Thunderbird Club

[Mike A]

Possibly the only thing you can buy here that you can't in Denmark:
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Definitely can't buy the locks individually.

I've bought and used a BUNCH of these with my two (older) sets of Schallers.
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[Dadagoboi]

I've become really keen on 8-string basses. I borrowed a friends Hagstrom HB-8 a few years back (the newer model), and absolutely loved it. I've been thinking about picking up an original Hagstrom H8, like Noel Redding used, but it's hard to find a good demo to really suss out what it sounds like. Since it's unlikely I'll ever see the Pinky NR Thunderbird 8 string up for sale again, I'm thinking about going custom build on an 8-string with this body style, like Hamer used. But cosmetically going for this:
With maybe either a flower pot inlay on the headstock, or Flying V custom style, with the binding and diamond inlays. Either have a bass P-90 fabricated or stick a Tele-bass pickup under a P-90 cover. Single pickup, near the Precision spot. Something along the lines of these mockups posted elsewhere on TB:

I'm building one for myself but it will be a twelver. Here's the mockup I did a few years ago:

...and here are the through necks, 3 piece maple, ebony fretboard, and double trussrod that @ctmullins built for me. One 32, one 34.

 

[Mike A]

I've had a wicked craving for a G8R myself, ever since seing JPJ play a 12 on a recording of Them Crooked Vultures. So THICK!

 

[hillerup]

I've bought and used a BUNCH of these with my two (older) sets of Schallers.
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Unfortunately shipping, VAT and taxes doesn't really make it feasible ordering from them when living in Europe...

 

[Korladis]

DeArmond are Guilds offshore line. Not bad basses but I would hold out for a Guild, they go cheap enough.

Are they still? I thought DeArmond was still owned by Fender, whereas Guild no longer is.

Please please please tell me that the current (15 serial assume 2015) chinese epiphone Thunderbird IV bolt on vintage sunburst basses have single action truss rods and thus a removable adjustment nut (and if so it does not require cutting wood to get it out).

I may have gotten semi hosed on a bird I got last night (in above description). It is beautiful and I totally bonded with it, but when it was time for the .115 drop c setup I encountered some issues. I'm too tired to go into more detail now other than that the truss rod was not only hard to turn, but it is partially stripped. Luckily the bass already had high action due to a lot of neck relief, which is how I was going to set it anyway, but I was able to coax a bit more, which may have been too much, but when I tried to tighten to split the difference, it was clear if I did not stop there, I would strip the nut. I don't have good tools just hex keys. I think I will have to invest in a 4mm ball end long hex wrench, or a stew Mac gripper (which is better?)

I spent hours filing the nut with a nail clipper file (all I had, plus some old strings but they didn't file so well , nickels. The E and A slots could not handle the 115 and 090.

Other issues but too tired and have to be up in less than 6 hrs on only 2hrs sleep prior... Fun.

Otherwise this bass is a beauty, nbd soon.

And no, the pickguard was clearly not the same bolt pattern or even size as the goth, that plan was foiled. But thanks to you guys it was not a surprise.

I've always thought that all truss rods should be fully removable.

Same. I love the styling, liked the feel, HATED the way it sat in a mix. (FWIW, I feel the same way about P's.)

Love the way mine sits in a mix. Of course, it sounds like an angrier P, so it makes sense why you wouldn't like it. At least if yours sounded similar.

Just like my haemorrhoids, you're welcome to them!

Dude, ***?

I just like the way they look... I can't even say I like the way they sound anymore. When I owned mine, I could never get it to sound right. No matter what I did, it just wouldn't produce that signature Ric tone that I had in my head. Hell, I couldn't even get it to sound good. The G string was weak, the E was fuzzy and lacked definition and it buzzed like CRAZY. Nothing I did helped. I changed the strings, adjusted the pickups/pole-pieces, EQ... Nothing. I eventually discovered it had a bad bridge pickup (break in the coil from the factory). I had it rewound and did the RWRP mod, but it still sounded pretty much the same, just a little quieter. I just figured I got a lemon, but every time I pick up a Ric in a store (now that you can find them in stores) they all sound just like the one I used to own.

I don't really believe in a "signature Ric tone." Like, whose? Sir Paul and Lemmy both played them, and sound completely different. Al Cisneros doesn't sound anything like Chris Squire.

The RWRP mod is completely pointless for my purposes. It only works if you use both pickups full up, at the same time. And I basically never do that. I basically always use the bridge pickup by itself, or occasionally the neck pickup by itself. I don't really care about single coil hum. Strat and tele players have been dealing with it just fine for over half a century.

Usually in any section where there are loud, distorted guitars, I play through the bridge pickup only, which I had set up to be as loud and aggressive as possible. It sits very nicely in the mix. Tight, but not thin. Helps that I play through an overdriven tube amp.

Also I think many players don't hit the strings on a Rickenbacker hard enough. In my experience, they respond very well to a heavy handed attack.

