Thunderbird Club

[KaraQ]

so what's wrong with your truck?

It's a Ford?

 

[WillyW]

Now that's a lot of knobs!

It sounds amazing, but mostly it confuses me

 

[Gaolee]

my bud’s at a recent show…383, muncie 4 speed…
View attachment 5137161

I didn't know Chrysler used Muncie transmissions. Or was it a transplant? Lots of things happen over the years, and I can see why somebody would put a rock crusher into almost anything that was powerful.

 

[Gaolee]

I'm thinking of selling my 2015 for a 1991, I really like the tonal options of the 2015 and switch the tones multiple times during a gig, it's in mint condition, the '91 felt more solid and the neck felt a little bit chunkier which I like. The '91 has had a headstock crack repaired and looks to have been well loved and played. I'd be going from a minty 2015 to a road warn '91.

My Flamingo is a '91. I'm not sure I would trade the '15 for it, but since I have both, it doesn't matter. The '91 pickups may or may not sound as good as '15 pickups. The differences will be subtle. I bet you can buy a lot of strings for the price difference, though. If you sell your '15, I would expect it to command a premium because of what it is relative to all other Thunderbirds.

The good thing is that this place is full of enablers who will probably talk each other into buying your '15. Sounds like you have been chosen by Thunderbirds, and it sounds like that '91 chose you. You can't fight it when a Thunderbird picks you.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

I didn't know Chrysler used Muncie transmissions. Or was it a transplant? Lots of things happen over the years, and I can see why somebody would put a rock crusher into almost anything that was powerful.

yeah..

 

[Gaolee]

I would like to again compliment everyone in this thread. I was reminded after posting an engine question on a Ford truck forum and basically received the here's how you can search for your answer reply. It was politely worded, but as I stated in my reply, I've done that and didn't receive an answer to my specific question and was hoping someone would have experience with that part of it. The guy probably thought he was being helpful, but was not. I'm sure there are some people who never search first for anything but those kinds of search button is your friend replies are not helpful. Nor are they as clever as the poster thinks. I'm always thankful for everyone here that even if a question is obvious to some, and has been asked and answered many times, there is always enthusiasm to help the person find the correct information along with some personal experience, not what was read someplace. Great group of people here.

We get offended if anybody searches this thread instead of asking questions.

 

[dagrev]

It's a Ford?

I know. What can I say! It was high miles and and a great price. Body and interior look like new and it rides great.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

more friggin Ampeg quirkiness….of course they can’t use a 12AX7 (12DW7 instead) phase inverter like 98% of the amps (including the SVT, B-15/18 etc.) out there …..all good now….solid 105 at 8…

 

[Gaolee]

I got my Epiphone thunderbird 60s in and I absolutely love it! Super low fast playing, balances great on a wide strap. My only real gripe would be a better higher fret access buts its completely managable, and if it came in cardinal red, phelam blue, or any of the fun colors thats the Jack Cassady Epiphone gets.

I know it gets said often you can't eq it like you would a fender, so curious how everybody tends to set their amps<I generally have most things set noon/flat but playing with settings now.

I generally leave the EQ flat, but I also play through a Broughton high/low pass filter. Thunderbirds do the rest for me. On rare occasions, I'll give it a bit of a midrange boost or if I'm going for an Entwhistle sound, more of a scoop EQ. But not much of either of those.

 

[Gaolee]

I have the 7ender app tuner, it's ok, I'll try the cleartune.

I had no reason to but I bought the waza craft boss tu-3...

I already have a white korg pitchblack, a tu-2 and a tu-3... still not sure why the pitchblack is white...

A white pitchblack is the defretted kind, just for you.

 

[dagrev]

We get offended if anybody searches this thread instead of asking questions.

One of the great things about this thread. That and the always serious tone and sticking to the topic.....

