Thunderbird Club

[BklynKen]

T-Bird Friday, no? Everyday is a T-Bird day and today I tracked some very minimalistic (for me) bass line to a new song. A non-reverse did the honours.
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Sure!

 

[BklynKen]

Nope!

Probably on Halloween as we'll be on a big stage and I can avoid our singer - Last show she solidly hit the Greco twice with her arm and the MPC once, she paid the price in bruises and pain the next day.

And the bruises were not from the basses?

 

[Engle]

I just bought this one - it has a raised (probably stick-on) gold bird. That'll work. New 3 Ply Black For Gibson Firebird Thunderbird Bass Style Guitar Pickguard | eBay

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I believe those are a Gibson shape, which is about 1/4" larger at the bout than a VP pickguard. You'll make it work.

 

[Engle]

All mine look as good as if original. Plus I got to choose which gold, out of four options, as well as silver for some to go on one of my VP’s with some silver knobs.

Glad to help you get the look you want on your Tbirds!

 

[Engle]

Gilded-bird in progress Thursday -

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Sweet!

 

[Engle]

If you play out, it can be very useful. I only really have just one or two effects. The rest are utility pedals so I can be self-sufficient and not have to rely on the often crap house amp. Tuner, HPF, and preamp. The rest is dirt, expander, and boost.

I don't use effects much, but I usually bring the board for the tuner and wireless. On a 3 set classic rock gig last Saturday, I used the chorus for one song and the octave once to thicken things up when the guitar player went into a big long solo. I'm also working in the 4onthefloor in a few places in my originals band.

 

[Engle]

Nope!

Probably on Halloween as we'll be on a big stage and I can avoid our singer - Last show she solidly hit the Greco twice with her arm and the MPC once, she paid the price in bruises and pain the next day.

I've impacted a few musicians with my VP headstock - surprise!

 

[BklynKen]

I don't use effects much, but I usually bring the board for the tuner and wireless. On a 3 set classic rock gig last Saturday, I used the chorus for one song and the octave once to thicken things up when the guitar player went into a big long solo. I'm also working in the 4onthefloor in a few places in my originals band.

Do you always bring your own amp? In NYC you rarely need to. In fact, you're often discouraged from bringing one.

 

[Ringhammer]

Do you always bring your own amp? In NYC you rarely need to. In fact, you're often discouraged from bringing one.

I would hate that…. I love using my own gear, I mean, that’s why I bought (and sold, and bought, and sold, and on and on) my amp(s), cab(s), etc.

Sometimes, when it’s a weeknight, “no big deal”, opening (or worse, closing) slot show, where I don’t think our own band will have much of a turnout, or a gig with lots of bands, it’s good if there is a decent backline cab to use.

I rarely get into places with good actual monitors on stage and a house sound guy.
However, one of my bands has an opening slot on a really good bill, at a great venue in SF coming up on 7/21. Nice big stage and good sound system.

I still want to use my own gear.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Nope!

Probably on Halloween as we'll be on a big stage and I can avoid our singer - Last show she solidly hit the Greco twice with her arm and the MPC once, she paid the price in bruises and pain the next day.

you won’t play stage left huh?..

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

That's when your amazement will be added to with respect to that bass. In my experience, live is where the magic happens. (Unless your rehearsal space is large and bigger than a room or basement.)

so true….

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

I would hate that…. I love using my own gear, I mean, that’s why I bought (and sold, and bought, and sold, and on and on) my amp(s), cab(s), etc.

Sometimes, when it’s a weeknight, “no big deal”, opening (or worse, closing) slot show, where I don’t think our own band will have much of a turnout, or a gig with lots of bands, it’s good if there is a decent backline cab to use.

I rarely get into places with good actual monitors on stage and a house sound guy.
However, one of my bands has an opening slot on a really good bill, at a great venue in SF coming up on 7/21. Nice big stage and good sound system.

I still want to use my own gear.

what’s your typical go-to setup?…

 

[Engle]

Do you always bring your own amp? In NYC you rarely need to. In fact, you're often discouraged from bringing one.

I almost always bring my own amp. Most times we need to bring our own PA.
But for these gigs, we are usually the only band. If I was playing originals there probably would be more shared or house backline.

 

[Gaolee]

If you play out, it can be very useful. I only really have just one or two effects. The rest are utility pedals so I can be self-sufficient and not have to rely on the often crap house amp. Tuner, HPF, and preamp. The rest is dirt, expander, and boost.

Exactly. My board currently has the wireless receiver/tuner -> H/LPF -> bass wah -> DI. The bass wah sometimes gets replaced by another effect or sometimes two, but no effect gets used much. I don't recall the last house amp I encountered, so there's that. It's not NYC.

 

[BklynKen]

I would hate that…. I love using my own gear, I mean, that’s why I bought (and sold, and bought, and sold, and on and on) my amp(s), cab(s), etc.

Sometimes, when it’s a weeknight, “no big deal”, opening (or worse, closing) slot show, where I don’t think our own band will have much of a turnout, or a gig with lots of bands, it’s good if there is a decent backline cab to use.

I rarely get into places with good actual monitors on stage and a house sound guy.
However, one of my bands has an opening slot on a really good bill, at a great venue in SF coming up on 7/21. Nice big stage and good sound system.

I still want to use my own gear.

I love using my own gear as well, but gigging in NYC is all about compromises.

 

[Gaolee]

I believe those are a Gibson shape, which is about 1/4" larger at the bout than a VP pickguard. You'll make it work.

I'm pretty sure that's the official pickguard of 2015 Thunderbirds. Those came from the factory with standard white, but black and gold is the tone pickguard for them.

 

[BklynKen]

I love using my own gear as well, but gigging in NYC is all about compromises.

Plus, most people are reliant on public transportation. That really limits things.

 

[Gaolee]

you won’t play stage left huh?..

My right ear feels the effects of being left of the drummer's hats and crash. The good news is that there's less headstock aggression. The bad news (or better news depending on your point of view) is that there's still some. The worse offender was the Precision. I don't know what it is about that bass, but its headstock was always on a search and destroy mission. Thunderbirds are much more polite in physical space. Not so much in sonic space.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Plus, most people are reliant on public transportation. That really limits things.

sounds easier/better…

 

[Gaolee]

Plus, most people are reliant on public transportation. That really limits things.

Indeed. I wouldn't want to schlep around some of the stuff I move regularly if it had to be done in NYC. Living in New York back when, on West 102nd between Broadway and Amsterdam, the piece of junk upright I had never left the apartment. Getting it around was too big a PITA. I don't actually remember how it got home. Subway, probably. Everything went by subway.

I drove a cab, so I knew what happened in the backs of cabs and also what kinds of people drove cabs and how they drove. No way I would have wanted to be in the back of a cab driven by my cabbie self.