Thunderbird Club

[GBassNorth]

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


View attachment 4942387

Love the look of that pink Squier! Of course the bird next to it is equally cool!
The best Bird thing can do on Fender Friday is my BlingBird, which has a neck donated from a Fender P bass (headstock reshaped to my spec).

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Well, how does one describe inspiration, I always loved Paul Weller and both The Jam and the Style council. He's bar none one of my favorite songwriters.

So yesterday, while watching a documentary about The Jam, I decided to see if I could write something which could have been from the "In the city" album, while also recalling songs like "Peacock suit"

The instruments used were my Yamaha PSR 1700 keyboard, my Acoustic from that same brand, my Vester Telecaster copy and my self-made bass, with a set of very dead and rubbery sounding strings.

As for the lyrics, I guess anybody who goes through a midlife crisis will recognize what they're saying.

Do as your father and grandfather did
walk in line with all the other kids
I always thought that I knew better
Escape from the mould
Break out into the big wide world
Pay no heed to what I was told

I'm just ordinary, I'm only normal
Just a man living in a miner's town
Doomed to the status quo
Of repeating what my father did
Working myself to death to support my wife and kids

And I see the man I don't want to be
I see the man I don't want to be
I see that man in my looking glass

No, I would never grow up to be one of them
I was sure I could run away and explore the land
But reality caught up with me
My destiny was so clear to see
There was no way for me to run
From what I would be from day one.

I'm just ordinary, I'm only normal
Just a man living in a miner's town
Doomed to the status quo
Of repeating what my father did
Working myself to death to support my wife and kids

And I see the man I don't want to be
I see the man I don't want to be
I see that man in my looking glass

I see the man I don't want to be
I see the man I don't want to be
I see him there in my looking glass

Destiny is a cruel mistress
She grabs you by the throat
As soon as the gray hairs appeared
I'm sure she enjoys to gloat
I hoped for better, it was impossible to achieve
As the years caught up with me
I can only sigh in grief

And I see the man I don't want to be
I see the man I don't want to be
I see that man in my looking glass

I see the man I don't want to be
I see the man I don't want to be
I see him oh so clearly...

Excellent!

 

[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.

I know you have a holo-finished bass - but this G&L multi-colour sparkle finish is cool.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

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?

Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats!

 

[GBassNorth]

I know you have a holo-finished bass - but this G&L multi-colour sparkle finish is cool.
View attachment 4942406

That is nice, kind of a night sky vibe going on.

 

[Count Bassie]

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.

Roto SM66 reminded me of why I started off loving playing the bass so much. I got refreshed with a set of those, for the CP and the Hamer/Rickie setup (a k.a. the "Heckinecker"). Growl, punch. Dial out the klanck and punch some low mids. Boom.

 

[MCF]

Definitely not a Northeast word. It's never come out of my mouth, nor will it ever.

So I guess you don’t use dagnabbit either?

 

[MCF]

Folks are slow on the uptake. Where’s Marshall when you need him. Said TT surprise in black and no one picks it out of the TTT photos. So, here it is in more obvious fashion. Still has the stickers on the pickups and plastic on the PG and swimming pool cover.

View attachment 4941832

And, yes, it fits in the triangular Epi case that came with my CP.

Congratulations Dave!

But you really need the wife to let you keep them in the house. Happy Friday!

 

[GBassNorth]

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

Well I’ll be a dirty bird! There are a lot of our club members there. Guess that says something about the kind of people in this club, and probably the sheer volume of posts here vs other clubs.
Who knows, in the next dozen years TalkBass (TB) may need to rebrand itself to ThunderbirdBass (TB).

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

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 heard somewhere white is the best sounding finish, followed by sunburst, blk and pelham blue…

 

[Stealth57]

Congratulations Dave!

But you really need the wife to let you keep them in the house. Happy Friday!

She’s taken over the house and half the garage. I’m afraid it would be an expensive proposition to regain a vacant room. There certainly aren’t any here.

 

[MCF]

quick initial physical comparison with the 68 (have not even tuned up the slack for strings yet) is a very close weight balance ratio to the original and a somewhat (not bad) bulkier feel to the body that could be partly due to the lack of belly cut. That said, the neck gets REALLY close..
really nice bass…….being as rare as the seem to be, other than for the pup where I’m thinking a 70’s sidewinder, I’ll leave it stock and perform the mod in a fully reversible manner….can’t wait to plug it in…

The Sidewinder could be real nice in it.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

never cared much for those…

 

[GBassNorth]

I heard somewhere white is the best sounding finish, followed by sunburst, blk and pelham blue…

Got all those covered except Phlegm blue.




Edit - just noticed after posting that auto spell correction took over and changed a key word in my post - LOL. I’m keeping it that way for the hilarity!

 

[MCF]

I kinda came to a similar conclusion on my BaCH II. I really wanted a IV but just couldn’t bring myself to the point of carving up a rare pristine BaCH II to get there. So this is happening instead…
View attachment 4941905

DANG! That’s going to be sweet.

 

[BklynKen]

So I guess you don’t use dagnabbit either?

Only if you pay me.

 

[MCF]

Well I hope you sort it out satisfactorily. I’m just concerned if you ditch the CP you will regret it, and they don’t seem to be easily replaced these days. Good luck with it mate.

I think he’s figured out his CP is a forever bass.

 

[dagrev]

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.

I haven't checked, but don't think I have ever "ignored" anyone either. If someone says something I find really foolish and you can gather they are a hardhead, I don't reply. No point. Can't reason with someone who is either childish or irrational, even if they use big adult words. Life is too short for that kind of nonsense. But I really tend to spend little time in the GP unless I'm wanting more info to read up on something. This asylum is safe.

 

[MCF]

Some offtopic; this guy got recently a 42" scale bass

Good for him. I have a hard enough time with 34.

 

[dagrev]

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



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

Ooooh. Yes, good points about the NPS Rotos and 77s!