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Thunderbird Club
- Thread starter TBird1958
- Start date
-
- Tags
- club thunderbird
- Mar 13, 2008
- 18,897
- 142,236
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist Mike Lull T Bass pickups, The Bass Shop, Seattle WA.
His details on that are incorrect, the pickups came from a black '64 IV, which I personally saw in the shop, it was not Mike's personal bass. The bass belonged to someone Mike would not name, it was carefully, entirely de-constructed, the pickups were the patterns his reproduction. The cans were done by the same manufacturer that Gibson used, original production of the pickups was offered to Jason Lollar, at the time he declined, saying there wasn't enough market for them. So Mike went to TV Jones first, and for awhile he was the sole provider, but they took off and he was unable to keep up with demand. I recall talking to Mike about it and he said at one point they had a backlog of T4s ready to ship that were just waiting for pickups from TV Jones, it was then that a partial shift to Seymour Duncan began. The original spec on the pickups was 8K for the neck and 9K for the bridge because that's what the '64s were, Mike said it was a very good sounding bass, he had owned many Thunderbirds and knew a lot about them and was quite passionate about recreating them his way
I feel very fortunate to have met Mike, he was just the nicest, most genuine man, visiting with him was always fun and he did the best set ups on my Birds - as some of you that have played mine know. I still miss him a lot, but his sons carry the business forward and they are both are just as committed to making great instruments and they are much like Mike, very kind and genuine.
First production T4 after one Mike built for the donner of the '64 and a NAMM prototype.
The day I picked it up
no bridge cover!!!His details on that are incorrect, the pickups came from a black '64 IV, which I personally saw in the shop, it was not Mike's personal bass. The bass belonged to someone Mike would not name, it was carefully, entirely de-constructed, the pickups were the patterns his reproduction. The cans were done by the same manufacturer that Gibson used, original production of the pickups was offered to Jason Lollar, at the time he declined, saying there wasn't enough market for them. So Mike went to TV Jones first, and for awhile he was the sole provider, but they took off and he was unable to keep up with demand. I recall talking to Mike about it and he said at one point they had a backlog of T4s ready to ship that were just waiting for pickups from TV Jones, it was then that a partial shift to Seymour Duncan began. The original spec on the pickups was 8K for the neck and 9K for the bridge because that's what the '64s were, Mike said it was a very good sounding bass, he had owned many Thunderbirds and knew a lot about them and was quite passionate about recreating them his way
I feel very fortunate to have met Mike, he was just the nicest, most genuine man, visiting with him was always fun and he did the best set ups on my Birds - as some of you that have played mine know. I still miss him a lot, but his sons carry the business forward and they are both are just as committed to making great instruments and they are much like Mike, very kind and genuine.
First production T4 after one Mike built for the donner of the '64 and a NAMM prototype.
The day I picked it up
The current SD reproductions are 7.98 and 9.75 ohms. Are your SDs the same?His details on that are incorrect, the pickups came from a black '64 IV, which I personally saw in the shop, it was not Mike's personal bass. The bass belonged to someone Mike would not name, it was carefully, entirely de-constructed, the pickups were the patterns his reproduction. The cans were done by the same manufacturer that Gibson used, original production of the pickups was offered to Jason Lollar, at the time he declined, saying there wasn't enough market for them. So Mike went to TV Jones first, and for awhile he was the sole provider, but they took off and he was unable to keep up with demand. I recall talking to Mike about it and he said at one point they had a backlog of T4s ready to ship that were just waiting for pickups from TV Jones, it was then that a partial shift to Seymour Duncan began. The original spec on the pickups was 8K for the neck and 9K for the bridge because that's what the '64s were, Mike said it was a very good sounding bass, he had owned many Thunderbirds and knew a lot about them and was quite passionate about recreating them his way
I feel very fortunate to have met Mike, he was just the nicest, most genuine man, visiting with him was always fun and he did the best set ups on my Birds - as some of you that have played mine know. I still miss him a lot, but his sons carry the business forward and they are both are just as committed to making great instruments and they are much like Mike, very kind and genuine.
First production T4 after one Mike built for the donner of the '64 and a NAMM prototype.
The day I picked it up
- Nov 27, 2003
- 2,017
- 5,417
- 50
- Disclosures
- Rogue luthier employed at Knooren Handcrafted bass guitars
I bought this ancient amp at a thrift store for 10 Euros.
