Thunderbird Club

[Stealth57]

Bass athlete.

Hauling an SVT and 1540he qualifies.

 

[dagrev]

Ok. I won’t go there. But IIRC, you’re the original owner?

No. I've owned it about 7-8 yrs. Which means it may be a few more considering how time flies.... The only bass I'm the original owner of is the black '05 Pbass (and a Strat from about that time).

 

[MCF]

 

[TBird1958]

Spencer and Mike, with the prototype T5.

 

[Engle]

Yes, I use the Optima Gold plated studio strings and love them. Not cheap by any means, but they last about 3 or 4 times longer than my nickel strings, so it’s about a wash. Shop around on the price, it varies greatly.

I currently have them on the BlingBird, the Lull, and a Fender build I did. Been using them for about 15 years now (multiple sets).

Solid bottom, not flabby, punchy low mids, smooth high mids, tame but true top end, less sizzle and clank than most SS rounds. Not boomy, very well balanced across the set. Overall a tad warmer than most nickels. Tension feels a bit higher than average but shouldn’t require any major truss adjustment. They are gold plated and don’t chip or flake and are kind to frets and fretting fingers. Not sticky like Black Beauties or Dragon Skins.

Sometimes they leave a hint of oxidation on my fingers if I play for a long time or get real sweaty. Visually they are stunning, so I do use them to dress a bass up, but they do deliver in spades on sound as well. They look great on basses with gold hardware. When they go dead they go quick. If you go through a set of nickels in 3 months these will last you a year or two. I tried boiling a set that had gone dead and it was a total failure, don’t bother. I don’t slap or pic so no first hand knowledge there but I’d assume they would work great with a pic, might be a bit too warm for slappers.

Thanks George. I'm looking at their flatwounds which seem comparable in price to LaBellas.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Hauling an SVT and 1540he qualifies.

Yeah when Marshall starts touring with his rock band he'll probably need a roadie.....

 

[GBassNorth]

Thanks George. I'm looking at their flatwounds which seem comparable in price to LaBellas.

Never tried their flats, would be interested in hearing your thoughts on them if you get a set.

 

[RedVee]

Thanks George. I'm looking at their flatwounds which seem comparable in price to LaBellas.

I read somewhere that they make a RB flat for Ricks. Evidently a company Optima took over did original strings for Rickenbacker back in the day, and they keep making them.
Assuming you wanted the strings for a Rick-a-like bass.

 

[Bulltrout]

I have in the past seen some Repro bridge and pickup covers on ebay, not recently. Originals are stupid expensive of course - which makes no sense
at all because most players will just remove them.
I love them....even if they do get in the way sometimes.

This is a Repro bridge cover, it also serves to keep my bass player maestro (Chuck) friend from palm muting when he plays my bass much better than I can.

Where can you get those repro covers? I've been looking, but no luck.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Bass athlete.

Bassless allegations.

 

[sleddogn]

Where can you get those repro covers? I've been looking, but no luck.

Reverb has a couple originals, 215-249 dollars , ouch

 

[MCF]

Where can you get those repro covers? I've been looking, but no luck.

IIRC, @godofthunder59 did some 60’s repros some years back. Not sure if he does them anymore.

 

[Gaolee]

Real carpenters use hammers! None of the easy tap and air gun on something. lol!

When I started we used nothing but hammers, but transitioned more and more to air. We were the first people around here that I knew of who used air. I'm sure we were not. Were were really cutting edge in many ways. We would adopt a material or way of doing something and years after I was out of it would become common. I was very proud of what we did and how we did it. The guy who owned the company was not a business person and liked chasing skirts instead of focusing on the business.

My focus was more on the finish and trim side, so I confess that air made most things a lot easier.

Air and batteries were like a revelation from somewhere really benign. It is mind boggling to think about the things I once did. Not that I do much of any carpentry these days. I probably couldn't hit a nail straight even if I got lucky these days. It is like adding without a calculator. Nobody does that, right?

 

[godofthunder59]

IIRC, @godofthunder59 did some 60’s repros some years back. Not sure if he does them anymore.

All out. I may run another batch, my costs have skyrocketed. I have to think about it.

 

[TBird1958]

Where can you get those repro covers? I've been looking, but no luck.

On the Gibson, they're the real deal, they were stupid expensive 15 years ago when I restored that bass. The bridge cover on the Lull was from an ebay seller,
but that was back 2008 or '09.
FWIW I also have one of Scott's Repro bridge covers on my Greco, it's very nice - I'm not certain he still has them, might be worth a PM.

Looks great on my BaCH II

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Air and batteries were like a revelation from somewhere really benign. It is mind boggling to think about the things I once did. Not that I do much of any carpentry these days. I probably couldn't hit a nail straight even if I got lucky these days. It is like adding without a calculator. Nobody does that, right?

I still do math in my head on occasion just to keep htat ability in case it's needed. Which it sometimes is.

 

[AllieCat]

Yo yo, i got ya. Have a NOS one from my SG bass that was a 2021ish model. Hit me up with you mailing addy and it's yoursView attachment 7142848

Oh wow fkn legend!

Are you sure?

 

[AllieCat]

Hey all. First time posting in this club. Picked up a ‘76 Bicentennial model a while back which has been fun. The brass truss rod nut hex was worked and the wood around the area was heaved out. I made a new nut out of stainless steel and added a washer and a little backer plate to help distribute the pressure over a wider surface area within the truss rod cutout cavity. Smeared the threads with Never-seez to keep it from binding. Finally, I added a Babicz bridge. The adjustability is awesome on it.
Here are some photos:

View attachment 7142948View attachment 7142949

Gorgeous bass and nice work!

 

[AllieCat]

Bass athlete.

The tone comes from the nylons

 

[MCF]

All out. I may run another batch, my costs have skyrocketed. I have to think about it.

Thanks Scott.