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Thunderbird Club

#282,544
Porter sampling day. Needs another week or two to develop a nice head. It is nicely carbonated with a smooth coffee flavor.

IMG_7765.jpeg
 
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#282,546
SubHuman said:
Special is right. I recently told my wife this is it...I'm downsizing on basses and guitars. The liar I am I recently bought two Thunderbirds! I have to buy a few more guitar wall hangers to display my new trophies!
Oh yes...she loves cats too! Unfortunately our Boots the cat died recently (sad). We now have a 3-year-old, 65-pound collie which we both love.
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Those aren't basses or guitars, though. They're Thunderbirds, so the downsizing algebra doesn't apply to them.
 
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#282,549
Stealth57 said:
Anyone have an idea for a bridge replacement that is drop in? The current EB style bass has a 2 piece bridge and the bottom plate limits how low you can go. The bottom plate also is what is threaded for the adjustment bolts.
View attachment 5382355
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That's just like the bridge that was on my Mann Armstrong.
The saddle was a piece of tin with foam in it. Worst bridge design I've ever seen! It's as if they were looking at a blurry picture of a Gibson.
The post spacing on mine was close enough to use a Hipshot 2 post Gibson replacement. I just had to glue in the inserts.
 
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#282,551
Gaolee said:
I'm pretty sure there's a sound in a J that I would like and use. It's not like JPJ, Flea, and about a zillion others couldn't find a great sound somewhere lurking in a J. Thing is that I am happy with the sound I get from a Precision, Thunderbird, or any of the other bass guitars I already own. So there's no point in a Jazz for me.

Now, I have no use for tort on an electric bass. That's a different issue.
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I’m not much a J fan. I do like the tone Geddy gets sometimes. And James Johnston of Biffy Clyro gets great tone from a J. But he also uses his Precision, which I prefer. Like in this:


Mon the Biff!
 
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#282,552
Engle said:
That's just like the bridge that was on my Mann Armstrong.
The saddle was a piece of tin with foam in it. Worst bridge design I've ever seen! It's as if they were looking at a blurry picture of a Gibson.
The post spacing on mine was close enough to use a Hipshot 2 post Gibson replacement. I just had to glue in the inserts.
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I wrote to Hipshot to see if they have anything with that post spacing. The sound of that shorty is very nice.
 
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#282,557
DJ Bebop said:
My wife knew I was. Trouble is she thought like my mother, when she married my full time working jazz musician dad. That is was something that would pass and he would get a straight job. He kept playing music, they divorced. He continued to play music, the only job he ever had, and died as a full time musician.

Me, I continued to play bass but I did get a straight job, still played music though. Still am.

:)
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:thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
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#282,558
JIO said:
A router is a very useful power-tool. My recommendation would be buying one and learning how to use it. A band saw is also very useful - having one allows you to make your own router templates. But you can also buy ready-made templates from Stew Mac.

But.., a go-around would be using a drill (a drill-press even better) with forstner bits to create the cavity (removing most of the wood) and yes, using a sharp chisel to square it off. It can be done and done neatly if you are patient.

This is an example - overlapping the diameter of the forstner-bit leaves very manageable remaining wood that's easily chiseled off. This was for a control-cavity - for a pu, aside from hollowing most of it out like my pic, you would also use a regular drill-bit the diameter of the rounded-off corners at the four corners. Best to play with a slab of wood first to get the hang of it.

View attachment 5382413
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I have 2 routers ( one in a "table" for pickguards/truss rod covers and one for general work) and I'm considering a third smaller one with a plunge base.
 
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#282,559
Engle said:
I hear you. I got the plexi Mann for free, so it was worth it to me.
What string spacing do you need? Keeping in mind that stock bridge might be too narrow...
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Not sure what the proper way to measure string spacing but here are a few numbers:
Nut: 1 5/8"
Bridge (E to G distance): 1 3/4"
Scale: 30"
There is a nice gap at the edges of the finger board so the strings don't roll off.
 
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