Dude! Good to see you!!So only 12 pages for me to get caught up on?
You guys are slackin
Greetings from Augsburg, Germany.
Just having a little weekend romp.
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Thunderbird Club
- Thread starter TBird1958
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- club thunderbird
Wait a second, you can see him? All the way in Canada?!?!? You got some superpower there!
If I knew, I forgot you had a Walkabout. They are great all around heads. Knowing you, it is no doubt in great shape.No matter how hard you try, youāre not going to be able to talk yourself out of being a Tbird player if this bass has chosen you.
One of the best small combos Iāve ever played through was a compact Markbass 12ā. I think it had cab extension capability, so adding an additional 112 or even a 212 Markbass cab would probably sound killer.
https://reverb.com/item/87442595-markbass-mini-cmd-121p-iv-bass-combo
Youād need to confirm itāll take an extension cabinet if thatās the direction you want to go.
That is a pretty bass. Now I see why youād hate to part it out. If it were mine and I wanted to keep it Iād consider two options.
1) research different two point bridge suppliers to see if one has a bit more travel than the others.
2) remove the bridge, plug the holes, touch up the plugs as best you can knowing youāll never match a metallic flake paint job, and then move that bridge forward as far as you can while still covering the plug and paint job. You might only get a quarter inch or maybe 3/8 ov an inch if youāre lucky, but that and a string change will probably be enough to get you in acceptable intonation territory.
1) you can move the saddles that way if you want, certainly less stress on the strings and adjustment screws, but Iāve always just used a screwdriver while under tension.
2) no, the nut will free spin on the screw and not come off. You donāt need to turn the nut for anything. Itās just there to keep the intonation screw in place on the bridge. Other manufacturers use a spring to do accomplish the same thing.
3) I donāt recall what year your bird is. The early VP basses had a shallow neck angle in relationship to the body, so the bridges sat relatively low. The new VP equivalent (called a ā64 Tbird) has a much steeper neck angle and the bridge sits quite a bit higher than the older VP. One is no better than the other, they both play and sound great.
4) whenever I do a setup on a newly acquired bass I always completely loosen the strings to remove all tension. Then I adjust the neck bow a little bit at a time until I have a visible back bow. Then I bring the strings up to proper tuning, which creates tension on the neck and pulls it slightly forward. Then I further loosen or tighten the truss rod and raise or lower the bridge as needed to eliminate fret buzz. Thereās a wiki on how to do this with a three point bridge, the two point follows the same concepts but obviously is built and adjusted a bit different. Not rocket science.
That Markbass combo I mentioned does just that and would do it in spades with a 212 extension cabinet. Alternatively, I have a Mesa Walkabout head in mint condition (gobs of bottom end, punch and clarity at all volumes) Iām not using it anymore, if interested make me an offer I canāt refuse and itās yours. Paired with a Bergantino 212 cab this thing would be the bomb!
The timing takes a lot of concentration. I can see how singing could take a lot of practice. Fortunately, I canāt sing. At all.
A question for the group. Has anyone seen or used a cabinet switcher at a minimal cost ($100 or less. I'll probably only use it twice, or price wouldn't be an issue)? I do want a push button switch, and function for A, B, or both.
I have a Markbass CMD112h with a 210h at practice, and a CMD 210h with a 112h at home. At the same amp settings they sound different with the same bass (but through different pedalboards). I want to figure out which (if any) head unit sounds better as a stage monitor.
I have a Markbass CMD112h with a 210h at practice, and a CMD 210h with a 112h at home. At the same amp settings they sound different with the same bass (but through different pedalboards). I want to figure out which (if any) head unit sounds better as a stage monitor.
Yeah, I got it used from a guy I who had it as a backup amp and only used it a few times. Iāve put maybe 24 hours on it. I bought it and an Eden cab when I decided I wanted a rig in the family room for noodling around but it was way too much rig. Bought the B-18 Portaflex you played through to replace it and sold the Eden cab. Figured Iād keep the Mesa as a backup amp in case my Thunderfunk bit the dust. But considering I donāt gig, I truly donāt need a back up amp. If my main amp dies Iāll just buy a new one at that time, besides, I still have a GK 212 combo and a Musicman HD150 head I could use in a pinch.
With that B-18, I wouldn't consider looking at the other amps. Pretty much the way it is here with the B-15.
Out for delivery. Itās like waiting for Santa Claus.
Thanks.
There's a little chipout going on (mostly on one side; result of grain direction?), but I pressed each bit back down where it came from.
Once my teflon glue dam arrives, and before I resand, I'll use some thin CYA to lock them back down.
Considering the amount I have to sand off to correct the machining error and get the new radius, the chips would probably be gone anyway, but Im trying to learn as I go for future projects. Never messed with fret removal before. Or radius sanding.
Decisions coming up:
1) install veneers before or after rough radius sand? (Leaning toward after)
2) use CYA or Titebond for veneers? On the fence because CYA penetrates more, could impact density/tone?
3) finish board with CYA or just oil? (Probably will leave oil only. CYA over rosewood, concerned it'll sound too bright)
4) with the truss rod slack, the neck has a tiny amount of back bow. Not clear if that was by design or just due to fretting. I'm assuming I should set the rod to "just touching" on the takeup direction, then sand flat. That should give the rod maximum adjustment capacity to counteract string tension later?
Fun puzzles.
I looked into one a couple years ago and struck out. I recall that there were some that seemed to be ok for 100 watt guitar amps. But they were well over $100.00. I did not find anything that would seem to work with bass amps and cabs. There is pro grade stuff out there, but theyāre way more than what I could afford.
Yeah, well as most of you have gathered, I tend to overthink things...I'll probably just keep using the tiltback 210 head
Cabinet switcher? I use a Radial Engineering amp switcher (A, B, Y) for running to amps together and it allows switching from one to the other or using both. The top head is an Ampeg V2 into an SVT 48E (4 x 8ā) and the bottom is an Ampeg V4BH (AV version) into an SVT212AV.
Not overthinking. I was sort of surprised. I looked into the Tonebone, but it didnāt seem to do what I was looking for using multiple heads and cabs.
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Well maybe I should have talked to you when I was looking into it.
No clips to share but I was using this cab:
400w @ 8 ohms, 2x12. It has and adjustable tweeter. It was really loud and clean if you wanted it to be.
Now I am using it with a Mesa Subway 1x15 cab. Still very loud if need be. Does not move quite as much air (1x15 vs. 2x12) but for the small club gigs I do its way more than enough.
I would look for a modern, 2x12 cab as that may help with more definition vs. older 15's. If the head (whichever one you choose) has enough power to keep up, the cabinet will be more of a factor than the type of head for clarity.
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Iāve heard mention of a āTbird Setupā thread here. Does anyone have a link to it, or is it a pinned thread???
But Santa is always on time...
as much as I like/use Ashdown stuff my main go to is the LittleMark Bass 800 and either a Markbass 2x12", 2x10" or both depending on the room...never a problem with headroom or throw and one can literally load in with one trip....if you gig all over often, the venues come in all shapes and sizes and you don't have a roadie, not much else makes sense imho.....
TTs are $1400 new. $1000 isnāt a bad price. You would definitely need to play one. They are not for everyone. But I love mine with its two distinct channels.
If youāre wanting way clean, check into Berg Forteā. First gen ones seem to go for $800 to $900, when you can find one. They are pretty rare this side of the country, but you ought to be able to check them out in or around Providence.
