Thunderbird Club

[GBassNorth]

Because it is mahogany and not ash or alder, 'butterscotch blond' wouldn't look the same as on a Fender body. It might work well with the wenge - but testing would need to proceed finishing.

Correct on the mahogany. Which is why I wasn’t leaning to that finish as my first choice. Ash, Alder and Pine all have long grain lines and relatively closed pores vs Mahogany which is short grain and open pore. It wouldn’t look the same but might still look nice. I’d be doing a rattle can test on a sealed and filled mahogany plank before committing to the body. The Wenge neck will remain unfinished, love the feel of raw Wenge and raw rosewood in my left hand.

 

[BklynKen]

Correct on the mahogany. Which is why I wasn’t leaning to that finish as my first choice. Ash, Alder and Pine all have long grain lines and relatively closed pores vs Mahogany which is short grain and open pore. It wouldn’t look the same but might still look nice. I’d be doing a rattle can test on a sealed and filled mahogany plank before committing to the body. The Wenge neck will remain unfinished, love the feel of raw Wenge and raw rosewood in my left hand.

I have no experience with Wenge. How would you describe it compared to other woods?

 

[Miles_ONeal]

thanx!
that would be one of my wife’s Mexican themes…
View attachment 4941902

I really like it!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I’ve given up on the EBCFs. I’ll give them to you next time we meet.

What don’t you like? You probably said, but i forget. Sorry.

 

[Count Bassie]

When has that stopped you before?

Sensibility be danged!!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

When we first moved Vandenberg, we only had to dial five numbers.

i remember when I was 11 or 12, only having to dial 4 digits to call my nearby cousin from Grandmother’s house in Fairfax, SC.

 

[GBassNorth]

Strings! We finally headed back to the rehearsal space after a long break, and I got to test drive my new Non-Reverse. It's still got stock strings, I have no idea which strings Gibson use, and I was slightly underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, it's hot and sounds great, there's a whole lot of treble, but lacking lower mids (I'm guessing). Missing the thickness if you will. It reminded me of what I experienced when putting a set of cheap strings on my P. Turning down the bridge pickup and the treble a bit brought me halfway there. Have you had the same experience? Any suggestions for strings that will bring out the full spectre? And perhaps tame the highs a smidge?

If you’re talking about the new 2022 NR from Gibson your experience sounds exactly the opposite from mine.

My burgundy NR is indeed a very dark sounding beast. To the point that I had to resort to SIT Power Steel Stainless strings to brighten it up. It’s a wonderful sounding bird that is quickly becoming my go to for a lot of different stuff. I normally solo my neck pickup, play finger style over the neck pup or up to the heel, and keep my tone between 0-3 on my other birds. Not this one. This gets set at about 7 on the neck volume, 5 on the bridge volume and about 5 on the tone knob - that gets me in the same ballpark as my other Tbirds.

If yours needs more mids and lows you might give Cobalt Flats or GHS Boomers a try.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Andy Field of Mesa, who was the designer at Genz-Benz, and Jeff Genzler co-designed the new pedals. Andy solicited opinions over in the Mesa thread and received some good suggestions.

For in your face distortion, this is a nice, reasonably priced option.
View attachment 4942110

I really liked mine until the random squealing started.

 

[dagrev]

Let me apologize for soliciting another string debate, but I would love to get some opinions on strings for my new VP. I am not a fan of round wounds, though the originals do sound good, because I have a busted up left hand and hate that string noise as I sloppily move around the fret board.

I have La Bella black tapes on my IV and EBCF on the CP. I love the feel of both but would like to try something else (SIT Power Flats?) that would also be a good choice for the Probucker 760's. And if they happen to have purple silks, all the better. Let the flinging begin

For a big thick sound, not bright or angry piano my favorites seem to be: GHS Precision Flats (white VP--sounds fantastic), Boomers, SIT Power Wounds (based on an old set of Exposed Cores I have on the burst). The EBCFs sounded really good as well, but I have issues and can't use them.

 

[dagrev]

I have to exercise restraint of pen and tongue here once in a while. Thank God for the ability to delete posts. A few days ago I had to delete a couple of posts and report someone, I don't think it would have led to a ban but probably would have riled up the thread. I like it here too much to get banned. I've had trouble with that particular poster before so I finally 'ignored' the second person here in eighteen years, my first I un-ignored and we get along fine, this one will stay blocked.

So that's why you aren't replying to PMs and posts.....

 

[JIO]

Correct on the mahogany. Which is why I wasn’t leaning to that finish as my first choice. Ash, Alder and Pine all have long grain lines and relatively closed pores vs Mahogany which is short grain and open pore. It wouldn’t look the same but might still look nice. I’d be doing a rattle can test on a sealed and filled mahogany plank before committing to the body. The Wenge neck will remain unfinished, love the feel of raw Wenge and raw rosewood in my left hand.

