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Thunderbird Club

It's Wednesday!

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I was playing the 2013 EB last night and hated the way it sounded. Usually I love the way it sounds. It probably needs new strings, but that's only part of what was bugging me. Who knows. It was grey and colorless. That's not good in my world.
Weird. I like the fiver I just picked up. It sounds good. I think I’m hearing a bit less grind in full humbucker mode compared to the ‘15 Thunderbird. It could be the difference between nickel on the eb and stainless on the ‘15. But I need to spend a lot more time with it to come to any conclusions.
 
This is so true! Sometimes I hate a bass at practice, stew about it until the next practice, play it again and it sounds great.
Or the opposite. Not a problem these days, but in the past I would think I have a bass sounding really good and the next time I used it in a band setting it might be underwhelming if not worse.
 
Anybody have experience with mutes and if they impact intonation? The II shows almost a 1/4 step sharp on the E string and there is no way the bridge can correct for that.

The mute pads are the one thing I would not want on an old Thunderbird, I would have them off first thing and then check your intonation. Scott may have a Bad Bird to sell you if it can't be set up properly.
 
Anybody have experience with mutes and if they impact intonation? The II shows almost a 1/4 step sharp on the E string and there is no way the bridge can correct for that.
I've never had mine on. (I'm pretty sure.) But I don't think mutes should change tuning unless way too much upward pressure. Your pads have slots for the strings to fit in, correct? If so, the pressure should be just enough to hold the pad in place and not really push up that much on the string. But personally I would take them off.
 
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The mute pads are the one thing I would not want on an old Thunderbird, I would have them off first thing and then check your intonation. Scott may have a Bad Bird to sell you if it can't be set up properly.
I wish there was a way to remove the mutes without destroying something in original condition. Any thoughts? Just remove the felt? Or get a Bad Bird and keep the original bridge intact.
 
The mute pads are the one thing I would not want on an old Thunderbird, I would have them off first thing and then check your intonation. Scott may have a Bad Bird to sell you if it can't be set up properly.
Definitely. 1000%. I can like mutes or foam on some Fenders. But not on a Thunderbird. That's a myth that mutes are good on a Thunderbird.
 
Anybody have experience with mutes and if they impact intonation? The II shows almost a 1/4 step sharp on the E string and there is no way the bridge can correct for that.
Intonation off a quarter step? Heck. Back in the day when I primarily tuned with a tuning fork or an out of tune piano, a quarter step was close enough.