Thunderbird Club

[JIO]

Bass player with his back to the audience. What's that about?

I've wondered that myself. Maybe Dewey Martin couldn't make the gig. The bass player could have been Joe Osborn.

 

[PhR75]

I've wondered that myself. Maybe Dewey Martin couldn't make the gig. The bass player could have been Joe Osborn.

Dewey was the drummer. Jim Messina replaced the erratic Palmer in the end but I'm pretty sure it's Bruce on that clip.

And it's mimed, of course.

 

[PhR75]

And I was wrong with it being Bruce Palmer but he indeed had some issues:
Neil Young News: Buffalo Springfield: "Mr Soul" Video

 

[GBassNorth]

Which has more top end, the 2021 NR or TB+?

You'll also have to make sure they both have the same strings, etc., for an accurate comparison.

OK, here’s the line up, (or more accurately, the “pile up”)…

I already have two of the basses strung with the exact same strings and I have a spare set of the same strings available, all with about the same playing time on them (less than about 40 hours, so broken in but still fairly new and not dead). The strings are Fender 7150 vintage nickel round wound .045 - .105.

All basses will use the same instrument cable and all amp settings will remain the same. I’ll only test the “A” string on each bass at the open, five, nine and twelfth frets (that way I don’t have to completely restring each bass). I’ll dime each volume and tone knob and back off the bridge pickup just enough to eliminate any cancellation scoop that might occur. I’ll play the A string finger style only right over the center of the neck pickup of each bass then again at the exact same 6” distance from the bridge on each bass. When done, the basses will be listed in order of darkest to brightest. The basses being used are as follows:
Epiphone VP Tbird
Gibson 2021 NR Tbird
Gibson 2015 Tbird
Gibson 2013 Tbird
Epiphone 2010 Tbird
All basses are bone stock except the Goth which has been capped to increase the top end available.

I’ll post the results in a couple of hours. Stay tuned!

 

[JJR58]

OK, here’s the line up, (or more accurately, the “pile up”)…
View attachment 5044730

I already have two of the basses strung with the exact same strings and I have a spare set of the same strings available, all with about the same playing time on them (less than about 40 hours, so broken in but still fairly new and not dead). The strings are Fender 7150 vintage nickel round wound .045 - .105.

All basses will use the same instrument cable and all amp settings will remain the same. I’ll only test the “A” string on each bass at the open, five, nine and twelfth frets (that way I don’t have to completely restring each bass). I’ll dime each volume and tone knob and back off the bridge pickup just enough to eliminate any cancellation scoop that might occur. I’ll play the A string finger style only right over the center of the neck pickup of each bass then again at the exact same 6” distance from the bridge on each bass. When done, the basses will be listed in order of darkest to brightest. The basses being used are as follows:
Epiphone VP Tbird
Gibson 2021 NR Tbird
Gibson 2015 Tbird
Gibson 2013 Tbird
Epiphone 2010 Tbird
All basses are bone stock except the Goth which has been capped to increase the top end available.

I’ll post the results in a couple of hours. Stay tuned!

That's a very cool pic George.

 

[BklynKen]

OK, here’s the line up, (or more accurately, the “pile up”)…
View attachment 5044730

I already have two of the basses strung with the exact same strings and I have a spare set of the same strings available, all with about the same playing time on them (less than about 40 hours, so broken in but still fairly new and not dead). The strings are Fender 7150 vintage nickel round wound .045 - .105.

All basses will use the same instrument cable and all amp settings will remain the same. I’ll only test the “A” string on each bass at the open, five, nine and twelfth frets (that way I don’t have to completely restring each bass). I’ll dime each volume and tone knob and back off the bridge pickup just enough to eliminate any cancellation scoop that might occur. I’ll play the A string finger style only right over the center of the neck pickup of each bass then again at the exact same 6” distance from the bridge on each bass. When done, the basses will be listed in order of darkest to brightest. The basses being used are as follows:
Epiphone VP Tbird
Gibson 2021 NR Tbird
Gibson 2015 Tbird
Gibson 2013 Tbird
Epiphone 2010 Tbird
All basses are bone stock except the Goth which has been capped to increase the top end available.

I’ll post the results in a couple of hours. Stay tuned!

It's a birdjam! Looking forward to the results. Thanks for supporting science!

