Thunderbird Club

[MCF]

I’m with Will, I’ll be asleep by 9.
And the idiots here will wake me up with fireworks that’ll go on forever.

I got no lawn so……..
Get off my fire escape!

We’re still at the mountain so we’ll avoid all the fireworks (and gunfire) in the flatlands. Happy New Year!

 

[GonePlaid]

6ft cord?

No, 10'.

 

[JIO]

I've always used .047 Caps, so I don't have a comparison to .022, @GBassNorth is who we want to hear from.

Ditto - other than some '60s Japanese basses, Dano's and from other countries.

 

[JIO]

We’re still at the mountain so we’ll avoid all the fireworks (and gunfire) in the flatlands. Happy New Year!

We're escaping to the Berkeley hills, after the huge fires in the early '90s there - they run a tight ship against fireworks.

 

[JIO]

SW warranties them for the first two years regardless of the manufacturer’s warranty. SW’s customer service is first rate. Not sure what you bought. But last I looked, they were selling the XVive brand, which are pretty good. I’ve had a set for a few years now and not had any issues.

Yes, it is an XVive, on sale - their cheapest one. I don't need all the bells & whistles for twice the price. The one I bought years ago was some generic crap from China when they first hit the scene. This one is most likely also made in China, but like you say - at least SW will back me up for a couple years. I don't like standing on cables on stage - a pet peeve of mine. Plus, when sound-checking I can stand in the audience-space to get the best impression. The 'walking through the crowd while playing' is a lead guitarist thing...

 

[GBassNorth]

Out of the shop and this Eagle has landed.
Still working out a custom pick guard.
More to come on that.

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Really really sweet! Would love to hear a sound clip. Did you have it wired Vol, Vol, Vol/master tone?

Is this a “fixable” Thunderbird tail piece?

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The seller said the bass is like new (dated 2023) but the tail piece was damaged during shipping? Reputable seller on a well known website.
I can get it for a really good (great) price. $300+ less then brand new. All other detailed photos look like a brand new bass. Truss rod and electronics all reported to work. Peel Plastic still on PU’s and other parts.
It’s advertised as a 7 ply, neck through Ebony Epiphone Thunderbird 60s Bass and has a white pickguard. Very sharp bass!
I have fixed stripped wood screws many times. I think hardwood dowels glued in and redrilled would fix this. Would you risk buy and repair? It is sold as-is but if the bass is not as described I can use their satisfaction guarantee.

Easy fix, especially if you’ve done one before. I would consider going to the next larger/longer size screw as well.

I've always used .047 Caps, so I don't have a comparison to .022, @GBassNorth is who we want to hear from.

Thx V.
@The EDP
A Cap change can make a pretty dramatic difference in sound. I haven’t found a one size fits all solution yet, but 15 minutes of trial time can easily give you the answer you’re looking for.

Buy a .022uf cap for a buck, unsolder the existing tone Cap on the tone pot lug only and make sure it isn’t touching anything (leave the Cap leg that is soldered to the tone pot housing intact). Then simply clip one leg of the .022 cap to the lug you unsoldered and clip the other leg of the .022 cap to the old cap leg that’s still soldered to the pot housing. Play away. It should completely change the range of your tone pot. You’ll likely have more top end available earlier in the sweep of the pot than you did before and more top end overall. It can really open up an otherwise dark sounding bass and might even add a bit of perceived volume increase. Well worth the time.

If I were designing tone pots for guitars I’d create one that has clip in capability to allow solderless testing of various capacitors, easy enough to do, maybe someday in my spare time (like that’ll ever happen).

 

[ThaCoast]

How it's been for the past 3-4 years

^^^epiphone deep sixx pickups, original 3 point bridge, complete refin fron satin goth black to bright red with hand brushed dead tree. Killswitch, tube output jack.

To today:

^^^new Gibson 60s tbird RI lead pickups, new babicz epiphone 3 point replacement bridge.

^^^made a pickup ring spacer because the pickup heights are much higher (especially the bridge pickup), so the actual underside of the cavity was visible. Made of plywood, topped with some metal tbird pickup rings (painted black to match the painted pickups). Still getting use to resting my hand on the babicz, but the extra length for the claw feels nice under the palm. + giving the string to sit properly on the saddle & not the fat winding.

^^^new 12th inlay marker, irish/celtic Triquetra symbol. Wood burned, & painted metallic silver paint with a coat of varnish to seal it. Many meanings, but to me this represents continous change, & growth. Through the 12 years of owning this bird, modifying it through the roof, fixing, & refins. Its come to a nice close in its mod/fix era, & can now enjoy its life helping me create, grow & evolve my own music.

