Thunderbird Club

[GBassNorth]

I simply do not like the looks of a NR.

I have 2021 genuine Gibson NR sets of pickups in this:

View attachment 7444135


And in this (This has since been painted straight white and the DeCola pickups swapped with a setup of genuine Gibson NR pickups out of a 2021 NR):
View attachment 7444136

So if there’s any audible magic to a NR, it’s in these…

The wood and finish on that 2014 anniversary Bird is drool worthy, and the chrome pickups really look nice on it as well. I’m sure it’s a great sounding bass as well. I really like the NR reissue pups, deep and dark with just the right amount of top end.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Lots of great info there Donnie, thx for posting!

As you are probably aware, I just completed installing a set of vintage 1976 Bicentennial Tbird pickups and a 1976 Tbird wiring harness in one of my BaCH Tbird basses. Came out great but with EB Cobalt Pino light gauge flats has more top end focus than I want. I see you’re using Roto 66 strings on your ‘76, which I assume are stainless rounds and would also most likely be too bright for my tastes. Have you tried the Roto 66 nickels? Or is there another round wound you’d recommend for the ‘76 to darken it up a bit?

Anybody else out there with a ‘76 bird - what strings are you using?

RS66 on all my sidewinder equipped Birds....

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Reverse or Non-Reverse, for those which own both variations, do you prefer one shape over the other? Why/not.

Those who own one or the other, any reason why the other hasn't landed in your realm?

I remember trying one of the Non-Rev firebirds, & remember it being weird, in the sense the body felt way big for the guitar scale. I'd imagine the bass version feels better overall. While i don't dislike the reverse Firebird/Thunderbird, i think those are fine in both. I've never had the chance to try a Non-Rev Tbird.

dig the look of both but if I had to choose it'd be a no brainer....the NR is more comfortable, better balanced and the late 60's sound better than the earlier 60's imho....
Reverse....

NR....

 

[dagrev]

Lots of great info there Donnie, thx for posting!

As you are probably aware, I just completed installing a set of vintage 1976 Bicentennial Tbird pickups and a 1976 Tbird wiring harness in one of my BaCH Tbird basses. Came out great but with EB Cobalt Pino light gauge flats has more top end focus than I want. I see you’re using Roto 66 strings on your ‘76, which I assume are stainless rounds and would also most likely be too bright for my tastes. Have you tried the Roto 66 nickels? Or is there another round wound you’d recommend for the ‘76 to darken it up a bit?

Anybody else out there with a ‘76 bird - what strings are you using?

Those flats "should" darken up a little, but may take a month. (Said Capt. Obvious.) But may retain too much brightness.

The Roto flats are not as bright as you might think. But I've had mine for a number of years. They were when new.

Other options might be:
La Bella Low Tension Flats. In some ways a little darker than the DTFs, but also a little tighter in the lows, to my ears anyway and I think they are the only thing on me that still works well. My last sets of DTFs seem to be warmer our of the package than they did years ago. May be due to their application as well. But always a worthy option.

I have tried the Roto NPS. They are definitely warmer than 66s. Enough that one would not know they are Rotos of any kind.
Fender makes a pure Nickle that really tames the lows. GHS as well.
Pyramid Gold Flats are about as warm as you can get in some ways. Maybe to much so.
Elixir NPS tone down the highs very well. Almost like a pure nickle string. Have some nice mids and not hallow sounding.

If the lightly used Fenders or Rotos are of interest (or both) DM and I'll gladly send them to you. I'm thinking both would be long enough. I have a set of uncut light Fender Nickles (.95) as well.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

First f

Those flats "should" darken up a little, but may take a month. (Said Capt. Obvious.) But may retain too much brightness.

The Roto flats are not as bright as you might think. But I've had mine for a number of years. They were when new.

Other options might be:
La Bella Low Tension Flats. In some ways a little darker than the DTFs, but also a little tighter in the lows, to my ears anyway and I think they are the only thing on me that still works well. My last sets of DTFs seem to be warmer our of the package than they did years ago. May be due to their application as well. But always a worthy option.

I have tried the Roto NPS. They are definitely warmer than 66s. Enough that one would not know they are Rotos of any kind.
Fender makes a pure Nickle that really tames the lows. GHS as well.
Pyramid Gold Flats are about as warm as you can get in some ways. Maybe to much so.
Elixir NPS tone down the highs very well. Almost like a pure nickle string. Have some nice mids and not hallow sounding.

If the lightly used Fenders or Rotos are of interest (or both) DM and I'll gladly send them to you. I'm thinking both would be long enough. I have a set of uncut light Fender Nickles (.95) as well.

View attachment 7444200

89 Greco still running on Boomers.....just sayin'...

 

[TBird1958]

Reverse or Non-Reverse, for those which own both variations, do you prefer one shape over the other? Why/not.

