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Thunderbird Club

#302,301
Progress. It’s pretty much a straight shot from here to Phoenix. Amazing how many ntops it takes.
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#302,304
1000049600.jpg



DeColas in place. First impression is very good, more open sounding than the TB+ pickups were in that bass. Not too hot either which could be the "between the poles" thing. Not switching back. They look a bit toothy too in that bass, which is a good thing.
I did the "black and red together, green ground and white hot" thing (plain wire went to the ground too) and it works but when I touch the poles there's noise. Should I try other wire orders?
 
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#302,305
Anyone here have a Schecter Simon Gallup signature and can compare it to a Thunderbird? It looks like it's essentially a TBird with EMG's. I know that Gallup used to play Thunderbirds and switched to Schecter, but I'm curious about a comparison between the two. I've been GASing for the Gallup bass but I wonder if a Thunderbird isn't a better option?
 
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#302,307
PhR75 said:
View attachment 7022567


DeColas in place. First impression is very good, more open sounding than the TB+ pickups were in that bass. Not too hot either which could be the "between the poles" thing. Not switching back. They look a bit toothy too in that bass, which is a good thing.
I did the "black and red together, green ground and white hot" thing (plain wire went to the ground too) and it works but when I touch the poles there's noise. Should I try other wire orders?
Click to expand...
That is cool. Others are more versed re the wiring question.

I find the pickups sound different than the Tbird plusses. I like both. They’re just different.

The DeColas are Alnico V magnets verses the ceramic Tbird plusses. And they’re a lot hotter. Nice basses PhR.
 
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#302,312
PhR75 said:
Thanks! Will definitely try them and I actually like the look of the exposed polepieces especially as they are going into the Franken-Tele-Precision.

I also googled the Stringray prototype with the 10 polepiece pickup and learned that the "old smoothie" nickname came from that. Smoother attack because the strings are between the poles. That definitely makes me want to try a similar pickup on my passive Stingray (a custom built non-
Music Man). Or at least a bar magnet version.

Now it would be nice to compare directly both 4 and 5 versions of the DeCola with a 4-string bass. It could be assumed that the "between poles" would also help a bit with the hot output, no?
Click to expand...
DeCola 4 string on a 2015 Thunderbird…
Directly on top of the pickup
IMG_2916.jpeg

Note the imperfect alignment (apparently it’s not as important as my OCD self thinks it is).

And just for giggles, here’s a pic of the magnetic field with the gauss sheet sitting on top of the strings, you can see how the strings impact the field pattern…
IMG_2931.jpeg
 
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#302,313
Engle said:
Thanks for doing this George! Makes me want to try some guitar pickups 😀
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I’ve heard claims that Gibson P90 guitar pickups sound wonderful in a bass, just claims, haven’t heard them myself.


dagrev said:
It would be interesting how a G&L MFD pickup would show up/look. I know you said you never got along with the Tribute you had, but for the sake of thoroughness and curiosity, would you mind buying a G&L to test? :smug:
Click to expand...
Here’s a better idea - you already have the G&L, free up about $35 and buy a Gauss sheet on Amazon. I’d truly be interested in seeing how the magnetic field on those pickups look.


PhR75 said:
View attachment 7022567


DeColas in place. First impression is very good, more open sounding than the TB+ pickups were in that bass. Not too hot either which could be the "between the poles" thing. Not switching back. They look a bit toothy too in that bass, which is a good thing.
I did the "black and red together, green ground and white hot" thing (plain wire went to the ground too) and it works but when I touch the poles there's noise. Should I try other wire orders?
Click to expand...
I like the look of the exposed poles! You need to contact @Engle to have him print some custom 3D trim rings for those.
The wiring sounds correct. Use a meter to check each ground in the cavity, one of them might be loose.
 
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#302,314
smatanovic said:
Anyone here have a Schecter Simon Gallup signature and can compare it to a Thunderbird? It looks like it's essentially a TBird with EMG's. I know that Gallup used to play Thunderbirds and switched to Schecter, but I'm curious about a comparison between the two. I've been GASing for the Gallup bass but I wonder if a Thunderbird isn't a better option?
Click to expand...

