Thunderbird Club

[JIO]

The Sean Conneries recording session tomorrow SUNDAY!-SUNDAY!-SUNDAY! with Robert Preston at Get Reel Productions/SF. Four original songs by our Paul, all very different - one with Kirstin's lyrics.* "Sunday Suit"- a take-no-prisoners rocker, "Green Grey Waste"*- '80s New Wave/reggae tinged (chorus bass), "Not MI6"- female spy themed (fretless), and our most adventurous to date - "Rarebit"- dark/goth, LZ ala Kashmir, operatic. (synth bass)

Bringing these unholy three to get the job done.

Will be isolated & mic'd + d.i.

 

[ectoflanger]

FSO Friday.
View attachment 7442651

This one is at the shop getting a level, crown, and full end dress.
View attachment 7442657

Love that Fender in the green- so how do you like the P/J in that bass and your Mustang? That's one configuration I don't have.

Thought about buying a Sadowksy Metro Express PJ in a similar color they call Sage Green for the Florida residence back in early January- might still do when I return-

 

[ectoflanger]

Unicorn is one of those completely obscure bands that I thought nobody but me had ever heard of. Nice to know there are others out there who went down all kinds of strange rabbit holes.

Just thought of another you might like - Steve Gibbons (no relation to Billy). I remember hearing an ad on rock radio back in 1978 when I was a sophomore in high school which included a clip of this song-

 

[ectoflanger]

Another pop song with a cool bass line from another relatively obscure denizen of the UK-

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

who needs a 5 string..... @JJR58 thx Jeff!..

 

[ectoflanger]

who needs a 5 string..... @JJR58 thx Jeff!..

And the cowbell is well served!

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

And the cowbell is well served!

you know the "More Cowbell " video is imminent now right?.....

 

[JIO]

Love that Fender in the green- so how do you like the P/J in that bass and your Mustang? That's one configuration I don't have.

Thought about buying a Sadowksy Metro Express PJ in a similar color they call Sage Green for the Florida residence back in early January- might still do when I return-

View attachment 7442801

It's a colour Fender/Squier has had in its catalog for a number of years - a pale green pearl metallic

 

[JIO]

As Lurch would say... "you rang?"

 

[ectoflanger]

you know the "More Cowbell " video is imminent now right?.....

There's a cool history about that one-

Although Donaldl Roeser was often seen playing an SG, that iconic "Don't Fear the Reaper" riff was recorded with a Gibson ES 175 because Don had just moved and didn't have access to any of his guitars. So he used the produce's resident studio guitar which was indeed a Gibson ES 175.

 

[ectoflanger]

It's a colour Fender/Squier has had in its catalog for a number of years - a pale green pearl metallic

So what about the PJ pickup configuration ? Love it, hate it, mildly indifferent....? Never played or had one so I ask ...

 

[Engle]

Mid year '85-mid year '86 Fender 24 fret MIJ Performer - I restored & sold it to a tb member. Very cool CBS back to Fender employees transition model.

View attachment 7442680
My take on the Performer - EMGX active "Supersonic"
View attachment 7442681

Ishibashi has a few including this:

FENDER JAPAN (-2015) / FB-555 Refinish

We are pleased to announce the arrival of a used FB-555, one of Fender Japan's most unique-looking models in the long history of the company! This FB-555 was produced for a short time in the mid-1980s as part of Fender Japan's original "BOXER" series, and it has a distinctive look that is...

intl.ishibashi.co.jp

 

[MCF]

Love that Fender in the green- so how do you like the P/J in that bass and your Mustang? That's one configuration I don't have.

Thought about buying a Sadowksy Metro Express PJ in a similar color they call Sage Green for the Florida residence back in early January- might still do when I return-

View attachment 7442801

The PJ Mustang is the model from when they reinstated the Mustang in the lineup in about ‘14 (before that there was a Squire Mustang, but I think it had the traditional pickup). It kind of reignited short scales as a thing and was a hit so they started making other Mustang models with different pickup configurations. I bought it when they came out for like $449.00. It came with cut 7250s (they didn’t even bother to load short scale strings on them). The tuners were horrible so I replaced them with Hipshots. It’s a nice bass now, decent 1.5 but width neck, and sounds great to me. I like the pickups enough to not think about changing them.

