Thunderbird Club

[Chucky Stiletti]

For anyone in the SF Bay Area NEXT weekend, I’m doing back to back sets with both my bands in SF, at the Kilowatt, on Sunday 6/14, afternoon show from 1 to 5pm:

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Cool poster...

 

[GBassNorth]

I am and will remove and replace the existing pup. Unless it sounds crazy good--then I will think on it.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bought a bargain basement used bass with the intent to mod, only to find out when it arrives that it sounds too good to mod. In which case, sometimes I just keep it as is and move on to another project, or on a few occasions I’ve actually purchased a second identical bass and then modded the one that sounds like it needs it most.

 

[GBassNorth]

So I don't really keep up around here, and I like to go back a few pages when I do show up. But this morning I've got a question and I know we have a great resource of knowledge here. So ..
I'm stripping down the Heckinecker. It's incurred some history I want to get past, and it started off with such potential. I want to realize it and clean it up. So the nutty fantastical artwork is going under the DeWalt random orbital sander and it'll get sent off to my friend's auto body paint shop for a new suit. Considering keeping it nitro, which will be more hassle, but...
I want to put humbuckers in it, something like you'd find in a Gibson. I like the dark, lowering growl you can get out of many of the Gibson pickup sets, and and I'm posting this looking for advice. I would like it to be passive, no preamp unless it's something stellar. Like, if I ran into an Alembic set and could do it, but that's really out of my $$ range... And I like the Gibson stuff.
I'll have to scour YouTube and get the headphones working, but any advice and guidance on this area would be appreciated and put on the table.
As always, thanks for your time!
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Done this a bunch lately. Working on an Alembic Tbird right now (managed to score an entire Alembic pup/preamp set for a semi reasonable cost). If you’re replacing your three single pup routes with three humbuckers (which I think sounds great on a Tbird) you’d do good with ChinaBuckers or even Goth Humbuckers for dirt cheap, for a bit more you can go with the Gibson ReIssue TB pickups.

My experience on Active converts vs Passive mods - either can sound stellar or fairly mundane. Unless you have a known good mod I’d keep it simple and cheap. Generally speaking, I’ve found more often than not 500/250 (vol/tone) pots with .022uf tone caps works best on Tbird humbuckers. Exceptions would be vintage sidewinders, true mudbuckers and single coils.

 

[GBassNorth]

Dave's @Stealth57 Seymour Duncans Thunderbird pups sound fantastic from the recording. Very vintage 60s Thunderbird. Would likely be what I would use if money were not an option. But Gibson's Reissue Thunderbird pups are a great option and less money. If you are going to have the neck pup right next to the neck, Chinabuckers should work. Some say they are a little less full sounding, but being up against the neck would almost certainly address that.

My BlingBird utilizes three ChinaBuckers with one up near the neck, works great!

 

[MCF]

Same resistance for bridge and neck positions? Looks like. That's cool?

Gibson doesn’t distinguish between neck and bridge when offered as an aftermarket item. It is wound like the bridge pickup they put in the NRs at around 8k (the neck pickups are typically about 1k lower). I doubt it makes much difference.

 

[Count Bassie]

Gibson doesn’t distinguish between neck and bridge when offered as an aftermarket item. It is wound like the bridge pickup they put in the NRs at around 8k (the neck pickups are typically about 1k lower). I doubt it makes much difference.

Distance from strings... Yeah.

 

[Count Bassie]

I have a pair of TB+ I’d part with. They are from a ‘95 Gibson ‘bird.

PM me if interested.