Maybe 4003 sound different... I had a 4001 which had that fantastic clancking Ric sound with Rotosound Swing Bass strings - The one bass I should have never sold...

My 4001 and 4003S sound nearly identical on the bridge pickup setting. The 4003S might be slightly more aggressive sounding.

A 4003 does indeed sound different than a 4001. It's just a capacitor, though. Mine had the 'vintage tone' switch to get that 4001 sound. I never used it... It just made the bass sound worse, IMO. Really thin and weak.

I use that setting for intros and interludes sometimes, to get an intentionally thin sound like a Fender Bass VI. Any other time, though, I have that tone knob pushed in for a full sound with just the bridge pickup. Those are the same sections that I use just the bridge pickup of my T-bird with.

 

[Korladis]

I'm building one for myself but it will be a twelver. Here's the mockup I did a few years ago:

...and here are the through necks, 3 piece maple, ebony fretboard, and double trussrod that @ctmullins built for me. One 32, one 34.

Looking forward to seeing it when it's done.

 

[Korladis]

Anyone ever made a reverse EB-3L? Like with the mudbucker in the bridge position and mini-bucker in the neck position.

 

[Mosstone]

I don't really believe in a "signature Ric tone." Like, whose? Sir Paul and Lemmy both played them, and sound completely different. Al Cisneros doesn't sound anything like Chris Squire.

Well that's obvious, but a Rickenbacker still has its own unique tonal character. Just as a P-bass sounds like a P-bass, and a Jazz bass has its own signature tone. And Rickenbacker doesn't make 31 flavors of the 4003 the way Fender spits out different versions of the P and J, yet they all sound like what they are.

I wasn't disappointed because my Rickenbacker didn't sound like Geddy Lee's on Exit... Stage Left, or Chris Squire's on Roundabout. I was disappointed because it just sounded bad.

The RWRP mod is completely pointless for my purposes. It only works if you use both pickups full up, at the same time. And I basically never do that. I basically always use the bridge pickup by itself, or occasionally the neck pickup by itself. I don't really care about single coil hum. Strat and tele players have been dealing with it just fine for over half a century.

No we haven't... Strat, Tele and Jazz bass pickups certainly do use RWRP. On the Strat, the middle pickup is reversed.

That's the world I come from, and I thought it was baffling when I first discovered that Rickenbacker doesn't do RWRP. It doesn't make any sense why they still don't. I do use both pickups more often than not, and would like to have that noise cancelling feature. Also, 'hum' I can handle. Fenders hum, sure. But the noise that came out of my Rickenbacker is better described as an annoying LOUD BUZZ. You could only make it worse, you couldn't make it better. The only way to stop it between songs was to turn the volume all the way off. Also, the lack of shielding made it an antenna for any RF in the room (my bandmates LOVED the Rickenbacker ).

When I asked John Hall why they didn't shield the cavities in their guitars, he tried to tell me that shielding is a kind of 'black art' and that only a handful of people in the world know how to to do properly. I guess I must be among those arcane few. I shield all of my guitars and basses with no problem and to great effect.

Also I think many players don't hit the strings on a Rickenbacker hard enough. In my experience, they respond very well to a heavy handed attack.

Are you saying the E string lacked definition because I didn't hit it hard enough?

How hard is hard enough??

 

[Korladis]

Well that's obvious, but a Rickenbacker still has its own unique tonal character. Just as a P-bass sounds like a P-bass, and a Jazz bass has its own signature tone. And Rickenbacker doesn't make 31 flavors of the 4003 the way Fender spits out different versions of the P and J, yet they all sound like what they are.

I wasn't disappointed because my Rickenbacker didn't sound like Geddy Lee's on Exit... Stage Left, or Chris Squire's on Roundabout. I was disappointed because it just sounded bad.

I think most basses have many tones available to them. Combined with a variety of amps and available settings, while some sounds are easier to get with some instruments and harder to get with others, I don't really believe in "signature sounds" for anything. I get about the same sound with my T-bird, Rickenbackers, and Peavey.

Also you think they sound bad? Well, I'm sorry my bass tone doesn't match your refined palette then.

No we haven't... Strat, Tele and Jazz bass pickups certainly do use RWRP. On the Strat, the middle pickup is reversed.

And it only works when you use that particular pickup in combination with the others. As soon as you switch to only one pickup, or favor one over the other, that benefit goes away.

That's the world I come from, and I thought it was baffling when I first discovered that Rickenbacker doesn't do RWRP. It doesn't make any sense why they still don't. I do use both pickups more often than not, and would like to have that noise cancelling feature. Also, 'hum' I can handle. Fenders hum, sure. But the noise that came out of my Rickenbacker is better described as an annoying LOUD BUZZ. You could only make it worse, you couldn't make it better. The only way to stop it between songs was to turn the volume all the way off. Also, the lack of shielding made it an antenna for any RF in the room (my bandmates LOVED the Rickenbacker ).