The surf green PJ is one that I have never bonded with. I bought it new in ‘15. I like the looks of the color and the tuxedo J neck on it. It developed a bad case of sprout early on and I’ve always been chicken to mess with the frets myself because of the binding. But the real issue is the anemic noiseless J pickup. It’s a POS IMO. The P pickup is ok, but it doesn’t sound as good as what is in my LPB MIM Standard. Once the fret issue is sorted, I’ll replace the pickups and make a concerted effort to bond with it.

The LPB MIM P is great. I got it as NOS from a store up in Redding for $300 in ‘16. I play it a lot. It has Chromes. It’s my only bass with flats.

 

[zekmoe]

OK. It sounds like you had a dud. It happens once in awhile. Gibson would normally cover that under warranty. I can’t tell where you’re from, but if you’re in the US, and buy through Sweetwater, they have their own warranty program that is two years where they handle everything. They assist with dealing with Gibson or just replace it. I get it though if you Just decided to bale on it when it didn’t work. Hope you give Thunderbirds a try again. I have several and really no issues with any of the Gibsons.

Yes I’ll probably take another stab at one. I did trade it towards a custom shop p bass with jazz neck that I’m currently in love with

 

[MCF]

Just thought of another you might like - Steve Gibbons (no relation to Billy). I remember hearing an ad on rock radio back in 1978 when I was a sophomore in high school which included a clip of this song-

Sort of a Dire Straits vibe. I like the baseline.

 

[MCF]

Another pop song with a cool bass line from another relatively obscure denizen of the UK-

That song got a ton of play in SoCal.

 

[JIO]

So what about the PJ pickup configuration ? Love it, hate it, mildly indifferent....? Never played or had one so I ask ...

I'd have to say it's the most popular pu configuration for players. My Glam PJJ used to be a PJ but I recently replaced the J with a Fender Meteoric JJ (essentially a bucker) The JJ has more balls - but many P-bass players like only the split P pu. Adding a bridge pu gives one more tonal options. Apples & oranges. There's unproven controversy about a J at the bridge (when turned off!) corrupts a 'true' P sound...

 

[MCF]

So what about the PJ pickup configuration ? Love it, hate it, mildly indifferent....? Never played or had one so I ask ...

It’s ok. Not as great as humbuckers, but the J can add a bit of color/bite to the tone if you want it. The J alone sounds like a J bass when only the bridge pickup is played. Absolutely not my thing at all.

 

[JIO]

Ishibashi has a few including this:

FENDER JAPAN (-2015) / FB-555 Refinish

We are pleased to announce the arrival of a used FB-555, one of Fender Japan's most unique-looking models in the long history of the company! This FB-555 was produced for a short time in the mid-1980s as part of Fender Japan's original "BOXER" series, and it has a distinctive look that is...

intl.ishibashi.co.jp

Good colour - looks to be coral. Good price too - for a relatively rare bass it's pretty affordable.

Here's an early '80s pic of its creator John Page in Fenders back lot playing an early prototype w/standard Fender hs.

...and here's a Florida collector of them (a tb member) holding one of those early '80s prototypes - this one with the Fender/Schaller Elite fine-tuning bridge.

 

[JIO]

The PJ Mustang is the model from when they reinstated the Mustang in the lineup in about ‘14 (before that there was a Squire Mustang, but I think it had the traditional pickup). It kind of reignited short scales as a thing and was a hit so they started making other Mustang models with different pickup configurations. I bought it when they came out for like $449.00. It came with cut 7250s (they didn’t even bother to load short scale strings on them). The tuners were horrible so I replaced them with Hipshots. It’s a nice bass now, decent 1.5 but width neck, and sounds great to me. I like the pickups enough to not think about changing them.

The surf green PJ is one that I have never bonded with. I bought it new in ‘15. I like the looks of the color and the tuxedo J neck on it. It developed a bad case of sprout early on and I’ve always been chicken to mess with the frets myself because of the binding. But the real issue is the anemic noiseless J pickup. It’s a POS IMO. The P pickup is ok, but it doesn’t sound as good as what is in my LPB MIM Standard. Once the fret issue is sorted, I’ll replace the pickups and make a concerted effort to bond with it.

The LPB MIM P is great. I got it as NOS from a store up in Redding for $300 in ‘16. I play it a lot. It has Chromes. It’s my only bass with flats.

As far as P pu's go, the EMG Geezer Butler (passive) as well as the Fender PV64 are both very good.