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Thunderbird Club
- Thread starter TBird1958
- Start date
-
- Tags
- club thunderbird
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,588
- 221,967
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
and I have Epi Goth necks in both flavors
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
No and neither did Epiphone. Mine started life as a B-stock Pro IV. I decided I didn't like the pickups and preamp that much, so it's now passive and has Lace Alumitone pickups in it. And, because I wanted a fretless and already had fretted bass guitars, it became my fretless. It is certainly peculiar, but I like it very much even if I don't play it that often.
Just a random remark here, sort of...
This here Thunderbird Club, in all our ragtag, motley hilarity, remains a dependably faithful, welcoming island of sanity (lol, I know, wait tho...) and reason in a sea of trouble, toxic relationships, unreconcilability and dumb, bad luck. Among us we represent a pretty broad spectrum of the human experience, all come together to agree upon and celebrate a singular idea. That right there is a formula for moral support in any context, which around here is given freely in a forward, courage-inspiring manner.
I've seen this to be true. Glad to know the lot of you. People.
And now, another gratuitous shot of my brassy Bird:
View attachment 1153230
Likewise Roger!
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
I don't care at all what the audience knows or doesn't know. As long as there's a cute girl moving provocatively in the audience, it's good. She may or may not be aware that she's causing bass player concentration problems, but so long as the bass keeps her moving, I get to stay just distracted enough. She's probably my son's age, more often than not, so it's a little creepy. But that's OK because I'm just watching from the stage and being happy she's moving when I play. It really gets bad if she has at least a passing resemblance to my wife.
Plus, I have a van, so being creepy goes with the transportation choice. Others have different distractions and different transportation devices, but we all do the same thing - make innards rumble and make butts move.
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
A 2013 or 2014 Gibson EB is about as cheap as you will ever find a high quality bass guitar these days. They are light weight, versatile, and generally very well made. They have the same pickups and switching as a 2015 'Bird, but they sound a little brighter because they are maple and ash instead of mahogany. They are set neck, so they are Gibson, not 7ender.
As far as a 2015 'Bird, I think that's right about now being the cheapest they will ever be. Plus, they are their own thing. They sound like a 'Bird, of course, but with the coil taps and EB pickups, they can sound like a lot of other things, too. I play the 2015 more than anything except the upright. Not because it's the best bass guitar I own, but because it's the most versatile 'Bird I own. Which is another definition of best, I suppose.
There's gotta be a TalkBass club for this.
There's gotta be a TalkBass club for this.
This is it!
"Never trust a white man drivin' a black van, he's just savin' all his voodoo for you"
(that line means a lot more if you're a Clutch fan!)
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
My van is green. No voodoo. Oh well. No free candy sign either. The sign says free champagne. I save the creepiness for a different demographic."Never trust a white man drivin' a black van, he's just savin' all his voodoo for you"
(that line means a lot more if you're a Clutch fan!)
The bass does sound great, and it's obviously quite versatile... but somebody forgot to check their guitar playing habits at the door before making their video! I wonder if his band has "lead" and "rhythm" bass players...
Last edited:
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
There is now:There's gotta be a TalkBass club for this.
[URL="https://www.talkbass.com/threads/van-drivers-club.1289584/"]Van driver's club[/URL]
Okie dokee! I went up to Rainbow Music today. This Firebird is kinda like a Yin Yang sorta thing. The good: It is absolutely immaculate. As far as can tell, the cosmetics are showroom. The bad: It has a "C" shape neck. By that, I mean... it has the worst forward bow of any bass I've ever seen over 300bux! The action at the 12th, was about an inch! It looks like they found the strings layin' in a swamp somewhere! Absolutely unplayable. It's there on consignment. If the store actually owned it, they NEVER woulda hung it out for sale in that condition! Once again... you folks were right (as if there were any doubt). It is NOT a 2014, as illustrated below.
I had intended to point out their faux pas, but forgot about it during our conversation.
I had intended to point out their faux pas, but forgot about it during our conversation.
Next up... The gold top Les Paul bass. I'm outa touch with Gibson's serial number coding. Can anybody tell me what year it is?
This was my first time picking up an LP bass. I was amazed to see how much larger the body is than that of the guitar version! There's NO way this thing weighed any less than 12 pounds! Action was crap on this one too... but easily inside the realm of tweekability. Frankly... I'm amazed at you guys who can play a high gloss neck. Just the tiniest bit of sweat or something, and my hand just sticks to that stuff sup'm AWEFUL! The previous owner obviously had the same issue, cuz this neck had been stripped bare from nut to heel.
This was my first time picking up an LP bass. I was amazed to see how much larger the body is than that of the guitar version! There's NO way this thing weighed any less than 12 pounds! Action was crap on this one too... but easily inside the realm of tweekability. Frankly... I'm amazed at you guys who can play a high gloss neck. Just the tiniest bit of sweat or something, and my hand just sticks to that stuff sup'm AWEFUL! The previous owner obviously had the same issue, cuz this neck had been stripped bare from nut to heel.
Too bad on both basses, yeah, those LP's can be on the heavy side.
Not all of em though.
Drag that either weren't up to snuff.
THIS is the Ric I told you about. It's a 4003S. I'd never picked it up before today. As much as I know you wanna hear me say "Thunderbird"... I'm thinkin' I'll be sayin' "Rickenbacker"! This thing is AmAzInG!!! I wouldn't care if it was shaped like an aardvark, & painted like a little girl's bedroom! If it had THAT neck on it, I would play it everyday! 1 11/16" at the nut, with a much less noticeable taper than say, a Jazz bass. In addition to the natural finish (as opposed to glossy), the neck is the same plump thickness at the nut, as it is at the 20th! I have a guitar like that, & I love it to death!!! Right now... I gotta say THIS fella has a pretty firm grasp on the number 1 slot on my list!
Oh, the Goldie is DEFINITELY up to snuff. It just didn't have the "it" factor for me. Les Pauls are unforgiving bastards. There is virtually no consideration to player comfort or ergos. The Les Paul does not come to YOU... YOU go to IT. It's a love/hate thing. I would LOVE to have it in a collection... but as my ONLY bass (especially just starting out)... I just want play man. I ain't looking' for a fight.
My Hamer has a 1 5/8" wide nut-end, and I love the lack of taper it has along the travel to the bridge. The neck is my favorite part about that bass. I'd like a T-Bird with that neck.
Nice looking Ric.
Nice looking Ric.
