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Thunderbird Club
- Thread starter TBird1958
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- club thunderbird
Some seriously good people here.
(And I don't care what your daughter says about you.)
With you on that.
And so many other things as well.
Honestly, I've had great luck with pretty much all tuners except for those Schallers. Thunderbirds have Gotoh and the Carvin has what I think are the unofficial ones (or however you word it) and have been rock solid for 20 years). The stock Grovers on the Thunderbirds were also fine. I replaced one set with the Gotoh because one tuner was getting a little weird. The Gotoh are a little lighter and I think they look cooler. Ended up putting them on the RNR as well.
I definitely find Gotoh products great across the board.
Literally putting in the legwork to spend your money.
When I get the new SGT-DI box, I am going to redo my pedal chain and ditch the Zoom B3n. My thoughts are to connect my Donner tuner to the "Thru" output of the DI box. That is the send for a completely dry signal meant for tuners. Then, use the Line Out to go into a Chorus and finally the Pitchfork. My thoughts are that the last two pedals are modifying the output of the DI box, not feeding a modified signal into the box. Putting the Pitchfork at the end makes sense to me as it will shift the pitch of the final tone. Do I have that right?
The above is for FOH or our rehearsal headphone amps. If I use my Rumble, then I would just move the DI output from Line Out to Preamp out and use the FX loop on the amp.
Update: or should I have the tuner on the input so I can use the bypass/shut off so I can tune without the signal going into the DI?
The above is for FOH or our rehearsal headphone amps. If I use my Rumble, then I would just move the DI output from Line Out to Preamp out and use the FX loop on the amp.
Update: or should I have the tuner on the input so I can use the bypass/shut off so I can tune without the signal going into the DI?
with the big hs/tuners I meant.. the only reason I bought my 13 is because it was the only NR immediately available at the time....trying to find clover tuners for it brought me to this club where I learned about BaCHs....in truth, like many that don't favor NRs, I'm not a fan of Birds (reverse or NR) with the smaller headstock or anything post 79....
I have my tuner on the input side of things (after the Genzler 4 On The Floor and Phase 90), that way I can easily mute everything if I want, tuning or not.
Asked Grok to compare LaBella SS. For entertainment purposes only. I was shocked it brought SITs as a comp.
Here’s a detailed comparison of the La Bella Stainless Steel RX Series bass strings against other popular stainless and nickel sets in terms of tone, feel, tension, and suitability by genre.
Here’s a detailed comparison of the La Bella Stainless Steel RX Series bass strings against other popular stainless and nickel sets in terms of tone, feel, tension, and suitability by genre.
La Bella RX Stainless Steel: Overview
- Type: Stainless Steel, Roundwound
- Core: Hex Core
- Tone: Bright but not harsh, with strong mids and tight lows
- Feel: Smooth for a stainless string, flexible
- Tension: Medium
- Notable trait: Designed to be more balanced across the fingerboard, with a slightly less aggressive bite than some stainless competitors.
Comparison Table
| Brand & Model | Core | Wrap | Tone | Feel | Tension | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Bella RX Stainless | Hex | SS | Bright, balanced, tight | Smooth for SS | Medium | Balanced EQ, clean lows | Slightly tamer than traditional SS |
| D'Addario ProSteels | Hex | SS | Very bright, modern | Firm, consistent | Medium-high | Clarity, slap tone | Can be harsh on highs |
| GHS Super Steels | Hex | SS | Aggressive mids, bright | Classic steel texture | Medium-high | Growl, fingerstyle punch | Rougher feel |
| DR Hi-Beams | Round | SS | Clear, open, smooth highs | Flexible, soft tension | Low-medium | Smooth tone, great dynamics | Less tightness, round core feel |
| Ernie Ball Stainless Slinkys | Hex | SS | Bright, snappy | Moderately smooth | Medium | Familiar feel, good attack | Not as full in mids |
| Rotosound Swing Bass 66 | Hex | SS | Raw, aggressive, grindy | Rough | High | Classic rock bite, growl | Harsh feel, finger noise |
| Elixir Nanoweb (Nickel) | Hex | Nickel | Warm, slightly scooped | Coated, slick | Medium | Longevity, smoothness | Lacks stainless bite |
| SIT Power Steel | Hex | SS | Bright with mild mids | Clean feel | Medium | Clean, cutting attack | Less growl than others |
It can. And at times it is rightly so where a vendor is just being ridiculous.