PM'd

 

[Stealth57]

For anyone in the SF Bay Area NEXT weekend, I’m doing back to back sets with both my bands in SF, at the Kilowatt, on Sunday 6/14, afternoon show from 1 to 5pm:

View attachment 7509335

I saw Bond Girl there a month or so ago. Interesting place. I'll try to put that on the calendar.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

So I don't really keep up around here, and I like to go back a few pages when I do show up. But this morning I've got a question and I know we have a great resource of knowledge here. So ..
I'm stripping down the Heckinecker. It's incurred some history I want to get past, and it started off with such potential. I want to realize it and clean it up. So the nutty fantastical artwork is going under the DeWalt random orbital sander and it'll get sent off to my friend's auto body paint shop for a new suit. Considering keeping it nitro, which will be more hassle, but...
I want to put humbuckers in it, something like you'd find in a Gibson. I like the dark, lowering growl you can get out of many of the Gibson pickup sets, and and I'm posting this looking for advice. I would like it to be passive, no preamp unless it's something stellar. Like, if I ran into an Alembic set and could do it, but that's really out of my $$ range... And I like the Gibson stuff.
I'll have to scour YouTube and get the headphones working, but any advice and guidance on this area would be appreciated and put on the table.
As always, thanks for your time!
View attachment 7509253View attachment 7509254View attachment 7509255

The two basses I Have with the most obvious low end are my Thunderbucker-equipped VP (those pickups are hard to come by, & usually pricy) and the CP pickups, which are allegedly the same as those used in most standard, modern Gibsons. If you could find a broken CP ...

 

[MCF]

I saw Bond Girl there a month or so ago. Interesting place. I'll try to put that on the calendar.

Ugh. I would come up, but my daughter is going to be here for her first visit since Christmas. Perfect opportunity to see both bands in one trip. Oh well….

 

[MCF]

The two basses I Have with the most obvious low end are my Thunderbucker-equipped VP (those pickups are hard to come by, & usually pricy) and the CP pickups, which are allegedly the same as those used in most standard, modern Gibsons. If you could find a broken CP ...

I believe he has a CP….

 

[Count Bassie]

I believe he has a CP….

I do, I'm looking for a pickup for a bass I'm going to rehab. I mssgd @dagrev about a set he's got.
I might just get a single Gibson re-issue that you posted a link for, Marshall, but I do like the TB+...

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Ugh. I would come up, but my daughter is going to be here for her first visit since Christmas. Perfect opportunity to see both bands in one trip. Oh well….

She wouldn’t want to go?

 

[Stealth57]

Ugh. I would come up, but my daughter is going to be here for her first visit since Christmas. Perfect opportunity to see both bands in one trip. Oh well….

My wife said she’s going. She retired yesterday and now doesn’t give a *^#%*+ about staying out late or getting up early

 

[JIO]

I saw Bond Girl there a month or so ago. Interesting place. I'll try to put that on the calendar.

Speaking of Bond Girl... a week from today at the Hotel Utah, second up.

 

[JIO]

My wife said she’s going. She retired yesterday and now doesn’t give a *^#%*+ about staying out late or getting up early

Retiring is liberating!

 

[JIO]

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bought a bargain basement used bass with the intent to mod, only to find out when it arrives that it sounds too good to mod. In which case, sometimes I just keep it as is and move on to another project, or on a few occasions I’ve actually purchased a second identical bass and then modded the one that sounds like it needs it most.

That can happen, but for me it's usually the opposite; comes in a mess, and ends up a winner!

 

[TBird1958]

Part of the new shop, Grand Opening tomorrow.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Part of the new shop, Grand Opening tomorrow.

Look at all those Thunder… wait. What?

 

[dagrev]

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bought a bargain basement used bass with the intent to mod, only to find out when it arrives that it sounds too good to mod. In which case, sometimes I just keep it as is and move on to another project, or on a few occasions I’ve actually purchased a second identical bass and then modded the one that sounds like it needs it most.

Kind of like the Epi Embassy that was going to be the donor bass that ended up being too nice in every way to gut.

This Pbass is odd and curious. I'm thinking I might install a Koreabucker tomorrow, but.... I know it will have to sound even better. Won't it? The vol is really low with the current stat pup. Kind if neat having two pup sounds with the push/pull. But I really want a Thunderbird pup in it. First world problems.