Thunderbird Club

[Miles_ONeal]

LOL - Willy, anybody ignoring you is missing out on some of the most original and creative Tbird related content!

You still have my favorite bass for a bar fight - the pink Hello Kitty! Nothing would be funnier than seeing that smashed upside some overbearing jerks head (in self defense of course).

Imagine listening to the victim explaining it to the police - “I was just standing there minding my own business when out of nowhere a huge pink bass smashed me in the face, all I could see was a hello Kitty coming at me 90 miles an hour and when I woke up I was surrounded by cold fried chicken, water melon rinds and guys in bare feet”.

Willy is a Thunderbird original!

 

[JIO]

Belly cuts rock. And take away weight

Exactly - weight transferred from the bass body to facilitate the players body!

 

[TBird1958]

This one by chance???
View attachment 5226624

Had to keep Chucky from running off with it…
View attachment 5226625
…actually, I don’t think the fanned frets were his cup of tea. Erick and Marshall on the other hand were really rockin it.

Chuck is a Classic, love ya, buddy!

 

[BklynKen]

@dagrev Your G&L's friend.

 

[BklynKen]

Mets-themed pedal board. Love it.

 

[WillyW]

LOL - Willy, anybody ignoring you is missing out on some of the most original and creative Tbird related content!

You still have my favorite bass for a bar fight - the pink Hello Kitty! Nothing would be funnier than seeing that smashed upside some overbearing jerks head (in self defense of course).

Imagine listening to the victim explaining it to the police - “I was just standing there minding my own business when out of nowhere a huge pink bass smashed me in the face, all I could see was a hello Kitty coming at me 90 miles an hour and when I woke up I was surrounded by cold fried chicken, water melon rinds and guys in bare feet”.

if I were playing on the wrong side of the tracks I wouldn’t bring my HelloRic, I’d be bringing something more sturdy.

 

[Stealth57]

if I were playing on the wrong side of the tracks I wouldn’t bring my HelloRic, I’d be bringing something more sturdy.

At least the foot part of the story was accurate.

 

[kyral210]

Exactly - weight transferred from the bass body to facilitate the players body!

Given Thunderbird’s notorious neck dive, maybe more body wood is a good trade off for discomfort

 

[ThaCoast]

Given Thunderbird’s notorious neck dive, maybe more body wood is a good trade off for discomfort

I'd say, as a builder, lightweight tuners, a smaller tbird headstock, a little bit more meat on the body (i've built a bird with a 5-10% increase in body size all around), & it balanced great. That bird is now with a friend of mine, gifted for his birthday. I'll see if i can find it again in current form.

You could essentially, go with a spector bird (if you enjoy the spector feel/sound, i kinda do), or add weight with a heavier mass bridge, some weights on the strap can also help possibly. & all this you can keep a belly cut for comfort.

 

[ThaCoast]

Had an idea yesterday, as i was going back into RD basses. I feel they'd look better with a bird variant headstock shape.

I would bring the neck further in the body to lessen any dive however xD

 

[GonePlaid]

Every now and then I forget we have folks in here that don’t have a lot of the history and background of the other long standing club members.

Your point is legit and was probably at least sparked by my little story about “Autographing Your Work With Excellence”. As I was writing that post I was referencing in my mind my last Thunderbird build. My bad for not making the connection more obvious.

That build like my other builds IMHO came out excellent, not perfect, but excellent. You may not have seen any of the build shots or finished product, so here it is…

quick three pup layout comparison of the planned BlingBird build vs a VP pup layout…
View attachment 5226585

back from the finisher and all the pieces ready for assembly…
View attachment 5226586 View attachment 5226587

wiring it all up and shielding the cavities…
View attachment 5226588

my custom designed control circuit (three volume/tone stacks to retain the original Tbird three knob look but offer discrete tone shaping for each individual pickup) and the design goal of keeping the control cavity nice and tidy with room to spare for any future mods that might come down the pike (black electric tape was just there to keep the pots sealed during construction)…
View attachment 5226589

finished product, the BlingBird in all its gaudy glory…
View attachment 5226591 View attachment 5226592 View attachment 5226593 View attachment 5226594
Is it perfect? Nope!

