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Thunderbird Club

#267,306
Planning recording some pickup comparisons:
'13 NR Thunderbird+ Ceramic p'ups in direct comparison on the same bass as Armstrong Pickups' replicas of the '21/'22 NR Chrome covered Alnico p'ups (ie the differing neck and bridge units);
additionally I'll record my '22 NR (with original Gibson Chrome Alnicos) as well - there's a chance we may learn something or gain some intuition as to what we prefer.
I'll try to get the Greco recorded too - probably better to compare to the Thunderbird+ Ceramics than anything else as I'm suspicious that this era of Greco were Ceramic p'ups but not over-wound like the Gibson units (the higher DC resistance might account for the less articulate upper mids and less present high end), again, who knows!?!?
Also, I'm hoping to record my RexBird with the freshly-potted-into-Philly-Luths'-metal-covers EB Rhythm and Lead p'ups and then record it again once the guarantee work is done with the replacement EB "un-potted-in-their-covers" set. Which are supposedly wax potted indeed but loose under the cover.
The delay in doing this is due to it happening at a buddy's who is on tour. Prob just be audio but you never know your bad luck - hopefully before the end of the month, just down to when he gets back from tour.
Does anyone know what the brand/model of the active circuit in the RexBird is? It's acting like a buffer preamp/volume boost and nothing more, but it makes some very ordinary sounding passive p'ups sound really REALLY good!
 
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#267,307
Kind of a "Let's do this" from Sunday. Maybe it's more of a "Let's done did this" pic now.
VP with GHS Flats. Preformed wonderfully.
1.jpeg
 
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#267,309
The EDP said:
Planning recording some pickup comparisons:
'13 NR Thunderbird+ Ceramic p'ups in direct comparison on the same bass as Armstrong Pickups' replicas of the '21/'22 NR Chrome covered Alnico p'ups (ie the differing neck and bridge units);
additionally I'll record my '22 NR (with original Gibson Chrome Alnicos) as well - there's a chance we may learn something or gain some intuition as to what we prefer.
I'll try to get the Greco recorded too - probably better to compare to the Thunderbird+ Ceramics than anything else as I'm suspicious that this era of Greco were Ceramic p'ups but not over-wound like the Gibson units (the higher DC resistance might account for the less articulate upper mids and less present high end), again, who knows!?!?
Also, I'm hoping to record my RexBird with the freshly-potted-into-Philly-Luths'-metal-covers EB Rhythm and Lead p'ups and then record it again once the guarantee work is done with the replacement EB "un-potted-in-their-covers" set. Which are supposedly wax potted indeed but loose under the cover.
The delay in doing this is due to it happening at a buddy's who is on tour. Prob just be audio but you never know your bad luck - hopefully before the end of the month, just down to when he gets back from tour.
Does anyone know what the brand/model of the active circuit in the RexBird is? It's acting like a buffer preamp/volume boost and nothing more, but it makes some very ordinary sounding passive p'ups sound really REALLY good!
Click to expand...

Looking forward to your test, sounds like a good bench to hear the differences between each (if any, or how close they are to one another).

On the RexBird, it's just that, a volume boost. Interestingly enough, even though it's Rex Brown's signature, the pickups/electronics are not what he has in his own (his pickups are actual EMGs, & just VVT). a more indepth look at what he's actually using
 
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#267,311
BklynKen said:
Yes. EHX's description is:

Dedicated attack expander allows your bass to cut through any live performance with razor’s edge control. Adjustable attack bleeds bite with suede.
​
My goal when I got it was to get a more pick-like attack with fingers.
Click to expand...
Hmmm, there are days when playing with a pick makes my thumb hurt a fair bit. But some songs call for that sound/attack. This might be an answer.
 
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#267,314
ThaCoast said:
Looking forward to your test, sounds like a good bench to hear the differences between each (if any, or how close they are to one another).

On the RexBird, it's just that, a volume boost. Interestingly enough, even though it's Rex Brown's signature, the pickups/electronics are not what he has in his own (his pickups are actual EMGs, & just VVT). a more indepth look at what he's actually using
Click to expand...


Yeah, seen the vids, had a look at the one in my bass but didn't see any identification on it - tho I didn't take it all the way out. Was wondering if any of the folk with an "in" with Gibson might be able to find out? Maybe @godofthunder59 (hope I've tagged the right chap?), not sure of who else may know?
 
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#267,315
The EDP said:
Planning recording some pickup comparisons:
'13 NR Thunderbird+ Ceramic p'ups in direct comparison on the same bass as Armstrong Pickups' replicas of the '21/'22 NR Chrome covered Alnico p'ups (ie the differing neck and bridge units);
additionally I'll record my '22 NR (with original Gibson Chrome Alnicos) as well - there's a chance we may learn something or gain some intuition as to what we prefer.
I'll try to get the Greco recorded too - probably better to compare to the Thunderbird+ Ceramics than anything else as I'm suspicious that this era of Greco were Ceramic p'ups but not over-wound like the Gibson units (the higher DC resistance might account for the less articulate upper mids and less present high end), again, who knows!?!?
Also, I'm hoping to record my RexBird with the freshly-potted-into-Philly-Luths'-metal-covers EB Rhythm and Lead p'ups and then record it again once the guarantee work is done with the replacement EB "un-potted-in-their-covers" set. Which are supposedly wax potted indeed but loose under the cover.
The delay in doing this is due to it happening at a buddy's who is on tour. Prob just be audio but you never know your bad luck - hopefully before the end of the month, just down to when he gets back from tour.
Does anyone know what the brand/model of the active circuit in the RexBird is? It's acting like a buffer preamp/volume boost and nothing more, but it makes some very ordinary sounding passive p'ups sound really REALLY good!
Click to expand...
Looking forward to hearing those comparisons! Will the Armstrong pickups be available to order?
 
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#267,317
The EDP said:
Planning recording some pickup comparisons:
'13 NR Thunderbird+ Ceramic p'ups in direct comparison on the same bass as Armstrong Pickups' replicas of the '21/'22 NR Chrome covered Alnico p'ups (ie the differing neck and bridge units);
additionally I'll record my '22 NR (with original Gibson Chrome Alnicos) as well - there's a chance we may learn something or gain some intuition as to what we prefer.
I'll try to get the Greco recorded too - probably better to compare to the Thunderbird+ Ceramics than anything else as I'm suspicious that this era of Greco were Ceramic p'ups but not over-wound like the Gibson units (the higher DC resistance might account for the less articulate upper mids and less present high end), again, who knows!?!?
Also, I'm hoping to record my RexBird with the freshly-potted-into-Philly-Luths'-metal-covers EB Rhythm and Lead p'ups and then record it again once the guarantee work is done with the replacement EB "un-potted-in-their-covers" set. Which are supposedly wax potted indeed but loose under the cover.
The delay in doing this is due to it happening at a buddy's who is on tour. Prob just be audio but you never know your bad luck - hopefully before the end of the month, just down to when he gets back from tour.
Does anyone know what the brand/model of the active circuit in the RexBird is? It's acting like a buffer preamp/volume boost and nothing more, but it makes some very ordinary sounding passive p'ups sound really REALLY good!
Click to expand...
Looking forward to hearing that. All of them will be going through the same signal chain? If it's possible, the only real way to get a comparison is to use the same strings in the same condition. When I compared my 2013 and 2001 TB+ a while back, I put on the same strings at the same time, so all major factors were the same.
 
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