Thunderbird Club

[Chucky Stiletti]

I don't necessarily disagree, but it seems to only be a common option on more upper-end basses, at least until maybe recently.
Personally, I've had I think 11, maybe 12?, active basses, including my first bass and seven atm, and only the one came from the factory with the option.

interesting stance and a bit of a grey area for me….I’d say active electronics should be switchable on/off on instruments that were originally passive Ps Js etc. but not on instruments that were originally active…..I mean, has anyone ever heard of a passive Stingray?….

 

[JIO]

I don't necessarily disagree, but it seems to only be a common option on more upper-end basses, at least until maybe recently.
Personally, I've had I think 11, maybe 12?, active basses, including my first bass and seven atm, and only the one came from the factory with the option.

interesting stance and a bit of a grey area for me….I’d say active electronics should be switchable on/off on instruments that were originally passive Ps Js etc. but not on instruments that were originally active…..I mean, has anyone ever heard of a passive Stingray?….

What I meant was 'by now', it seems any active bass should be switchable to passive. Original active basses (like '70s Stingrays) were still developing and for whatever reason a passive option wasn't considered necessary.(?) There are few active low impedance pu's (EMG's) - most active basses have passive pu's.

 

[KaraQ]

interesting stance and a bit of a grey area for me….I’d say active electronics should be switchable on/off on instruments that were originally passive Ps Js etc. but not on instruments that were originally active…..I mean, has anyone ever heard of a passive Stingray?….

Seems reasonable, mostly

My new-ish Ibanez is "active", in the sense it has a powered pre-amp, but it has passive pickups, and a passive bypass switch.

Basses with passive pickups are, imo, the only ones that can really have a true passive option.
With active pickups like EMGs or some of the Ibanez-designed pickups, for example, power is still needed for those, even if the pre-amp/eq is bypassed.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Seems reasonable, mostly

My new-ish Ibanez is "active", in the sense it has a powered pre-amp, but it has passive pickups, and a passive bypass switch.

Basses with passive pickups are, imo, the only ones that can really have a true passive option.
With active pickups like EMGs or some of the Ibanez-designed pickups, for example, power is still needed for those, even if the pre-amp/eq is bypassed.

and that's what i meant....full active where there's active tone controls and gain...i don't put low impedance outputs (although inherent in preamp outputs as well) in that category but again.....grey area where ymmv...

 

[TBird1958]

Just going to say that I sat down and played this fellow for about 5 minutes, possibly not the most beautiful Bird cosmetically, but it sounds/plays very good, much better than my earlier issue unmodded white one ever did.

 

[dagrev]

It's probably pretty quiet inside and probably weighs a whole lot. What nailing pattern and nails do you suppose he used to keep the roof from blowing off at freeway speeds?

I'm shocked that as an architect you don't know this. You took the class on roofing materials, right?

 

[JJR58]

interesting stance and a bit of a grey area for me….I’d say active electronics should be switchable on/off on instruments that were originally passive Ps Js etc. but not on instruments that were originally active…..I mean, has anyone ever heard of a passive Stingray?….

The USA Stingray S.U.B. was, the older version was made both active and passive.
Meaning no switch. Just a choice in basses, one being active, or you could get one strictly passive.

 

[dagrev]

Batteries last a long time as long as the bass is unplugged. I have active basses with batteries that have been in them for years.

Same here.

 

[dagrev]

Active basses have to offer a passive setting to be usable if the battery dies, or to choose passive over active. Most active basses have that, but some don't.

MusicMan for one doesn't. Should be on all active basses, but isn't for some reason.

 

[dagrev]

The B-stock Gator Thunderbird case arrived yesterday while we were out all day. Thankfully it was still there when we arrived.[1] I opened it today. There was no description I could find on the Gator page of why iot was B-stock. The sticker on the bag the case was in said there was slight wood damage on the corner. It's really more cover material damage. Unless someone has a better idea, I'll put some clear mail polish on it to keep it from tearing more.
As the photos show, the VP fits with a little room to spare at the headstock. The body cutout isn't form-fitted, but that means it can hold nearly an Thunderbird, I hope. I tried shifting the body, and it's held firmly in place by the points of contact. For the price, I'm quite happy with this. The inspection date was two years ago.

View attachment 5139785 View attachment 5139786 View attachment 5139787 View attachment 5139788

[1] I had noted on the Gator page that I wanted it dropped off at the back door. It was at the front but I have no way of knowing whether Gator failed to pass that on or the UPS driver just didn't do it. Thankfully our neighborhood crime rate is very, very low and we've not heard of any stolen packages; I just don't like chancing it. It does seem to be random whether such requests result in the packages being at the back door, by the garage on the side of the house, or on the front porch. This is true regardless of shipper.

Looks good to me. Use it a few times and it will have something like that on it anyway. It would sure work fine for me.

 

[dagrev]

and that's what i meant....full active where there's active tone controls and gain...i don't put low impedance outputs (although inherent in preamp outputs as well) in that category but again.....grey area where ymmv...

I hardly ever use either G&L L2k in active. Passive just sounds more earthy to me.

 

[Nocturnal]

That’s the lowest price I’ve seen for one yet.

This is the cheapest I have seen. But not much cheaper than the one you posted.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[Engle]

if you look attentively at the top half of the signal and compare it to the bottom one before and after the diode gets connected via the alligator clip you’ll observe the clipping/distortion……”passive” because other than the energy from the pup, there is no battery or other power source involved…
https://youtube.com/shorts/M0-ZK3c4Lgk?feature=share

Thanks Chuck. Makes sense. That fits my understanding of what a diode does to an AC signal.

 

[PhR75]

MusicMan for one doesn't. Should be on all active basses, but isn't for some reason.

Could be that the Stingray's and Sabre's pickups have such a low impedance as they are wired in parallel so they don't work well enough without the preamp. Never tried an original MM pickup without a preamp so it's just a speculation.
Sterling and the five string have a series/parallel/single coil switch so they could have a active passive switch too.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Really love that bass for some reason. The rig ain't bad either....

why thank you sir.....the Black Beauties you so graciously sent feeling right at home there.....we are doing some reggae stuff and along with the Bart preamp sound HUGE....

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Thanks Chuck. Makes sense. That fits my understanding of what a diode does to an AC signal.

thx Irv, keep in mind I only did one side (one diode), you would need 2 for the whole signal....I used no resistor to better illustrate but adding a variable one (pot) could theoretically result in adjustable distortion....

 

[Engle]

thx Irv, keep in mind I only did one side (one diode), you would need 2 for the whole signal....I used no resistor to better illustrate but adding a variable one (pot) could theoretically result in adjustable distortion....

Yeah I'm pretty sure if I dig out my Craig Anderton Electronic Projects for Musicians book, the circuit is in there.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Yeah I'm pretty sure if I dig out my Craig Anderton Electronic Projects for Musicians book, the circuit is in there.

 

[JJR58]

I hardly ever use either G&L L2k in active. Passive just sounds more earthy to me.

Soooooo agree on that.
And still a bass i'd love to have, a 90's version.

 

[BklynKen]

"Just A Token" by My Extreme". First hit and band name, right there.

A Token of My Extreme is a Frank Zappa song.