Thunderbird Club

[GBassNorth]

Why the heck would anyone slap a 'bird?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Neat clip!
Hated the sound of the Jazz in each segment, reconfirmed why I don't play the nasal twangers much anymore. The P Bass sounded great as did the Thumb and Stingray but I gotta say the Thunderbird had the best sound in each segment with exception of slapping and that went to the Stingray.

The Ric was the biggest surprise to me, that thing had absoutly no balls in any of the sound clips. It's the only one of the basses played that I don't currently own and after seeing that video I'm not inclined to buy one.

 

[bass40hz]

Yeah, i saw that also.
But i had listened to another demo of someone slapping one, thought it sounded killer.
Not my thing, but, some do it on a Bird.

Everything seems wrong about it, I mean really...

Neat clip!
Hated the sound of the Jazz in each segment, reconfirmed why I don't play the nasal twangers much anymore. The P Bass sounded great as did the Thumb and Stingray but I gotta say the Thunderbird had the best sound in each segment with exception of slapping and that went to the Stingray.

The Ric was the biggest surprise to me, that thing had absoutly no balls in any of the sound clips. It's the only one of the basses played that I don't currently own and after seeing that video I'm not inclined to buy one.

Agree with you on all points, except I think the Warwick was best slappin'.
Personally I cant slap for crap, its just not in my talent set or skill set and I am ok with that, I dont even enjoy anything about slapping or popping...maybe thats why I am a metal-head ;-)

 

[ProgressiveDoom]

[rant]
Are people idiots or something? I have been checking the Long & McQuade website to see when the new JC and Thunderbirds are available for order. It is nice that you can sort by newness, so the newly added items are first. Yesterday, there shows up a squier starter kit for C$400. It containing a squier affinity PJ, rumble 15 and "accessories" - a strap and 10' cable. Or you could buy the bass for C$270, the amp for C$100. So, C$30 for a cable and strap? Those can be had for a total of about C$20 or less.

So, by my math, you are paying C$10 for a cardboard box. This is just the latest example I have noticed (but the current musical one). What is wrong with people that they don't do the math and figure out that they are further ahead to buy components separately?

Ignore the fact that for C$10 less, you can get a Yamaha TRBX 174 or for C$10 more you can get an Ibanez Talman. IMO both much better than the squier.
[/rant]

Its marketing like this that makes Kijiji the best option.

 

[JJR58]

Everything seems wrong about it, I mean really...

Agree with you on all points, except I think the Warwick was best slappin'.
Personally I cant slap for crap, its just not in my talent set or skill set and I am ok with that, I dont even enjoy anything about slapping or popping...maybe thats why I am a metal-head ;-)

Can't slap, don't want to.
But i do agree, that's not meant for a Thunderbird.

 

[PillO]

There's a few more of us than that. But, people in the US are born with 12 toes. It's a little known fact, and it's why we can't handle decimal stuff except when it comes to money. If we had been on the ball back in 1776 or whenever, our money would be base 12 as well, and we wouldn't have cents, we would have $1/16 and stuff like that. One more of life's daily inconsistencies.

America should have kept their colonial roots. Until 15 Feb 1971, there were 20 shillings in a pound sterling and 12 pence in a shilling. After than, no more florins, farthings, crowns, or guineas.

I get to be metric tomorrow and then part of Sunday before coming home. I expect some customs weirdness. Three random people in a slightly creepy dark green full sized Chevy van, lots of noise making toys, and no plausible alibi. If we get put in some dark immigration hole, it's been nice knowing you.

Canada has no dark immigration holes. They have bright sunlight; you are given three organic gourmet meals a day and free medical care (provided by the world's worst HMO; the government). Unfortunately, you will be indoctrinated into all things metric, including that strange quirk of Canadiana, metric time, with 10 hours of daylight and 10 hours of darkness.

 

[ProgressiveDoom]

Those are export beers then... Never seen those in the shops over here...

Cheers! My cheers emoji

 

[theFixer]

All Asian Epiphones are in metric measurement...

Got it!

I'm learning so much from yooz gize!

 

[PillO]

I hated the original pickups in my Pro IV that became the fretless. They had a somewhat harsh, very modern scooped sound that I just flat didn't like very much. I can't compare them directly, because the Chinabuckers are in a different 'Bird, but Kat's description of them as more polite is a good one. They have a softness around the edges and are a little blurry, if you can call it that. I'll probalby replace those with Thunderbuckers eventually, since the Thuderbuckers have a harder, clearer sound to them if the sound clips Carlo put up are at all accurate. I suspect they are. It's either Thunderbuckers or Lulls that will go in eventually.

I'm getting closer to a decision on my Pro-V. I'm thinking thunderbuckers (he will make a 5 string version) and active/passive system (perhaps Noll). The pickups may need to be spray painted back to keep the stock look. I'll now duck as chrome things get thrown my way.

 

[PillO]

Neat clip!
Hated the sound of the Jazz in each segment, reconfirmed why I don't play the nasal twangers much anymore. The P Bass sounded great as did the Thumb and Stingray but I gotta say the Thunderbird had the best sound in each segment with exception of slapping and that went to the Stingray.

The Ric was the biggest surprise to me, that thing had absoutly no balls in any of the sound clips. It's the only one of the basses played that I don't currently own and after seeing that video I'm not inclined to buy one.

I tend to agree, but I thought that with the exception of the slapping the sting-ray sounded almost as thin as the jazz. The Ric had quite a different sound from the others - neither good nor bad, very different. I still think I would buy a Ric under the right circumstances. The P sounded better than I expected in comparison to the others.

 

[ProgressiveDoom]

America should have kept their colonial roots. Until 15 Feb 1971, there were 20 shillings in a pound sterling and 12 pence in a shilling. After than, no more florins, farthings, crowns, or guineas.



