Thunderbird Club

[Gaolee]

My amp was half the price of my cab but then it was built in 2004 and has had an unknown number of previous owners.

I paid $500 for my 1968 Acoustic 360/361 preamp head and powered cabinet. If you can guess how many people owned it before me, then you are some kind of clairvoyant. Clean it up and it might be worth a lot to somebody, but you can't hear aesthetics. Ah, who am I kidding, I want to clean it up so it looks nice. It's more evidence of being shallow. The fact that I haven't cleaned it up is evidence that I have too many projects.

 

[kat888]

I paid $500 for my 1968 Acoustic 360/361 preamp head and powered cabinet. If you can guess how many people owned it before me, then you are some kind of clairvoyant. Clean it up and it might be worth a lot to somebody, but you can't hear aesthetics. Ah, who am I kidding, I want to clean it up so it looks nice. It's more evidence of being shallow. The fact that I haven't cleaned it up is evidence that I have too many projects.

The second hand market is much smaller here (despite having an entire continent for it). I consider myself fortunate to have snagged the YBA200 when I did - at a third the price of a V4B. It was still USD600+.

 

[Gaolee]

The second hand market is much smaller here (despite having an entire continent for it). I consider myself fortunate to have snagged the YBA200 when I did - at a third the price of a V4B. It was still USD600+.

Well, there are fewer people in Oz than in the US. There are probably fewer people in Oz than in some big cities here.

[edit] I just looked it up. There are about 18 million people just in greater Los Angeles. There are a bit more than 23 million people scattered across the whole continent in Oz.

 

[kat888]

Well, there are fewer people in Oz than in the US. There are probably fewer people in Oz than in some big cities here.

Not quite that sparse, but the amp did come from 4000km away in Perth.

I think we're up to 25m now (ah, 23.78m). Sydney = 5m.

 

[kat888]

... and we're hardly scattered across the continent, more clustered together on the east coast.

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

Well, there are fewer people in Oz than in the US. There are probably fewer people in Oz than in some big cities here.

[edit] I just looked it up. There are about 18 million people just in greater Los Angeles. There are a bit more than 23 million people scattered across the whole continent in Oz.

36 million Canadians across 3.9 million square miles. Closest "big city" is about an hour away. Bass stuff can get pretty hard to come by for a decent price.

 

[TBird1958]

Does GK have a recommended replacement?

There's nothing like it in their current catalog, SBX cabinets are long of production.

 

[KingFace]

I paid $500 for my 1968 Acoustic 360/361 preamp head and powered cabinet. If you can guess how many people owned it before me, then you are some kind of clairvoyant. Clean it up and it might be worth a lot to somebody, but you can't hear aesthetics. Ah, who am I kidding, I want to clean it up so it looks nice. It's more evidence of being shallow. The fact that I haven't cleaned it up is evidence that I have too many projects.

I've also got a 360/361 (I believe mine's a '70). They are astonishingly loud. It's been a while since it's been fired up, but maybe tomorrow I'll get it going. I'll see if I can get a video clip of it.
I remember taking it out to a club in Brooklyn ( I think The Hook) and the sound-guy having NO clue what was going on. He asked "which speaker do you prefer me mic'ing?" I explained that there's only one speaker...and it's in the middle...and faces backwards. He just stared at me.

 

[PillO]

... and we're hardly scattered across the continent, more clustered together on the east coast.

36 million Canadians across 3.9 million square miles. Closest "big city" is about an hour away. Bass stuff can get pretty hard to come by for a decent price.

Both Canada and Australia have a spaghetti population distribution - a population concentrated along some significant geography. In the case of Australia, the east coast, for Canada, the border with the US. So by total population divided by area looks sparse, but in reality the concentration is very high.

I will also disagree with scarcity of bass gear in Canada. With the population concentrated along the border, we have access to the greatest mall -> the United States.

I will also quibble with the definition of "big city" @Dr_Feelgoood212 uses. In Niagara, time to Toronto is about 2 hours. Hamilton is hardly a big city - it is about as attractive as Buffalo (which is perhaps 15 minutes to Niagara).

 

[JJR58]

I've also got a 360/361 (I believe mine's a '70). They are astonishingly loud. It's been a while since it's been fired up, but maybe tomorrow I'll get it going. I'll see if I can get a video clip of it.
I remember taking it out to a club in Brooklyn ( I think The Hook) and the soundly having NO clue what was going on. He asked "which speaker do you prefer me mic'ing?" I explained that there's only one speaker...and it's in the middle...and faces backwards. He just stared at me.

I love this.

 

[Count Bassie]

So speaking of Acoustics, and esp @Gaolee ... I'm thinking I may be in the mkt for a replacement 15" driver for my newly acquired 136 combo. Seems to be giving up a nasty artifact when I bend a string or lean into it, at about 1/3rd volume.

I'll get the original reconed too, unless maybe a new one is just a better idea. Anything I should know about the tuning of this cab? I'm betting I can put a pretty wide range of drivers in there and have success.

Anyone hip to this? Gen-pop is next...

