Thunderbird Club

[GBassNorth]

We know this guy!

Scott’s lefty guitar player could almost pass for his roadie - you know, that Geddy what’s his name guy.
Great song, great playing, great video!

 

[GBassNorth]

Mike, is that you?

View attachment 7394641

That four string bird with only three tuners and dead slack strings above the nut is killin my OCD!

 

[Stealth57]

That four string bird with only three tuners and dead slack strings above the nut is killin my OCD!

Co-Pilot refused to add the 4th tuner or straighten the control knobs. Freakin' AI know it all.

 

[dagrev]

That four string bird with only three tuners and dead slack strings above the nut is killin my OCD!

Your engineering imagination is slipping!

 

[TBird1958]

Tom with a beat up '60s IV

 

[GonePlaid]

Mike, is that you?

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Nah. It's not a NR.

 

[GonePlaid]

When Scott was young and had to carry and tech his own bass!

Maybe his Canadian roadie couldn't get across the border.

 

[dagrev]

Wife ordered a BD present that just came. I thought it rude to ask "where's the bass?"

 

[Stealth57]

Wife ordered a BD present that just came. I thought it rude to ask "where's the bass?"
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[Gaolee]

Tom with a beat up '60s IV

I'm amused by how much guitar sound happens while Rick Nielson isn't touching his guitar. He's talented!

 

[TBird1958]

Hamilton with a '60s II

 

[Syd Rayne]

Tom with a beat up '60s IV

Look at 3:02

Someone has colored the T-Bird logo. Maybe with Sharpies...? I'm seeing reddish, green and ivory (?) wings. Perhaps it's a MIM Gibson.

And that's a heavily reliced picking area...! Yeow. That tone is awesome. Almost don't need a 12. Must be the HiWatt Lead seen behind him.

 

[Syd Rayne]

500k is the only way with TBird pick ups.

Actually, I meant a 500k tone pot too, also, as well. You can always dial it back a bit to taste.

 

[GonePlaid]

Update:

 

[Stealth57]

For you church band brothers:

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Hamilton with a '60s II

American rock at its best....no one (maybe Halen) comes close imho...seems like Hamilton was always underrated, too bad....

 

[TBird1958]

When you least expect it................

Non Reverse time.
My folks loved Kenny Rogers, I heard this song a lot when I was a kid.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Thanks Chuck.

My observations are that both are very similar but the Gibby has more balls. The pickups in the 1979 bird are quite a bit further from the strings yet it has massive output. I think Veronica noted at one point that there was a lot of variation from bass to bass over the four year Bicentennial run, so that might be part of the reason as well. I’ve heard some say the bicentennial pickups come alive when you dig in, that’s very true on my Bi BaCH. However, the ‘79 is a screamer right out of the gate, you have to force yourself to play with a light touch or else they’ll slam the preamp even when set down around 2 on the volume knob.

When I get the two basses at about the same volume they both sound very similar through my bass amp. When I play them back through a hifi system with a nice subwoofer and good tweeters I hear much more difference with more overall content in the BaCH but a thicker sound from the ‘79. It’s almost a series vs parallel difference, even though they are wired exactly the same. The strings are physically the most impactful difference between the two basses (assuming the pickups are identical), but not accounting for volume levels I think you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference when played thru a rig in a mix.

Both are fantastic sounding basses, with the ‘79 a bit closer to the phenomenal end of the spectrum.

Not looking for a ‘76 sticker, just the Bicentennial non ‘76 version so it matches my ‘79.

Definitely both great sounding basses....

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

I just play them and work with whatever they do.

+1

 

[TBird1958]

American rock at its best....no one (maybe Halen) comes close imho...seems like Hamilton was always underrated, too bad....

I think Tyler and Perry got the spotlight ( I like Joe Perry a lot, he's got his own thing going on the guitar) while the rest of the band suffered through the ups and downs of their substance abuse. Hamilton is at least known for "Sweet Emotion", Brad Whitford gets zero notice as a rhythm guitarist. As I understand it "Walk this way" was recorded on a Bird.