Canada has no dark immigration holes. They have bright sunlight; you are given three organic gourmet meals a day and free medical care (provided by the world's worst HMO; the government). Unfortunately, you will be indoctrinated into all things metric, including that strange quirk of Canadiana, metric time, with 10 hours of daylight and 10 hours of darkness.

And 7 months of winter with with 2 months of wet and windy spring and 3 months of summer if the earth is sitting under the sun just right, if were lucky. Im not going to weigh in on the politics and my views on where Canada is headed because my blood has begun to boil already by this point in my typing this. Happy Canada Day anyway ya Hoser!

 

[theFixer]

The front of the bridge should be about 1/4" to 3/8" higher than the back. Here's a pic of mine with ultra low action...

Hey! Thanx man! A picture truly is worth a thousand words!

I couldn't help but notice how close your pickup is to the strings. Am I lookin' at an Epiphone in your pic?

 

[Larry V]

Hey! Thanx man! A picture truly is worth a thousand words!

I couldn't help but notice how close your pickup is to the strings. Am I lookin' at an Epiphone in your pic?

Those are 100% American-made Gibson PUP's and I'm guessing but pretty certain that we're looking at a 50th Anniversary Edition TBird in gold. drool

 

[ProgressiveDoom]

Hey! Thanx man! A picture truly is worth a thousand words!

I couldn't help but notice how close your pickup is to the strings. Am I lookin' at an Epiphone in your pic?

Thats the same angle as mine pretty much, probably a common setting, I dont know what the angle looks like from the shop setting.

 

[GBassNorth]

...
Agree with you on all points, except I think the Warwick was best slappin'.
Personally I cant slap for crap, its just not in my talent set or skill set and I am ok with that, I dont even enjoy anything about slapping or popping...maybe thats why I am a metal-head ;-)

I had the Warwick as a very close second in the whacka bass segment. But what do I know, I refuse to slap or pop or tap my basses. I would like to learn good pic technique but for now I get everything I need playing finger style. Thanks for posting the clip, it was an eye opener.

An interesting little experiment to try would be to play that video through headphones to a few blindfolded listeners and ask them which instrument sounds most like what they expect a bass to sound like. I'd bet the TBird would come out on top followed by the P Bass and then maybe the Warwick.

The person playing the bass in the video was clearly an accomplished player but if I had to guess his main claim to fame would be guitar not bass. For some reason, a guitar player playing bass seems to really bring out the guitarish traits of the bass. And of the bunch he played, the Thunderbird clearly retained its bass sound and stayed true to its roots. The others, especially the Jazz and the Ric could have just as easily been baritone guitars.

 

[nismaniac]

I'm getting closer to a decision on my Pro-V. I'm thinking thunderbuckers (he will make a 5 string version) and active/passive system (perhaps Noll). The pickups may need to be spray painted back to keep the stock look. I'll now duck as chrome things get thrown my way.

I'm going to put Thunderbuckers in my Pro V as well, also doing full chrome conversion. The only thing I'm undecided on is electronics. Definitely like the options of active/passive w/passive tone control. Tell me about the Noll preamp you mentioned, I haven't heard of it before.

 

[PillO]

You're assuming people are capable of basic arithmetic (people never boast about being illiterate but for some reason innumeracy is considered a bit cool in some circles). Also it saves having to ask if the lead will work with this bass and amp and if the strap is suitable and so on.

At some point in the store, you will have to interact with a person. Even if you just pick up the amp and bass, they will ask if you need a cord. And what kind of person doesn't ask questions before making a purchase?

Lots of people have no clue about musical instruments. Having everything needed in one place "frees" them from decision making or investing additional time in something that have no interest in to begin with.

I would think that someone buying a musical instrument either knows something about it or has done a little research to figure out what they at getting into.



But, there I go thinking again. The inability of the general population (outside of TB, not the TB GP) to think is what drives my misanthropy.

 

[PillO]

Its marketing like this that makes Kijiji the best option.

I understand what you are saying, but I'm not sure that I entirely agree.

 

[GBassNorth]

Hey! Thanx man! A picture truly is worth a thousand words!

I couldn't help but notice how close your pickup is to the strings. Am I lookin' at an Epiphone in your pic?

No it's a Gibson. But I specifically like my action ultra low with no fret buzz and my pickups high for a bit more saturation in my sound. Here's some pics I posted a year ago on this thread showing the action being low enough that it would pin a dime on the 12th fret of the E string with the bass held in playing position...

I personally like the three point bridge but you have to follow a specific routine to set it properly, otherwise you're just fighting it until either you give or the bridge gives.

 

[theFixer]

Can't slap, don't want to.
But i do agree, that's not meant for a Thunderbird.

Funny thing. Back when I was a drummer, I used to think S&P was just so cool! I was fascinated by it. I learned a little rudimentary stuff & screwed around with it any time I found a bass in my hands. Now that I'm playing bass, I enjoy watching & listening to others do it, but I really have no interest in doing it beyond maybe like little accents here & there. Now I'm way more interested in finding ways to incorporate jazzy elements into blues & rock. I'm a long way off from being performance ready with any of it, but that's the first place my head goes when I sit down to work on anything new.

 

[rodv66]

I too am eyeing the new Epi vintage pro birds...anyone have any insight as to how the pickups in the new vintage pros might compare to the pickups in my Silverburst? The Silverburst buckers are hot and growly and sound really good. I am almost convinced to sell the Silverburst to get the new vintage pro but hope the tone is at least on par.





View attachment 1166449

Had a silver burst and pickups were better. Got deal on Gibson ones, and put them in. Sounded great and got nice offer on it