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Thunderbird Club

#273,622
Miles_ONeal said:
What’s wrong with the Grass Roots brand?
Click to expand...

It's not like there was something wrong exactly - it's more that, at least on my Bass IV, they cheapened parts to make it more affordable. The metal switch-plate, control plate, and bridge surround were made of mirrored acrylic instead of chromed steel. I cut replacements of aluminum and polished them to a mirror-sheen. The tuners were cheaper also. I replaced them with Gotoh Ultra-lites which were similar to the original ESP Tetsuya sig version. I also cut a bone nut for it to replace the plastic one. While I was at it - I replaced the electronics with CTI 250k pots, a .047 cap and a Switchcraft jack. I also coated all cavities with carbon shielding paint and star-grounded them. Once done - it's become one of my favorite basses to play.

upload_2024-1-8_18-47-0.jpeg
upload_2024-1-8_18-47-48.jpeg

I cut all three out of aluminum plate and polished to a 'chrome-like' sheen.
upload_2024-1-8_18-48-54.jpeg

And it had this hs when I got it - based on a classic '60s Fender Bass VI - I attempted to remove the decal w/o effecting the 'matching hs' ... but it wasn't possible.
upload_2024-1-8_19-1-39.jpeg
 
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#273,623
Miles_ONeal said:
I tried out a couple of pedals at the local GC tonight. The walls were covered with guitars and basses, which made me happy after a couple years of supply chain deficit. They had no Thunderbirds, which did not make me happy. They did, however, have two Jack Cassidy basses- one red, one blue. I grabbed the red, of course, as they sound better. You can get a ridiculous variety of tones out of that pickup! The neck’s a bit bigger than I like, but that was my only complaint. I may have to get one later. Sounded and played great. I played through a Rumble, so one less variable in the equation. I took one pedal home and the other was ordered. I’d planned to buy the second from Sweetwater because the website said they didn’t have any in stock. But one of the employees had bought their last one today, and let me try it out, so I bought it there.

As I’ve noted before, I really like our GC. Staffed by friendly, helpful musicians who care.
Click to expand...
Yeah those Casady electronics are great! And made of unobtanium…
I’m thinking about routing the cavity and putting a chrome Tbird cover on this one:
IMG_1678.jpeg
IMG_1695.jpeg


but will a metal cover over that Electar pickup make a sound difference that I can perceive?
 
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#273,624
MCF said:
We had a brilliant Basketball coach here, Pat Douglas, who won some Division II titles at CSUB. He went on to my alma mater, UCI, and got nowhere. GPA requirements were too tough. It’s either a great academic school, or it isn’t.

What makes the matchup tonight interesting, is that both are good schools. With decent standards. So maybe we are getting priorities back in line?
Click to expand...
We can hope. Wasn't a fan of his attitude, but when Bobby Knight was at Indiana he had one of top graduation rates in the NCAA as I recall. I admire that. Now more than ever it's all about individuals getting to the NBA or NFL.
 
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#273,625
JIO said:
It's not like there was something wrong exactly - it's more that, at least on my Bass IV, they cheapened parts to make it more affordable. The metal switch-plate, control plate, and bridge surround were made of mirrored acrylic instead of chromed steel. I cut replacements of aluminum and polished them to a mirror-sheen. The tuners were cheaper also. I replaced them with Gotoh Ultra-lites which were similar to the original ESP Tetsuya sig version. I also cut a bone nut for it to replace the plastic one. While I was at it - I replaced the electronics with CTI 250k pots, a '047 cap and a Switchcraft jack. I also coated all cavities with carbon shielding paint and star-grounded them. Once done - it's become one of my favorite basses to play.

View attachment 5310792 View attachment 5310794
I cut all three out of aluminum plate and polished to a 'chrome-like' sheen.
View attachment 5310795
And it had this hs when I got it - based on a classic '60s Fender Bass VI - I attempted to remove the decal w/o effecting the 'matching hs' ... but it wasn't possible.
View attachment 5310801
Click to expand...
Very cool! I need to pay attention next time I get aluminum for a project. The last stuff I got is too hard to polish.
 
