Thunderbird Club

[veebass]

I actually run the right angle at the head, takes the tension off of it.
I always loop the end at the bass through the strap so it doesnt wiggle when I giggle

See the pic of the old bloke at post #23991 above. I always loop the cable through the strap, been doing it since I was a teenager..

 

[kat888]

See the pic of the old bloke at post #23991 above. I always loop the cable through the strap, been doing it since I was a teenager..

Oh I always loop the cable through the strap. I think the jack bent when I was holding the bass with the endpin resting on the carpet while I was reaching for something. Yeah, should have put it on the stand or laid it on the case ... but there you go.

 

[Count Bassie]

OK. I've posted the photos of my Epi Pro V before. I finally found a coworker who's good with metal fabrication to make me a few copies of a Steinberger Strap Hook (which they don't make anymore and are absolutely impossible to find - trust me, I looked for over a year) that I took off my Steiney Spirit bass to see if it would solve the neck dive issue I had playing the Pro V (works like a charm!). I've now added one onto my Epi Classic IV as well. Results - 1) if there are ANY balance or neck dive issues, this solves it in spades. 2) It shifts the body and thus the neck to the right about 3" making the reach out to the business end of the neck easier to reach with a more "normal" feel. Also it makes it easier to shift the bass onto my hip which is where I play it a lot anyway. I'll take it off and paint it black to make it more invisible but left it bare aluminum for now for illustration purposes.

I'm having a few more made just because, once I get them I'll take one and copy it out on graph paper so if anyone wanted to fabricate these for themselves they'll have the dimensions. Looks like to someone with even basic metalworking skills (which unfortunately I don't seem to possess...) could knock a bunch of these out relatively easy. FWIW these were made from (I believe) rigid 1/8" aluminum stock.

Some may consider it blasphemy to add something like this to a Bird but hey, it works. My Classic IV is now WAY more comfortable on my twice rebuilt left shoulder with much more even weight distribution. Same with the Pro V. I'll post the dimensional graph drawing ASAP, assuming I'm not breaking any rules here.

Also uploaded a grainy, blown up cell phone photo of myself with the Pro V (which I've also posted before) to illustrate where the front strap attachment is in reference to the body and neck. Kind of hard to see but I think you can see how much farther out off the body the front of the strap attaches as opposed to attaching on the back of the body/neck joint. You'll notice it comes out at the 12th fret, same as any bass built with an upper bout (i.e. 7ender).

View attachment 1036053 View attachment 1036060 View attachment 1036066 View attachment 1036071 View attachment 1036077 View attachment 1036078

I've done a similar mod to many of my basses in the past, only used a straight piece of metal straight up along the back of the neck. Went right up to about the 12th ftet, always works like a charm- similar effect as you got, @EdO.
I'm fact I've been getting ready to do it to my Blackbird.

 

[Stevis]

Oh I always loop the cable through the strap. I think the jack bent when I was holding the bass with the endpin resting on the carpet while I was reaching for something. Yeah, should have put it on the stand or laid it on the case ... but there you go.

I am a big fan of the silent plugs. Then, you can just unplug cord from bass and drop it anytime you want to sit the instrument down - no noise, no muss, no fuss.
silentPLUG - Neutrik

 

[RedVee]

I have a 2012 silver bust and the chrome pickups were a little brighter and powerful than the standard model I had. I did drop Gibson TB plus pups into it. Had to route because the chromes are smaller than the standard ones. Overall I think the line is a step up over the regular model.

But are the Silverburst and the TV Silver the same spec? I thought they weren't.

 

[ubernator]

I have not played one of the TV silver birds but I have been eyeballing them recently. They seem to hover around $275-350 from what I see on eBay or GC. I believe they have the 1.5" neck instead of the wide neck like the Goth. The pickups are different but I have never played one so cannot speak to the sound. There is one on my local Craigslist that I have thought about more than a little.....

1.5 neck is a good thing, would probably become #1 for the band and make goth #2. But what did they cost NEW? Were they significantly more than a standard/goth?

I have a 2012 silver bust and the chrome pickups were a little brighter and powerful than the standard model I had. I did drop Gibson TB plus pups into it. Had to route because the chromes are smaller than the standard ones. Overall I think the line is a step up over the regular model.

Brighter and more powerful isn't so bad as long as brighter does not imply less low end. Can either turn the volumes on the bass down a tad to compensate, or just goose up the master if I had to switch to the backup.

But are the Silverburst and the TV Silver the same spec? I thought they weren't.

That would be good info, I won't have a budget for pickups, and any replacements in the future will be drop in or new rings at most. Say route and I'm oute!

 

[Gaolee]

I have managed to damage my instrument cable. The jack shaft is a bit loose (settle down lads!) and I'm thinking I should replace it. The cable is Peavey and I suppose Neutrik or Switchcraft would be the best. Any opinions on rightangled jacks? The The current Bird has a side mount socket while all future basses will have front mounts.

Cables are just cables. I like the ones you can take apart, not the molded ones. The reason is that you can unscrew the jack assembly (going downhill again) and resolder the connection if that's where the problem is. If there's a problem somewhere in the cable, it's just broken as far as I'm concerned. How much you spend won't make much difference. I couldn't tell you the brand of the cables I have.

I prefer the side mounted jack and right angle plug. I also like wireless, since it means I don't make like a dog with its leash wrapped around a tree and one leg on stage. Bad things happen that way. Not that I'll ever admit anything.