^^^full slab back, raised middle upfront. Support sheets needed for the mahogany body starting to split on both wings at the bottom (nothing major, but didn't want a mishap again). Feels good as a slab body to me.

Thats it, strung with SIT power steels 50-105. It sounds great, close enough to what id call angry piano. I will say, not being used to stainless strings over nickel, they are rather "cold" feeling under fingers. Nothing a month of consistent playing cant remedy xD.

I may invest in new keys down the line, though these still function adequately. I do need to check my output jack, theres some minor interference/hicc with it.

Going into the new year, with a refurbished bass. Nice way to conclude 2023

Thunderbirds GO!!

 

[JIO]

There's nothing wrong with the "tailpiece". The wood, however...
It looks very similar to what happened with my first Epi Embassy. Talked to SW and they promptly shipped me a second one, which was perfect(except for having-ugh!-rounds on it). Put on some flats. Easy fix.
AFA the bass in question? If the price is right and you wanna do the repair, go for it.

Actually flats require higher tension so if there are issues with the tail-piece pulling out - flats will finish the job!

 

[JJR58]

Really really sweet! Would love to hear a sound clip. Did you have it wired Vol, Vol, Vol/master tone?

I do George.
But it’ll be hard to get a good sound clip.

 

[WillyW]

I’ve secretly always wanted a Mustang

The JMJ Mustang is a really nice bass. But man. They’ve really gone up in price. If looking at used ones, beware some left the factory in 2018(?) with bridge/saddle issues. Fender, with JMJ’s personal intervention, offered a repair and resolved the issue. But something to be aware of.

I will get one at some point. I like shorties and the JMJ sounds awesome!
Here’s my ‘16 MIM PJ:

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I had one, the prices have jumped way the hell up on 7enders lately.

 

[JJR58]

I had one, the prices have jumped way the hell up on 7enders lately.

It used to be you couldn’t give one away.
Now thousands are being asked on the market.

 

[WillyW]

It used to be you couldn’t give one away.
Now thousands are being asked on the market.

yeah I traded mine away for a loss

 

[Ringhammer]

We're escaping to the Berkeley hills, after the huge fires in the early '90s there - they run a tight ship against fireworks.

I wish my town would be strict about fireworks. My neighborhood in the flatlands by the bay goes a little crazy with fireworks, especially around the 4th, but tonight will be plenty annoying too. I wish I could put earmuffs on my cat so he wouldn’t get as stressed. That’s the main reason I hate the fireworks, when my cat is unhappy, I’m unhappy.

 

[JIO]

I wish my town would be strict about fireworks. My neighborhood in the flatlands by the bay goes a little crazy with fireworks, especially around the 4th, but tonight will be plenty annoying too. I wish I could put earmuffs on my cat so he wouldn’t get as stressed. That’s the main reason I hate the fireworks, when my cat is unhappy, I’m unhappy.

Same with our Mona - she hates the fireworks more than we do.

 

[JJR58]

yeah I traded mine away for a loss

Aw, too bad.

 

[GBassNorth]

Actually flats require higher tension so if there are issues with the tail-piece pulling out - flats will finish the job!

Yep. And I think the buyer noted the seller shipped the bass in perfectly good condition. Might be one more data point to suggest if using high tension strings it may be worth while to detune the bass a half step before shipping. Something I routinely do on all my bass shipments.

 

[Engle]

This bass frustrates the heck out of me tone wise. Maybe I’ll borrow your crazy idea.
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I put together some loose parts the other day: a bound and blocked MIC J neck and alder P body the other day. Put some roundwound strings Miles gave me at the GTG last summer (red silks - rotosounds?). That body is routed for a Mudbucker at the neck and anything in the P position. I was thinking of trying some different combinations.
But with the SD Quarter pounder that was in the body, it sounds really good, and the bass is less than 8lbs. I'm not going to mess with success.
That my long way of saying "put a quarter pounder in there!"

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

I’ve secretly always wanted a Mustang

never been into short scale basses but this vireo made me go get a new Musicmaster (same finish) as I could not afford the Mustang…..

 

[Engle]

Why hasn't anyone else thought of doing that? Brilliant!

I'm going to go for it. Might need to get creative!

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

It used to be you couldn’t give one away.
Now thousands are being asked on the market.

1300?! crazy, paid 180 in the late 70’s for a brand new Musicmaster in that cheesy cardboard “ohsc”..