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Thunderbird Club

#276,982
I just thought of Thunderbird pickups, having consulted Lollar a couple of years ago while in search for gold covered pickups to replace those that came in a mistreated 1985 Gibson Explorer bass I had snagged at good price on Reverb.

Mind you the original bridge pickup had been replaced with that well known Italian-named brand that I can’t remember through the current haze of draft beer consumption-

Eventually went with a lovely gold plated set of MJS Big Singles (think bass version of a P90) with brass rings custom cut by Dave Wescott of Frets on the Net.

So, slowly getting to the point- though I’m disinclined to mod my new T-Bird in any way, apart from a recent Hipshot XTender, have any of you out there tried the Lollar offerings, or any of the numerous options available from EMG?
 
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#276,983
ectoflanger said:
I just thought of Thunderbird pickups, having consulted Lollar a couple of years ago while in search for gold covered pickups to replace those that came in a mistreated 1985 Gibson Explorer bass I had snagged at good price on Reverb.

Mind you the original bridge pickup had been replaced with that well known Italian-named brand that I can’t remember through the current haze of draft beer consumption-

Eventually went with a lovely gold plated set of MJS Big Singles (think bass version of a P90) with brass rings custom cut by Dave Wescott of Frets on the Net.

So, slowly getting to the point- though I’m disinclined to mod my new T-Bird in any way, apart from a recent Hipshot XTender, have any of you out there tried the Lollar offerings, or any of the numerous options available from EMG?
Click to expand...

It was a Bartolini Rickenbacker replacement model my luthier friend was coveting- I’ll let him have it once all is said and done. But I’m still waiting for the paint and body guy to finish with it-
 
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#276,984
(artificially induced) checking -

upload_2024-1-29_16-56-23.jpeg

...real checking (not mine- but beautiful) Not all old nitro finishes 'check' - it's primarily caused by extreme temperature changes (cold to hot/hot to cold*), and also thick poly coatings (think '70s Fender poly-clear over natural)
upload_2024-1-29_16-59-27.jpeg

*stored in an attic over years of hot summers/cold winters, a lot of exposure to the sun/UV rays - amber-ing is also accelerated by temperature/UV rays.
upload_2024-1-29_17-1-53.jpeg
 
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#276,986
JIO said:
(artificially induced) checking -

View attachment 5334391
...real checking (not mine- but beautiful) Not all old nitro finishes 'check' - it's primarily caused by extreme temperature changes (cold to hot/hot to cold*), and also thick poly coatings (think '70s Fender poly-clear over natural)
View attachment 5334393
*stored in an attic over years of hot summers/cold winters, a lot of exposure to the sun/UV rays - amber-ing is also accelerated by temperature/UV rays.
View attachment 5334395
Click to expand...
ironically, not desirable in vintage capacitors….
upload_2024-1-29_17-20-35.jpeg
 
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#276,991
Chucky Stiletti said:
ironically, not desirable in vintage capacitors….
View attachment 5334442
Click to expand...
Speaking of caps, I went with a 0.22 uF orange drop when I updated the black Aria Pro II from 250 to 500 K pots to accommodate the recent pickup upgrade-

Any thoughts on that? Given that 0.33’s or 0.1’s are more common choices-
 
Last edited:
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#276,992
ectoflanger said:
Speaking of caps, I went with a 0.22 uF orange drop when I updated the black Aria Pro II from 250 to 500 K pots to accommodate the recent pickup upgrade-

Any thoughts on that? Given that 0.33’s or 0.1’s are more common-
Click to expand...
what’s common is pretty irrelevant imho…if the controls do what you want them to do, you’re done….time to rock that Aria….:bassist:
 
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#276,994
Chucky Stiletti said:
what’s common is pretty irrelevant imho…if the controls do what you want them to do, you’re done….time to rock that Aria….:bassist:
Click to expand...

She’s currently on deck (below decks) bunking with a Steinberger XT-25, itself modded with a pair of active EMG 35’s (J in the neck and JX-CS in the bridge). Due to close quarters on the boat, I’ve ‘kept them separated’ with bubble wrap while the prima donna blonde Aria sits at the plate-

IMG_6161.jpeg
 
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#276,995
ectoflanger said:
Speaking of caps, I went with a 0.22 uF orange drop when I updated the black Aria Pro II from 250 to 500 K pots to accommodate the recent pickup upgrade-

Any thoughts on that? Given that 0.33’s or 0.1’s are more common-
Click to expand...

There seems to be no 'correct'/"one size fits all" coupling of caps to pu's. In a Fender P (split coil) and J (single-coil), 250k pots are commonly used. But I use 500k pots for Darkstar single-coils, which sounds great. In my '66 J, it has 250k pots and a .022uf cap - and that sounds great also. Hum-buckers usually have 500k pots. Many '60s Japanese pu's are singles, but had 500k pots - they sound good also. I think it depends on the bass, the pu's & their placement, and what bass sound you want to hear in your ears. Actually lots of variables that will change the basses sound.
 
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#276,996
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#276,997
JIO said:
There seems to be no 'correct'/"one size fits all" coupling of caps to pu's. In a Fender P (split coil) and J (single-coil), 250k pots are commonly used. But I use 500k pots for Darkstar single-coils, which sounds great. In my '66 J, it has 250k pots and a .022uf cap - and that sounds great also. Hum-buckers usually have 500k pots. Many '60s Japanese pu's are singles, but had 500k pots - they sound good also. I think it depends on the bass, the pu's & their placement, and what bass sound you want to hear in your ears. Actually lots of variables that will change the basses sound.
Click to expand...

i know that with some Jazz basses each pickup tone control may have different caps but my American standard might have an 0.47 (the value I forgot to mention, btw). But my classic 50’s edition Precision came with a 0.1.
 
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#277,000
ectoflanger said:
I just thought of Thunderbird pickups, having consulted Lollar a couple of years ago while in search for gold covered pickups to replace those that came in a mistreated 1985 Gibson Explorer bass I had snagged at good price on Reverb.

Mind you the original bridge pickup had been replaced with that well known Italian-named brand that I can’t remember through the current haze of draft beer consumption-

Eventually went with a lovely gold plated set of MJS Big Singles (think bass version of a P90) with brass rings custom cut by Dave Wescott of Frets on the Net.

So, slowly getting to the point- though I’m disinclined to mod my new T-Bird in any way, apart from a recent Hipshot XTender, have any of you out there tried the Lollar offerings, or any of the numerous options available from EMG?
Click to expand...

Speaking of the pickups- the original neck pickup is a Gibson ‘Grabber’ screwed into the cavity at the factory- anyone out there pining for one of those?

Not trying to make a sale mind you, but if I decided to part with it, I’d rather it be a friend in need. And I would have to say that, though I be a newbie (#922), that I feel that I’m amongst friends-
 
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