Thunderbird Club

[GBassNorth]

Love the song and singer, but those guys in the band look like they just got out of PE class in the 9th grade.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I so want.

From the website:

“This is the Super Eight Hundred Plus; our interpretation of the 1980s Gallien Krueger 800RB bass amplifier.

This pedal has the exact same tone as its baby brother, the Super Eight Hundred, but has a few extra features:

In addition to the 4-band active EQ that has Bass, Lo Mid, Hi Mid, Treble controls, Vol (gain), Master, and Boost. There are 3 toggle switches that control the player to sculpt their tone: Lo Cut, Mid Contour, and Hi Boost.

The boost function has been moved from a toggle switch in the Super Eight Hundred to a footswitch so you can engage it while playing.

The 4-band EQ is an active gyrator equalizer which has boost and cut capabilities. The Lo Cut, Mid Contour, and Hi Boost are tone shaping controls that allow you to shape your fundamental tone at the first gain stage before the equalizer.

Another feature that was added was the full sized XLR DI jack as found in the original amp. This will allow you to send a balanced DI signal direct to the board or your audio interface for painless live shows and recording.

The pedal uses a standard boss-style 9V power supply. The internal circuitry boosts the 9V input to a ±15V voltage for maximum headroom in the equalizer section, just like in the original amplifier.

The entire pedal is housed in 1590BB2 enclosure with top-mounted jacks.

Each pedal uses a professionally assembled PCB and is proudly assembled by hand in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Other features include:
- Soft touch relay true bypass
- Alpha potentiometers and rotary switch
- Lumberg/Neutrik/Rean/Amphenol top-mounted jacks
- Professional high quality FR4 PCB
- Black Sand texture powdercoated 1590BB2 enclosure
- UV Printed artwork

The end result is high quality pedals that sound amazing, are consistent from pedal-to-pedal.

Each pedal comes with a 1 year warranty on parts and labour. Note that the warranty does not cover damage due to using an improper power supply or other misuse.

The price is $269US + shipping.

Shipping within Canada and the US is $20US. Shipping to the UK, Western Europe, Australia, and Japan is $60US. For other regions, please inquire for shipping rates.

For US customers, note that you do not have to pay any import duties or tariffs.

For customers outside of North America, please note that you will be responsible for any customs/import/VAT charges that your country levies on the pedal.

Thank you and stay safe!”

I plan to bring mine to the GTG. And remember, he'll do custom graphics. I wanted the dragon logo from my books on my 800+, but realized with that many controls, it would be a mess, so I saved that for the custom switch and just kept the standard graphics, but in colors matching the switch.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

@Miles_ONeal and I enabled each other today. He bought one of the B-stock Gator Thunderbird cases I found. I bought the Epi Alpine White ‘10 LE Custom Shop Thunderbird he found.

2010 Epiphone Thunderbird IV Limited Edition Custom Shop in Alpine White w/ Epiphone Case (Very Good) *Free Shipping* | Reverb

Hanging out here while I’m recovering from surgery is costing me money. Just when I said this morning no more new Thunderbirds for awhile.

The seller is https://www.gorhambrothersmusic.com in Syracuse. It looks like a cool shop.

We met in the middle re the price. $500 plus tax, including shipping to CA all the way from New York and a case. That’s a very fair deal IMO, especially with the shipping and the case.

The whole transaction took less than five minutes. It has already shipped so I’ll probably get it next Thursday or Friday.

It is my first white bass. And it will be the fifth in my Epi Limited Edition Custom Shop collection. An Ebony one is all that is left to find to complete the flock.

As I have stated many times, these are great Thunderbirds.

I keep saying no more, too, but if the burst had been at a near deal price, I'd have been tempted. Still waiting for the case to ship, but excited to get it. Thanks, my brother in enablement!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Quite honestly, I don't think Leo had a clue about angled head stocks and breakage. I believe his necks were straight in order to save costs in building them. Pretty much like the bolt on neck, all shortcuts to build it cheaper.

