Thunderbird Club

[Gaolee]

How do we get member numbers?

Ask for one, mostly.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Nope, not me. Kasino faces northeast, Tampa is WNW of me.

It’s bass. It goes everywhere.

 

[Gaolee]

Isn't bass non-directional?

An ACC 360 on full liquefy is fairly direction. By bass standards.

 

[MCF]

I did indeed. Would that be you?

I wish. I’m in finish fixing what I got first mode. But someone here should buy it.

 

[SubHuman]

I’m downsizing too. Except not Thunderbirds.

It’s easy to accumulate but hard to decide what to let go!
My T-Birds are long term residents…they might even acquire some new relatives…like an NR!
I have way too many basses but no hurry to thin the heard!

 

[kyral210]

Like others have mentioned:

60s birds sound different than 70s, are different than moderns.

60s are seen, & beloved as "the holy grail" thunderbird.

70s, due to their side wind construction, & wired in series (not parallel like 60s & modern birds), they definitely hold their own as a thunderbird. Perhaps more growl/edge. Dont quote me, im going based on video demos & they sound sweet.

moderns are darker still. Ceramic magnet, around 9-10k winds (perhaps bit more). Very rock, low end, with enough top end to bite. But still darker sounding.

then you have most brands doing a 60s repro pickup, others do a modern variant. None do the 70s side wind that ive ever heard about. & the likes of old greco, orville birds which are probably more 60s character but with their own flavour.



If you enjoy your pro as is, dont change it. Instead, try finding an epiphone 60s vintage, or classic pro (60s vs modern bird tones)

Yep, it’s my main bass! It’s more about wondering how its tone sits alongside other thunderbirds without such radical differences, but I guess that’s hard to do without having many in the room.

 

[ThaCoast]

Yep, it’s my main bass! It’s more about wondering how its tone sits alongside other thunderbirds without such radical differences, but I guess that’s hard to do without having many in the room.

True, Even my own Epiphone Goth thunderbird is nowhere close to what it used to sound like, & look like from factory. Gone are the epiphone pickups (original set because the wire broke from the casing {my fault for having them out & about when i was refinishing the bass}, & the Deep Sixx set that replaced the originals were way dark - when compared to my other "gibson" basses {in quotes, because only one of my Grabber's is an original from 1975, i've built one 10 years ago, & i've another 70's era copy. Also built a Ripper bass, & EB-2D which i still need to finish up). Any case, the Deep Sixx pickups weren't the sound that worked for me in the bass or my tone overall. SO out they went, & in came the Gibson 60's RI thunderbird pickups (Alnico magnet, very much open sounding & clear). That Signature growl i've heard other thunderbirds have is there (albeit, my bird's a bolt on, not neck through), but still, it sounds great & i've been playing it most every other day since i finished putting it back together right before the new year.

Back when Epiphone had released the Classic Pro (their budget version of the true Modern era Gibson thunderbird, equipped with those modern ceramic black bar pickups), I played one in a music shop, & i enjoyed it for what it was. Having that gibson model for reachable price (was something like 800$ Cad, vs the 2500$ for the real Gibson branded). However, being that i already owned my goth bird, & back then had another bird i've built (& as of last year gifted to a friend of mine after tweaking it for the better), I didn't see the point of owning one.

If i owned another Bird, I'd love to own a 76-79 era bird. Just for the side winder pickups & how they're wired in series.

 

[JJR58]

Ken and I discussing the finer things in life.

 

[MCF]

Ken and I discussing the finer things in life.
View attachment 5323476

That amp looks familiar. It’s awesome. Thanks again Jeff.

 

[JJR58]

That amp looks familiar. It’s awesome. Thanks again Jeff.

Im glad it worked out Marshall.

 

[dagrev]

Good eye. That should have been fixed before refinishing, along with the weird routing around the control cavity.
It's pretty janky for the money.
View attachment 5323023

That's really weird looking. Must have been made on BYOB day at work. If from the factory, that would seem to classify a bass as a "second." Of course it could have been done later, but for what purpose?

My '64 is nice and clean (sober) around the edges.

 

[dagrev]

My brother in law Michael Laiacona was a one of the owners of MXR and went on to found Whirlwind. I have both the original MXR and Whirlwind pedal. Michael very generously gave me a complete set of the Whirlwind pedals.

I've said before, my favorite cable was an old white ends half straight Whirlwind cable. Had the curly end at the amp was great for some moving around without so much cable to step on. I think it ended up where our PA was stored decades ago. I'm certain the thing still works just fine.

 

[dagrev]

So they hack it, don't correct their hack - repaint it and attempt to sell it for a ridiculous price. No-one in their right mind would pay what they are asking for that. If you look close at the hs pic - it doesn't look like a "top notch" paint-job to me. Chucky's NR has a top-notch finish.

View attachment 5323049 View attachment 5323050

Yes.

And...the one you did for Chuck looks...perfect. Fantastic shade of white. So well done in all respects.

 

[dagrev]

I was a design Engineer and we built Accessible Computers for handicapped people such as Quadriplegics, Autism, Brain damage and many other issues. We even designed a system where a quadriplegic could fully access their computer if they could only move their eyes. He wasn’t our client but Stephen Hawking used a similar device. I met many of our users and it was a very gratifying job.

That's cool.

 

[GonePlaid]

It’s bass. It goes everywhere.

Right. I kinda forgot. "The Original Surround Sound"-Donnie.
That's pretty much what I got in the late 60s/early 70s with my 1966EB-3(Mudbucker only)>my 1963 Bassman ~45W>2x12 cab). Not real loud, but I filled the rooms we played.

 

[dagrev]

My rep is like that. He doesn’t call out of the blue, but he knows I don’t mind hearing from him from time to time when I place an order. They would need to at least match Fret Nation for SIT prices for me to switch.

Yes, that will be their problem. Some things they have room on and a few things not so much. My guy will always do it if there is a way. He's a Sr. Rep and don't know if that allows more flexibility or not. There's a small shop from Arlington, VA and on Reverb that often has equally good prices as well. Or they have in the past, and you can often just order one sent set with free shipping and not need to reach a set amount. Just checked and Jason still has better prices, if you buy a couple sets and get free shipping.

 

[GonePlaid]

Yes, that will be their problem. Some things they have room on and a few things not so much. My guy will always do it if there is a way. He's a Sr. Rep and don't know if that allows more flexibility or not. There's a small shop from Arlington, VA and on Reverb that often has equally good prices as well. Or they have in the past, and you can often just order one sent set with free shipping and not need to reach a set amount. Just checked and Jason still has better prices, if you buy a couple sets and get free shipping.

Two sets of SIT's. So, a lifetime supply?

 

[dagrev]

This pic looks like Chucky is a talk show host with Irv and V as guests!

I'd watch that program.

 

[JJR58]

I'd watch that program.

Live, from TB. It’s……..

 

[GonePlaid]

Right. I kinda forgot. "The Original Surround Sound"-Donnie.
That's pretty much what I got in the late 60s/early 70s with my 1966EB-3(Mudbucker only)>my 1963 Bassman ~45W>2x12 cab). Not real loud, but I filled the rooms we played.

ADDENDUM: at one place we played(across a room ~25'wide x 50'long)I had the Bassman's cab facing a wall ~3' behind it. Used the 'Bird on that gig.