Thunderbird Club

[MCF]

My part-time diggs over the next six months or so- not my place but a drummer brother’s of mine. Will be developing and recording original material, along with a few choice covers-

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Though my poisons for that first orientation day were these - for the title and third tracks of Haphazard Minds, rest assured that this new lady in my life will soon be joining their ranks after I upgrade her with a recently arrived Hipshot Xtender-

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Note the port light on the upper left of my TC Electronics rig and the slight curvature of the deck under the T-Bird indicating that I do indeed live on a sailboat-

Very cool Ecto! Hoping the basement kinda turns into something like that. Sans the grand piano. A Steinway baby could maybe fit though…..

 

[ectoflanger]

My part-time diggs over the next six months or so- not my place but a drummer brother’s of mine. Will be developing and recording original material, along with a few choice covers-

View attachment 5327621 View attachment 5327622 View attachment 5327623

Though my poisons for that first orientation day were these - for the title and third tracks of Haphazard Minds, rest assured that this new lady in my life will soon be joining their ranks after I upgrade her with a recently arrived Hipshot Xtender-

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Note the port light on the upper left of my TC Electronics rig and the slight curvature of the deck under the T-Bird indicating that I do indeed live on a sailboat-

Actually you can see the evidence of boat life a bit better in this pic of one of the other main squeezes in my life-

 

[MCF]

Would probably go to Mike and Mike's first since it's farthest away, Bass Shop then the Museum (they have a reasonable sandwich shop there) and then it's not too far back to the house or lots of good places to eat.

I’m willing to cook if you have a grill. I know you have a beautiful back yard. A nice salad, tri-tip, Santa Maria pinto beans, garlic French bread. Cabernet or Zin. Simple. Elegant. And very tasty.

 

[ectoflanger]

Very cool Ecto! Hoping the basement kinda turns into something like that. Sans the grand piano. A Steinway baby could maybe fit though…..

A professional engineer before retirement, my bro went into detail I would find daunting- active DI boxes everywhere and still upgrading-

For my part I’ll be bringing some classic pedals like a 70’s circuit Electric Mistress, a Univibe, and a Heil Talkbox, and some keyboards including an analog Moog.

 

[Stealth57]

I’m willing to cook if you have a grill. I know you have a beautiful back yard. A nice salad, tri-tip, Santa Maria pinto beans, garlic French bread. Cabernet or Zin. Simple. Elegant. And very tasty.

805

 

[ectoflanger]

Very cool Ecto! Hoping the basement kinda turns into something like that. Sans the grand piano. A Steinway baby could maybe fit though…..

So will pass along any wisdom born out of trial and error- and trust me there’ll be a fair amount of error-

 

[BklynKen]

@MCF Here's the Mustang Micro with '65 Deluxe amp setting as an interface through GarageBand. Doesn't sound as good as directly through headphones, but you'll get the idea.

 

[ectoflanger]

It’ll get there.
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Forgot about this one- I thought the devices on the right might’ve been heaters- lol!!

 

[JJR58]

@MCF Here's the Mustang Micro with '65 Deluxe amp setting as an interface through GarageBand. Doesn't sound as good as directly through headphones, but you'll get the idea.

I dig!!! Sounds round and warm.

 

[GBassNorth]

Finally got some spare time to work on one of the home brew birds. Recall this one is a NR bird made completely out of Fender parts (except the body and pickguard). It’s an attempt to mothball the last remaining Fender I play on a regular basis, my 2012 Fender Telecaster Modern Player. Just completed the final fitment and test setup and acoustic sound check. She has nice low action, nicely aligned strings/neck/pup pole pieces and bridge. Acoustically much much better than the donor bass, all notes ring very loud and clear, balance is good and weight is manageable.

the next step will be to finalize the pickguard pattern so I can send it off to Irv for his magic touch while Pat Wilkins has the body for finishing. Was planning on Butterscotch blonde but a bit concerned the mahogany might throw an orange tint into the mix, so I’m now leaning towards a 1970’s era bold Fender 3TSB with possibly a Tort guard just to top off the Fender product look I’m after, or maybe a vintage cherry burst.

Here’s the donor basses twin sister for comparison…

…vintage cherry burst…

…I was just kidding about the tort guard, it’ll most likely be black. But it’s not like Gibson hasn’t gone down that road…

 

[MCF]

@MCF Here's the Mustang Micro with '65 Deluxe amp setting as an interface through GarageBand. Doesn't sound as good as directly through headphones, but you'll get the idea.

Sounds pretty good Ken! Does it work clean without the Sim? I.e. just straight without any effect/sim?