As always, your mileage may vary.

He's on record as saying the bolt-on was at least a good bit about letting players replace broken necks.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Amazon delivered today.
Mostly dedicated to guitars, at first glance, only 3 pages talk about basses.

Their 150th anniversary collection is a few guitar models - no basses. There are a lot of things I wish they'd do, but given the Thunderbirds they've put out the last decade+, I'm not complaining too loudly.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

TT!
View attachment 5131692

That's.

Just.

Beautiful.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

3 Ampegs in a row….hmmm….

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Serial number is upside down or inverted?

Same as my CP. You can read it while holding it as you'd play it (more or less). I think of it as right side up.

My Greco is the other way. Didn't dig my VP or IV out of their cases to look.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

That's great! Take some pain meds and you'll feel poorer in the morning. That will pass once the bass arrives.

Hopefully not like a kidney stone.

 

[Bruce Pete]

He's on record as saying the bolt-on was at least a good bit about letting players replace broken necks.

Probably about 10 years after the introduction of the P bass. And, of course he'd say that in order to defend his creation and get a jab in on Gibson.
With that said, bolt on necks work .... and they work good but, it is a cost cutter.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I tune down my E to D for individual songs. The trick is to remember to tune it back up for the next song.

I just went DGCF for simplicity.

 

[JIO]

I remember in the late 60s early 70s for some unknown reason, wearing a bandana tied above one knee over my big bell, bell bottom paints.

Friends said I looked like Joe in the early '70s...

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Oz bird (CP) : Epiphone Thunderbird Classic IV Pro | Reverb

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I love that I got another Dingwall D-Bird. It never fails that gig pictures look 10x cooler with it! I'm not sure any body shape looks better on stage than a Thunderbird or Firebird.

View attachment 5132590

A guitar player recently asked me why I only have Thunderbirds. I told him they were just perfect to me - the look, feel, and sound. I agree - nothing else looks as cool.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

tonight’s rehearsal rig… not bad..

 

[Border]

Yikes! Getting ready to leave yesterday morning to add some bass to a friend's Sunday service, and felt the strap lock pin loose. Tried tightening it, and realized with minimal effort was able to pull it out. So glad this didn't happen while playing. Could have ended quite badly. Took the 2014 instead, which sounded awesome as usual. I hope everyone's week is off to a good start.
Cheers

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I hear ya. That same custom built home on the same size lot on a lake here in SoCal would have easily topped $3Mill here in Thousand Oaks, and closer to $5mill in a beach town like Malibu or Carmel. Like I said, you get a lot for your money there.

20 years ago, you did here as well.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Sorry to repost the VP, but wanted to consolidate all three versions. VP with SIT Power Flats, CP with EBCF, and IV with La Bella black tapes. I am thinking that the CP fits best. On the other hand, all three are neck PU only and tone rolled off. So, I know that is going to minimize differences, but still think there is a bit.

There absolutely is. Even with EBCFs on my VP and CP, neck only, tone off, the two sound very different - just more so as you turn up the other knobs. And the VP changes a fair amount between the Roto Swing Bass and the EBCF, although there's more overlap than I expected.

 

[JIO]

Ibanez uses what appears to be a slightly steeper angle on the thin, narrow necks of their Soundgear line (the one in the pic is a neck-through '96 sr1200), but with some reinforcement (volute?), and a significantly smaller headstock.

Don't think I've ever heard of a Soundgear with a broken headstock

Those two details make all the difference.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Yikes! Getting ready to leave yesterday morning to add some bass to a friend's Sunday service, and felt the strap lock pin loose. Tried tightening it, and realized with minimal effort was able to pull it out. So glad this didn't happen while playing. Could have ended quite badly. Took the 2014 instead, which sounded awesome as usual. I hope everyone's week is off to a good start.
Cheers

Dang termites.