The neck of a Gibson Reverse is going to be thinner/smaller overall, for me, that's a big part of the equation, but I also think the Gibson is better looking as well. I freely admit to a huge bias about the looks though, I'm a life long Thunderbird addict, and I don't think the Schecter is bad in any way. The EMG's would likely easily fit a Gibson Bird, but there's a lot of good options for pickups out there.
 
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#302,315
TBird1958 said:
The neck of a Gibson Reverse is going to be thinner/smaller overall, for me, that's a big part of the equation, but I also think the Gibson is better looking as well. I freely admit to a huge bias about the looks though, I'm a life long Thunderbird addict, and I don't think the Schecter is bad in any way. The EMG's would likely easily fit a Gibson Bird, but there's a lot of good options for pickups out there.
Click to expand...
Helpful, thank you! I mostly play precision basses, and the chunkier the neck the better. I find the standard j bass neck -almost- too small to play comfortably.

The necks on the epiphone thunderbirds I’ve played (a 60’s and an E1, both at guitar center) were both on the small side, but were a little wider than my fender jbass, which I liked.

Love the thunderbird looks, but I’m a sucker for the The Cure graphics on the Gallup model.

I feel like I need to get my hands on a Schecter and try it out…
 
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#302,316
GBassNorth said:

Number three in a series of “What If” bass builds is now 100% complete!​


So what if Fender wanted to build a thunderbird, what could it look like, how would it be constructed? Here’s my take…

Fender Headstock is a must - let’s try a Tele with Fender logo and string tree just to be different
View attachment 7021905

Fender Tuners and a Fender serial number are a must - let’s go with Tele cloverleaf’s and a MIC Tele maple/maple neck
View attachment 7021906

Fender Neck plate of course - no set neck or neck through on Fenders watch, plus where else could we put the don’t trash me logo
View attachment 7021907

Fender Pickups - gotta be humbuckers, Fender Wide Range Tele pickups are the bomb, up at the neck is Fender’s SOP surrounded by gobs of wretched celluloid tort over an iconic Fender Three Tone Sunburst finish (or Target Burst as some call it).
View attachment 7021908

Bridge options - let’s go with a Fender high mass bridge with threaded barrels so we can precisely align those pole pieces and strings.
Throw in some knurled Tele knobs and for a bit of a change up let’s use a Fender Precision bass bridge cover
View attachment 7021909

Strap locks - we don’t need no stinking strap locks, standard Fender spec will do
View attachment 7021910



But wait a minute, I thought this was supposed to be a Thunderbird build! ​

Got that covered as well…​




View attachment 7021911
View attachment 7021912

And the coup de grâce - a special message from Fender to Gibson,
a backwards facing Tbird with the Fender “F” emboldened on its chest.
View attachment 7021913


…and now we know what Fender might build if they were to build a Thunderbird!

She’s called the ThunderCaster for a good reason - earth shaking lows and massive levels of volume. A blast to play.
Here’s a shot of her next to her donor bass…
View attachment 7021915

I’d like to acknowledge several key support persons that assisted with this build…
Fender - for making the phenomenal Telecaster Modern Player that ended up being the parts donor.
Jeremie - @Freekmagnet for expert pickup routing and body contour work
Irv - @Engle for superb pickguard and logo fabrication to my overly picky spec
Pat Wilkins - for beyond pro level body finishes, even when I specifically request an overly obnoxious 3TSB vs something more subtle
Rosser Guitars - eBay seller of mahogany NR blanks, great quality but desperately needs a low weight option
Click to expand...
This is sick. 😎
 
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#302,317
GBassNorth said:
Here’s a better idea - you already have the G&L, free up about $35 and buy a Gauss sheet on Amazon. I’d truly be interested in seeing how the magnetic field on those pickups look.
Click to expand...
I was afraid you might say that. I just don't see how me buying a magic piece of cardboard is a better idea than you buying a nice bass. Who even thinks like that? :laugh:
 
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#302,319
of by high if can hope a
PhR75 said:
View attachment 7022567


DeColas in place. First impression is very good, more open sounding than the TB+ pickups were in that bass. Not too hot either which could be the "between the poles" thing. Not switching back. They look a bit toothy too in that bass, which is a good thing.
I did the "black and red together, green ground and white hot" thing (plain wire went to the ground too) and it works but when I touch the poles there's noise. Should I try other wire orders?
Click to expand...
that tuxedo to the right……:drool:
 
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