Thunderbird Club

[wolfkeller]

Awesome!

Man, could have used you this weekend, out with my girl in Mount Clemens, and she's had a rough couple weeks, so she's like "I need to go to a rock show!!" Couldn't find anything nearby, (Alice cooper tribute at Diesel, but I'm not a huge Alice fan, probably a good show if they did it up right though), so we ended up just drinking bourbon at Three Blind Mice, de-stressing was still well accomplished, lol.

I see you're playing at Diesel the end of April, gonna try to check you guys out!

Hey a local boy! Yeah man, we'll be @ diesel 4-29 with a cool 80s hair band tribute. Hopefully it's like it was last night, sold out, drank place dry, bar fights...A good rock n roll show!

 

[DerekW]

Hey a local boy! Yeah man, we'll be @ diesel 4-29 with a cool 80s hair band tribute. Hopefully it's like it was last night, sold out, drank place dry, bar fights...A good rock n roll show!

Sounds perfect!

 

[Bad bassist]

Any tips for chosing a cab for the Thunderbird?
I'm searching the local market and found some decent options but have my doubts on which road to choose...410s or 115s or 215s? The head will likely be a SVT3 Pro clone by Bugera(BVP5500). I'm on a tight budget, that's my excuse
Another very important thing, I play in C tuning (not drop C).

Prices vary:
180-200€ for used 410 Peavey TX
200-250€ for Ashdown Toneman(used MAG or new TM)
150€ Ashdown Toneman 115
I could get an old Peavey 215 with BWs for 400€, maybe can bargain for for 300-350€. Almost fridge style.

The top price I can go is 400€ but must be worth it, was considering getting a new Fender Rumble 115 or the Ampeg PF 115, both are around 400€ with shipping.
Any opinion can be very helpful, thanks in advance.

P.S. The cab will mostly sit in the practice room with eventually some road use but nothing too serious. Medium size gigs tops.

 

[kat888]

Any tips for chosing a cab for the Thunderbird?
I'm searching the local market and found some decent options but have my doubts on which road to choose...410s or 115s or 215s? The head will likely be a SVT3 Pro clone by Bugera(BVP5500). I'm on a tight budget, that's my excuse .

Have you considered 212?

 

[Bad bassist]

I have but locally they're not popular enough to be found used.
Maybe I could get an ashdown Toneman 212(Thomann sells them for 220€) but the power rating seems too low.

 

[kat888]

I have but locally they're not popular enough to be found used.
Maybe I could get an ashdown Toneman 212(Thomann sells them for 220€) but the power rating seems too low.

TC K212?

 

[rodv66]

Hey a local boy! Yeah man, we'll be @ diesel 4-29 with a cool 80s hair band tribute. Hopefully it's like it was last night, sold out, drank place dry, bar fights...A good rock n roll show!

Seems like you got a well put together tribute act. Watching you guys reminds me to step up our game and have a quality act.

 

[Bad bassist]

@kat888
That was actually the first cab I liked on the Thomann site, looks great.
Just above the budget but might save a few € and get one.

How is the 12s sound compared to 10s and 15s for bass? I know the 12s are standard for guitar but never heard any bass player on these.
Reminder, I play in C tuning.

*I still think a used 410 Peavey TX is the best option, except my heart wants a 215.

 

[kat888]

@kat888
That was actually the first cab I liked on the Thomann site, looks great.
Just above the budget but might save a few € and get one.

How is the 12s sound compared to 10s and 15s for bass? I know the 12s are standard for guitar but never heard any bass player on these.
Reminder, I play in C tuning.

*I still think a used 410 Peavey TX is the best option, except my heart wants a 215.

I have always played through 12s or 15s. The Ampeg SVT212AV is outside your budget but reputedly
is very fridge-like but much smaller and lighter (only 29kg). The only thing I'd change would be to add a second one.

Speaker diameter doesn't tell you anything about frequency response - there are plenty of bassy cabs with 10s. A 215 would be nice though...

 

[Larry V]

Andreas from Cult of Luna using a T-bird in this video:

This is definitely not my cup of tea but I can appreciate it for what it is, a style of music that has an audience and was performed well with a nice stage presence. Having said that, here was my experience while listening to the entire 9 minutes of it.

First 3 minutes: This might be the longest intro ever...
Next 3 minutes: Huh... the drummer and keyboardist just keep doing the same thing over and over and over and over.
Last 3 minutes: How do these guys know when the song's about to end? I mean, is there a hand signal? Ok, guys, just 128 more metres and we're done. LOL

Great GREAT music - but horrible HORIBBLE H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E vocals.... Totally ruined the whole song...

