear that about your back. Didn't know soccer has been around 35 years!!! Seriously though, it sounds like you are trying to do a good job of continuing to play but managing how and what you play through wisely. You would certainly be out of commission if the back gets worse that's for sure, so taking care of yourself is definitely the smart thing to do.
 
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#233,749
dagrev said:
After numerous phone calls to FedEx and eventually was able to talk to someone here in town. Apparently they can't find the package. The lady even walk the line where it would've traveled and said she didn't see it anywhere in case it possibly fell off and fell under something. She assumed that it has been misplaced or lost. May take another couple days to sort out on its own if it ended up someplace else before they sort through that stack of things. She was not optimistic, but gave me several options as to how to proceed. Really nice. Said to call back on the number she used if I haven't heard anything in a few more days.
Click to expand...


I shipped out a tube tester to get fixed some years ago with Fedex, cost me 600 bucks and it didn't work when I got it back. It took me months to get my 600 bucks back from Fedex, so many games it was unbelievable......they were nice though. :laugh:
 
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#233,750
bobyoung53 said:
I shipped out a tube tester to get fixed some years ago with Fedex, cost me 600 bucks and it didn't work when I got it back. It took me months to get my 600 bucks back from Fedex, so many games it was unbelievable......they were nice though. :laugh:
Click to expand...
Tell me that if I made no progress in a reasonable time to contact visa and dispute the claim and just tell them, the package never arrived. I told the seller that I didn't want to do that but as a very last result, as that seems it would stick him with the problem. However, it was his bad idea to use FedEx…
 
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#233,751
bobyoung53 said:
I'm not sure what new 4003's are going for here in the U.S. I bought a new 4003S online before the prices went up for $1500.00 a few years ago, the 4003's were probably $1700-1800 then. I would guess 2535 Euros would not be out of line now in Europe but that's just a guess. It's a nice bass. This has the new type bridge.


Obligatory lousy picture from a hotel room.


View attachment 4930279
Click to expand...
Thomann is the only one that I've seen that has lower prices for 4003 other sites have them at 2700+
 
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#233,752
Back to work today.... sucks.

On a good note, waiting for a couple of deliveries, maybe one of them today:
- Broughton single knob HPF
- Strap for one of my Birds
- Mirrored PG for a non-Bird bass
- If I'm lucky, one non-bird bass is coming back from the shop with a new 3-band preamp instead of the stock 2-band. Leaves 2 other basses in shops, including my 2nd FenderBird

*sigh*
 
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#233,753
Thumper said:
A little background first: 1, at 70, I'm no spring chicken. 2, due to genetics my L5 disc is thinner than normal. 3, after 35 years playing soccer, my L5 is half as thick as my other discs and is also bulging. The bottom line is I'm no stranger to back issues and only have so many Bend-overs left in my back.
Click to expand...

Sounds familiar. For me it's the result of years of physical labor. No fun. But I'm still on the bike - it actually feels better than walking. Just making the best out of a bad situation -
 
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#233,754
bobyoung53 said:
I'm not sure what new 4003's are going for here in the U.S. I bought a new 4003S online before the prices went up for $1500.00 a few years ago, the 4003's were probably $1700-1800 then. I would guess 2535 Euros would not be out of line now in Europe but that's just a guess. It's a nice bass. This has the new type bridge.


Obligatory lousy picture from a hotel room.


View attachment 4930279
Click to expand...

I had a 2015 and loved everything about it except for the gargantuan neck:

AE7AEB5F-9E5B-4BA8-9D87-A25DA029F494.jpeg


It wasn't so much the width of the finger board but thickness from from front to back and a very large "D" profile. I took it to 3 local luthiers and contacted 2 guys online and nobody was interested in re-shaping the neck for me, so I sold it.

I found a 74' in Azureglo in an online pawn shop and it had a number of issues (crack in the neck/headstock joint, non-original tuners, tail-lift in the original bridge, etc.). The stock pickups in the '74 were very weak as well. I got the bass repaired, put modern ric pickups in with adjustable pole pieces, replacement truss rods and a 2015 Ric bridge. Now it plays and sounds great. The only remaining issues is getting it set up for the proper string gauge. The older 4001 models were more sensitive to string tension than the one's from the early 1980's on.

53744EF8-7B28-47A1-A40C-C3C3FB2F27D9.jpeg


I played these basses exclusively for many years but knew very little about some of the quirks they poses.
(Removable, double truss rids anyone?!)

As was mentioned above, researching the different era's and models can go a long way in informing your purchase, before you buy.

Don't even get me started on the "Heartbreak of Negative Neck Angle" I experienced with this V63 re-issue.....:crying:

295532AD-38E4-4AB1-B59D-B803DE96C7AA.jpeg
 
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#233,755
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#233,759
bylar13 said:
I had a 2015 and loved everything about it except for the gargantuan neck:

View attachment 4930311

It wasn't so much the width of the finger board but thickness from from front to back and a very large "D" profile. I took it to 3 local luthiers and contacted 2 guys online and nobody was interested in re-shaping the neck for me, so I sold it.

I found a 74' in Azureglo in an online pawn shop and it had a number of issues (crack in the neck/headstock joint, non-original tuners, tail-lift in the original bridge, etc.). The stock pickups in the '74 were very weak as well. I got the bass repaired, put modern ric pickups in with adjustable pole pieces, replacement truss rods and a 2015 Ric bridge. Now it plays and sounds great. The only remaining issues is getting it set up for the proper string gauge. The older 4001 models were more sensitive to string tension than the one's from the early 1980's on.

View attachment 4930327

I played these basses exclusively for many years but knew very little about some of the quirks they poses.
(Removable, double truss rids anyone?!)

As was mentioned above, researching the different era's and models can go a long way in informing your purchase, before you buy.

Don't even get me started on the "Heartbreak of Negative Neck Angle" I experienced with this V63 re-issue.....:crying:

View attachment 4930328
Click to expand...


4001's can be an adventure if you don't understand how to set them up as I didn't until I popped the fretboard on my '79, I really like them though. I had a '78 Azureglo 4001 and had a coupe of V-63's, a 72 jetglo 4001FL (fretless), many others, all gone in the great unavoidable purge of 2009. I kept the best sounding one, my '79 4001. It too had the fretboard lift but a good luthier fixed it and you can hardly see it and it plays great.
 
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