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Thunderbird Club

#282,922
SubHuman said:
Kalamazoo KB Bass Guitar >> Vintage Guitar and Bass
The body material is not specified in Kalamazoo literature, but is supposedly a wood-laminate of one or more unspecified species, produced by a composite-wood manufacturer in Wisconsin.

I read in another online account they used a manufacturer that made bathroom wood seats!

The Unique Guitar Blog: The Gibson Toilet Seat Guitar - Kalamazoo Electric Guitars

The competition from imports forced Gibson management to look into developing a low cost guitar. To do this they turned to Bemis Manufacturing to compression mold a guitar body. Yep, the same company that was best known for manufacturing toilet seats.

The body I bought from EBAY was indeed crumbling and much like OSB or particle board. Of course seller did not accurately describe the body condition.
A perfect KB-1 would be a real find!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the research - wasn't aware composite/press-board was used for basses that early. Toilet seats... well, we all relate to the need for stability here...
 
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#282,923
GonePlaid said:
Yup. Whenever I see newer cars listed as having a ___liter engine, I'm, like, Jeez! That's 1/2 the c.i. of my 69 Ford van(302 in that case=5.0).
Click to expand...
Around the time of the switchover the Big 3 had 302, 308 & 318’s and 340, 350, 351 & 360’s.
Next year they had 4.9, 5.0 & 5.2’s
And 5.6, 5.7, 5.8 & 5.9’s
 
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#282,924
GBassNorth said:
Probably a safe bet, but ya never know. Each one has had plenty of time with their BaCH basses and each one has a vintage bird to reference the sound on. I’d suspect V to lean towards the still available Lull variant (SD ?) since Lulls appear to be unobtainable now.


Once the BaCH comes in I’ll know more about how much I’d spend on it. If it looks and feels and plays really nice I wouldn’t hesitate to drop as much money as it takes to get the best sounding pups for it. If Lulls were available I’d consider dropping those in. Does Lull source their Tbird pickups from a builder that will sell identical spec pups to individuals?
Click to expand...

Lull’s, Sidewinders, Thunderbuckers.
But that’s just me.
I do have Lollars which I love.
But to me, they don’t sound as vintage and growly like the aforementioned.
 
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#282,927
Rickplaysbass said:
Let's try this again..... 5 string pickup options? Anybody?

Bueller? Bueller?
Click to expand...
bueller-bueller-economics-teacher.gif


5175b794f3a4c6f5fe5b4c9485151fc8_w200.gif


:)
 
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#282,929
WillyW said:
so here I am trimming back to the essentials and shaging epiphone…

I was going to be happy with my epi cp fretless and my gibstone nr fretless…. and no other birds….

I have not looked to see what colours are available and I’m not going to look.
Click to expand...
You want a red one. Although the Inverness Green and Silver are nice too.
 
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#282,932
There's a movie that's pretty good action, but I won't reveal the name because some dumbass inherits a 1972 charger and he's bragging about the 4.9 liter engine.... "0-60 in I'm about to find out" (spoiler alert) three weeks... three weeks is the 0-60 in a 299 ci engine that doesn't exist.....

and there's a 3 shot shotgun that shoots 12 rounds... but that's less offensive
 
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#282,934
GBassNorth said:
The BaCH is getting closer…
View attachment 5384575 View attachment 5384576
I know I will be yanking the stock pups out, but still trying to decide if I should put a set of Eppi ProBuckers in or if I should go with the Gibson Tbird pups. I’m thinking the Eppi might be closer to a vintage bird sound but the Gibby pup we installed in Marshals BaCH sounded quite nice. Any thoughts out there? @godofthunder59 @TBird1958 and any others, feel free to chime in.
Click to expand...
You know me, I'm a 760s fan like Scott. Especially if the neck pickup has move north of the original position. That relocation should/would help with the only "imperfection" (too strong of a word), of the 760s lacking a little bigness. If the locations are original, or close, the Gibsons may work fine. It the "wrong" positions, I'm not all that impressed with the Gibsons. (I would take a VP any day over the new NRs with the Gibsons. One with 760s is of interest, however, and may happen one day.) Placed in a VP as V did, they should sound way better, for my preferences anyway. That's my flavor and everyone is different.
 
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#282,937
GonePlaid said:
If funds allowed, I'd love to have a custom made 32" scale Thunderbird II NR; Honduran Mahogany body + neck(yes, it's still available-$$$); Probucker 760 pup; 1 1/2" nut in super glossy Emberglow finish.
IF!
Click to expand...
I am thinking of building that with a slightly smaller body. Not sure where to get the Mahogany and/or if it would be a hassle getting it into Canada.
 
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#282,938
MCF said:
Congratulations Mr. Dogs! What a beautiful Thunderbird.

Ordering from SW is the way to roll with new instruments. They have the added two year complementary warranty which means they and their great customer service will take care of you instead of having to deal with the manufacturer. And I found that the guitars and basses I bought from them came setup to the manufacturer recommended specs. I usually tweak the setups for lower action, but they are fine out of the box IME.

I like the green. I think I’ll get one. But I need to off my close to mint Ebony 2017 VP with the original large Wilkinson tuners first. If anyone is interested in it, PM me. If it has to ship, it’ll be on your dime. I have boxes and lots of wrap, so it’ll be packed carefully. I’m open to trying Pirate shipping if that is what you choose. But fair warning. I won’t give it away because of the excellent condition and the more desirable tuners than are on most. I will only sell it because I have a lot of black Thunderbirds, I’m shallow, and I want some more colors in my music room. Oh, and no. I do not know the weight. I believe it to be in the nine pound range. I don’t have a scale.
Click to expand...
I paused and read that a couple times. Had to keep telling myself I don't need a black VP.


Want a Burgundy NR?!:laugh:
 
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#282,939
SubHuman said:
Kalamazoo KB Bass Guitar >> Vintage Guitar and Bass
The body material is not specified in Kalamazoo literature, but is supposedly a wood-laminate of one or more unspecified species, produced by a composite-wood manufacturer in Wisconsin.

I read in another online account they used a manufacturer that made bathroom wood seats!

The Unique Guitar Blog: The Gibson Toilet Seat Guitar - Kalamazoo Electric Guitars

The competition from imports forced Gibson management to look into developing a low cost guitar. To do this they turned to Bemis Manufacturing to compression mold a guitar body. Yep, the same company that was best known for manufacturing toilet seats.

The body I bought from EBAY was indeed crumbling and much like OSB or particle board. Of course seller did not accurately describe the body condition.
A perfect KB-1 would be a real find!
Click to expand...
Have someone make a new body out of real wood?
 
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