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#273,627
Engle said:
Yeah those Casady electronics are great! And made of unobtanium…
I’m thinking about routing the cavity and putting a chrome Tbird cover on this one:View attachment 5310807 View attachment 5310808

but will a metal cover over that Electar pickup make a sound difference that I can perceive?
Click to expand...

If it is a thin metal cover like on many pu's... possibly not. I'm not familiar with sound comparisons (sonic or output) of exposed pu's compared to those covered with plastic or metal covers.
 
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#273,630
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#273,631
JIO said:
If it is a thin metal cover like on many pu's... possibly not. I'm not familiar with sound comparisons (sonic or output) of exposed pu's compared to those covered with plastic or metal covers.
Click to expand...
I know that some guitarists prefer exposed pickups, they reckon there is a sound difference. I guess that’s why some Les Paul’s come like that.
I think they look “unfinished” and prefer the look of metal (mostly) covers on pickups. But I have no clue if there is a discernible difference or not.
 
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#273,632
Bent77 said:
If you’re still keep spreadsheets on who Frank needs to sell basses to in the event of your unfortunate demise, I respectfully request to be at the top o the list for that one. It’s always been my favorite
Click to expand...

MCF said:
She knows I put dibs on the BaCH. But in case she forget…
Click to expand...

At some point they'll get sold, for now I really enjoy them, I may not keep playing in TNH after a few more years as I don't think my hands will still be up to the job but I'll keep the basses until it makes sense to let them go.
 
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#273,633
Miles_ONeal said:
I tried out a couple of pedals at the local GC tonight. The walls were covered with guitars and basses, which made me happy after a couple years of supply chain deficit. They had no Thunderbirds, which did not make me happy. They did, however, have two Jack Cassidy basses- one red, one blue. I grabbed the red, of course, as they sound better. You can get a ridiculous variety of tones out of that pickup! The neck’s a bit bigger than I like, but that was my only complaint. I may have to get one later. Sounded and played great. I played through a Rumble, so one less variable in the equation. I took one pedal home and the other was ordered. I’d planned to buy the second from Sweetwater because the website said they didn’t have any in stock. But one of the employees had bought their last one today, and let me try it out, so I bought it there.

As I’ve noted before, I really like our GC. Staffed by friendly, helpful musicians who care.
Click to expand...

Held off on discussing the pedal I brought home until I could play it with my basses and board. As I had hoped (and honestly expected), it works great. Wampler makes a straight up Klon Centaur clone, the Tumnus. They also make this, a Centaur on steroids. The extra tone shaping is useful, and for even more drive, the HOT switch is great. I doubt I’ll use that at church(but who knows?) but if I eventually get into a band situation, it could be useful. I’d been looking for an overdrive when I found the MXR Bass Distortion in the classifieds here, and decided to give it a shot. It’s a good pedal, but for my current use an overdrive is much better. I can get grind from my rig even without this pedal, but it lets me put more grind (especially when not playing a Greco) into the phaser and the preamp input.

And a five year warranty for a built in the USA product (they would say “Made in USA” but current law requires them to source all components from USA manufacturers to say that)? Wow. It came with a Energizer battery installed by Wampler (standard for their pedals that can use batteries, apparently). Who does that?

IMG_3377.jpeg
 
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#273,638
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#273,640
Miles_ONeal said:
Held off on discussing the pedal I brought home until I could play it with my basses and board. As I had hoped (and honestly expected), it works great. Wampler makes a straight up Klon Centaur clone, the Tumnus. They also make this, a Centaur on steroids. The extra tone shaping is useful, and for even more drive, the HOT switch is great. I doubt I’ll use that at church(but who knows?) but if I eventually get into a band situation, it could be useful. I’d been looking for an overdrive when I found the MXR Bass Distortion in the classifieds here, and decided to give it a shot. It’s a good pedal, but for my current use an overdrive is much better. I can get grind from my rig even without this pedal, but it lets me put more grind (especially when not playing a Greco) into the phaser and the preamp input.

And a five year warranty for a built in the USA product (they would say “Made in USA” but current law requires them to source all components from USA manufacturers to say that)? Wow. It came with a Energizer battery installed by Wampler (standard for their pedals that can use batteries, apparently). Who does that?

View attachment 5310887
Click to expand...
Wampler up side o' the head.
 
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