 

[dmac1961]

What do you prefer about the Icon? I've gotten used to it, but I prefer the pockets in the ProGo. The Thunderbird certainly fits better in the Icon because of the wider bottom.

I prefer the stiff side panels of the Icon, they seem to provide more of a case-like protection compared to the ProGo, which is more bag-like. I only use the pockets in either to hold the guitar strap, so they are not consequential to me.

 

[JIO]

OK, here’s the line up, (or more accurately, the “pile up”)…
View attachment 5044730

I already have two of the basses strung with the exact same strings and I have a spare set of the same strings available, all with about the same playing time on them (less than about 40 hours, so broken in but still fairly new and not dead). The strings are Fender 7150 vintage nickel round wound .045 - .105.

All basses will use the same instrument cable and all amp settings will remain the same. I’ll only test the “A” string on each bass at the open, five, nine and twelfth frets (that way I don’t have to completely restring each bass). I’ll dime each volume and tone knob and back off the bridge pickup just enough to eliminate any cancellation scoop that might occur. I’ll play the A string finger style only right over the center of the neck pickup of each bass then again at the exact same 6” distance from the bridge on each bass. When done, the basses will be listed in order of darkest to brightest. The basses being used are as follows:
Epiphone VP Tbird
Gibson 2021 NR Tbird
Gibson 2015 Tbird
Gibson 2013 Tbird
Epiphone 2010 Tbird
All basses are bone stock except the Goth which has been capped to increase the top end available.

I’ll post the results in a couple of hours. Stay tuned!

pile-o-birds

 

[BklynKen]

I prefer the stiff side panels of the Icon, they seem to provide more of a case-like protection compared to the ProGo, which is more bag-like. I only use the pockets in either to hold the guitar strap, so they are not consequential to me.

Ah. I keep a lot in there. But yes, the Icon is supposed to be more supportive. They drove a car over one with a guitar in it and the guitar was fine.

 

[MCF]

We stuck with manual windows as much as we could. To date, the failure rate is probably about even for us, but electric windows cost more to repair (in our experience).

The last car I owned with crank windows was an ‘85 Volvo 240. It was a tank. It couldn’t get out of its own way (zero to 60 in 12 seconds). But it and an ‘87 Volvo turbo wagon are the best cars I ever owned.

 

[MCF]

At least she isn’t a guitarist, then I’d be looking at PRS’s.

All kidding aside Geoff, she sounds like a wonderful lady.

 

[PillO]

@GonePlaid Go Leafs Go!

 

[MCF]

Zuma is another great one, I love almost all his stuff but only have his early stuff, I plan on rectifying that situation when I get back to Mass next month.

Give Ragged Glory and Psychedelic Pill some spins. A more recent one is the one he did with Promise of The Real. The live BluRay of them is wonderful. He is one of the most prolific songwriters in history. I listen to all of it. Even his country stuff. Since he pulled everything off Spotify (again) I’m having to buy CDs to fill in a few holes.

 

[MCF]

I put it in twice to rile up all the Neil haters here. It's got that rep you know.

There are some poor misguided souls here. I do my best to enlighten them.

 

[GBassNorth]

OK, here’s the line up, (or more accurately, the “pile up”)…
View attachment 5044730

I already have two of the basses strung with the exact same strings and I have a spare set of the same strings available, all with about the same playing time on them (less than about 40 hours, so broken in but still fairly new and not dead). The strings are Fender 7150 vintage nickel round wound .045 - .105.

All basses will use the same instrument cable and all amp settings will remain the same. I’ll only test the “A” string on each bass at the open, five, nine and twelfth frets (that way I don’t have to completely restring each bass). I’ll dime each volume and tone knob and back off the bridge pickup just enough to eliminate any cancellation scoop that might occur. I’ll play the A string finger style only right over the center of the neck pickup of each bass then again at the exact same 6” distance from the bridge on each bass. When done, the basses will be listed in order of darkest to brightest. The basses being used are as follows:
Epiphone VP Tbird
Gibson 2021 NR Tbird
Gibson 2015 Tbird
Gibson 2013 Tbird
Epiphone 2010 Goth Tbird
All basses are bone stock except the Goth which has been capped to increase the top end available.

I’ll post the results in a couple of hours. Stay tuned!

It's a birdjam! Looking forward to the results. Thanks for supporting science!

