Very good observation and point.
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Thunderbird Club
- Thread starter TBird1958
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- club thunderbird
I haven't seen it (or remember it), but would think so, and considering you could likely get it down a little. Prices have been going up and don't seem to changing direction anytime soon.
I don’t know what the effect of the BA II on the sound on my Studio might be. It would be nice if I could A/B mine with V’s. But I would want to make sure to use the same strings. Her’s has the stock version of the Gibson “high mass” bridge. The footprint of those appears to be a little narrower. And I think they look better. The ‘05 Studio has become a favorite of mine, even with the funny looking narrow headstock.
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A Greco TB900 turned for sale in my FB feed, in NYC. In case anyone is looking.
I had 2 VP’s. The white one I bought 1st, a 2017, all I did was put the TI “PowerBass” strings on it and it was perfect. Those strings on that bass just made it a joy to play! Especially through my ‘73 SVT/810e.
Then I bought a black one. Never really bonded with it, even after a pickup swap (tried Gemini UK “Devastators”) and a set of Boomers. I never did put the TI’s on the black one. I eventually just put some 760’s back in it and sold it. The Gemini’s ended up in the 2011 Short Scale ’bird and that worked out great.
My point is the right strings might make you love your VP.
Side note, I think I’m finding I’m not too big on Boomers. I used to really like them many many orbits ago, and recently I’ve been using them on some short and medium scale basses I have and they work well. GHS has a good selection of strings for short and medium scale, but on a couple long scales I’ve put them on, I’m finding the E string a bit “airy” and overall they seem more stiff/rigid vs other strings of the same gauge/scale.
Funny thing is, I don’t really know what I want from it. Other than to like it more. I’ve had it for about five years or so. It’s an early ‘17. First rate fit and finish. It isn’t overly heavy. It’s still pretty minty. I have it set up with decent low action the way I like. I’ve played around with different pickup heights. Maybe the big headstock bugs me. It just doesn’t feel that comfortable to play.
It came with the stock strings. They were meh. I tried EB Cobalts and didn’t care for them on it (I didn’t care for those strips on any bass I tried them on). It came with a fresh set of NYXLs in the case. Those are on it now. I normally use stainless rounds, but haven’t put a set of those on it yet. Just one of those subjective things. You know how that is…
Also, the problem with having so many basses, no matter what, you will just find you like some better than others…. First World Problems.
Hah Rich. Exactly what I thought as I was typing.
Briefly, I have SIT Power Steels on the burst VP. They sound great on it. Those have Boomer-like lows which help VPs, but aren't harsh. I have a new/unused set of Power Steel. PM me your your address and I'll send them to you if you want to try them.
That and we're all a little nuts when it comes to what we want to hear. I certainly am.
Why would anyone want an Imperial system? Oh wait...
Thanks for the offer Donnie. I have a few packs as those are a main go to for my Thunderbirds. Just haven’t gotten around to trying them on it. I probably should have just put those on when I got it. That was around the time I was converting to them but didn’t have a set handy.
I have pretty much focused on spending more time just playing and not messing around with changing strings and tweaking setups.
Hadn't used Boomers in decades (literally) but they are mellowing out beautifully on the Greco (thank you) as it gets quite a bit of usage......may even restring that bass with Boomers when these go dead but not before the Boil the Boomers exercise......
I have that first world problem in spades. With about 25 Tbirds to choose from I find that I continually grab one of about five on a regular basis. Then after months of not playing any of the other 20 birds I’ll just randomly pick up one of the neglected ones and BAM, I remember why I still have that one, it sounds great too. I’ve tried dozens and dozens of Tbirds and I can honestly say there’s only been a couple that I’ve put back on the shelf because I wasn’t impressed.
The five birds I reach for most often in no particular order…
Lull Tom Petersson Tbird - so light and well built, wonderful neck and creamy bottom end
North ThunderCaster - in spite of being overly heavy it’s a dream to play with its massive bottom end
Eppi Capped Goth - the pro athlete of the bunch, it just does everything so well regardless of the genre
Gibson 2022 NR - I swear it plays itself and so nice and light with a very sweet sound
Eppi Purple Sparkle ‘64 reissue - all the sound goodness of my VP but with more balls
Honorable mention:
FrankenGoth - if I need to noodle out a bass line this is the bass, every note is hifi crisp and clear, darn near baritone guitar sounding
BlingBird - if I want super flexibility in passive sound
Sammick - youth sized Tbird with Eppi Custom Shop pups, sounds great, easy to play 26” scale, perfect travel or tight quarter bass
Been working on my left fret hand like this it is tough to not have the use of the thumb.
@Engle
Kinda hard to record the ThunderCaster without clipping the signal, but here goes.
Order of sound samples
Neck only, tone off
Bridge only, tone off
Neck only, tone full up
Bridge only, tone full up
Neck and bridge full on, tone off
Neck and bridge full on, tone full up
Sweet spot - neck half up, bridge quarter up, tone three quarters up
Play it thru headphones or your bass amp if possible, desktop speakers won’t do it any justice. It’s plenty deep and dark, remember it’s Fenders answer to the Gibby Mudbucker. Never one of my favorite solo sounds, but in a mix it lays a solid foundation.
Kinda hard to record the ThunderCaster without clipping the signal, but here goes.
Order of sound samples
Neck only, tone off
Bridge only, tone off
Neck only, tone full up
Bridge only, tone full up
Neck and bridge full on, tone off
Neck and bridge full on, tone full up
Sweet spot - neck half up, bridge quarter up, tone three quarters up
Play it thru headphones or your bass amp if possible, desktop speakers won’t do it any justice. It’s plenty deep and dark, remember it’s Fenders answer to the Gibby Mudbucker. Never one of my favorite solo sounds, but in a mix it lays a solid foundation.
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If it makes any difference here it is recorded thru my bass amp vs the previous post which was direct from bass to computer.
