Thunderbird Club

[Dadagoboi]

That is indeed a very unique neck with those specs. The luthier who makes my necks (Dan Ransom/SF) built one of the 1st buzzard necks (to his specs) and when he saw JAE with an entourage at the following NAMM show he said he saw Dan walking toward him and as he neared him he only said "neck has to be fatter" and walked on. He later reconnected and spent some time hanging with him.

Cool story! That particular neck is super thin and had really worn, grooved frets. But it still played great!

I have another Status with the same pickups, bridge, and similar electronics but a maple/rosewood, carbon reinforced neck. No wear on the frets but it just doesn't play right.

 

[godofthunder59]

My apologies if this has already been discussed (I don't recall seeing it if it was) but have you seen the new skinny stringed sister to our TBirds? The 2017 Gibson Firebird Zero which is essentially a Lefty Firebird for a Righty. I haven't yet found any indication of a TBird equal.

View attachment 1047175 View attachment 1047176

I played one of theseveral the other day at The House of Guitars, not bad for the price point, I need a real guitar I would consider one of these.

 

[TBird1958]

Gentlemen and Ladies,

After receiving a couple emails from members of the club I do feel it's important to make something very clear.

There's been a bit snarky attitude in some of the posts (I'm not naming anyone) of late. We do not all have to agree on everything we discuss here, but it's most important that we all be respectful of each other in our replies. We're drawn here because we all are bass playing brethren that love Thunderbird basses, we come from all over the world from many different cultures and the general tone of conversation has been fun, lighthearted and respectful in the past, let's please return to that.
I'm not a moderator here, I'm not here to slap anybody down, but I won't tolerate disrespect towards any of our fellow members - if it continues I'll just ask one the TB Moderators to close the thread.

Thank you,
Veronica

 

[Gaolee]

... I need a real guitar ...

Four strings is plenty for me, and besides every guitar wants to grow up and be a bass someday. Not all can do it, so they just make lots of high pitched noises to make up for it.

 

[Gaolee]

Cool story! That particular neck is super thin and had really worn, grooved frets. But it still played great!

I have another Status with the same pickups, bridge, and similar electronics but a maple/rosewood, carbon reinforced neck. No wear on the frets but it just doesn't play right.

That just goes to show how a bass that feels and sounds right gets played until it can't be played any more and a bass that's lousy is still showroom perfect many years later.

However, people like me who have stone aged sensitivity probably wouldn't notice that much.

 

[Gaolee]

Looking good Carlo!

High quality paint work is a skill position - Worth every penny!

I'm planning on attempting a burst finish on the P-Bird and Tele-Bird sometime this summer. If they end up with an opaque metal flake finish, and I quietly stop saying anything about paint, you will all know what happened.

 

[godofthunder59]

Four strings is plenty for me, and besides every guitar wants to grow up and be a bass someday. Not all can do it, so they just make lots of high pitched noises to make up for it.

My only guitar is a 1960s mahogany body Harmony acoustic, paid 5 bucks for it at a yard sale. Every once in a while I think I should buy myself a real guitar, the feeling usually passes pretty quick.

 

[hillerup]

Gentlemen and Ladies,

After receiving a couple emails from members of the club I do feel it's important to make something very clear.

There's been a bit snarky attitude in some of the posts (I'm not naming anyone) of late. We do not all have to agree on everything we discuss here, but it's most important that we all be respectful of each other in our replies. We're drawn here because we all are bass playing brethren that love Thunderbird basses, we come from all over the world from many different cultures and the general tone of conversation has been fun, lighthearted and respectful in the past, let's please return to that.
I'm not a moderator here, I'm not here to slap anybody down, but I won't tolerate disrespect towards any of our fellow members - if it continues I'll just ask one the TB Moderators to close the thread.

Thank you,
Veronica

I couldn't have said it better myself...

The tone have been unnecessarily harsh lately with all the Ric and Rush bashing. We all have different tastes in music and basses, but we do have ONE thing in common - Our love for the Thunderbird basses. Let's not forget what got us together in the first place, and get back to the usual humorous rant of all things possible....

 

[Gaolee]

My only guitar is a 1960s mahogany body Harmony acoustic, paid 5 bucks for it at a yard sale. Every once in a while I think I should buy myself a real guitar, the feeling usually passes pretty quick.

I actually have three guitars with six strings. They get played a bit, but not a whole lot. One came to me in baggies of parts and a garbage bag with the neck and body. I paid a bit more than five bucks for it, but I put a whole lot more into it turning it back into a musical instrument. It's still worth less than I paid for it, but it sure was fun.

 

[godofthunder59]

Gentlemen and Ladies,

After receiving a couple emails from members of the club I do feel it's important to make something very clear.