…And the results are in! Surprisingly not as drastic a difference in tone across the board as I thought there would be.
Here’s the comparative ranking and notes I made along the way…

In order of Darkest to Brightest Birds I have in my flock:
- 2013 Gibson Anniversary Tbird (much deeper than the VP, more creamy with less definition than the NR)
- 2010 Epiphone Goth (slightly deeper than the NR, the cap job added top end)
- 2021 Gibson Non Reverse (warmer and fuller sound than the VP, creamy G and D strings vs VP)
- 2015 Gibson Tbird (very close to the NR in sound, a tad less bottom end, noticeably less volume)
- 2017 Epiphone VP (tight notes, compressed sounding, more defined than the others but not as rich)

Fun test, a couple of surprises, required a lot of going back and forth to confirm the differences, plucking location made a big difference so all data was gathered plucking 6” from the bridge regardless of pickup location. Two of the basses (NR & VP) are completely strung with the same strings so I was able to go beyond the A string only test to separate those two basses. Only remembered to snap a photo on the last test…
2015 vs 2021 NR

 

[MCF]

First concert I ever saw, circa 1969, Buffalo Springfield and Canned Heat

Oh my god. Awesome! But at the end of the run. Sans Neil I suspect. Was Crosby there? My first, at the UC Santa Barbara football field (they actually had a football team back in the day), if you don’t count the Smothers Brothers and The New Christy Minstrels that my parents took us to, was the Doobie Brothers (well before McDonald) and Dave Mason after he left Traffic. Mason just plain rocked.

 

[PillO]

Give Ragged Glory and Psychedelic Pill some spins. A more recent one is the one he did with Promise of The Real. The live BluRay of them is wonderful. He is one of the most prolific songwriters in history. I listen to all of it. Even his country stuff. Since he pulled everything off Spotify (again) I’m having to buy CDs to fill in a few holes.

There are some poor misguided souls here. I do my best to enlighten them.

Ok, there has been enough that I now feel compelled to say something. I have a couple of his albums and saw him live back in the mid-80s ('83 maybe?). He has a number of good songs; I would describe his genre as garage rock (3 chord, simple songs).

[Neil Young rant]

But he annoys me every time he opens his mouth these days. I find him to be a self-righteous blowhard. As well, he is an abject hypocrite. Writing 3 chord songs gives you no expertise in politics, economics, law, and social problems. He could do the world a favour by shutting his mouth every time he feels the urge to utter anything other than bad poetry set to music.

For someone who was anti-establishment in the 60s, he has drifted a very long way from his roots (but fails to recognize this).

And he is no longer a Canadian. He hasn't lived in Canada nearly as long as I have been alive. Borrowing a phrase from Anthony Bourdain, he is just another annoying California celebutard; he rates right up there with the Kardashians.

[/Neil Young rant]

 

[Stealth57]

For the UK types

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[bobyoung53]

Give Ragged Glory and Psychedelic Pill some spins. A more recent one is the one he did with Promise of The Real. The live BluRay of them is wonderful. He is one of the most prolific songwriters in history. I listen to all of it. Even his country stuff. Since he pulled everything off Spotify (again) I’m having to buy CDs to fill in a few holes.

I'm hoping to get all his stuff, I think he's done something like 45 studio albums alone so we'll see.

 

[Gaolee]

…And the results are in! Surprisingly not as drastic a difference in tone across the board as I thought there would be.
Here’s the comparative ranking and notes I made along the way…

In order of Darkest to Brightest Birds I have in my flock:
- 2013 Gibson Anniversary Tbird (much deeper than the VP, more creamy with less definition than the NR)
- 2010 Epiphone Goth (slightly deeper than the NR, the cap job added top end)
- 2021 Gibson Non Reverse (warmer and fuller sound than the VP, creamy G and D strings vs VP)
- 2015 Gibson Tbird (very close to the NR in sound, a tad less bottom end, noticeably less volume)
- 2017 Epiphone VP (tight notes, compressed sounding, more defined than the others but not as rich)

Fun test, a couple of surprises, required a lot of going back and forth to confirm the differences, plucking location made a big difference so all data was gathered plucking 6” from the bridge regardless of pickup location. Two of the basses (NR & VP) are completely strung with the same strings so I was able to go beyond the A string only test to separate those two basses. Only remembered to snap a photo on the last test…
2015 vs 2021 NR
View attachment 5044855

Was the '15 tapped or humbucking? Humbucking is a bit louder and fuller sounding.