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Thunderbird Club

no mahogany tonight.....don't like the Birds that close to the door.....LETS GO!...
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My memory of those is they are REALLY LOUD!
For rock, I'm thoroughly in the Deep Purple Live in Japan camp. "We want everything louder than everything else." I'm pretty sure Martin O'Rourke and I came up with that on our own before that album was out, but there's no proof so DP gets the royalties.
 
Decision time: making a gold pickguard for my Ebony VP.
Gold mirror or gold sparkle?
Will have black V-Bird logo
And will go back to gold OG knobs.
I don't think there's a wrong answer, but I lean toward the gold mirror even though I'm normally a sparkle / metal flake kind of guy. Love the logo!
 
My memory of those is they are REALLY LOUD!
I had a Super Reverb - four ten inch speakers and nearly 50 tube watts of ear piercing power. I sold mine a few months back and don’t really miss it. Some day I plan on getting a Rhodes bass piano and pairing it with my Ampeg B-18N instead of the Super Reverb. Might be an interesting combo.
 
What does George do when he gets bored? He plays Mad Scientist in his Thunderbird lab of strange ideas.
So I bought this for about $300 delivered…
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And will be installing these bits in it, to see just how flexible I can get a passive Tbird to sound while maintaining a mostly traditional two pickups and three knob layout (might add a toggle switch for tone options)….
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If all goes as anticipated each new LP style Bart pickup will allow coil splitting (stock Eppi pups won’t do that) and will be connected to a triple shot trim ring that lets the user select North Pole only/South Pole only/both poles in series/both poles in parallel. Those will be connected to a neck and bridge volume pot each with a variable treble bleed trim pot, and then tied into a tone pot equipped with a three way selector switch to toggle between .022, .045 and .067uf cap settings.

So one could choose to select just the North Pole on each pickup in parallel for a Jazz bass type sound, or maybe solo both coils on the bridge pickup only but in parallel for more of a Stingray sound, or possibly solo the neck pickup in series for a P bass type sound, or any number of other options. Then dial in the amount of treble bleed you want on each volume pot, and finish it all off with any one of three cap values to really dial in the specific tonal range you like for the tone knob.

I’d expect a setting of neck humbucker in series with bridge humbucker in series and treble bleed on max with tone cap set at .022uf to be a real screamer. Likewise each pickup set on single coil and in parallel with a .045uf setting should be super crisp and clear but still plenty deep. The Creamy setting might be neck humbucker soloed in series with the treble bleed rolled off and the tone cap set to .067uf.

We’ll see how it all pans out, should be fun and enlightening at a relatively low all in cost.
 
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Besides money, apparently? :facepalm:
Yes, the ABM 500 evo III. It will be listed here in a couple weeks or so. The thought crossed my mind to sell the Ashdown RM 300 (class D), and keep the ABM 500 (at home), but I might get "the wife look." But shipping the RM would sure be cheaper.
So you are replacing the 500 watter with a 300 watter?
 
What does George do when he gets bored? He plays Mad Scientist in his Thunderbird lab of strange ideas.
So I bought this for about $300 delivered…
View attachment 7310315

And will be installing these bits in it, to see just how flexible I can get a passive Tbird to sound while maintaining a mostly traditional two pickups and three knob layout (might add a toggle switch for tone options)….
View attachment 7310316View attachment 7310322View attachment 7310320View attachment 7310319View attachment 7310321View attachment 7310317

If all goes as anticipated each new LP style Bart pickup will allow coil splitting (stock Eppi pups won’t do that) and will be connected to a triple shot trim ring that lets the user select North Pole only/South Pole only/both poles in series/both poles in parallel. Those will be connected to a neck and bridge volume pot each with a variable treble bleed trim pot, and then tied into a tone pot equipped with a three way selector switch to toggle between .022, .045 and .067uf cap settings.

So one could choose to select just the North Pole on each pickup in parallel for a Jazz bass type sound, or maybe solo both coils on the bridge pickup only but in parallel for more of a Stingray sound, or possibly solo the neck pickup in series for a P bass type sound, or any number of other options. Then dial in the amount of treble bleed you want on each volume pot, and finish it all off with any one of three cap values to really dial in the specific tonal range you like for the tone knob.

I’d expect a setting of neck humbucker in series with bridge humbucker in series and treble bleed on max with tone cap set at .022uf to be a real screamer. Likewise each pickup set on single coil and in parallel with a .045uf setting should be super crisp and clear but still plenty deep. The Creamy setting might be neck humbucker soloed in series with the treble bleed rolled off and the tone cap set to .067uf.

We’ll see how it all pans out, should be fun and enlightening at a relatively low all in cost.
Hi @GBassNorth (George)

Look at a Freeway Switch
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Simplifies the install.
And a Fender no-load for tone.
 
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So you are replacing the 500 watter with a 300 watter?
Yes sir. (Possibly the little RM 300, but far less likely as it's light an easy backup, and I use it at home to not fire up the tubes.) To get the tube and drive sound I like I'm basically adjusting the vol with the output. With the input mostly maxed the output is barely on and the slightest movement can be way too much or little. Just hard to adjust in or even in between songs at times. Especially as I'm stepping around the cajon while the drummer is out. Most basses are maxed as well--other than the G&Ls. Definitely first world problems.

Would have preferred the 300 but never ran across a used one when looking. The 500 came up and I went that direction. Were I playing louder in rock gig setting it would work fine, but still more than I need. I've never "needed" more than 300w, inside outside PA or no PA.