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Thunderbird Club
- Thread starter TBird1958
- Start date
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- Tags
- club thunderbird
- Mar 13, 2008
- 18,894
- 142,206
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist Mike Lull T Bass pickups, The Bass Shop, Seattle WA.
Thx.
Someday I’ll build a totally distressed, not a faux relic, but a punk rock type beater Tbird bass. Miss matched pickups in hand routed locations with a hobbled together bridge and a missing tone knob, broken and scuffed up pickguard, maybe a beat up top mounted strat output jack, a neck with the finish worn down to bare palm sweaty stained wood, a missing truss cover, a tuner key bent out of alignment, and the original body finish nearly worn off and reshot in a rattle can rustoleum clear urethane complete with fingerprints all over it.
That’ll be the players bass, flog it till it sings!
Thx Geo, but It was the guy playing the bass that really made it sing!Sounds pretty excellent also!
Fretnation has a very cool customizable four or six way rotary switch they make for Dingwall basses that will work in any bass, at a pretty reasonable price as well. Specifically designed for three pickup basses like the DRoc. But also available for two pickup basses as well. They will do all the custom wiring to your spec, you just plug your pickups in.
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- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,587
- 221,931
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
My 3pu/V-T/pu switch ESP/Grass Roots Bass IV has a 4-way switch. (compared to your 3-way switch - or is it 4?) The 4th option is wired to by-pass the V-T pots straight to the jack. So whatever pu choice/combination you choose gets a clean boost once the 4th switch is switched on. I would love to find the same style of 4-way switch (they are currently on the Fender and Squier VI RI's) but they haven't sold them aftermarket (yet).
I cut the one in the pic from an aluminum sheet - the original was cheap mirrored plastic. What you could do is install 4 on-off mini-toggles to do the same thing. It wouldn't be that difficult to wire and you'd only need to drill four small hoes in the pg. The other cool benefit is all switches off is like a kill-switch, and you have more options for which pu combination you choose.
Last edited:
- Mar 13, 2008
- 18,894
- 142,206
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist Mike Lull T Bass pickups, The Bass Shop, Seattle WA.
What a cool bass, great score there!
- Mar 13, 2008
- 18,894
- 142,206
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist Mike Lull T Bass pickups, The Bass Shop, Seattle WA.
It's unplayable I tell you, the neckdive is so bad............... 
My epiphone pro V Thunderbird dive bombed harder than Dimebag! Some lightweight tuners are rough strap material helped a lot, but is headstock still wants to more the ground.Honestly, what wood is removed for a bevel is inconsequential. (an ounce? maybe?)Besides, T-birds neck-diving is a grossly exaggerated myth spread by T-bird owners so people shy away from them.
Tell me how you created that awesome paint job on the Epiphone!It's unplayable I tell you, the neckdive is so bad...............
What is the best tool to open up the holes in the peg head/headstock just another 1/16” they are open to 1/2” but the Hipshot nuts on the ultralights are just a smidge bigger. Not thinking I’ll have much luck finding a 1 1/16” drill bit.
- Mar 13, 2008
- 18,894
- 142,206
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist Mike Lull T Bass pickups, The Bass Shop, Seattle WA.
It's a thin vinyl wrap, I designed the artwork and had a sign shop print and apply it - was a little spendy but it's held up nicely. VP with Gibson 2021 pickups is a good stage bass, really nice present lo mids and mids, it's gotten a lot of stage time this year, Halloween show is coming up in just afew days...
1” sanding drum on a drill? Wiggle around gently.
Who sent the Seattle weather down here? It was sunny when I picked up my VP. I came out of the dungeon 90 minutes later and it was doom and gloom and raining.
And it's OK to scroll past posts with content that doesn't interest you
I think you mean a 9/16" bit
A reamer is the tool to use. I'm sure Stewmac has something nicer, but I have a set like this:
https://www.amazon.com/LifCratms-Ta...03828&sprefix=Wood+reamer,aps,203&sr=8-5&th=1
As an Amazon Associate, TalkBass may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via links on this site.
@Engle Irv, apparently you are undercharging for PGs. But please don’t get any ideas
Ummmm, I've never heard of an iron on decal applied to a pickguard.@Engle Irv, apparently you are undercharging for PGs. But please don’t get any ideas
View attachment 5227386
I've recently figured out the "print then cut" feature in the Cricut software, so multi-colored decals like that bicentennial bird may be possible.
Edit: just looked at it again, and I could do that with 3 different vinyl colors. And likely I could beat that price
Well I guess when you put a five string neck and an extra tuner on a bass that’s already borderline balanced you’re bound to get more dive than the norm. What you’re experiencing isn’t the norm, in fact it might be the exception. Trust me, you ain’t seen neck dive till you’ve played my Warwick five string thumb bass. Unless the builder specifically compensates for it, any normal four string bass converted to five string is going to be more prone to neck dive.