 

[ubernator]

Live wire is a good reasonable priced cable that is available with 90deg ends. And lifetime replacement warranty, just being em back to a dealer and get a free replacement. Not molded ends either, so you can repair them if getting to a dealer is.not feasable at the time.

 

[rodv66]

1.5 neck is a good thing, would probably become #1 for the band and make goth #2. But what did they cost NEW? Were they significantly more than a standard/goth?


Brighter and more powerful isn't so bad as long as brighter does not imply less low end. Can either turn the volumes on the bass down a tad to compensate, or just goose up the master if I had to switch to the backup.


That would be good info, I won't have a budget for pickups, and any replacements in the future will be drop in or new rings at most. Say route and I'm oute!

Looked up in comparison and the silver burst is listed 1.68 wide at the nut, has Grover tuners and a bad ass bridge. The TV silver is 1.50 and the tuners and bridge are stock. Also silver burst was solid mahogany wood body

 

[ubernator]

Looked up in comparison and the silver burst is listed 1.68 wide at the nut, has Grover tuners and a bad ass bridge. The TV silver is 1.50 and the tuners and bridge are stock. Also silver burst was solid mahogany wood body

what about pickups? Body and neck woods for TV silver? Looks like some grain shows through the silver. A better bridge would be nice, but I quickly figured out how to set the stock bridge up on my goth, it needs to be tilted back to add tension over the saddle, .115 .90 .70 .50 for drop C, and the truss rod had to be loosened a bit as well.

 

[kat888]

Cables are just cables. I like the ones you can take apart, not the molded ones. The reason is that you can unscrew the jack assembly (going downhill again) and resolder the connection if that's where the problem is. If there's a problem somewhere in the cable, it's just broken as far as I'm concerned. How much you spend won't make much difference. I couldn't tell you the brand of the cables I have.

I prefer the side mounted jack and right angle plug. I also like wireless, since it means I don't make like a dog with its leash wrapped around a tree and one leg on stage. Bad things happen that way. Not that I'll ever admit anything.

Yeah, my bad. Cables are indeed just cables. Rather than mentioning the brand should have said it's shrinkwrapped at both ends, therefore I assume that changing the jack isn't going to be difficult ... just removed the shrinkwrap and the plug is not moulded. A nice simple soldering job.

 

[Nocturnal]

But are the Silverburst and the TV Silver the same spec? I thought they weren't.

The Silverburst was physically the same as a standard bolt Bird IIRC. The pickups might have been the same between the silverburst and TV silver, but not sure. The silverburst actually had guitar pickups in it, but some people liked the sound so there you go. Can't say about the pickups in the TV model.

1.5 neck is a good thing, would probably become #1 for the band and make goth #2. But what did they cost NEW? Were they significantly more than a standard/goth?

I believe they were the same price as any other Epi Bird at the time.

 

[Korladis]

Haha, my guitarist expects me to bring a spare of every item incase he forgets something.... that's wearing a little thin lol

So stop bringing spares and just go "I dunno, dude, just deal with it."

I have managed to damage my instrument cable. The jack shaft is a bit loose (settle down lads!) and I'm thinking I should replace it. The cable is Peavey and I suppose Neutrik or Switchcraft would be the best. Any opinions on rightangled jacks? The The current Bird has a side mount socket while all future basses will have front mounts.

I prefer them. I hate the non-angled kind. Wish I could find some that were angled at both ends.

Oh I always loop the cable through the strap. I think the jack bent when I was holding the bass with the endpin resting on the carpet while I was reaching for something. Yeah, should have put it on the stand or laid it on the case ... but there you go.

And that's why I don't like the regular, non-angled kind. Three of my basses have side jacks.

 

[rumblejunkie]

I find the bird very comfortable to play and I dont seem to be reaching much further at all . Speed was indeed Lemmys drug of choice but in the early days he was an acid head . Him discovering speed was seemingly the reason he got fired from Hawkwind as it was the 'wrong' drug ! He is on record as saying that , when he worked with Hendrix , they didcovered acid and the pill the same year . "We were screwing like phycadellic rabbits"

 

[Klondike]

I prefer them. I hate the non-angled kind. Wish I could find some that were angled at both ends.

Easy to build them. Good wire and two 90 degree ends.

Or

Buy a straight/angle the disassempble the straight end.

 

[Dadagoboi]

...straight/angle the disassempble the straight end.

That's what I always do.

 

[Nocturnal]

Not connected to this sale in any way, but there is a custom tricked out Bird in the classifieds for sale:

For Sale - Custom Thunderbird Hybrid Moser Circuit BCR'ish Bass

 

[Christine]

This made me laugh Neck Dives

 

[willsellout]

All this talk of the TV finish has me curious. My problems thus far are the following:
1. The classic has the styling I like but it has a chunkier neck
2. The Pro has the neck I prefer (1.5") but it's active.
3. The TV finish has both the classic 3 knob passive styling with the neck I like

There is one for sale on eBay right now but buying it means I'm stuck with it or have to go through the process of selling it should it not work out. I was going to head go Portland today but the wife is not feeling it and we promised we would take the kid to the movies, so I get to take my beautiful daughter to the movies while the wife recovers from whatever it is she has. So I haven't been able to strap one of these bad boys on. It's a bit of a conundrum.

A side note, would any of you know whether or not I'd be able to drop some Mike Lull T-bird pickups in one of these Epi's?

 

[Drestakil]

This made me laugh Neck Dives

I was going to suggest that the OP spend a little time at a gym but they may not be as prevalent in Bangladesh as they are here.