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

Both Canada and Australia have a spaghetti population distribution - a population concentrated along some significant geography. In the case of Australia, the east coast, for Canada, the border with the US. So by total population divided by area looks sparse, but in reality the concentration is very high.

I will also disagree with scarcity of bass gear in Canada. With the population concentrated along the border, we have access to the greatest mall -> the United States.

I will also quibble with the definition of "big city" @Dr_Feelgoood212 uses. In Niagara, time to Toronto is about 2 hours. Hamilton is hardly a big city - it is about as attractive as Buffalo (which is perhaps 15 minutes to Niagara).

I was talking about Hamilton that's why there were the quotations. It's the closest place that has a decent music store. St. Kitts has one but it's fairly small. Niagara Falls has 80,000 so I wouldn't say it's very concentrated. Granted there is a lot more people in southern Ontario than most of Canada but speaking generally it's a lot more spread out than the US

For buying in the states, not with 40% exchange. It must be one hell of a deal to make up for it. And second hand everyone around here wants a lot for what they have.

 

[PillO]

For buying in the states, not with 40% exchange. It must be one hell of a deal to make up for it. And second hand everyone around here wants a lot for what they have.

There is a difference between scarce (not available) and not available at a price I am willing to pay...

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

There is a difference between scarce (not available) and not available at a price I am willing to pay...

This is true so I'd sum it up to both scarce and an unreasonable price for my budget. As there is very little around me bass wise both new and used.

 

[RedVee]

Ok, here's a question for our collective brain trust here, yes I could pose this in the Amps forum but it'll turn into a useless crapfest........

I need to replace two speakers in one of my GK SBX cabinets, the original spec is 8 ohms with 400 watt power handling. The amp is a 700RBII, which is at 320watts @8 ohms.
So, would something like this work? Eminence Legend BP102 Legend Series 10" 200-Watt Replacement Bass Speaker 8 Ohm

It's only rated at 200 watts, am I going to push it harder than the remaining speakers and thus fry it?

Thanks!

I'm a bit timid about these things, so I'd just get all the details off the current driver and hit the phone to get recommended replacements from a couple of places and see where it leads.

 

[Count Bassie]

Ok, here's a question for our collective brain trust here, yes I could pose this in the Amps forum but it'll turn into a useless crapfest........

I need to replace two speakers in one of my GK SBX cabinets, the original spec is 8 ohms with 400 watt power handling. The amp is a 700RBII, which is at 320watts @8 ohms.
So, would something like this work? Eminence Legend BP102 Legend Series 10" 200-Watt Replacement Bass Speaker 8 Ohm

It's only rated at 200 watts, am I going to push it harder than the remaining speakers and thus fry it?

Thanks!

There's a guy named Al at US Speaker LLC (usspeaker.com) who's a pretty good guy to talk to about this stuff. He's a knowledgeable, reasonable dude and may be able to fix you up.

Also yeah, call GK and maybe they can give you the Thiele-Small specs in those old speakers in the cab... then call Al.

 

[hillerup]

If the story is legit, which it appears to be, then getting them to skip the PG and wire up some active EMG's that he handed them wouldn't be that big of a deal.

Back in the old days, if you knew someone on the assembly line you could order a baseline vehicle and by the time it left the plant it would be loaded up with air conditioning, power everything and the best sound system available, *free of charge.

I'm sure it's a lot easier to get stuff like that done at a small operation like Gibson probably even now if you knew the right guy.

I still find it odd that bird doesn't have a rout under the pickguard like all other birds (except the Blackbird) has - Unless it's actually a Vintage White Blackbird, without the Iron Cross inlays, which kinda would make sense why it also has the OptiGrab on it.

 

[JIO]

Maybe it's just because I'm near Music City and there's just TONS of gear available in this town, but I have very little money in amplification. My gig rig is an SVT-3 Pro through a Hartke 410XL and and a 410T with a GK 800RB as a back up. The Ampeg I got for $299, the GK for $259, the XL for $199 and the Transporter for $60. One of these days I wanna replace that Transporter with another XL, but the cab and the money haven't been in the same place at the same time yet.

Come to think of it, I don't have much in basses right now, either. My TBIV, a cosmetic second, was on clearance for $199, my Goff was $150 and I traded for my Charvel 4B. The Sterling was a victim of unemployment, but I prawned it for more than I paid for it, so I was OK with letting it go. There's no telling what that Goff is gonna end up costing me, but it was always meant to be a project piece anyway. Its gonna get ridiculous metalflake paint one day.

Marty Bell

 

[hillerup]

Anyone notice this:

Epiphone Ltd. Ed. 20th Anniversary Jack Casady Bass Outfit

I might have to pick one of these up.

I really like the look of this one and the blue version from last year.

That is indeed a very nice color, though I prefer the Alpine White Jack Casady they made a year or two ago...

In general I think Epiphone makes a pretty nice and diverse bunch of basses, and I like the fact that they often offer them in limited edition colors. That Wine Red JC has to be 7th color they have been offered in.

 

[JIO]

Thanks for the action shot.

Link Removed

I enjoyed your singer - I thought at one point if his voice was speeded up he's sound like Caruso