To me, there was no discernible structure to the song. It was like a 9 minute intro, lots of buildup but no payoff. I guess that's the style of music but that's how it came across. Please don't take this as bashing, I know it's not "standard" metal and out on the fringes.

Rocking my latest bird.

Sounding great as always! Excellent video too, shot in the MTV style you'd expect for that year too!

You know, I don't bash music that you guys post.

If this was your band, I'm sure you wouldn't be getting any critical posts. Most would give you a "thumbs up" and a "nice job" and support you in your endeavor. We're just sharing our opinion on this one specific song/video/performance. I'm assuming very few people if any in this thread have ever heard of this band or listen to this genre. Don't take it personal, it isn't meant that way.

 

[Bad bassist]

@kat888
I just spoke with a guy selling his old peavey 215 for 300€, perfect as new conditions.
So hard to resist.

OTOH, another guy wants to sell me his 215 for 200, the downside - home made with unknown speakers and signs of use.

Decisions, decisions.

To stay on topic, I changed strings on my TB with Rotosound 665LC set for 5string bass(0.125 for C). Sounds heavy and full, a producer I know praised the TB when he heard it play and after hearing the price he wanted to buy one
Lovely piece of wood, I only wish there were more colours available.

 

[Haji]

If you don't find a cab that really makes you happy, just keep looking. If it's not really what you want you'll just end up having to sell it later to get what you want. I will grant that I'm geographically lucky to live near Nashville, TN and that there's more good used gear here than probably anywhere, but careful searching netted me an SVT-3 Pro for under $300, a GK 800RB for $255 (my back up head), a steal of a deal on very used but perfectly functioning Hartke 410 at $60 and another 410XL at $199...and if that second cab was used anywhere but a bedroom at low volume I'll eat all my hats (about 60 of them) and all of yours, too. All that to say, please be patient, and keep saving in the meantime. Good luck in the hunt!

 

[Gaolee]

yep - me too. That's why bridge covers exist! Do other (T-bird) players here share this bridge pu-centric position when playing?

Yep. I put covers on all kinds of things for that exact reason. I also use the pickup cover when I'm playing finger style up by the neck if the song wants that sound.

 

[Gaolee]

Maybe it's time to learn to play metal of some kind. Just to do it.

 

[BklynKen]

Late to the discussion, but I always play with my thumb resting on the bridge pickup. I only play with my fingers.

 

[Bad bassist]

I only play with a pick. Except when I play ambient stuff, fingers rule for dynamics.

 

[JIO]

Maybe it's time to learn to play metal of some kind. Just to do it.

It's on my list of 'to-explore' genres right after disco (just, kidding)

I've dabbled...

 

[Larry V]

It's on my list of 'to-explore' genres right after disco (just, kidding)

I've dabbled...

Thumbs up and nice job! J/K <---If this doesn't make sense, read my last post.

I really liked it but sometimes I have to be a ballbuster.

It made me imagine a coastal town's villagers concerned with howling winds and an ominous storm moving in from the sea. Hey, that's where it took me, don't laugh, at least it took me someplace.

There was a certain tension that I really enjoyed and I can only hope that a songwriter can put some words to this someday that really suit it.

 

[JIO]

Thumbs up and nice job! J/K <---If this doesn't make sense, read my last post.

I really liked it but sometimes I have to be a ballbuster.

It made me imagine a coastal town's villagers concerned with howling winds and an ominous storm moving in from the sea. Hey, that's where it took me, don't laugh, at least it took me someplace.

There was a certain tension that I really enjoyed and I can only hope that a songwriter can put some words to this someday that really suit it.

That's cool that it conjured those visions for you - it is very evocative. I put a more tranquil twilight pic (no manipulation) for it of where I live but this winter has seen some real turbulence - just haven't been out taking pictures when it's going down!

 

[GBassNorth]

@kat888
I just spoke with a guy selling his old peavey 215 for 300€, perfect as new conditions.
So hard to resist.

OTOH, another guy wants to sell me his 215 for 200, the downside - home made with unknown speakers and signs of use.

Decisions, decisions.

To stay on topic, I changed strings on my TB with Rotosound 665LC set for 5string bass(0.125 for C). Sounds heavy and full, a producer I know praised the TB when he heard it play and after hearing the price he wanted to buy one
Lovely piece of wood, I only wish there were more colours available.

Love the sound of 15's with the TBird but a 215 Peavey is gonna be heavy and quite possibly too much cabinet for practice and occasional mid size gigs. A better choice might be a 115 cab paired with a 210 or 212 cab. Then you could use either cab in practice and small gigs and add the second cab to larger venues.