Those who own one or the other, any reason why the other hasn't landed in your realm?

I remember trying one of the Non-Rev firebirds, & remember it being weird, in the sense the body felt way big for the guitar scale. I'd imagine the bass version feels better overall. While i don't dislike the reverse Firebird/Thunderbird, i think those are fine in both. I've never had the chance to try a Non-Rev Tbird.

I do like the Reverse a little better, but in the past two years or so since getting a BaCH I've come to really like the Non Rev, it just grows on ya!


It feels so good!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

All the demos and they couldn't work a Gibson/Epi into the mix. But this is the fuzz I was looking for when I was looking for a fuzz.

 

[GBassNorth]

For those that might be Bi curious - here’s some quick sound clips of the BaCH NR modded with full 1976 Bicentennial Tbird pickups and wiring harness and strung with EB Pino flats…

A quick G and D string drone run (neck full on, bridge on 3, tone on 3, right hand over neck pickup)…

A quick and sloppy A and E run (same settings)…

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Reverse or Non-Reverse, for those which own both variations, do you prefer one shape over the other? Why/not.

Those who own one or the other, any reason why the other hasn't landed in your realm?

I remember trying one of the Non-Rev firebirds, & remember it being weird, in the sense the body felt way big for the guitar scale. I'd imagine the bass version feels better overall. While i don't dislike the reverse Firebird/Thunderbird, i think those are fine in both. I've never had the chance to try a Non-Rev Tbird.

I only own reverses but have played NRs. The latter just don’t grab me the way reverses do. That’s in terms of looks and the NR neck being wider. I can play them, they sound great, they just don’t inspire me.

That said, I love the look of Mike’s NR, Chuck’s clear PG NR, and some solid color NRs (noticeably some Bachs and that dark green 60s NR on Reverb.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

For those that might be Bi curious - here’s some quick sound clips of the BaCH NR modded with full 1976 Bicentennial Tbird pickups and wiring harness and strung with EB Pino flats…
View attachment 7444210
View attachment 7444211

A quick G and D string drone run (neck full on, bridge on 3, tone on 3, right hand over neck pickup)…
View attachment 7444225

A quick and sloppy A and E run (same settings)…
View attachment 7444226

sloppy's good G!... both clips sound great...

 

[JJR58]

For those that might be Bi curious - here’s some quick sound clips of the BaCH NR modded with full 1976 Bicentennial Tbird pickups and wiring harness and strung with EB Pino flats…
View attachment 7444210
View attachment 7444211

A quick G and D string drone run (neck full on, bridge on 3, tone on 3, right hand over neck pickup)…
View attachment 7444225

A quick and sloppy A and E run (same settings)…
View attachment 7444226

What’s interesting to me is that the D and G sound brighter then I expected.
And the E and A are what I expected from those strings.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m hearing these strings from your clips to sound a bit uneven in brightness between the E and A, vs. the D and G.
The D and G give a great representation of what Sidewinders sound like.

 

[GBassNorth]

sloppy's good G!... both clips sound great...

Thx.
I need to get some nickel rounds for the Bi BaCH and then I’ll run a set of back to back sound clips of the ‘76 vs the ‘79. To my ears they both sound great but drastically different, the 79 sounds massive, the 76 sounds polite by comparison - but that might just be a bold round vs a light gauge flat, a string change will tell all. I’m still coaxing the best sound possible out of the ‘67 NR II, so when it’s ready for prime time I’ll do a sound clip on it as well.

 

[GBassNorth]

What’s interesting to me is that the D and G sound brighter then I expected.
And the E and A are what I expected from those strings.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m hearing these strings from your clips to sound a bit uneven in brightness between the E and A, vs. the D and G.
The D and G give a great representation of what Sidewinders sound like.

As always, a keen ear and great observations.

Keep in mind I have the tone knob set at 3 - that’s about the point where the treble starts to kick in on this bass, it gets much much brighter from there. Also note that the Bicentennial wiring is series - which makes for a huge and odd interaction between the neck and bridge pickups. The neck soloed is crisp and clear with a nice bottom end, but as you roll the bridge pickup in just slightly the overall tone darkens up noticeably (very counter intuitive) until you reach a point where the bridge pickup is dominant then it brightens up again (my ‘79 works the same way, just a feature of dual sidewinders in series I guess). Since I’m a neck pup dominant player I’m finding that a neck setting of 7 and a tone setting of 3 to 5 works best for me then I can roll the bridge in or out to fine tune the darkness or brightness as needed.

I’ve tried Stainless rounds on the Bi BaCH and the GD strings were insanely bright, the AE were also brighter than I like. The EB Pino flats tamed that a bunch on the bottom end and got right about where I like them, but the G string is still too crisp for my taste. So I’ll be trying a set of nickel Roto 66 strings next to see if the balance is right.

