Thunderbird Club

[Stealth57]

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, other off unless yours is wired so that if either volume is off it shuts off both pickups. In that case don't completely turn off the other one when you're trying to measure. Did you try measuring across the pot?

I measured at the jack with one pot at a time (correction- see below).

The neck reads 250k at zero and 7.8k at full on. The bridge and tone pots read 250k with the pot off, full on, or anything in between.

just for jollies, I checked for continuity between the pickup leads in case the were touching somewhere. Not.

I assume since I can measure the correct resistance for each pickup that there aren’t any breaks in the lines.

 

[bobyoung53]

I measured at the jack with one pot at a time and get nothing with the neck pot.

The neck reads 250k at zero and 7.8k at full on. The bridge and tone pots read 250k with the pot off, full on, or anything in between.

The bridge pot sounds open to me, not sure about the tone, two bad pots would be quite a coincidence. Did you unsolder the wires around them?

 

[Stealth57]

The bridge pot sounds open to me, not sure about the tone, two bad pots would be quite a coincidence. Did you unsolder the wires around them?

Likely next step now is to remove all the wires at the bridge pot and test.

 

[bobyoung53]

Likely next step now is to remove all the wires at the bridge pot and test.

That's what I'd do, I'd do the bridge pickup pot first.

 

[Engle]

The TalkBass ad bot just targeted me with an ad for the Vancouver Symphony. I wonder why. So does the bot know I like Irv’s posts all the time? I guess it’s better than the women’s bunion shoe ads.

Well my daughter’s bass teacher is the first chair bassist. That’s only 3 degrees of separation

 

[Engle]

Likely next step now is to remove all the wires at the bridge pot and test.

Yes it’s best to check each component disconnected.
Then start reconnecting them.
Did you draw that diagram you posted earlier?

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Sexy Sunday?
View attachment 4944400

Fat bottom birds, you make this rockin’ world round!

 

[Stealth57]

Yes it’s best to check each component disconnected.
Then start reconnecting them.
Did you draw that diagram you posted earlier?

Yes, drew that to make sure what I had was correct for a VP.

 

[Bassmike62]

And here we go

Epi Goth body refin'd white, Aerodyne Jazz neck, Hipshot bridge and XTender (installing later today). Stock Goth pick-ups, came back with a top-notch set-up. Sounds like an e Epi Thunderbird IV (same pickups, I believe) which is fine and very different from the Silver FenderBird, which has EMG actives. Plays beautifully and should see action at next rehearsal. A 1/16" shave on both sides to adjust pocket to neck, depth untouched. Fretboard darkened a bit, body finished with satin polyurthane satin 0°, which protects against daily use. A charm to play !

 

[dagrev]

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.

I had one of those heads years ago. I was having problems liking what I was hearing and ended up getting rid of it. Ended up being a more a cab issue than head. I'd like to try one again. I'm sure it would have sounded better with the cabs I have now.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

this was a death trap - Porsche 550 Spyder - the man in the pic to the left warned JD that this car would lead to his death... it did.

View attachment 4944005

and others who owned it afterwards…

 

[dagrev]

That was a great show, my mother turned me on to it.

I still watch it. Actually had some thought that went into it.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

playing at the brewery today at 3….. frigging niners play at 3:30…..

 

[Stealth57]

playing at the brewery today at 3….. frigging niners play at 3:30…..

So they have big screens there? If not, might be a light crowd.

 

[bobyoung53]

I still watch it. Actually had some thought that went into it.

I loved the Lincolns Perry drove too.

 

[GBassNorth]

All this guitar electronics talk probably warrants a soldering 101 discussion for those that don’t solder often but want to do their own basic work. I’m no soldering savant but I do get around ok with an iron. Others can chime in with additional helpful info but there are at least three key facets to successful soldering of guitar components…

The right tools (can’t be overstated enough)
The right solder (makes a hard job much easier)
Practice (just a few minutes with a test piece can make a huge difference)

Tools
This isn’t 1965 anymore. If you have one of those black and decker soldering guns with the wire tip, just put it in the trash. You need a soldering station that has an iron with an assortment of tip sizes and shapes. The station should have a variable temperature setting that goes high enough to rapidly melt the solder and warm up the components but not so hot that it fries everything it touches. A nice one with all the assorted tips and extras will run between $50 and $100. A pro level for people that solder for a living can easily run well north of that. Weller is pretty much the industry standard for soldering stations. Ideally the soldering kit will have a wet sponge for tip cleaning, a brass steel wool pad for cleaning, at least 4 different tips (large chisel, medium chisel, small chisel and point end) and a desoldering tool to suck up wet solder. Radio Shack had a nice one (if they’re still around) or you can get one on Amazon. Buy a 12 pack of small copper alligator clamps to use as heat sinks. Buy a set of helping hands - a weighted clamping stand with flex arms and at least two alligator clamps to hold parts in place so you can easily use one hand for solder and the other for the iron.