Hipshot would never let what you experienced happen. I’m not a big fan of the bridges, but they try. They sent me screws and springs to try to get a Supertone to work for me on a couple of Epis. It didn’t work out, but the service was commendable. The tuners I have bought for my 7enders are first class. Some have had issues withe the licensed tuners on the recent Gibson NRs. But they made good when asked.
Asked Grok to compare LaBella SS. For entertainment purposes only. I was shocked it brought SITs as a comp.
Here’s a detailed comparison of the La Bella Stainless Steel RX Series bass strings against other popular stainless and nickel sets in terms of tone, feel, tension, and suitability by genre.
- Type: Stainless Steel, Roundwound
- Core: Hex Core
- Tone: Bright but not harsh, with strong mids and tight lows
- Feel: Smooth for a stainless string, flexible
- Tension: Medium
- Notable trait: Designed to be more balanced across the fingerboard, with a slightly less aggressive bite than some stainless competitors.
Brand & Model Core Wrap Tone Feel Tension Strengths Weaknesses La Bella RX Stainless Hex SS Bright, balanced, tight Smooth for SS Medium Balanced EQ, clean lows Slightly tamer than traditional SS D'Addario ProSteels Hex SS Very bright, modern Firm, consistent Medium-high Clarity, slap tone Can be harsh on highs GHS Super Steels Hex SS Aggressive mids, bright Classic steel texture Medium-high Growl, fingerstyle punch Rougher feel DR Hi-Beams Round SS Clear, open, smooth highs Flexible, soft tension Low-medium Smooth tone, great dynamics Less tightness, round core feel Ernie Ball Stainless Slinkys Hex SS Bright, snappy Moderately smooth Medium Familiar feel, good attack Not as full in mids Rotosound Swing Bass 66 Hex SS Raw, aggressive, grindy Rough High Classic rock bite, growl Harsh feel, finger noise Elixir Nanoweb (Nickel) Hex Nickel Warm, slightly scooped Coated, slick Medium Longevity, smoothness Lacks stainless bite SIT Power Steel Hex SS Bright with mild mids Clean feel Medium Clean, cutting attack Less growl than others
Funny, I'd consider the Power Steel to be Medium-high tension. But as you said, for entertainment purposes only.
It so dumb. In the end, I'll never buy another Schaller product ever. And what I think are the licensed Hipshot tuners on my Carvin (I bought them I think from Philadelphia Luthier about 20 years ago when I didn't know any better - Philadelphia Luthier is great, but I probably would've bought the "official" ones), as I said, have been rock solid.
So how much did Elixer pay to get a mention in that list? Just another marketing tool. Easily manipulated. I am happy SIT made it to the summary. There are many missing very capable players.Asked Grok to compare LaBella SS. For entertainment purposes only. I was shocked it brought SITs as a comp.
Here’s a detailed comparison of the La Bella Stainless Steel RX Series bass strings against other popular stainless and nickel sets in terms of tone, feel, tension, and suitability by genre.
- Type: Stainless Steel, Roundwound
- Core: Hex Core
- Tone: Bright but not harsh, with strong mids and tight lows
- Feel: Smooth for a stainless string, flexible
- Tension: Medium
- Notable trait: Designed to be more balanced across the fingerboard, with a slightly less aggressive bite than some stainless competitors.
Brand & Model Core Wrap Tone Feel Tension Strengths Weaknesses La Bella RX Stainless Hex SS Bright, balanced, tight Smooth for SS Medium Balanced EQ, clean lows Slightly tamer than traditional SS D'Addario ProSteels Hex SS Very bright, modern Firm, consistent Medium-high Clarity, slap tone Can be harsh on highs GHS Super Steels Hex SS Aggressive mids, bright Classic steel texture Medium-high Growl, fingerstyle punch Rougher feel DR Hi-Beams Round SS Clear, open, smooth highs Flexible, soft tension Low-medium Smooth tone, great dynamics Less tightness, round core feel Ernie Ball Stainless Slinkys Hex SS Bright, snappy Moderately smooth Medium Familiar feel, good attack Not as full in mids Rotosound Swing Bass 66 Hex SS Raw, aggressive, grindy Rough High Classic rock bite, growl Harsh feel, finger noise Elixir Nanoweb (Nickel) Hex Nickel Warm, slightly scooped Coated, slick Medium Longevity, smoothness Lacks stainless bite SIT Power Steel Hex SS Bright with mild mids Clean feel Medium Clean, cutting attack Less growl than others
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Tuner at start of chain will work out best.
Personally: I find that the preamp should be last in chain, as it is taking the role of the amp/rig