 

[Stealth57]

My Flamingo is a '91. I'm not sure I would trade the '15 for it, but since I have both, it doesn't matter. The '91 pickups may or may not sound as good as '15 pickups. The differences will be subtle. I bet you can buy a lot of strings for the price difference, though. If you sell your '15, I would expect it to command a premium because of what it is relative to all other Thunderbirds.

The good thing is that this place is full of enablers who will probably talk each other into buying your '15. Sounds like you have been chosen by Thunderbirds, and it sounds like that '91 chose you. You can't fight it when a Thunderbird picks you.

No, the 2015 is not a real Tbird and should be sold for pennies on the dollar

 

[Gaolee]

Now that's a lot of knobs!

Ehem.

 

[Gaolee]

more friggin Ampeg quirkiness….of course they can’t use a 12AX7 (12DW7 instead) phase inverter like 98% of the amps (including the SVT, B-15/18 etc.) out there …..all good now….solid 105 at 8…
View attachment 5137506

What would happen if you substituted a 12DW7 for the 12AX7 preamp tube in an Epiphone Valve Junior or some other small guitar amp? Assuming it would fit the socket, of course. Now that I have seen what that is, it's got me intrigued about what it would do. Burning down the house when it fails in a spectacular fashion gives me pause, though. If it pops something in the amp, that doesn't faze me all that much. Gotta learn somehow.

 

[JJR58]

I may not be representative of the norm here, but I pretty much set my amp and don’t mess with it much once it’s set regardless of what bass I’m using. I have a tendency to use the onboard controls in each bass to fine tune and get the sound I want after that. Keeping that in mind, here’s my typical amp settings, they’re more a function of what cab I’m using and what the room is like…
View attachment 5137449

On my VP with nickel rounds I typically have the neck between 50% and 80% up, the bridge at 0% to 50% up, and the tone at 0% to 50% up. I personally use the bridge pickup and the tone knob as a bright boost to bring the bass more forward in the mix if needed. The VP doesn’t seem to need as much of that boost as my other Tbirds since it’s a bit more aggressive than most.

ThunderFunk=Awesome!

 

[Roger W]

I don't change anything, but if I do, I might boost the bass just a little. One Epi has GHS Precision Flats and the other is trying out various rounds--just because I have some around to try. Boomers sound great and add some heft as well as great low mids. SIT exposed cores sound great as well. I have SIT Power Steels on it now, but haven't used it in a live setting yet.

Yeah, the only thing I did was lower the gain a bit. I like that right on the edge of starting to distort sound. And when I say a bit, I mean from noon to 11:45.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

What would happen if you substituted a 12DW7 for the 12AX7 preamp tube in an Epiphone Valve Junior or some other small guitar amp? Assuming it would fit the socket, of course. Now that I have seen what that is, it's got me intrigued about what it would do. Burning down the house when it fails in a spectacular fashion gives me pause, though. If it pops something in the amp, that doesn't faze me all that much. Gotta learn somehow.

12AX7 vs. 12DW7 : Tone, Reliability.

 

[MCF]

I even have an amp with it's own pedalboard and a gazillion more knobs....

View attachment 5137456

Nice Shuttle.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

take about music bringing people together…..oldest member here (John, singer) 62, youngest (Becca, guitar) 17…

 

[GBassNorth]

ThunderFunk=Awesome!

There’s a lot of awesome amps out there, this is just one of them. Still have my Musicman HD150 and it sounds great as does my GK combo. My old SVT was awesome, as was an Aguilar DB750 and an Ashdown Mag500 I used to own. I also love the Mesa, Eden and Trace Elliot amps I’ve played through. I’ve only found a couple of amps I just wasn’t fond of - Hartke, SWR, Phil Jones and Line 6 just didn’t do it for me at all.

The big concern with Thunderfunk these days is they’ve gone out of business. It was pretty much a one man show Botique type builder. It’s been rock solid to date but it’s about 20 years old, so probably about time for things to start getting iffy. If I had to replace it I’d probably look towards Bergantino for SS or Mesa, Ampeg, Aguilar for hybrid or tube.