There's been a bit snarky attitude in some of the posts (I'm not naming anyone) of late. We do not all have to agree on everything we discuss here, but it's most important that we all be respectful of each other in our replies. We're drawn here because we all are bass playing brethren that love Thunderbird basses, we come from all over the world from many different cultures and the general tone of conversation has been fun, lighthearted and respectful in the past, let's please return to that.
I'm not a moderator here, I'm not here to slap anybody down, but I won't tolerate disrespect towards any of our fellow members - if it continues I'll just ask one the TB Moderators to close the thread.

Thank you,
Veronica

Well said!

 

[rodv66]

OK, so need some opinions. The bushings on the 3 point bridge on my Epiphone keep popping out. Took apart bridge several times and as soon as I tune up, they pop out. This is something that I see happens often and many suggest gluing the bushings in. I'm also thinking of just putting in a Hipshot bridge as a replacement. What do you guys and girls think?

 

[Gaolee]

I think something isn't quite right. I have never had the saddles come out of a 3-point (or 2-point for that matter) if the strings were on the instrument.

 

[GBassNorth]

OK, so need some opinions. The saddles on the 3 point bridge on my Epiphone keep popping out. Took apart bridge several times and as soon as I tune up, they pop out. This is something that I see happens often and many suggest gluing the saddles in. I'm also thinking of just putting in a Hipshot bridge as a replacement. What do you guys and girls think?

Is it possible to post a pic of what's happening? I don't think I've ever heard of the three point saddles popping out as long as there's a string on them and they're under tension.

 

[rodv66]

Is it possible to post a pic of what's happening? I don't think I've ever heard of the three point saddles popping out as long as there's a string on them and they're under tension.

Well I took the bridge off and took bushings out. When tuning strings after putting bridge back, one side would have the bushing pull out and that side would be on a 45° angle

 

[rodv66]

OK I'm sorry, it is the bushings, not the saddles. Sorry for the mix-up. Bushings pull out of the holes drilled to sink them into the body

 

[GBassNorth]

Well I took the bridge off and took bushings out. When tuning strings after putting bridge back, one side would have the bushing pull out and that side would be on a 45° angle

Now I'm really confused. Not sitting in front of my bridge right now but I don't recall any bushings. I recall intonation rods that pass through the saddles and rest in the bridge body. But aside from the three large height adjustment bolts and the body inserts that's about it. Post a pic if you get a chance, it's probably an easy fix.

Edit - just saw your updated post. Now it all makes sense. Yes it's an easy fix.

 

[Klondike]

Question to the group: What does a quality re-finish run for a t-bird? My '06 is the standard sunburst scheme and while I love the bass, I am not digging the color.

I did a goth myself. The paint I bought was automotive and the clear over it as well. I went the expencive way but many people use Dupont feom your local auto shop. Here is mine,

 

[GBassNorth]

If the threaded body inserts are pulling out of the body - simply remove the loose ones, insert a few flat toothpicks with some wood glue on them into the holes (resting against the sidewall of the hole) and before the glue dries gently tap the inserts back in place. Let the glue dry over night then reassemble the bridge. When adjusting a three point bridge be sure to slacken the strings before raising or lowering any of the three large height adjustment bolts. Also note that you might have a grounding wire attached to or in contact with the rear bridge bolt closest to the output jack, it's important to ensure you have a good contact there when re-setting the inserts back into the body.

 

[GBassNorth]

I did a goth myself. The paint I bought was automotive and the clear over it as well. I went the expencive way but many people use Dupont feom your local auto shop. Here is mine,

View attachment 1050981

Looks great!
BTW - you can take your Christmas tree down any day now

 

[EdO.]

OK, so need some opinions. The bushings on the 3 point bridge on my Epiphone keep popping out. Took apart bridge several times and as soon as I tune up, they pop out. This is something that I see happens often and many suggest gluing the bushings in. I'm also thinking of just putting in a Hipshot bridge as a replacement. What do you guys and girls think?

Interesting that you posted that question at this time. As fate would have it I'm having the same exact issue and was in fact getting ready to post to ask for some help with the same issue. Got my Classic IV out for a bit of practice yesterday and noticed the E string side stud was up a bit. I had the bridge set about level (I've read plenty of times that the rear of the bridge should be lower than the front side), so I thought I'd readjust it so the rear was lower than the front. That just made things way worse, now both are pulling out and won't stay in despite pushing them back down and readjusting the bridge a couple of times. First time I've encountered this, the Bird is a 2008 model and I've owned it a couple of years now.

Now, I've read plenty before on how others have addressed the fix for this and I THINK I have a fair idea of how to go about it, but rather than sort through several hundred pages of this thread thought I'd just ask again knowing that several of you here have the ready information to share. So thank you in advance for helping myself and @rodv66 get our Birds straightened out, all help sincerely appreciated.