Thunderbird Club

[Miles_ONeal]

Are you sure it isn't from Jeff? Alien sweat and all...

Then the fretboard would just be gone.

 

[MCF]

I don't allow boiled linseed oil in my home or my shop

Yeah. Pretty nasty stuff.

 

[MCF]

If I go the paint route, it will be local.

I would think there are a few finishers in Austin.

 

[AllieCat]

Wonder if they're just using the same bodies they're making the Gene Simmons and Rex Brown set necks with combined with NR Firebird necks and hardware...

 

[Gaolee]

I'm telling you, flats are a secret weapon on a Thunderbird. I have never used super dead flats, all the others can sound fantastic. Not for everybody I know or every application, but some people hear the term flat and think horrible tone and never use them live to know. Since you are a flat person, you know how fantastic they can sound in a live mix (and maybe not so much solo). And today they make dull flats to really bright flats (Cobalts being one).

Here is an example of flats on a Thunderbird.

That must be an original. Or maybe a Greco with an added tug bar. My guess is it's an original. Pretty sweet. But it ain't right. Too many views of the bass player, and that bass riff at the beginning is all fine and good, but what's with the camera zooming in like that? The cameraman needs to be retrained. He should have been focused on a guitarist or maybe the drummer.

 

[Gaolee]

We had one of those again here last week.

If we had one, I missed it. Or maybe thought it was a dump truck rolling by.

 

[Engle]

I dunno, looks like it needs pressure washing.

I've had the pleasure of playing that bass a few times. It is a great instrument - just don't focus on the fingerboard

 

[TBird1958]

LOL - recipe for disaster…
Soak some rags in boiled linseed oil and use them to wipe the fretboard down. When done just store the oil soaked rags in your guitar case in your closet so they stay nice and moist for the next use.


Seriously folks, follow Cats advice! If you value your home and its contents or don’t have a really good fire insurance policy, just steer clear of this stuff. There’s plenty of better options out there.

I say, love the gunk - especially if it's yours

 

[Engle]

Anybody ever try the synthetic stuff from 3M? They have a 0000 equivalent. No little fuzzies on your pickups though. Never tried it myself.

I've tried it and found it doesn't work nearly as well.

 

[AllieCat]

I've tried it and found it doesn't work nearly as well.

Good to know

 

[Gaolee]

I've seen that spec but never seen an Epi with 7 plies with my own eyes, only 9.

A Pro IV is seven ply. It looks very different from a nine ply Epi or Gibson. That's the only one I'm aware of that isn't nine ply. It's strange looking to my eyes. Another reason the fretless 'Bird that started life as a Pro IV is now reshot green. I still haven't got it put back together again. Something always comes up.

 

[Gaolee]

My PRO IV was solid. Just didn't like the tone.

I loved my Pro IV, but hated the pickups, the preamp, and the frets. Oh, and the thick poly finish on the one I have. All of those problems have been solved now.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

I'll be the heretic.

I've been playing for 19 years and I've never put any special whiz-bang juice on my fingerboards. My dad's cheapo Korean strat from the 80's similarly has never been conditioned and while its pot metal bridge has come apart, the fingerboard remains uncracked. I make a point of not playing with dirty hands and keeping the instrument from getting wet or getting left in extreme temperatures. Maybe I'll learn the hard way, maybe it's all marketing, I dunno.

I do know that commercial furniture polishes should be avoided, and would suggest you only use things designed for open grain wood, preferably designed for use on guitars. Note that things like lemon oil polishes say they're safe for any sealed wood.

musicians can be very gullible....

 

[Tommygun_ted]

Well, pretty gutted. Looks like my purple thunderbird 64 has a twisted neck. This will be the second T bird 64 that I will be returning with neck issues. Took it in to get plek'd and the scans don't lie. It's a shame because this is such a cool bass, but I have no idea if this neck is going to get worse over time and for over a grand, it's unacceptable. The bottom of the image shows the neck scans at the 1st, 12th and 20th frets, and you can see the twist. The tech said there wouldn't be any frets left in the upper register if they ground down the frets to flatten it out, so the only option is to plane the fretboard and do a complete re fret, which would be more than half the cost of the bass.

Went down today and returned it. I still own a classic pro and a pro IV, but now I also own a sterling stingray. Introducing the mustard menace.

 

[AllieCat]

musicians can be very gullible....

They seem to play on our fears with the marketing. "Your beautiful guitar is going to crumble to dust before your eyes and it will be your fault, unless you buy our product of course."

I didn't even know they sold special conditioner for fretboards before like 5-ish years ago.

Went down today and returned it. I still own a classic pro and a pro IV, but now I also own a sterling stingray. Introducing the mustard menace.

The V is very cool. Are those custom pickguards I spy? Do you make those?

That Zapdos is really nice. The matching truss rod cover is a nice touch too.

 

[Bighouse]

Apologies to all for a non-TBird pic, but this is one of my favorite pictures of my formerly feral cat. Now I’ll have to reshoot it with my TBird…however, the relationship between birds and her typically don’t go well for the birds.

 

[Tommygun_ted]

They seem to play on our fears with the marketing. "Your beautiful guitar is going to crumble to dust before your eyes and it will be your fault, unless you buy our product of course."

I didn't even know they sold special conditioner for fretboards before like 5-ish years ago.


The V is very cool. Are those custom pickguards I spy? Do you make those?

That Zapdos is really nice. The matching truss rod cover is a nice touch too.

Thanks! The V was my first bass. It's an Epiphone that I've had since high school. I routed the pickguard out for some pickups that did not fit way back when, so to hide the massive holes I covered it in faux alligator skin. The thunderbird has a custom pickguard from Alperious custom pickguard a. Alper does really cool stuff! It's wood with a CNC aluminum overlay for the design.

 

[TBird1958]

Apologies to all for a non-TBird pic, but this is one of my favorite pictures of my formerly feral cat. Now I’ll have to reshoot it with my TBird…however, the relationship between birds and her typically don’t go well for the birds.
View attachment 7172407

What a little darling!
Love the kitties!

 

[RedVee]

Dave of Dave’s World of Fun Stuff, the crazy Canuck, uses Simple Green and a brush. I’ve never tried it and don’t think I will. He also uses Linseed oil as the conditioner.

(Edit: Raw) Linseed oil is also used on cricket bats. (Not the coated varieties).

One time a bottle of Linseed oil was on the floor of my old Subaru 4x4 wagon and I had forgotten about it. Cue a hot Sydney summer day and it oozed out past the cap seal.

Thank heavens the Subey had vinyl floor coverings!

 

[Bighouse]

Linseed oil is also used on cricket bats. (Not the coated varieties).

One time a bottle of Linseed oil was on the floor of my old Subaru 4x4 wagon and I had forgotten about it. Cue a hot Sydney summer day and it oozed out past the cap seal.

Thank heavens the Subey had vinyl floor coverings!

Fun fact. Linoleum was a chemical mixture of Linseed Oil and Petroleum…hence, Linoleum. Think about that next time you use any of it anywhere near a bass.