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Thunderbird Club

#34,183
ProgressiveDoom said:
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!;)View attachment 1166498
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That can't be right. I thought metric using countries only had 10 months.
 
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#34,184
Good afternoon folks. I have recently joined the club and enjoyed reading the posts. I have recently purchased a 5 string bird and have enjoy playing it very much. I have been considering getting a 4 string version as well and was hoping for a little advice. I played a 2014 model a few years ago at a GC near Portland. I loved it and should not have left town without it, as there are none in the city where I live. I recently tried another one and am not certain what year it might have been. It was entirely different. I realize that each instrument is unique, but the differences in terms of neck and feel were striking. My question relates to changes that may have occurred in the dimensions or build of these basses. I have read some old threads on years to avoid and QC issues, but was hoping for more recent thoughts on this. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
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#34,186
Oh boy! Where do I start?
Last night, you may remember me mentioning a "hip" in the neck from the 12th to the N/B joint. Imagine that the neck is a road you're driving on. If you started at the nut, and drove towards the body, you would've driven on a flat road until you got to the 12th fret, where there was a very subtle elevation, and then it flattened out again at about the 15 - 16th fret. I played to that elevation, and adjusted the truss rod so that it was more like a subtle elevation all the way from the nut to the N/B joint, where it flattened out, then elevated the bridge a bit, to get over the hump. That meant that from about the 15th fret up would be a little harder to play on, but at this stage of the game, those frets don't see much of me anyway. I dialed it in reasonably well with the old strings on it, then took them off & rubbed in a good amount of Formby's Almond Oil (rosewood loves almond oil & it doesn't leave residue), then I let it sit with no strings on it for about 6 hours. Just before I went to bed, I put the new DR Hi-Beams on it & set it in the stand. As I was having my morning coffee with my T-bird brothers & sisters, I picked up a few tips on bridge set-up, which I quickly implemented (thanks y'all!). I'm happy to announce that it came together better than I'd hoped! It ain't flawless, and the nut still needs some love, but it's definitely payable and enjoyable!
IMG_1553.JPG

I'm thrilled! When I set it in the stand last night, I thought I wasn't gonna be able to enjoy it until I had the nut redone. Now... I'm enjoying it... a LOT!!! He bitches at me & puts up a little fight here & there, but we're gonna get along just fiiiiine!:D:thumbsup:

This is definitely a different animal than I'm used to, but what unique character he has! I raised the pups up 'till they wouldn't go any higher (thanks for that tip as well), and as promised, the output increased and that infamous "snarl" came in. The output is still lower than I expected, but the tone is rrreeeeaallly nice! the neck pup is big & ballsy without losing definition, and the bridge pup has a throaty bite to it unlike any other bass I've played. TBPH... I'm not a huge fan of the bridge pup by itself, but when blended with the neck pup, it makes pure magic! Somewhere down the road, I may do something about the electronics, but for now, I'm just gonna play it! I'm aaaalllllll in!!!:thumbsup:
 
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#34,187
Border said:
Good afternoon folks. I have recently joined the club and enjoyed reading the posts. I have recently purchased a 5 string bird and have enjoy playing it very much. I have been considering getting a 4 string version as well and was hoping for a little advice. I played a 2014 model a few years ago at a GC near Portland. I loved it and should not have left town without it, as there are none in the city where I live. I recently tried another one and am not certain what year it might have been. It was entirely different. I realize that each instrument is unique, but the differences in terms of neck and feel were striking. My question relates to changes that may have occurred in the dimensions or build of these basses. I have read some old threads on years to avoid and QC issues, but was hoping for more recent thoughts on this. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
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Welcome! I'm a noob here myself, and certainly not the most qualified to give you the answers you're lookin' for, but I can assure you you've come to the right place! The forum has been really busy lately, and I'm sure you won't have to wait long to get your answers!:thumbsup:
 
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#34,189
Border said:
Good afternoon folks. I have recently joined the club and enjoyed reading the posts. I have recently purchased a 5 string bird and have enjoy playing it very much. I have been considering getting a 4 string version as well and was hoping for a little advice. I played a 2014 model a few years ago at a GC near Portland. I loved it and should not have left town without it, as there are none in the city where I live. I recently tried another one and am not certain what year it might have been. It was entirely different. I realize that each instrument is unique, but the differences in terms of neck and feel were striking. My question relates to changes that may have occurred in the dimensions or build of these basses. I have read some old threads on years to avoid and QC issues, but was hoping for more recent thoughts on this. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
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According to Gibson all necks are finished by hand. So every Thunderbird neck you play will be different.
 
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#34,191
GBassNorth said:
You Bird Brains need to jump on over to this thread and cast your vote...
Famous Bass guitars sound comparison.
Right now it's a runaway for the P Bass but the TBird could easily pull in a nice second place slot with a few more votes.
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It would appear to be a "my brand is best" contest more than a "which one sounds best" contest. I think most of us would agree that the Music Man sounded considerably better than most of the others, but it's in second to last place. Last place was saved for the Ric, which I think we'll all agree, was not represented accurately. Whatever. It's still kinda cool. All the more reason for the T-birders to band together & represent!:bassist:
 
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#34,193
theFixer said:
It would appear to be a "my brand is best" contest more than a "which one sounds best" contest. I think most of us would agree that the Music Man sounded considerably better than most of the others, but it's in second to last place. Last place was saved for the Ric, which I think we'll all agree, was not represented accurately. Whatever. It's still kinda cool. All the more reason for the T-birders to band together & represent!:bassist:
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Considering the Music Man was designed by Leo Fender, I'm surprised it's that far behind.
 
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#34,198
The Bird was surprisingly decent slapped but that doesn't mean you should do it. Otherwise, the Ric didn't sound too bad, but not really like a Ric, the P was good and the Warwick has its charms.

Really you can't tell anything from someone showing off like that -- in that way that guitarists do when they pick up a bass 'I'm gunna show that slow coach bass player how it's done'.

Mate, there's this person called the 'drummer' and you need to get in tight with HER. As the man says 'it's gotta back beat you can't lose it'.
 
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#34,199
Ok... here's a question for you long-time 'birders...

The front stra
kat888 said:
The Bird was surprisingly decent slapped but that doesn't mean you should do it. Otherwise, the Ric didn't sound too bad, but not really like a Ric, the P was good and the Warwick has its charms.

Really you can't tell anything from someone showing off like that -- in that way that guitarists do when they pick up a bass 'I'm gunna show that slow coach bass player how it's done'.
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I don't mind the reviewer doing it... but IMHO, it should receive equal time to a variety of other styles/techniques. Otherwise, the question that's really being answered is, "Which bass sounds better when we do THIS to it?"... not, "Which bass sounds best?".

... but, ya know what they say about opinions and a-holes...
 

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