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Thunderbird Club

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love how engaged Jeff looks...
 
Who knows, it might end up being a plain Tobacco burst IV with after market pickups. The pups look right and the CS logo on the back of the headstock looks right. I’ll find out soon enough. Hope it’s legit, really love those CSLEs.
I will be surprised if its not legit. Looking forward to hearing how it stacks up to the TV Silver version.
 
Those were the worst cars every built. I drove some of the last ones ever made when I was a taxi driver in NYC. The motor was woefully underpowered, they didn't turn, the brakes were made of balsa wood, and body and frame flex meant that they all had metal fatigue cracks around the windshield. Not that any of us treated them well. They would hit pretty high speeds if you had enough runway, and you could scare the crap out of a fare by combat driving one.
were those GM powered?..
 
Good evening Thunderbird loving sisters and brothers. I hope all are well and enjoying these hot July days. The new band is doing well, and generating interest and bookings. Something a bit new and refreshing. Looking to upgrade and lighten my rig, so am hoping for any feedback I can get. I have always loved tubes, and the sound of my big Ampeg is literally music to my ears. I have been using a little 15W Ashdown tube head through a 2X12 as a stage monitor, but am looking for something more powerful and more versatile. Seriously considering a hybrid, looked at Mesa, Orange Terror, Genz Benz Shuttlemax, and most recently Genzler Kinetix 800. I also like the Ashdown Head of Doom, but it doesn't seem particularly portable. Any experience or advice on any of these? Will a hybrid scratch that tube itch? No way to try any of these in Spokane, so will be listening to videos and hoping some might share their experience with any of these. I gig through an insanely light GR2X12 and play either the NR Bird, or Jazz 5er. Thanks for listening. Have a great evening everyone.
 
Good evening Thunderbird loving sisters and brothers. I hope all are well and enjoying these hot July days. The new band is doing well, and generating interest and bookings. Something a bit new and refreshing. Looking to upgrade and lighten my rig, so am hoping for any feedback I can get. I have always loved tubes, and the sound of my big Ampeg is literally music to my ears. I have been using a little 15W Ashdown tube head through a 2X12 as a stage monitor, but am looking for something more powerful and more versatile. Seriously considering a hybrid, looked at Mesa, Orange Terror, Genz Benz Shuttlemax, and most recently Genzler Kinetix 800. I also like the Ashdown Head of Doom, but it doesn't seem particularly portable. Any experience or advice on any of these? Will a hybrid scratch that tube itch? No way to try any of these in Spokane, so will be listening to videos and hoping some might share their experience with any of these. I gig through an insanely light GR2X12 and play either the NR Bird, or Jazz 5er. Thanks for listening. Have a great evening everyone.
I use one of these, with a small power amp and at 250w @ 8ohms, it sounds really good. It will never be an exact substitute for a full tube amp but the entire rig with a Mesa Subway 15” weighs about 40lbs and is plenty loud for small/ medium gigs.

Elementary – Sushi Box FX
 
@dagrev did I miss an update on flats and the 64?
Yes, seems so. I have used it two weeks in a row now. Ampeg with run through and service first week. Very impressed. Liked it so much I never thought of adjusting anything. Wife even noticed it sounded really good.
Second week: Ashdown for run through which was very nice but not as much as all the tubes doing tube magic. Still happy with it and only fooled with EQ a bit. Would have likely used the ABM for service but on one song where I play kind of a funky (not much) octave with the A (Estring and D string) and it just sounded dull. So for service I fired up the tubes. Slightly better tone, but I don't have much time to EQ so I'm sure the ABM could be improved given some time. But even with the Ampeg that song sounded about the same. Lacked some punch or something. The other songs I was completely happy with. Good with fingers or pick. It could be because the bass stands out as other instruments are doing their own thing and I'm the only one doing what I was doing. Now that I think of it, had I used a pick on that song I may have not had my problem.