 

[JJR58]

Finally got some spare time to work on one of the home brew birds. Recall this one is a NR bird made completely out of Fender parts (except the body and pickguard). It’s an attempt to mothball the last remaining Fender I play on a regular basis, my 2012 Fender Telecaster Modern Player. Just completed the final fitment and test setup and acoustic sound check. She has nice low action, nicely aligned strings/neck/pup pole pieces and bridge. Acoustically much much better than the donor bass, all notes ring very loud and clear, balance is good and weight is manageable.
View attachment 5327641
the next step will be to finalize the pickguard pattern so I can send it off to Irv for his magic touch while Pat Wilkins has the body for finishing. Was planning on Butterscotch blonde but a bit concerned the mahogany might throw an orange tint into the mix, so I’m now leaning towards a 1970’s era bold Fender 3TSB with possibly a Tort guard just to top off the Fender product look I’m after, or maybe a vintage cherry burst.

Here’s the donor basses twin sister for comparison…
View attachment 5327674
…vintage cherry burst…
View attachment 5327673

…I was just kidding about the tort guard, it’ll most likely be black. But it’s not like Gibson hasn’t gone down that road…
View attachment 5327675

Really cool George, tell me about the neck.

 

[BklynKen]

Sounds pretty good Ken! Does it work clean without the Sim? I.e. just straight without any effect/sim?

It does, but I hate clean bass. The "Direct" setting.

 

[bylar13]

Couple of Thunderbird bodies (Fender neck pocket). Not cheap but could be interesting in the right hands....

TTHUNERBIRD STYLE BASS BODY /RAISED CURLY MAPLE TOP FITS FENDER NECKS USA MADE!! | eBay

TTHUNERBIRD STYLE BASS BODY /RAISED QUILT MAPLE TOP FITS FENDER NECKS USA MADE!! | eBay

 

[MCF]

It does, but I hate clean bass. The "Direct" setting.

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Yep. But to compare native pickup voicing it is a plus. I’m thinking that may be my birthday present. I really want to keep it simple until I have time to really get into the whole recording thing. And it looks like it doesn’t get much simpler than that.

Thank you for doing that Ken. Much appreciated.

As an aside, can you make it out to Seattle for the GTG? Maybe arrive Thursday and leave Monday? Only burns three PTO/vacation days. And gives you enough time to meet the best coasters in person. Relax a bit, play some basses, take in some sights….

Donnie? Glenn? Roger? Brian? Bob? Anyone else back east? Or is Bob back in Peru? Or from anywhere for that matter. Oz, Finland, Sweden, the UK, the Netherlands, Japan, China, Indonesia, if you can make it, it will be a very memorable experience for all of you. And let’s do what we can to get that crazy guy from Albuquerque to come out.

 

[JJR58]

Couple of Thunderbird bodies (Fender neck pocket). Not cheap but could be interesting in the right hands....

TTHUNERBIRD STYLE BASS BODY /RAISED CURLY MAPLE TOP FITS FENDER NECKS USA MADE!! | eBay

TTHUNERBIRD STYLE BASS BODY /RAISED QUILT MAPLE TOP FITS FENDER NECKS USA MADE!! | eBay

Those look great!

 

[MCF]

805

Always a nice choice. As I think I told you, I had the opportunity to taste it before they released it. It isn’t my favorite of theirs (I’m a dark beer guy), but I told them that I thought it would have mass appeal.

 

[MCF]

Finally got some spare time to work on one of the home brew birds. Recall this one is a NR bird made completely out of Fender parts (except the body and pickguard). It’s an attempt to mothball the last remaining Fender I play on a regular basis, my 2012 Fender Telecaster Modern Player. Just completed the final fitment and test setup and acoustic sound check. She has nice low action, nicely aligned strings/neck/pup pole pieces and bridge. Acoustically much much better than the donor bass, all notes ring very loud and clear, balance is good and weight is manageable.
View attachment 5327641
the next step will be to finalize the pickguard pattern so I can send it off to Irv for his magic touch while Pat Wilkins has the body for finishing. Was planning on Butterscotch blonde but a bit concerned the mahogany might throw an orange tint into the mix, so I’m now leaning towards a 1970’s era bold Fender 3TSB with possibly a Tort guard just to top off the Fender product look I’m after, or maybe a vintage cherry burst.

Here’s the donor basses twin sister for comparison…
View attachment 5327674
…vintage cherry burst…
View attachment 5327673

…I was just kidding about the tort guard, it’ll most likely be black. But it’s not like Gibson hasn’t gone down that road…
View attachment 5327675

We’re due for a visit.

 

[MCF]

So will pass along any wisdom born out of trial and error- and trust me there’ll be a fair amount of error-

That will be welcome!

 

[ectoflanger]

Always a nice choice. As I think I told you, I had the opportunity to taste it before they released it. It isn’t my favorite of theirs (I’m a dark beer guy), but I told them that I thought it would have mass appeal.

DUDE!! It wasn’t until your reply that I made the brew connection! A few years ago I got to taste one of those black clad brews, courtesy of a guitarist friend- love ‘em!!