Thunderbird Club

[D.M.N.]

Just saw these photos of a modified Greco II, might have to get mine painted in white...

 

[Miles_ONeal]

You mean the regs mention Ginger and Mary Ann?

Now you did it.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Isn't that Transformers?

Yep

 

[RedVee]

A=January
B=February
C=March
D=April
E=May
F=June
G=July
H=August
I=September
J=October
K=November
L=December

Of course.
I was thinking January would have a J… which could have gotten a bit confusing as the year rolled on.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

That could be a fun conversion project for me, but I'm not sure how much I'd like the Greco pickups. I'd first need some personal experience.

The Greco pickups are hard to beat.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I don’t have one yet, but, since I have now satisfied my most recent bass obsession, getting my two Fender (Japan) 32” P and J basses, and I have figured out that I MUST obsess about the next bass as soon as I think I’m done, I’m thinking of getting a white Greco TB, but not a fan of black hardware on white. I have some covers, but I’d need to get some measurements to be sure. OTOH, I know people speak highly of the stock Greco pickups, but does that only refer to the ‘70’s pickups, or…? If the ‘80’s and or ‘90’s pickups are just meh, then some aftermarket pickups in a later model one might be the ticket.

This will replace the white VP, once I have the Greco in hand.

Can anyone summarize which era or years to avoid, or are they all good ,70’s through ‘90’s?

My 89 and 90 Grecos are killer.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Which month starts with G?

A = 1, B = 2, … G = 7 = July

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Mine is J778148, December of '77.

J should be October unless they took two months off.

 

[GBassNorth]

I would love a Lull, but don't see it happening.

That’s what I said. Now I’m looking at a second one.

 

[GBassNorth]

That could be a fun conversion project for me, but I'm not sure how much I'd like the Greco pickups. I'd first need some personal experience.

I’m sure our Queen and other Greco owners can chime in with additional perspective, but if I had to characterize the sound of the Greco TB pickups I’d say they are beyond the grind and growl of an Eppi VP 760 ProBucker. More balls on the low end than most of my other birds except with clarity and richness, not muddy at all even with the tone knob all the way off. Noticeably louder output at any given setting than most of my other birds and crisp and clear but not harsh or thin highs. IMHO these are the best sounding Tbird pickups on the market, unfortunately discontinued and getting harder to find and more expensive every day. This bass just begs for a lefty conversion.

 

[GBassNorth]

I don’t have one yet, but, since I have now satisfied my most recent bass obsession, getting my two Fender (Japan) 32” P and J basses, and I have figured out that I MUST obsess about the next bass as soon as I think I’m done, I’m thinking of getting a white Greco TB, but not a fan of black hardware on white. I have some covers, but I’d need to get some measurements to be sure. OTOH, I know people speak highly of the stock Greco pickups, but does that only refer to the ‘70’s pickups, or…? If the ‘80’s and or ‘90’s pickups are just meh, then some aftermarket pickups in a later model one might be the ticket.

This will replace the white VP, once I have the Greco in hand.

Can anyone summarize which era or years to avoid, or are they all good ,70’s through ‘90’s?

I have a 1977 Greco bird and a 1990 Greco bird. The pickups are technically different but the sound is pretty much identical. If sound is your main goal I wouldn’t get caught up in nuance of which model uses which pickup, they all sound the same. Just get the cheapest Greco bird you can find that has all original electronics and is structurally sound. Anything you find out there is going to be 30+ years old so don’t sweat the dents and dings that’s just mojo.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Is that your rookie card?

nah this.....

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

c

I have a 1977 Greco bird and a 1990 Greco bird. The pickups are technically different but the sound is pretty much identical. If sound is your main goal I wouldn’t get caught up in nuance of which model uses which pickup, they all sound the same. Just get the cheapest Greco bird you can find that has all original electronics and is structurally sound. Anything you find out there is going to be 30+ years old so don’t sweat the dents and dings that’s just mojo.

where does it say the pups are different?

 

[GBassNorth]

c

where does it say the pups are different?

IIRC - over the years Greco used at least two or three different pickup builders. I think the first gen was Maxim pickups, don’t recall the other builders or when they were used but it’s all irrelevant in my book because they all sound the same to me.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

IIRC - over the years Greco used at least two or three different pickup builders. I think the first gen was Maxim pickups, don’t recall the other builders or when they were used but it’s all irrelevant in my book because they all sound the same to me.

Be interesting to hear them in a Gibby made bird with the standard scale length....

 

[MCF]

IIRC - over the years Greco used at least two or three different pickup builders. I think the first gen was Maxim pickups, don’t recall the other builders or when they were used but it’s all irrelevant in my book because they all sound the same to me.

I looked into this a few thousand pages back. Maxon supplied the pickups until sometime around ‘81 when Fugi-Gen Gakki started making them in house.

 

[Ringhammer]

Be interesting to hear them in a Gibby made bird with the standard scale length....

Are Grecos not 34” scale?

 

[GBassNorth]

Are Grecos not 34” scale?

No they are slightly shorter at a 33.5” scale. I really don’t even notice the difference unless I play them back to back with a standard length bird.

 

[Bulltrout]

At band rehearsal on Sunday I had some of the best tone I've ever had and I was using my Bicentennial. As a back story... in order to encourage adult behaviours, I arranged our rehearsal space so that everyone is on in-ear monitors and to avoid the inevitable volume wars with guitars I put bass and guitars through Kemper profile players. A few years back I had a couple Acoustic 360 stacks and used a Kemper to steal their souls and on Sunday played the bird through the Acoustic 360 profile - bliss. The perfect amount of grind and grit. If else anyone runs a Kemper and is interested in a copy of the profile, feel free to DM me and I'll e-mail it to you.

 

[MCF]

Are Grecos not 34” scale?

A little shorter. Sometimes they are described in listings as 33. Sometimes 33 1/2 from what I’ve seen.