Thunderbird Club

[DJ Bebop]

Mom and I on Friday, she's 92 and still really doing quite well.

I see where you get your good looks from.

 

[BklynKen]

Very cool playing and tone!

That's Paul Turner on bass. He's so good.

 

[JIO]

That’s about $300 to $350 more than they went for three or four years ago. I passed on a nice one in ‘18 for around $450 because of the weight. It and the case were in really good shape. It was a tone monster.

Yes, everything has gone up in price. Great pu's but I'd never buy the boat-anchor that they came in.

 

[BklynKen]

Very cool playing and tone!

Demis Roussos also got some great Jazz tone. Plus Vangelis on keys.



Live is always more fun, but not as clear in the mix.

 

[JIO]

au contraire!….fallacy…
View attachment 5447010

That J is a great sounding/playing bass -

 

[GonePlaid]

I had the same experience. Not sure when it happened or even IF it happened but it SEEMS to me like many bands these days are EQing the bass a bit further back in the mix and boosting the vocals quite a bit forward. Again, I might just be imagining things, but I did have my hearing checked and it’s fine.

My hearing isn't fine but I have the same reaction. The [stuff] I like to listen to has strong bass. A lotta the time on more modern [stuff], I can't hear it, yet on the same Sirius/XM channel, the next selection will have plenty o' bottom.

 

[GonePlaid]

Perfect tone you say?
Easy. Only two aspects involved.
View attachment 5447007

+

View attachment 5447009


= Perfect tone.

For me anyway.

Zackly! For me, it's 7ender amps with(whatever)bass. Preferably, TBird.

 

[GonePlaid]

A Jazz can sound good. I'll happily admit that. I also find that they can be about the worst sounding bass possible at times as well. There are some nasal, whiny, murky light green pond scum sounds that come out of a Jazz that I just can't stand. When a Jazz tries to be midrangy, it fails miserably. A Jazz can be great at barking and being scooped. I think a Thunderbird does both of those better, but that's probably normal around here.

And it's why I don't have a Jazz and never will. That's one (or a dozen) more for other people who can put them to good use.

Yup. I've heard J's that sound good-both live and recorded-and I've heard that irritating tone of which you speak.
"Light green pond scum". Brilliant!
I played one in a 'sitting in' situation. It was "OK", which is not a reason to want one as long as I have others that fit for anything I'm likely to do.

 

[Rickplaysbass]

Stop before one of us does something foolish.

It would be more than fair for anyone in the group. I've got much more offered but if I can keep it in the club I'd prefer to. Feel free to reach out if interested.

 

[BklynKen]

I do pay attention to what the original bass tone of the song and within some reason I do try to do that too. I just try to keep it simple, once we sound check I do not touch my amp at all, any variation in tone is going to come from using/not using a pick or my fingers, or backing one of the pickups off to favor the other one. I.E. Billy Idol "White Wedding" is all with a pick and the neck pickup, Duran Duran "Hungry like the Wolf" All fingers and the neck pickup backed off slightly so as to favor the bridge and get that tight, slightly nasal JT tone.
Does anyone notice? Most of the time I don't think so, my bandmates don't, with the possible exception of our drummer.
It is like all those bad memes that you see, nobody even kind of understands what I do, and even when I stop they still don't really get it.

I'm pretty fortunate in my band that the BL who writes all the songs is a bass player, so the bass lines tend to be pretty distinctive and can really stand out. I think it's made me a better player because I can't hide behind anything.

 

[Rickplaysbass]

Yup. I've heard J's that sound good-both live and recorded-and I've heard that irritating tone of which you speak.
"Light green pond scum". Brilliant!
I played one in a 'sitting in' situation. It was "OK", which is not a reason to want one as long as I have others that fit for anything I'm likely to do.

Jazz bases can absolutely sound fantastic. But not when I'm the one playing them.

 

[Rickplaysbass]

Is it a reverse and 4 strings? I don't remember. I probably can't swing it at the moment, but a boy can dream.

 

[Rickplaysbass]

V - I’m finding it increasingly difficult to fight the urge to buy one of these ZSounds custom jobs. What’s your first impression of the new Eppi offering? Is it pretty much identical in sound, and feel to the original VP? Weight? Quality of finish? Is it a limited run of a few hundred or are they making thousands of them?

I’m in love with that purple sparkle beauty but I already have the original run VP in Ebony (that plays fantastic) try and talk me out of another bird purchase.

How about I talk you INTO another one? Lol.

 

[JJR58]

When you hear this guy play a J……

 

[Engle]

In the late 90s/early 00s I was playing a dance gig for an older(roughly my age-and up-now)crowd. A man said to me "I know that's not a guitar, but what exactly do you do?" I asked where he was sitting; he showed me, and I told him "I'll catch your eye and I'll stop playing for a few seconds, then start again"(I told the other guys what I was gonna do). I laid out for ~6 beats on a rhumba. The look on the man's face told me he 'got it'.

I think we should strive for the tone we want to put forth, but not be obsessive about it 'cos, as you say, most people don't notice it. Unless you screw up. And even then, it'd have to be pretty obvious for most people to notice. And they generally wouldn't be able to say what was wrong.

I pretty much go by Donnie's expression: BASS-the original "surround sound". I aim to be felt as much as heard.

IMO it's a cool effect for the bass to drop out for a while. It's satisfying for the listener when it returns.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I see where you get your good looks from.

Zackly! For me, it's 7ender amps with(whatever)bass. Preferably, TBird.

Birds for me, too. And Fender amps for my current situation. I've played through some I liked better, but too big and pricey for what I'm doing right now.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

View attachment 5447166

I'm not real big on light blue basses, but that's freaking gorgeous.

 

[GBassNorth]

That pink NR is probably one of the best basses I've ever seen. I know it will sound amazing too with what it has on its build!

Thx. It’s a great bass and pretty rare, only 2 or 3 made that I know of.

Perfect tone you say?
Easy. Only two aspects involved.
View attachment 5447007
View attachment 5447009
= Perfect tone.
For me anyway.

Actually, the secret to Donnie’s perfect tone is the Ported Wall he uses to enhance the bass cab bottom end.

Why would anyone here - much less the Queen - do that?

Well, for the record, our Queen failed miserably at talking me down from another TBird acquisition. A purple sparkle will be here later this week.

Jazz bases can absolutely sound fantastic. But not when I'm the one playing them.

Ditto

When you hear this guy play a J……
View attachment 5447169

Chucky plays so good his dogs actually put the “cone of shame” on to amplify all that goodness.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

When you hear this guy play a J……

View attachment 5447169

Chuck is one of the folk hear who could make a rubber band bass sound good.

 

[Rickplaysbass]

I'm not real big on light blue basses, but that's freaking gorgeous.

And down the street from you by Texas standards