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Thunderbird Club

#323,085
MCF said:
I picked up the $200 used GC Classic Pro from the local GC. Yep, GC misidentified it. And priced it as a beat basic IV. Score a win for us good guys.

Per the SN, “this Epiphone guitar was made in 2015 during September
Samick factory in Indonesia.” Fretwork is nice as expected from that factory.

Neck seems straight and sound. I haven’t checked the TR yet. The finish is a bit rough, but not gross, and better than I thought it would be. Although someone did a kind of sloppy Superglue job on the bass side insert. I hate that some people use Superglue for that. The knobs need to be replaced. But pots all work and the ground appears intact; I don’t think the treble side insert has been glued. The bridge has some down travel left in it; so that’s promising. It’s around 8 lbs; lighter than my 8 1/2 lb. ‘21 NR but heavier than my 7 1/2 lb. Gibson ‘15. The pickups sound like Tbird Plus pickups should.

I dig the dark fretboard. I’ll have Irv do a black and gold pickguard and TR Cover. Not sure the thought behind the messed up guard (with incorrect, too large screws) and butchered TR cover.

Once I get it cleaned up, put my preferred strings on it, new knobs, do a setup and put the new guard and TR Cover on it, I’ll have around $325 - $350 in it. It’ll be worth at least that and be a nice Thunderbird to keep up at the mountain.

It’ll also look nice in Pelham Blue when I get around to learning how to refinish.

View attachment 7269580View attachment 7269581View attachment 7269582View attachment 7269583View attachment 7269584
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Sweet! You could always put a tailpiece on it...
And happy Retirement Day man!
 
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#323,087
MCF said:
Can’t do that literally as I park in my garage. I may have stuck it out a little longer had it not been for the isolation of remote working, which I’ve pretty much done since 02/20. I did have a job with an office for awhile in Sherman Oaks that I went to maybe a dozen times over fifteen months. And when I did go in, I was usually the only one in the building. It sucked.
Click to expand...
Well, then head over to the office and do a few donuts whether anybody is there or not. Somebody will eventually notice the burnout marks. I am sure a Subaru would do it given a little urging.
 
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#323,088
Miles_ONeal said:
Most of you have heard of my attempt to like the Epi Pro 5. The result was getting rid if it and stringing a bass BEAD. That worked pretty well (ADGC wasn’t so good). If the set list doesn’t require you to play high on the G of a conventional string set, you can stick with the BEAD bass for multiple songs.
Click to expand...
This is why I like Bass-xtenders. I can flip a lever and be in drop D. I use it for a handful of songs that almost never end up together in a way that makes changing instruments logical or efficient.
 
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#323,089
MCF said:
I picked up the $200 used GC Classic Pro from the local GC. Yep, GC misidentified it. And priced it as a beat basic IV. Score a win for us good guys.

Per the SN, “this Epiphone guitar was made in 2015 during September
Samick factory in Indonesia.” Fretwork is nice as expected from that factory.

Neck seems straight and sound. I haven’t checked the TR yet. The finish is a bit rough, but not gross, and better than I thought it would be. Although someone did a kind of sloppy Superglue job on the bass side insert. I hate that some people use Superglue for that. The knobs need to be replaced. But pots all work and the ground appears intact; I don’t think the treble side insert has been glued. The bridge has some down travel left in it; so that’s promising. It’s around 8 lbs; lighter than my 8 1/2 lb. ‘21 NR but heavier than my 7 1/2 lb. Gibson ‘15. The pickups sound like Tbird Plus pickups should.

I dig the dark fretboard. I’ll have Irv do a black and gold pickguard and TR Cover. Not sure the thought behind the messed up guard (with incorrect, too large screws) and butchered TR cover.

Once I get it cleaned up, put my preferred strings on it, new knobs, do a setup and put the new guard and TR Cover on it, I’ll have around $325 - $350 in it. It’ll be worth at least that and be a nice Thunderbird to keep up at the mountain.

It’ll also look nice in Pelham Blue when I get around to learning how to refinish.

View attachment 7269580View attachment 7269581View attachment 7269582View attachment 7269583View attachment 7269584
Click to expand...
I learned to refinish by sending a bass to MJT. It was expensive but worth it.
 
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#323,090
Chucky Stiletti said:
what is coil charging?
Click to expand...
The North/South of the magnet in a bicentennial/Sidewinder is up and down. The coils are butted up against the side of the magnet to charge the coil. This provides a weak charge to the steel/coils. In some cases the charge is so weak when placing a polarity meter on the steel in the coil the meter can not detect North or South. This might be different with the very small Thunderbird coils. Will know soon
 
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#323,094
Gaolee said:
This is why I like Bass-xtenders. I can flip a lever and be in drop D. I use it for a handful of songs that almost never end up together in a way that makes changing instruments logical or efficient.
Click to expand...
It took almost no time for D standard to feel normal. Now and then I end up with one bass tune to Db — again no trouble.
But whatever works for each of us is great!
 
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#323,096
Miles_ONeal said:
Pointer to resistor pics?
Click to expand...
got 2(4 total) pieces...
IMG_5159.jpeg
 
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