Yes, wenge is generally not treated.

 

[GonePlaid]

Yes, I have a high tolerance I guess as it's only the second time I've used it. I try to avoid contentious threads too. There are some you just know.............

So far, I haven't 'ignored' anyone, but there are a(very)few posters I rarely respond to. Being retired, I generally have nothing else to do so I read everything.
Addendumb[sic]: Also there are times I really don't have anything to say, especially if things get super technical. Which I'm not.

 

[GBassNorth]

The T-bird Club welcomes @GBassNorth to the 'Most Likes' roster of tb members top 20 list. We now have 9 of our members on that list!

I guess that means...

View attachment 4942311

LOL - if I made that list it’s only because they don’t have a “hate” button. BTW - where is this list you’re referencing?

 

[JJR58]

LOL - if I made that list it’s only because they don’t have a “hate” button. BTW - where is this list you’re referencing?

Look at the members list, then go to most likes.

 

[KaraQ]

Strings! We finally headed back to the rehearsal space after a long break, and I got to test drive my new Non-Reverse. It's still got stock strings, I have no idea which strings Gibson use, and I was slightly underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, it's hot and sounds great, there's a whole lot of treble, but lacking lower mids (I'm guessing). Missing the thickness if you will. It reminded me of what I experienced when putting a set of cheap strings on my P. Turning down the bridge pickup and the treble a bit brought me halfway there. Have you had the same experience? Any suggestions for strings that will bring out the full spectre? And perhaps tame the highs a smidge?

Maybe something nickel-plated? Like nps Roto 66s?

Let me apologize for soliciting another string debate, but I would love to get some opinions on strings for my new VP. I am not a fan of round wounds, though the originals do sound good, because I have a busted up left hand and hate that string noise as I sloppily move around the fret board.

I have La Bella black tapes on my IV and EBCF on the CP. I love the feel of both but would like to try something else (SIT Power Flats?) that would also be a good choice for the Probucker 760's. And if they happen to have purple silks, all the better. Let the flinging begin

I like the Roto 77s, but they have too much tension for some people/guitars (I had some on my VP for a while - sounded good, but the neck didn't like the tension).

Also a fan of DR Legends

 

[KaraQ]

Since i don't have a Fender bird for Fenderbird Friday, decided to pretend it's Fender(-ish) and 'bird Friday

 

[JIO]

LOL - if I made that list it’s only because they don’t have a “hate” button. BTW - where is this list you’re referencing?

The blue menu bar at the top of this page; 'Members' - "Most Likes"

 

[AlexMG]

Let me apologize for soliciting another string debate, but I would love to get some opinions on strings for my new VP. I am not a fan of round wounds, though the originals do sound good, because I have a busted up left hand and hate that string noise as I sloppily move around the fret board.

I have La Bella black tapes on my IV and EBCF on the CP. I love the feel of both but would like to try something else (SIT Power Flats?) that would also be a good choice for the Probucker 760's. And if they happen to have purple silks, all the better. Let the flinging begin

Man, I’ve tried so many strings across my T birds, they each need something different than the other, but for flats on a Tbird I can’t imagine anything outdoing the Daddario chromes.

 

[GBassNorth]

I have no experience with Wenge. How would you describe it compared to other woods?

Coloring is typically milk chocolate with dark chocolate grain variations. Neck feel is nothing like maple a bit closer to the feel of a rosewood neck. You typically don’t finish the neck with any nitro or poly, just sanded smooth and oiled. Visibly the wood is very open pore and you leave it that way, no filler required. Sonically, I think there’s a slight bump up in the grit, grind and growl on this wood vs rosewood or ebony fretboards which have a slightly warmer sound, but not quite as sterile or uncolored sounding as a maple fretboard. As for woodworking, don’t. Wenge is a particularly nasty wood to work with. Many people have allergies to the dust (might even be toxic in the right levels), the all too common splinters are like sewing needles and they infect real easy. Thankfully, once finish sanded and oiled those are all non issues.

 

[AlexMG]

Strings! We finally headed back to the rehearsal space after a long break, and I got to test drive my new Non-Reverse. It's still got stock strings, I have no idea which strings Gibson use, and I was slightly underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, it's hot and sounds great, there's a whole lot of treble, but lacking lower mids (I'm guessing). Missing the thickness if you will. It reminded me of what I experienced when putting a set of cheap strings on my P. Turning down the bridge pickup and the treble a bit brought me halfway there. Have you had the same experience? Any suggestions for strings that will bring out the full spectre? And perhaps tame the highs a smidge?

A new set of the Roto Nickel 66 give a full spectrum. The Optima strings have a “thickening” factor. The Optima Golds tame the highs more than the Chromes but they both sound BIG though they are not as growly as the Rotos.