Which considering the good condition it's in, the only fault is the fact that the handle isn't there and seeing as how on Reverb, these go for 125-200 range, is a STEAL.
So what IS this? Well, it's a made in Japan National GA-99TR, 25 watt Solid state chassis with Reverb and Tremolo, which both work. The speaker is a 6 incher, which considering the size of the cab is comically small. Speaking of which, that said cab is made from hardboard which makes it VERY light, it weighs next to nothing.
Sure, it won't do overdriven sounds, believe me, I tried, but it still is heaps of fun as it is.
Which considering the good condition it's in, the only fault is the fact that the handle isn't there and seeing as how on Reverb, these go for 125-200 range, is a STEAL.
So what IS this? Well, it's a made in Japan National GA-99TR, 25 watt Solid state chassis with Reverb and Tremolo, which both work. The speaker is a 6 incher, which considering the size of the cab is comically small. Speaking of which, that said cab is made from hardboard which makes it VERY light, it weighs next to nothing.
Sure, it won't do overdriven sounds, believe me, I tried, but it still is heaps of fun as it is.
Last edited:
- Mar 13, 2008
- 18,897
- 142,236
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist Mike Lull T Bass pickups, The Bass Shop, Seattle WA.
no bridge cover!!!
You know I put one on it just for you
Actually at one point it had a pickup cover too.
- Mar 13, 2008
- 18,897
- 142,236
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist Mike Lull T Bass pickups, The Bass Shop, Seattle WA.
I haven't measured mine, but they're just about set in the Orville, it's never sounded so good.
If you still have the box lid…
Should purr like a tiger!goodbye Strombergs….
View attachment 5330928
hello Webers…..
View attachment 5330929
throw these in there while at it….
View attachment 5330932
That’s just beautiful!
The electrics are all passive. Three dual stack pots, each pickup has a dedicated vol/tone control stack with different cap values. It’s super flexible.
As for the explorer, I don’t think that was me. I rarely poo-poo another man’s or woman’s choice of bass. I’d actually love to find a nicely priced Alembic Exploiter or Warwick Stryker type bass for my Entwistle collection.
Spot on!
I’ve found the Tbird to be very limited to the musical niche. It really isn’t much good as a lever or row boat paddle let alone a fly swatter. But by golly it sure seems to fit every genre of music I’ve played it in. Polka to Prog Rock, you name it.
If you can’t make a Tbird sound good in a mix then you should look closer at your amp settings or playing skills. Are there better choices for certain songs, maybe, but a Tbird with the right strings and amp settings will perform admirably in pretty much any setting.
Thx Andy. I’m still enjoying it.
Now there’s some chops I could even do!
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,589
- 221,970
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
That is odd to put such a small speaker in that cab. I guess you could cut an opening and install a bigger speaker like a 12.
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
His details on that are incorrect, the pickups came from a black '64 IV, which I personally saw in the shop, it was not Mike's personal bass. The bass belonged to someone Mike would not name, it was carefully, entirely de-constructed, the pickups were the patterns his reproduction. The cans were done by the same manufacturer that Gibson used, original production of the pickups was offered to Jason Lollar, at the time he declined, saying there wasn't enough market for them. So Mike went to TV Jones first, and for awhile he was the sole provider, but they took off and he was unable to keep up with demand. I recall talking to Mike about it and he said at one point they had a backlog of T4s ready to ship that were just waiting for pickups from TV Jones, it was then that a partial shift to Seymour Duncan began. The original spec on the pickups was 8K for the neck and 9K for the bridge because that's what the '64s were, Mike said it was a very good sounding bass, he had owned many Thunderbirds and knew a lot about them and was quite passionate about recreating them his way
I feel very fortunate to have met Mike, he was just the nicest, most genuine man, visiting with him was always fun and he did the best set ups on my Birds - as some of you that have played mine know. I still miss him a lot, but his sons carry the business forward and they are both are just as committed to making great instruments and they are much like Mike, very kind and genuine.
First production T4 after one Mike built for the donner of the '64 and a NAMM prototype.
The day I picked it up
What are your favourite strings for your Thunderbird?
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,589
- 221,970
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
Magnatone had actual vibrato whereas most everyone else had tremolo.
A roomie had a very similar Lafayette. Fun little amp. I added a speaker out option for him. Going into a bigger speaker made it sound even better.
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
That sure has a lot of tubes. The 'scope image is fascinating to a non technical person like me. I have never seen the wave form of a trem before.