That said, the DTFs are going to stay on for now and I will let them settle. I love playng flats. One Sunday I can use them for run through and before service put the SIT Powerworunds back on and see which I prefer. I love doing that because you don't have to wait a week and remember how much you liked or didn't like a string.
 
Wife and I were late for a show at the Winter Garden Theatre and told the cabbie there was an extra tip if he got us there before opening act...did everything but drive on the sidewalk.
Early nineties I got in a cab at Market Street to get to SFO. I was not in a hurry. The Russian driver was crazy. Most scared I have ever been in a cab.
 
Good evening Thunderbird loving sisters and brothers. I hope all are well and enjoying these hot July days. The new band is doing well, and generating interest and bookings. Something a bit new and refreshing. Looking to upgrade and lighten my rig, so am hoping for any feedback I can get. I have always loved tubes, and the sound of my big Ampeg is literally music to my ears. I have been using a little 15W Ashdown tube head through a 2X12 as a stage monitor, but am looking for something more powerful and more versatile. Seriously considering a hybrid, looked at Mesa, Orange Terror, Genz Benz Shuttlemax, and most recently Genzler Kinetix 800. I also like the Ashdown Head of Doom, but it doesn't seem particularly portable. Any experience or advice on any of these? Will a hybrid scratch that tube itch? No way to try any of these in Spokane, so will be listening to videos and hoping some might share their experience with any of these. I gig through an insanely light GR2X12 and play either the NR Bird, or Jazz 5er. Thanks for listening. Have a great evening everyone.
Below is what I use every week. The Ampeg 100w all tube head (think big and smooth like an SVT not pushed) gets most of the action, but the Ashdown ABM evo iii 500 is not far behind. I love warm tubes and many if not most solid state amps sound sterile or 2 dimensional to me. That said, the Ashdown really impresses. A lot. I could use it all the time, but don't because I have tubes.

The Ashdown is very warm. It has one tube that is the best implementation of a single tube amp I've ever played. You can have none of it, or all of it--and it does make a difference. Wish I would have bought one years ago. If I needed to, I could be happy with that being my main head. It sounds tighter in the lows than the Ampeg. More full you could say and is great for basses that are a little hallow sounding. Perfect fix. The 500 is LOUD with efficient cabs. Way more than I need or needed when playing rock gigs. I would have preferred the 300w version (or a 200w version which is not made even better), but never saw one used. I would say the 300w would work in most all settings. V has a 300w did a big outdoor gig and said it did just fine.

Weighs 29lbs (I think), very easy to move around and seems very well built.


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I also like the Ashdown Head of Doom, but it doesn't seem particularly portable.

Plenty portable:

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This little setup fits in the trunk of my car with two thunderbirds, stands and a small pedalboard. And it is loud. If the cab was 8 ohm, and would make the head run at 300W it would still be more than enough. Maybe someday I’ll get some 16ohm drivers and give it a try.
 
Interesting little find,

In looking for Custom Shop Limited Edition (CSLE) Epiphone basses I seem to have run across two birds I wasn’t aware existed.
A Black CSLE with LP style pickups and a Tobacco Burst CSLE with LP style pickups. Both are out of Japan so maybe they weren’t ever a US offering, but none the less, very interesting…


I bought the burst one to complement my TV Silver CSLE. if it sounds anywhere near my TV Silver it’ll be worth every cent.

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These birds are the Kardashians of the Tbird family, with more bottom end than anything I’ve found from any Tbird shaped bass manufacturers. And to dispel any rumors, these are twin blade pickups, they are not Les Paul guitar pickups installed in a bass. They are just Les Paul guitar shaped pickups with an attitude.

If everything checks out as legit when the burst comes in I’ll update the wiki to reflect the new found gems.
The elusive Black LECS with the chrome pickups. I have seen pics, but never one for sale. They also did a run with the regular Epi pickups and black hardware.
 
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