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Thunderbird Club

#278,704
Somehow the postings and commentary on Sun Ra made me think of avant-garde jazz and subsequently I recall this TV program called Jazz: The Experimenters featuring Ralph Ellison, author of Invisible Man as one of the hosts-
From a dimension far, far away from current times-



And a bonus TV program on existentialism from about the same era aw the jazz one- verboten in this day and time-

 
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#278,705
Gaolee said:
The Basement of Bad Ideas and Blasphemy has a very low ceiling. Just a hair under seven feet. Every headstock that has ever been there has hit the ceiling. The standing joke is that all guitarists have to leave their mark. I have repainted it a couple times to even it back out, even if there's a bit of remaining texture.
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I think our front rooms have 8 foot ceilings, but (a) when I put on or take off any form of guitar I'm mainly focusing on not hitting the lights and (b) I sometimes revert into muscle memory for treble guitar (with its much smaller form factor) when not paying full attention. I have gotten better about that...
 
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#278,708
dagrev said:
I have no single pickup Thunderbirds, so I can't help there. But often use just the neck on any of them, from vintage '64 to '21 Gibson non-Reverse. I very rarely ever use just the bridge pickup. I like having two pickups just for versatility. If you have two, you can use one. If you have one....

I have had flats on my '76 (Fender and TI both sound great), and have GHS Precision Flats on my Epi VP (now 60s Bass), and it's fantastic. Don't discount the Epi. If you want more of a vintage sound, new Gibsons won't do it--not as well. I've got a '64 Gibson (the gold standard), an '64 Epi Embassy (same pickups and placement as the Thunderbird), '76 Gibson, '06 Gibson, '21 Gibson NR, and two Epi Vintage Pros. The last two sound closer to the '64 than anything I have by a fair amount. So, it depends on if you prefer the more modern Gibson sound or vintage. It's a personal preference. I personally find the modern Gibsons sound great at home, but get muddy and lack something in a large room and live setting. So just playing one at home isn't going to sound like a gig.

The recent Epis are really well made and sound fantastic, in part because the pickups are in nearly the correct/vintage positions. For me anyway. Play as many as possible to see for yourself. But don't over look the Epi. It's the closest in tone to the originals of anything Gibson/Epi has put out since the '60s. I'm not the slightest bit embarrassed to take my new Epis out. They did a great job. If there is a complaint, they can be a tad shy on the lows. But amps have a knob for that. I confess I am heavily predisposed to the sound of the old '60s originals. That's the best bass sound I've ever had and I'm stuck believing that's the best bass sound I've ever had.
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I don't own any Gibsons but have played two '64s now (maybe three? I forget), and various modern Gibsons as well, and Donnie is spot on, IMO. There are also the Grecos, which I now prefer even over the Epi VP/60s[1] tone-wise. The Epi Classic Pro is very close to a modern Gibson. A 64 Gibson will set you back quite a bit (ballpark $10,000US) but most recent Gibsons (available only in two pickup versions AFAIK) are obviously much more affordable - under $2,000US.

I run Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats (EBCFs) on all my basses except one I recently bought that has Pyramid flats. I've also used Rotosound RS66 rounds; if you want that Angry Piano sound, or you're channeling John Entwhistle, they're the best. But different people here like different strings. (Especially the ones with purple silks. That's where the tone is. Not scientifically verified, but those in the know ... know. 8^)

[1] That's the bass Donnie was comparing favorably to the '64 Gibsons
 
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#278,710
ectoflanger said:
That recalls the Gibson Grabber bass where you could slide its single pickup to different positions, and interesting idea they did not repeat, nor anyone else that I know of-

Gibson Grabber Bass Guitar >> FlyGuitars
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Check here for something really cool.
Brooks Grabbird - BROOKS BASS GUITARS

Rob is a really interesting guy, as you can see, he's a very talented luthier, graphic artist and author of:
The Gibson Bass Book | An Illustrated Tribute by Rob van den Broek
 
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#278,711
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#278,714
Thanks for all of the birthday wishes. That was very kind of you all to help me make it to 65. :)
I finished all of the clear coat on the blue VP.
Now she has to gas off and harden until somewhere around the first week of April. After that I’ll start the wet sand and polish part of the show.
Anything that looks rough is just reflection. There's no orange peel in the finish.
Lots of work but it will be worth it in the end. I pick out the project and Mrs. Gator chooses the color.
In our marriage, I'm the Boss..and I have her permission to say so. :)
Cheers to all!
IMG_6237.jpeg
 
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#278,716
Instagator said:
Thanks for all of the birthday wishes. That was very kind of you all to help me make it to 65. :)
I finished all of the clear coat on the blue VP.
Now she has to gas off and harden until somewhere around the first week of April. After that I’ll start the wet sand and polish part of the show.
Anything that looks rough is just reflection. There's no orange peel in the finish.
Lots of work but it will be worth it in the end. I pick out the project and Mrs. Gator chooses the color.
In our marriage, I'm the Boss..and I have her permission to say so. :)
Cheers to all!View attachment 5345884
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Looking good!
 
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#278,717
ectoflanger said:
That recalls the Gibson Grabber bass where you could slide its single pickup to different positions, and interesting idea they did not repeat, nor anyone else that I know of-

Gibson Grabber Bass Guitar >> FlyGuitars
Click to expand...
Yep. I had one for a while. If nothing else it was a real world experiment showing how moving the pickup a little here or a little there does impact tone. I kind of think it was a clever idea, but really no way to make it look good. If you could find "your spot" then make it look like it's not going to slide around might be something. Something that will never happen. But would give those who love a pickup closer to the neck something and those who don't something.
 
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#278,720
ectoflanger said:
And a bonus TV program on existentialism from about the same era aw the jazz one- verboten in this day and time-

Click to expand...

While it had a long heyday, like most philosophies was somewhat time-bound as a worldview if not a coping mechanism. Not much the rage these days, though. Academia, especially philosophy departments, have found other shiny objects, as they always do.
 
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