Additional things I’ll be adjusting as needed - G and D string action, it’s nice and low but I might need to bump it up a tad to ensure I’m not getting any unwanted fret ringing. Also will check and adjust both sides of the pickups to ensure a balanced volume across the strings and from neck to bridge. But I’ll do all that fine tuning once I find the best string for this bass.

 

[Gaolee]

I had issues with feedback on my acoustic/electric (piezo pickup?). Got rid of that fast. Haven't had any issues with the Casady and that is, technically, a hollow body with no center beam. Now, I wouldn't go The Who on that body.

My EB-2 (semi-hollow) does not feed back at all even at painfully high volumes. It is also heavier than you would expect by looking at it. The upright is full hollow (duh!) and feeds back horribly unless it gets handled exactly right and the right precautions are in place.

 

[JJR58]

As always, a keen ear and great observations.

Keep in mind I have the tone knob set at 3 - that’s about the point where the treble starts to kick in on this bass, it gets much much brighter from there. Also note that the Bicentennial wiring is series - which makes for a huge and odd interaction between the neck and bridge pickups. The neck soloed is crisp and clear with a nice bottom end, but as you roll the bridge pickup in just slightly the overall tone darkens up noticeably (very counter intuitive) until you reach a point where the bridge pickup is dominant then it brightens up again (my ‘79 works the same way, just a feature of dual sidewinders in series I guess). Since I’m a neck pup dominant player I’m finding that a neck setting of 7 and a tone setting of 3 to 5 works best for me then I can roll the bridge in or out to fine tune the darkness or brightness as needed.

I’ve tried Stainless rounds on the Bi BaCH and the GD strings were insanely bright, the AE were also brighter than I like. The EB Pino flats tamed that a bunch on the bottom end and got right about where I like them, but the G string is still too crisp for my taste. So I’ll be trying a set of nickel Roto 66 strings next to see if the balance is right.

Additional things I’ll be adjusting as needed - G and D string action, it’s nice and low but I might need to bump it up a tad to ensure I’m not getting any unwanted fret ringing. Also will check and adjust both sides of the pickups to ensure a balanced volume across the strings and from neck to bridge. But I’ll do all that fine tuning once I find the best string for this bass.

That all makes sense to me.
Thanks G!

 

[MCF]

I had issues with feedback on my acoustic/electric (piezo pickup?). Got rid of that fast. Haven't had any issues with the Casady and that is, technically, a hollow body with no center beam. Now, I wouldn't go The Who on that body.

But a Simonon?

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

As always, a keen ear and great observations.

Keep in mind I have the tone knob set at 3 - that’s about the point where the treble starts to kick in on this bass, it gets much much brighter from there. Also note that the Bicentennial wiring is series - which makes for a huge and odd interaction between the neck and bridge pickups. The neck soloed is crisp and clear with a nice bottom end, but as you roll the bridge pickup in just slightly the overall tone darkens up noticeably (very counter intuitive) until you reach a point where the bridge pickup is dominant then it brightens up again (my ‘79 works the same way, just a feature of dual sidewinders in series I guess). Since I’m a neck pup dominant player I’m finding that a neck setting of 7 and a tone setting of 3 to 5 works best for me then I can roll the bridge in or out to fine tune the darkness or brightness as needed.

I’ve tried Stainless rounds on the Bi BaCH and the GD strings were insanely bright, the AE were also brighter than I like. The EB Pino flats tamed that a bunch on the bottom end and got right about where I like them, but the G string is still too crisp for my taste. So I’ll be trying a set of nickel Roto 66 strings next to see if the balance is right.

Additional things I’ll be adjusting as needed - G and D string action, it’s nice and low but I might need to bump it up a tad to ensure I’m not getting any unwanted fret ringing. Also will check and adjust both sides of the pickups to ensure a balanced volume across the strings and from neck to bridge. But I’ll do all that fine tuning once I find the best string for this bass.

dunno, the E and A here sound remarkably similar to yours going through an amp......you miking or DI'ing?.....

 

[RedVee]

For those that might be Bi curious - here’s some quick sound clips of the BaCH NR modded with full 1976 Bicentennial Tbird pickups and wiring harness and strung with EB Pino flats…
View attachment 7444210
View attachment 7444211

A quick G and D string drone run (neck full on, bridge on 3, tone on 3, right hand over neck pickup)…
View attachment 7444225

A quick and sloppy A and E run (same settings)…
View attachment 7444226

Made me think…. Hey Bulldog!

(I must be BACHing mad)

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

I do like the Reverse a little better, but in the past two years or so since getting a BaCH I've come to really like the Non Rev, it just grows on ya!


It feels so good!

AND, looks better on you than any reverse....

 

[GBassNorth]

dunno, the E and A here sound remarkably similar to yours going through an amp......you miking or DI'ing?.....

DI only.