I stripped a cheap ass trim ring screw (still drives me nutz, but would require drilling out to fix, not worth it), the neck was from a previously deceased Fender P bass so it still shows the plugged string tree screw hole on the front of the headstock and the plugged tuner screw holes on the back of the headstock. I could have had the finisher blend them in better (hand painting a faux tiger stripe over each hole to better hide the plug) but it would have almost doubled the cost of the finish job and not really eliminated the issue. And I used the lowest cost option Tbird humbuckers (ChinaBuckers from EY guitars) because I wasn’t really sure exactly how it was going to sound with the custom control circuit, VP pups or the new Gibson NR pups would most likely have been an even better option.

All in all, I think it came out excellent in looks, sound, playability, features and quality - it did garner quite a few fans at the recent Tbird GTG in Santa Cruz, with the very well stocked guitar store owner practically begging me to sell it to him or make him an identical one.

So there you have it, all the Tbird crap that was running around in my head as I was typing my original “Excellence” post. Hope all the photos and background info help quench your thirst for more Tbird content.

OMG! Those plugged holes(A-hem?)completely ruin it. Send it to me(I'm prolly the farthest from you in CONUS)so that it doesn't bother you any more.

 

[GonePlaid]

Just got home from picking up my Orville and lunch with Will.

My conversation with the border services guy on the way back into Canada:
Just you in the car?
Yes.
Have a nice day.
Thanks!

View attachment 5226626
Doesn’t look like it in this shot, but the Orville headstock is smaller than the VP’s.

Was that b4 or after the cavity search?

 

[GonePlaid]

Had an idea yesterday, as i was going back into RD basses. I feel they'd look better with a bird variant headstock shape.
View attachment 5226982

I would bring the neck further in the body to lessen any dive however xD

 

[PillO]

So this is a social thread for thunderbirds fans not a thread about Thunderbird basses?

Both

No. It's about Thunderbird basses and the people who play them; about strings and pickups-for TBirds; about accessories(cases, bridges, tuners, etc); how they sound through different amps; how they sound whether plucking or picking; how they fit-or not-in one's gigmobile; and much more.
A lot of us have become friends through the Club and care about each other's lives.

Can’t it be both?
We always come back to the basses because they are the shared love that brought us here.

If you have a question about the basses, just ask it at anytime. Someone will come swiftly back to you with the information if it exists.

Cheers

…because life is what happens in between Thunderbird and gear purchases.

What these good people said.

It’s more then just a love for TBirds and other basses and the types of gear we like, it’s a respect and love for one another. And a lot of us are actually close personal friends.
If it’s not your bag, leave.

And bikes, cars, other none Thunderbird basses. Even 7enders. Of which many of us us also play and love.

I play Rickenbacker’s and thunderbirds with the exception of a home built DC.

I have not put anyone that posts here on ignore, I have several on ignore in the Rickenbacker community.

I’m probably on ignore here for a few peeples here though.

thunderbird people are just better human beings in general

This is the only place that accepts a melon-headed Thunderbird player...

 

[GonePlaid]

This is the only place that accepts a melon-headed Thunderbird player...

Accept, hell! Encourage.

 

[JJR58]

This is the only place that accepts a melon-headed Thunderbird player...

And we love you for that!

 

[PillO]

Was that b4 or after the cavity search?

The cavity search is the best part of crossing the border!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Given Thunderbird’s notorious neck dive, maybe more body wood is a good trade off for discomfort

the neck dive is truly notorious among those with little to no Thunderbird experience.

 

[JJR58]

the neck dive is truly notorious among those with little to no Thunderbird experience.

Facts!

 

[Ringhammer]

Given Thunderbird’s notorious neck dive, maybe more body wood is a good trade off for discomfort

All of my TSO’s neck dive a little. 4 of the Gibsons have Hipshot ultralights, one is still sporting the stock black ones and the 2 Epiphones still have the stock Wilkinson tuners. The weight savings with the Hipshots is minor, but I have them on 4 of my Gibsons because I prefer nickel to black hardware, and in all cases I do not have the stock black TB+ pickups installed, but rather some aftermarket vintage style nickel cover pickups and rings, or chrome in the case of my black Gibson.

I have added a flush Dunlop strap lock pin (receptacle ?) at the lower strap pin, up closer to the top edge, which minimizes the neck dive. It goes along with needing to be extra aware of where the headstock is in time and space so you don’t bash it into something when you’re moving about. Neck dive is a minor nuisance but well worth it given the returns in them being lightweight, great sounding, great feeling, great playing and all around cool looking basses.