Thunderbird Club

[Miles_ONeal]

Not sure if you know (or care!) about SIT’s history but it started in a tiny guitar repair shop in a little town I grew up in.
Virgil Lay started Lay’s Guitar Shop in Kenmore, Ohio, in 1962. His store has been serving amateur and professional musicians nationwide ever since ( it’s still open by old employees). I was just there last Summer.
Virgil worked on instruments for such players as Jack Bruce, Phil Keaggy, Joe Walsh and bands such as Bad Company, The Outlaws and The Black Keys. Jimmy Page‘s Les Paul #1 had its neck shaved in his shop.
I took many instruments there when I was younger for set up and knew Virgil and loved hearing about the Rockers and Country stars and their guitars.
Lay founded the Stay-In-Tune String Company (or SIT Strings as it’s known today) in 1980. Lay grew frustrated when newly strung guitars would go out of tune, so he began applying adhesives to the twists in the strings to stop them from stretching. The strings became known as “Stay In Tune” strings, or S.I.T. Strings. The strings were originally made in Lay's basement in Kenmore.
My brother used some of the 1st SIT strings on his ‘64 SG. They hadn’t started making Bass strings until a few years later.
He had a gentle southern accent and he loved to share stories.
Here he is with Les Paul’s “Log” guitar!
View attachment 5323557
SIT is now in a large commercial building but it all started in a tiny guitar repair shop.

Love Keaggy! I have glass Harp’s 3rd album, a gift from an ex-gf (and still friend) who was from Ohio and used to go hear them play. I’ve met Phil - cool dude.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Great info Sub! I started using SIT guitar strings when Nashville Straights went out of business. I didn’t start using them on basses until our buddy Ken started singing their praises.

When Bobby at Clark Music in Atlanta told me Nashville Straights had gone out of business, I bought the last dozen sets they had. I don’t

I was making an Epi TRC logo for Jeff, so I figured why not make an oversized chrome logo for my VP? Kinda works with the huge headstock IMO.
View attachment 5323902

very cool!

 

[Engle]

+1, if people can recreate the sidewinder eb0/3 mudbucker, the tbird pickup cant be that difficult to recreate

I could make bobbins, I think

 

[Nocturnal]

Yeah, Stones from 62 though to the Mick Taylor years. Only occasional albums since. Some Girls; Tattoo You.

But I have the new one and I like it. It isn’t top shelf but it is comfortably among the better of the others.

I like what I have heard off the new album. I need to buy it to see how the whole album is.

 

[BklynKen]

But it was this six famous bass sampler that tied the knot that binds-

I just loved the unique tone of the Thunderbird in this clip-

On his setup, I thought the Fender P sounded the best. His Thunderbird sounded dead. Nothing like mine.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

OK, this is just a funny song. Don't think I've ever heard of him. This this is hilarious.

I know those guys! Ok, not those those guys, but those guys.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Come to the dark side, we have mud!

So you’re rednecker than him?

 

[ectoflanger]

I admit that the best sounding to me where the Precision and the Thumb, but for the uninitiated such as myself, I was intrigued by the Thunderbird being played in a melodic way, and that it wasn’t played dark, dirty, and overdriven as with most T-Bird demos

 

[Engle]

Equal time given to the Thunderbird in this video. Skip to 3 minutes when the fun starts.
Great Gibson tone and she plays mostly with a pick.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I've never had a chance to try out a 70s bird. I love the 760s and Greco pickups, do want to try the Gibson ones as well, but the Sidewinders sound interesting, maybe somewhere between the 60s style and the Rickenbacker pickups I've been using most recently.

You really need to make the next gtg…

 

[Miles_ONeal]

This is pretty much the only Stones era I listen too. Great stuff.

I listen to a lot of Stones eras but mid-60s through early 70s were amazeballs.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Equal time given to the Thunderbird in this video. Skip to 3 minutes when the fun starts.
Great Gibson tone and she plays mostly with a pick.

All their videos I’ve seen give plenty of Bird time.

 

[BklynKen]

Equal time given to the Thunderbird in this video. Skip to 3 minutes when the fun starts.
Great Gibson tone and she plays mostly with a pick.

Wonderful!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

But it was this six famous bass sampler that tied the knot that binds-

I just loved the unique tone of the Thunderbird in this clip-

This is how you do a comparison!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Would have been useful to know some pickup/tone settings.

True, but it’s still head and shoulders above many comparison videos.

 

[RedVee]

This is the biz

Packard Limousine in RHD, guess it may have been sold here new many years ago. Not bad nick coming up towards (correction: over) 90yo

 

[SubHuman]

There may be more truth written on this shirt then I’d like to admit!

I got this from another thread.

 

[GonePlaid]

Only if you play the flats I suppose. I don’t. But I get pretty good mileage out of the power steels.

Yup I only play flats-on all 5 basses-so I'll never know.

 

[RedVee]

This is the biz

Packard Limousine in RHD, guess it may have been sold here new many years ago. Not bad nick coming up towards (correction: over) 90yo

View attachment 5324438 View attachment 5324439 View attachment 5324440

I hope you all noticed the “boot locker” way out back

 

[GonePlaid]

This is the biz

Packard Limousine in RHD, guess it may have been sold here new many years ago. Not bad nick coming up towards (correction: over) 90yo

View attachment 5324438 View attachment 5324439 View attachment 5324440

"Ask the man who drives one".