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Thunderbird Club

#290,102
dagrev said:
Dude....that white NR sure is getting a lot of face time these days.:thumbsup:
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Yes and my Bird is green with envy!
upload_2024-5-9_23-33-8.jpeg
 
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#290,103
SubHuman said:
Yes you've never had any real fun playing in a live band until you used a pitch pipe to tune the guitars and bass in front of a crowd outside on a hot muggy evening.
It was pre strobe tuners (well affordable ones) and I got pretty good at telling jokes with the drummer while the guitars tuned up...then I tuned my bass to the guitar.
If a guitarist put on new strings you might have to tune several times in one night! Crazy times!
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And there was 22 year old me, playing my first gig at a decent London venue, micro adjusting my tuning between each song using a multi effects pedal.
 
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#290,105
SubHuman said:
Yes you've never had any real fun playing in a live band until you used a pitch pipe to tune the guitars and bass in front of a crowd outside on a hot muggy evening.
It was pre strobe tuners (well affordable ones) and I got pretty good at telling jokes with the drummer while the guitars tuned up...then I tuned my bass to the guitar.
If a guitarist put on new strings you might have to tune several times in one night! Crazy times!
Click to expand...
I started with a pitch pipe because it was the cheapest option. Used it for years. Had a cheap Fender tuner for a while, then an app on my phone. I've been perfectly happy with my Korg Pitchblack for several years now.
 
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#290,108
Engle said:
Cool! I have a 60's Mudbucker and an Artec copy and I have had thoughts of putting both in one bass. The Artec has wider string spacing, so it would work out.
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Mudbuckers don't have pole pieces. They have bar magnets. The screws that look like pole pieces don't actually have any function other than the visual aspect.
 
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#290,109
GBassNorth said:
Unfortunately I've never played through a vintage Gibby Mudbucker pickup. But I will say these walk all over modern Gibby mudbuckers and will completely bury any Tbird pickup I have (including my Grecos) in a wall of massive deep thick but still defined sound. Marshall got a chance to strum a few notes on it before it was disassembled, I think he was taken back by the wall of sound it put out.

It's a totally different sound than the Thunderbird, much more bottom end on the neck pup, every bit as much top end detail as a bird on the bridge pickup, but the volume levels these things are capable of are insane. Easily my favorite Fender pup offering. If you can get your hands on a set of Fender Wide Range bass humbuckers (not sure if Squire is the same or different) just grab them at any price. Fender only made the Telecaster modern player bass they came in for two years (2012-13). I've never seen the pickups for sale anywhere, so I ended up buying an entire 2012 bass and will be using nearly every part of it (except the body and pickguard) to build my NonReverse ThunderCaster.

If I can make it to the GTG I'll bring it with me (assuming I get it back from the painter in time).
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I own a pair of those Fender Modern Player Telecaster basses. I eventually got myself together and am pretty deep into Gibson and Epiphone basses now! Those Fender Wide Range humbuckers are loud and have some decent clarity, I just never could get those basses to fit w/ a band setting. Perhaps in another instrument they will shine...in the meantime, I will just play THIS.
SILVER MACHINE.jpg
 
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#290,111
BklynKen said:
Or ⌘-F. But solid point.
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I've been using my Macbook Pro so long now I hate having to do anything on my old laptop, or the secretary's PC. I was not one of the cool kids who made the switch early by any means, but am glad I did and would never considering going back. My Macbook has kept it's speed, etc., for what would have easily been the span of two laptops, maybe three.
 
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#290,113
pyrat56host said:
I own a pair of those Fender Modern Player Telecaster basses. I eventually got myself together and am pretty deep into Gibson and Epiphone basses now! Those Fender Wide Range humbuckers are loud and have some decent clarity, I just never could get those basses to fit w/ a band setting. Perhaps in another instrument they will shine...in the meantime, I will just play THIS.View attachment 5443756
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Good man. That's because those Epi figured out how to make a proper Thunderbird.
 
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#290,114
SubHuman said:
Yes you've never had any real fun playing in a live band until you used a pitch pipe to tune the guitars and bass in front of a crowd outside on a hot muggy evening.
It was pre strobe tuners (well affordable ones) and I got pretty good at telling jokes with the drummer while the guitars tuned up...then I tuned my bass to the guitar.
If a guitarist put on new strings you might have to tune several times in one night! Crazy times!
Click to expand...
No need to stop and tune as the night went on. Just play louder. Covers a multitude os sins. We would tune with the keyboard. Almost always played in bands that had one.
 
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#290,115
Stealth57 said:
I've been slandered in a public forum. My reputation is irreparably harmed. Where's a lawyer when you need one.

Actually, coming up on my 4-year anniversary.
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I think that would be libeled. But you would I have to clarify with the attorney that either slandered or libeled you to know for sure with respect to California law. I'm not sure if things written/said on the internet are considered slander or libel. Again, refer to the above attorney who either slandered or libeled you.
 
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#290,116
MCF said:
The only Gibson I've had an issue with a finish was the Studio. The seller kept it in the hard case for years. The case got musty and the finish softened. It took a few months of patiently waiting for it to harden up before I was able to polish it up. It's black, so I was extra careful. It looks great now.
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Fender used some cases long ago that would soften a nitro finish in short order. My '55 has the scars to prove it.
 
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#290,119
pyrat56host said:
I own a pair of those Fender Modern Player Telecaster basses. I eventually got myself together and am pretty deep into Gibson and Epiphone basses now! Those Fender Wide Range humbuckers are loud and have some decent clarity, I just never could get those basses to fit w/ a band setting. Perhaps in another instrument they will shine...in the meantime, I will just play THIS.View attachment 5443756
Click to expand...
That Silver bird is the BOMB!
Good point about the band setting on the Fender. Not every bass that sounds awesome in solo fits in a band, and just because it won't fit in one band doesn't mean it won't fit in another. When I was in a band I found the most use for the Fender Tele Modern Player on an occasional reggae song. I'm hoping the Tbird mahogany body will offer a slightly different timbre that's more useable than the Fender pine body, we'll see if the timbre is in the timber.
IMG_3031.png
 
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