When I asked John Hall why they didn't shield the cavities in their guitars, he tried to tell me that shielding is a kind of 'black art' and that only a handful of people in the world know how to to do properly. I guess I must be among those arcane few. I shield all of my guitars and basses with no problem and to great effect.

My Rickenbackers are about as quiet as my Peavey and T-bird. Between songs I generally tune, which mutes the signal. And even if not, hum isn't a big deal to me. That's just how single coil pickups are. Personally I have no use for RWRP, because it would have no effect about 95% of the time I play. And if it really bothered you that much, why not get the model with humbuckers?

Are you saying the E string lacked definition because I didn't hit it hard enough?

How hard is hard enough??

Quite possibly. I have no idea what your plucking hand technique is like. I have one of my Rickenbackers in BEAD, same tuning as I have my T-bird in, and the lowest strings have plenty of "definition."

Honestly this sounds a lot like the kind of bashing people usually reserve for T-birds...

 

[Dadagoboi]

Looking forward to seeing it when it's done.

Gotta build this one first...

 

[redstrand]

My Ric is quiet, so is my Tbird

 

[Korladis]

Gotta build this one first...

Awesome.

 

[Count Bassie]

Rickies... they do have a character, I think. Listen for instance to Chris Squire's playing in Yes' early lo-impact hit "Sweetness", then listen to Lemmy's runs between verses of "Bomber". Totally disparate tunes and approaches, but there's a like signature, tone-wise, between them.

I agree that your sound is yours regardless of the make you play, but character is also woven into the axe. You're gonna hear it sometime.

 

[Korladis]

Rickies... they do have a character, I think. Listen for instance to Chris Squire's playing in Yes' early lo-impact hit "Sweetness", then listen to Lemmy's runs between verses of "Bomber". Totally disparate tunes and approaches, but there's a like signature, tone-wise, between them.

I agree that your sound is yours regardless of the make you play, but character is also woven into the axe. You're gonna hear it sometime.

I suppose that's true, though my tone is more like Lemmy's or Al Cisneros' (though my playing certainly isn't) than like Squire's.

Interestingly, Lemmy also used T-birds and sounded basically the same.

 

[Count Bassie]

I suppose that's true, though my tone is more like Lemmy's or Al Cisneros' (though my playing certainly isn't) than like Squire's.

Interestingly, Lemmy also used T-birds and sounded basically the same.

Also interestingly, he picked those axes because they looked cool!

 

[Korladis]

Also interestingly, he picked those axes because they looked cool!

Though he stayed pretty consistent over the years. I've only rarely seen him use anything else.

 

[Mike.C.]

Same age here, I started playing in '74........$%#& I'm old

I did not pick up a bass until 38. I am 41. I am so PO'd at myself for not doing this sooner. I envy the playing years you all have under your belts (or skirts).

 

[hillerup]

Rickies... they do have a character, I think. Listen for instance to Chris Squire's playing in Yes' early lo-impact hit "Sweetness", then listen to Lemmy's runs between verses of "Bomber". Totally disparate tunes and approaches, but there's a like signature, tone-wise, between them.

I agree that your sound is yours regardless of the make you play, but character is also woven into the axe. You're gonna hear it sometime.

Different for sure...

But when I think of the "classic" Ric tone, I usually think of the sound of a grinding 4001 like Martin Godon had on the 2nd Sparks album "Kimono My House" where he used his 4001 dominantly on all tracks.

The songs:





Are good examples of this - Also early songs by The Jam (3 first albums), before Foxton switched to a P-Bass, and The Damned (The Black Album + Strawberries) + Eddie & The Hot Rods (Teenage Depression + Life On The Line) in which both bands Paul Gray played Ric's exclusively.

 

[ubernator]

This may be obvious... But bear in mind, that Epiphones uses truss rods with a metric sized nut, so your hex (Allen) keys should be metric as well and not imperial sized or you will strip the nut. Also the the hex/Allen key should be seated all the way into the nut before turning it.

Btw, the truss rod is a 2-way double-action rod as listed on the Epiphone site...

4mm I know, but 5/32 fits because it is stripped out. The metal on those nuts is far to soft. I guess I am hosed... Now the question remains if I should bother mentioning it to the seller...

I've been too busy to post about all the details, but I did use it at practice tonight and it worked well.

Hopefully a stewmac gripper is good enough to save what's left and safely adjust it. The construction quality on these Chinese ones is not as good as the older Korean ones. Does anyone have experience with the stewmac gripper on a Chinabird?

I should have seen the excess neck relief and high action as a smoking gun, but since that's how I like it for drop c with .115 .090 .070 .050, I figured I would just have less work to do since it was most of the way there. In reality, it usually means someone inexperienced messed with the truss... Since I like the bass, and my goth and both of my peaveys have the same size adjustment nut, perhaps investing in a stewmac gripper might be a good idea.

 

[GBassNorth]

I've bought and used a BUNCH of these with my two (older) sets of Schallers.
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This is what I've done as well, no issues to date.