Thunderbird Club

[JIO]

Word! I only use active for maybe one song--if I just want to hear what it would sound like. I could leave the batteries out of mine and be just fine.

I use all the setting depending on the songs - they all sound great and IMO remain un-active sounding. (active in a good way?)

 

[JIO]

I’m with you there brother.

Probably a good thing I don’t like the look, Otherwise I’d probably have at least three more basses on my list of must haves. A black one, a white one and a burst….

I like both flavors, but as far as a NR goes, I like this more -

 

[JJR58]

John Bonham is good (an understatement) but he credited this guy as his main influence.



He's pullin' a young Jeff look here ...1975 - the same year as this -

There is a benefit to their neutrality in tone.
Or what most people would consider sterile sounding.
What I did like about their Riptides was exactly that.
No color what so ever.
So what ever strings i used.
Sounded exactly what the strings were intended to deliver.
And because of the colorless tone of the pick ups, they took eq extremely well.

 

[JIO]

Pickups work on their own. But i have read they’re a very clean, somewhat bland tone.

EMG's are like that - deliberately designed to be colorless. I've read that's why metal guitarists favor them because they provide a neutral starting point to layer all their effects over. Other than the Geezer Butler P/J's which are passive. I have EMGX J 9v full system in my Supersonic and love the way it sounds.

 

[JIO]

There is a benefit to their neutrality in tone.
Or what most people would consider sterile sounding.
What I did like about their Riptides was exactly that.
No color what so ever.
So what ever strings i used.
Sounded exactly what the strings were intended to deliver.
And because of the colorless tone of the pick ups, they took eq extremely well.

yes

 

[JIO]

I haven’t used the active circuit in my L2000 for years. Mfd pickups are hefty enough in passive mode for me.

I agree - all setting are good and those pu's are great. Once during a jam session for fun I went through every option throughout the night - there was not one setting that didn't inspire playing.

 

[JIO]

When you consider how good the basic instrument is and the price point, you would expect some flaws. I suppose there would be a way to wire in a bypass switch. I never bothered to do that. If I had done that, maybe the original pickups would have been just fine. I don't know what I did with them at this point. There's probably a bag with a bunch of stuff including the preamp from that bass somewhere in my parts drawer.

A battery by-pass switch is a basic mod. Usually a mini.

 

[JJR58]

yes

Which brings me to wanting to swap out the Ultra J’s

Not for EMG’s, just something without the low mid bump.
I sure do like Fenders Pure Vintage ‘66’s.
But that aren’t hum cancelling.
I’m tempted though.

 

[Basvarken]

Me "looking" for anything is more a matter of just noticing if it ever turns up. At this point, it just means I won't automatically dismiss an ad if it says Bach. I'm a minority around here, but I just flat don't like the NR shape much. It's not the only heresy.

There are plenty of very nice BaCH bass guitars out there!

Short scale Telecaster bass

Long scale semi acoustic bass (EB-2L)

Fenderbird

Short scale semi acoustic (EB-2S)

Marcus Miller Jazz( impressive bass!)

and many more...

 

[GonePlaid]

Hmm. I'm gonna hafta try my '95 LPB2/5 without a battery. The factory Barts prolly won't make a sound. (Too late here in EDT zone).

As expected: no 9V, no noise.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

There are plenty of very nice BaCH bass guitars out there!

Short scale Telecaster bass

Long scale semi acoustic bass (EB-2L)

Fenderbird

Short scale semi acoustic (EB-2S)

Marcus Miller Jazz( impressive bass!)

and many more...

wow!….do you know if they used the Alembic preamp on that MM J?

 

[Basvarken]

wow!….do you know if they used the Alembic preamp on that MM J?

I’m pretty sure they didn’t.
But each time that I got to play one I was impressed. I was a BaCH-dealer for a few years. And I sold quite a few of those. Also the 4-string version.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Better setup with the drum kit this time. More room for the important instrument. John Michael still sitting at the bar?

yeah, peculiar management there….not a bad sounding room as you know….

 

[GonePlaid]

yeah, peculiar management there….not a bad sounding room as you know….

 

[B-Mac]

Anyone here ever see or play a Burny Thunderbird? I saw one for sale and it looked to be in great shape.

 

[Gaolee]

I like both flavors, but as far as a NR goes, I like this more -

View attachment 7029005

And as you know, I had one that was similar to that. I might buy another one if it popped up, but probably not. Mine looked like this one only black and really ratty. I never figured out what all the switches did.

 

[Gaolee]

There is a benefit to their neutrality in tone.
Or what most people would consider sterile sounding.
What I did like about their Riptides was exactly that.
No color what so ever.
So what ever strings i used.
Sounded exactly what the strings were intended to deliver.
And because of the colorless tone of the pick ups, they took eq extremely well.

That would be Lace Alumitones in a nutshell.

 

[Gaolee]

Anyone here ever see or play a Burny Thunderbird? I saw one for sale and it looked to be in great shape.

I haven't personally, but I'm also sure that several here have them and can comment on them.

 

[Engle]

I haven't personally, but I'm also sure that several here have them and can comment on them.

I think @TBird1958 had one years ago

 

[TBird1958]

Anyone here ever see or play a Burny Thunderbird? I saw one for sale and it looked to be in great shape.

I used to have one, as T Birds go, they're ok, not great. The pickups are pretty generic, not Birdish, it's a very big bass as well, the headstock is about the same as an Epiphone Vintage Pro, neck is slim so they're pretty good players, nice and light too. I would go with and Epiphone VP (or whatever they're calling it this week) every time.

I must have been channeling my inner Overend Watts on this night, no boots, no glam!