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Thunderbird Club

#235,362
GBassNorth said:
It must be Sexy Sunday, those are two of the best bass bodies and two of the best bass colors out there!
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SS

upload_2023-1-22_9-41-16.jpeg
 
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#235,365
BklynKen said:
27168042[/URL], member: 189361"]Good gig. That SWR sounded really good, but I only used its power amp section since I used my 800RB pre into its FX Return. I'm sure it would've sounded good on its own for me, but was able to hit the ground running with my own preamp. Interesting the SWR had a level knob for the FX loop. Took a minute to realize that when I wasn't hearing anything. And the EHX Steel Leather was a hit. Everyone liked the tone I was getting from it, and I was able to hear myself clearly. Quite a gem that thing.
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Nice! I might have to try the Steel Leather for those times when I’m taking a solo and I need to stand out more.
 
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#235,373
While we’re talking Sexy Sunday…
So few builders bother to contour and sculpt their basses into true 3D works of art. Most basses seem to fall into the shaped slab category, where the only real curves are limited to the perimeter shape of the body. @JIO has a nicely sculpted bass that appears to have some cool arch to the top. Spector has a neat arched back and top, as does Warwick. But one of my favorite sculpted basses is my Warwick Vampyre Custom Shop….
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The overall body shape is a love it or hate it thing, and certainly does not visually fit in many settings, but the sculpting is just done so tastefully. From the inset bridge block with cutout and slope back at the tail piece to the raised edge and contoured body at the side cutouts, and the arch top and contoured back, it’s just ultra sexy in my book. Certainly more work there than a slab body.

Also, Lemmy had his Ric with the oak leaf inlays. If I ever get my wood shop back up and running I’m considering doing a Lemmy Tbird body - inset oak leaf inlays and a Ric inspired neck and headstock on a Tbird body with Tbird pups and hardware. Haven’t seen that done before but I think it would look killer.
 
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#235,375
Stealth57 said:
Not sure this is a valid test since there isn’t a pickup selector switch, tried anyway. Put all the knobs to zero and put the meter across the jack. Turning up the neck pickup hit 250 kOhms full on. Did the same for the bridge and tone and got zero. Got the same results when measuring directly across the lugs.
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Neither are correct, you should get somewhere in the neighborhood of 9/10K ohms from the neck pickup with the volume up full and the same from the bridge, something is shorted out in the bridge pickup circuit? You get sound from the neck pickup though correct? Where is Chucky when you need him?
 
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#235,377
bobyoung53 said:
Neither are correct, you should get somewhere in the neighborhood of 9/10K ohms from the neck pickup with the volume up full and the same from the bridge, something is shorted out in the bridge pickup circuit? You get sound from the neck pickup though correct? Where is Chucky when you need him?
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If I measure the pick ups directly I get a bit over 9 kOhms on the bridge and a little less on the neck. That is measured at the mesh and wire and not on the pots. The last test was at the pots to see if I could get a reading on the pot resistance. It works if you can isolate the pots with a selector switch. You measure the peak ohms and multiply by 4 and the subtract pickup resistance. I expect the pots to be 500 kOhms, which would be normal for humbuckers. Back to the drawing board.
 
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#235,378
GBassNorth said:
While we’re talking Sexy Sunday…
So few builders bother to contour and sculpt their basses into true 3D works of art. Most basses seem to fall into the shaped slab category, where the only real curves are limited to the perimeter shape of the body. @JIO has a nicely sculpted bass that appears to have some cool arch to the top. Spector has a neat arched back and top, as does Warwick. But one of my favorite sculpted basses is my Warwick Vampyre Custom Shop….
View attachment 4944411
View attachment 4944412
The overall body shape is a love it or hate it thing, and certainly does not visually fit in many settings, but the sculpting is just done so tastefully. From the inset bridge block with cutout and slope back at the tail piece to the raised edge and contoured body at the side cutouts, and the arch top and contoured back, it’s just ultra sexy in my book. Certainly more work there than a slab body.

Also, Lemmy had his Ric with the oak leaf inlays. If I ever get my wood shop back up and running I’m considering doing a Lemmy Tbird body - inset oak leaf inlays and a Ric inspired neck and headstock on a Tbird body with Tbird pups and hardware. Haven’t seen that done before but I think it would look killer.
Click to expand...

I had a Sukop which is like that (contoured body). Sure miss that fretless 5.
 
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#235,379
Stealth57 said:
If I measure the pick ups directly I get a bit over 9 kOhms on the bridge and a little less on the neck. That is measured at the mesh and wire and not on the pots. The last test was at the pots to see if I could get a reading on the pot resistance. It works if you can isolate the pots with a selector switch. You measure the peak ohms and multiply by 4 and the subtract pickup resistance. I expect the pots to be 500 kOhms, which would be normal for humbuckers. Back to the drawing board.
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That shows that both pickups are good and either the wiring is off or a pot is bad.You should also be able to measure the resistance of each pickup at the cord or output jack with its own volume control up, and other off unless yours is wired so that if either volume is off it shuts off both pickups. That could account for the very high reading you got across the neck. In that case don't completely turn off the other one when you're trying to measure. Did you try measuring across the pot?
 
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#235,380
Stealth57 said:
If I measure the pick ups directly I get a bit over 9 kOhms on the bridge and a little less on the neck. That is measured at the mesh and wire and not on the pots. The last test was at the pots to see if I could get a reading on the pot resistance. It works if you can isolate the pots with a selector switch. You measure the peak ohms and multiply by 4 and the subtract pickup resistance. I expect the pots to be 500 kOhms, which would be normal for humbuckers. Back to the drawing board.
Click to expand...
Did you get a chance to disconnect all the wires from the bridge pot and then run your meter across the center and either outer lug? That’s the easiest way to tell if you have a bad pot vs bad wiring. If you leave the wires connected you won’t be able to narrow down where the problem is. If the pot checks out ok, then it was most likely the wiring, which you can correct when you resolder the wires to the pot. If the pot fails the test you’d need to disconnect all the wires to replace it anyway.
 
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