Thunderbird Club

[TBird1958]

Seriously Donnie. After getting George’s Bach, I’m telling everyone here to lookout for one and get it. The neck is amazing. Zero weak or dead spots. Super fast, narrow, and the perfect amount of flatness on the back of it. If you don’t like the pickups, swap them out. Refinish it if you want. But they’re really great Thunderbirds. I had no clue before.

They are really good basses, I agree!
Didn't you play Chucky's at the GTG?

 

[MCF]

I think it's a dead pot, the pickup works but he gets no noise with the pot on full when he touches the middle terminal with a screwdriver but does get noise when he touches the third terminal, the first is grounded.

But he should do the mod anyway.

 

[GBassNorth]

They seem to get snapped up pretty quickly!

Yeah, when mine came up for sale on the GC used gear site it was listed as an Epic Firebird. I realized what it was and pulled the trigger immediately, didn’t take time to even confirm what it was.

 

[Stealth57]

But he should do the mod anyway.

Maybe on the next VP since I rarely use the bridge pickup. But the neck would need a Lull.

 

[JJR58]

I’ve become a firm believer in the benefits of a high pass filter, especially if you want mids to come through. The filter can tame the boominess. My Mesa TT 800 has one built in and once I learned to use it, I’ve become convinced I should get a pedal to use with my other amps.

HPF/LPH, it's the only pedal i need.

 

[JJR58]

American/Armenian Alan Hovhaness is one of my favorite composers - and this my favorite symphony of his. I learned this (13:55) repeated theme on bass and much later learned that Jaco P was also fond of this symphony and most likely played the same melodic run. I was listing to a lot of Weather Report and '70s Miles at that time and wanted to use that phrase reformatted into a high energy "fusion" piece.

 

[JJR58]

I think he played bass on more of the songs he wrote than many realize.

Sick line up.
I mean that like really good sick.

 

[Engle]

Our oldest Cavalier, Romeo, is getting to that point. He’s such a sweet companion. Not sure how we’ll be able to handle the inevitable.

Yeah it’s heartbreaking. No way around it.

 

[MCF]

I recorded a clip of my J with the Chinabucker:
DJB SCD clip JwCB 0126 23.mp3

And then with the Bartolini Neck PU:
DJB SCD clip JwBart 0126 23.mp3

I did my best to keep all else equal. The blend pot was on all neck PU. Strings are SIT Power steels. Its through my PF50T with the Transformer DI output into the Focusrite.

I am loving these posts.

 

[MCF]

Sick line up.
I mean that like really good sick.

My wife and daughter are in NY. My wife just sent me this:

 

[MCF]

Dude, that's what grandkids are for...

Yep. Unfortunately we’re not so blessed. And my son didn’t come up to help because he has to pick up my wife at LAX on Monday and didn’t want to risk getting snowed in. So I did it all by myself. My back is killing me. I can hardly move. But the chore is done and the wood will stay dry. It has been really cold this winter. Much colder than last year. We went through a cord + between late October and mid January. And we use the wood as County registered supplemental heat to our propane forced air system. The joys of being at 6,000 feet. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

 

[MCF]

Mine was silver w/ a black top. I had it painted Emberglow. Looked great until I was hitandrunned one night. Never caught the other driver; car was never right after that. Traded it for a "baby brown" 63 Volvo PV544.
(not mine-stock pic)

View attachment 4951408

Mine was white. Great car. Easy to fix by myself, was unique, and fit my quirky personality. Wish I still had it.

 

[RedVee]

Sick line up.
I mean that like really good sick.

So, is Keef the best bass player in the Stones? Or is that Ronnie Wood?

 

[dagrev]

I finally got the Bach!

I met up with my friend George @GBassNorth earlier today who was parting ways with his Bach Thunderbird II. He didn’t gel with it, but he wanted to make sure it remained in the family. We “did the deal” in the parking lot at the bank. Things have been too crazy for me to visit his amazing bass room, so we met halfway for each of us.

I had to scurry back for a wood delivery at the mountain house, so our meeting was unfortunately brief. I owe him and his wife a lunch.

So here she is:

View attachment 4951365

View attachment 4951367

It’s in very good to excellent condition. A couple of minor scratches and a couple dings on the top of the headstock. Legend has it the Scott @godofthunder59 was a prior owner so that’s likely where the top of the headstock dings happened.

I’ll post more on this as I get to know her.

I love that bass!

 

[MCF]

Congratulations, Marshall! Looking forward to your impressions.

Thanks Ken. FWIW, you would love the neck. It’s awesome. You might just want to try and pick one up and convert it. Get a II. You can always swap the pickup. But you would have a completely different bass to complement your arsenal.

I’m really happy I got this one.

 

[dagrev]

I wouldn't mind seeing a Grady update here and then.

Thanks. I'll try to do so. He having a pretty good day today. After waking us up several times last night! I eventually put him in bed with us. He took my spot and I hung on to the edge!

 

[MCF]

You’re officially in the BaCH Bunch now!
It was a great bass but I’ve come to the conclusion that playing a IV is what feels at home to me. You can thank Scott and Veronica for wisely talking me out of routing a second pup in a rare bass, and instead passing it on to someone who can enjoy it more than me. Maybe someday I’ll find a BaCH IV, until then I’ll get by with my other NR birds. This one couldn’t have gone to a nicer person. Rock it in good health!

Thanks George. It is in a good home. I do not sell Thunderbirds. It’ll be here for the long haul.

 

[dagrev]

View attachment 4951642

it’s a single family home on a cul de sac.

I sure never heard he lived in Ky, or recall seeing that from the website in the past. Wonder it that's recent or even correct.

 

[MCF]

Congratulations! Yep that's one of mine, one of the twins as I had two black ones. It's a great bass I hope you enjoy it. It ain't a Thunderbird without multiple headstock dings.

I’m proud to have it Scott. It is a wonderful Thunderbird. And still in great condition. It’s nice, thanks to George, that we kept it in the family. Do you know what year it is?

 

[bobyoung53]

Sick line up.
I mean that like really good sick.

Keef got a great sound out of the P bass, always did.