Solder
You’re soldering fine gauge wire onto thin metal tabs and sensitive pot housings vs assembling copper pipe fittings, so use a solder designed for the job, not that roll of lead crap from Home Depot. I get mine from GFS or EBay. It’s a fine silver/lead solder with a rosin core so usually no flux is needed and it melts clean and quick.

Practice
Practice makes perfect and doesn’t really take that long. Go to GC and buy a spare pot or two. Practice stripping, twisting and tinning the wire. Practice tinning the lugs and the pot housing. Practice touching the tinned lug with the iron and inserting the tinned wire. Practice prepping the pot housing with a scraper or exacta knife. Practice pooling solder on the pot housing. Practice tinning a piece of wire mesh and then soldering it to the pot housing. Practice using the copper alligator clips as heat sinks to protect small parts from getting overheated. Just doing each of these thing a few times can greatly improve our chance of success.

 

[Engle]

Yes, drew that to make sure what I had was correct for a VP.

Nice work! I’m going to print it out for my workbench reference.

 

[Engle]

And here we go

Epi Goth body refin'd white, Aerodyne Jazz neck, Hipshot bridge and XTender (installing later today). Stock Goth pick-ups, came back with a top-notch set-up. Sounds like an e Epi Thunderbird IV (same pickups, I believe) which is fine and very different from the Silver FenderBird, which has EMG actives. Plays beautifully and should see action at next rehearsal. A 1/16" shave on both sides to adjust pocket to neck, depth untouched. Fretboard darkened a bit, body finished with satin polyurthane satin 0°, which protects against daily use. A charm to play !

View attachment 4944424 View attachment 4944425 View attachment 4944426 View attachment 4944427 View attachment 4944428 View attachment 4944439

Very nice! I like the neck a little narrower than standard Fender.

 

[Stealth57]

All this guitar electronics talk probably warrants a soldering 101 discussion for those that don’t solder often but want to do their own basic work. I’m no soldering savant but I do get around ok with an iron. Others can chime in with additional helpful info but there are at least three key facets to successful soldering of guitar components…

The right tools (can’t be overstated enough)
The right solder (makes a hard job much easier)
Practice (just a few minutes with a test piece can make a huge difference)

Tools
This isn’t 1965 anymore. If you have one of those black and decker soldering guns with the wire tip, just put it in the trash. You need a soldering station that has an iron with an assortment of tip sizes and shapes. The station should have a variable temperature setting that goes high enough to rapidly melt the solder and warm up the components but not so hot that it fries everything it touches. A nice one with all the assorted tips and extras will run between $50 and $100. A pro level for people that solder for a living can easily run well north of that. Weller is pretty much the industry standard for soldering stations. Ideally the soldering kit will have a wet sponge for tip cleaning, a brass steel wool pad for cleaning, at least 4 different tips (large chisel, medium chisel, small chisel and point end) and a desoldering tool to suck up wet solder. Radio Shack had a nice one (if they’re still around) or you can get one on Amazon. Buy a 12 pack of small copper alligator clamps to use as heat sinks. Buy a set of helping hands - a weighted clamping stand with flex arms and at least two alligator clamps to hold parts in place so you can easily use one hand for solder and the other for the iron.

Solder
You’re soldering fine gauge wire onto thin metal tabs and sensitive pot housings vs assembling copper pipe fittings, so use a solder designed for the job, not that roll of lead crap from Home Depot. I get mine from GFS or EBay. It’s a fine silver/lead solder with a rosin core so usually no flux is needed and it melts clean and quick.

Practice
Practice makes perfect and doesn’t really take that long. Go to GC and buy a spare pot or two. Practice stripping, twisting and tinning the wire. Practice tinning the lugs and the pot housing. Practice touching the tinned lug with the iron and inserting the tinned wire. Practice prepping the pot housing with a scraper or exacta knife. Practice pooling solder on the pot housing. Practice tinning a piece of wire mesh and then soldering it to the pot housing. Practice using the copper alligator clips as heat sinks to protect small parts from getting overheated. Just doing each of these thing a few times can greatly improve our chance of success.

And yet, I find a way to still suck

 

[Stealth57]

Last question before removing the connections in the bridge pot. Any reason to remove the connection between the right side lug and the can? Just grounding out that lug and not connected to anything else.