Thunderbird Club

[dagrev]

yep, like you say, get a different drummer because chances are the incompetent one would sound much worse with a click track....

Yes. And with no click everyone can adjust if/as needed. Mr. Clicker isn't going to adjust if others can't get situated.

 

[dagrev]

Speaking of metronomes - I always found this short video of multiple metronomes automatically adjusting their timing to sync up with each other, interesting…

I think we need to try that exact same experiment with 5 blindfolded drummers wearing earplugs

Along the same lines as the dampers in skyscrapers.

 

[dagrev]

Interestingly, I've heard the Sidewinders being described as "bright" and even "thin", whereas the videos I've seen all sound round, muffled, and slightly honky. I wonder if the stock 100K pots are limiting their brightness, and the "bright" and "thin" only come with higher-valued pots?

The 760s are pretty bright. The first ones from VPs more so. If you can't get bright out of them something else is off I would think. Of course something could be not right with them. My 916s have less aggressiveness and mids and are a cleaner bright than the VPs. That's what I recall when A/B ing them.

I wouldn't call my sidewinders bright. Definitely not compared with the 760s which are clearly brighter.

 

[TBird1958]

Wednesday........

 

[MCF]

I hear you. I know some use clicks and it's big debate. For me in some settings it would be fine, as in recording at times--not live. (For me. My opinion only.) In my mind the drummer is the click. If the drummer is that bad--time for another drummer. Live music ebbs, flows and breaths. That's normal. That's what makes it a-live. Honestly, how many in an audience are even aware there are slight/normal timing variations anyway? If a seasoned musician is listening, they would get it because they are used to it. I'm not for slop by any means. I'm not a good musician, but my timing is really good. If I can do it.....

A lot of larger churches use them (often drummer only), and even ques such as, a voice saying, "chorus 1," "bridge," etc. Some times it's because of lack of practice and rotating musicians. rotating songs each week so I get that--but still don't like, personally. It can be done without all that and there are other ways to address those problems seeking to be solved. We do it every week. From some conversations it's also a fad thing. "Oh, my friend at big church X does this. We need to do this as well." That one has no redeeming quality in my book.

Hell. Ringo didn’t have one and couldn’t even hear what was going on when Beatlemania was at its height. Sometimes the songs would be faster than the recordings. It added to the energy. Wouldn’t want it any other way.

One of the drummers we rotated in our bands was really bad at speeding up. We even got into a fight over it at a rehearsal (it was ok, he was my brother and we fought all the time over stupid stuff). I told him to just follow me. It took him a while, but he finally got it. He still plays occasionally, but he is a better guitarist…

 

[JJR58]

Interestingly, I've heard the Sidewinders being described as "bright" and even "thin", whereas the videos I've seen all sound round, muffled, and slightly honky. I wonder if the stock 100K pots are limiting their brightness, and the "bright" and "thin" only come with higher-valued pots?

To my ears, they are quite the opposite.
Nothing thin or overly bright sounding at all.
It’s a massive sounding pickup wth articulation.

 

[GBassNorth]

The 760s are pretty bright. The first ones from VPs more so. If you can't get bright out of them something else is off I would think. Of course something could be not right with them. My 916s have less aggressiveness and mids and are a cleaner bright than the VPs. That's what I recall when A/B ing them.

I wouldn't call my sidewinders bright. Definitely not compared with the 760s which are clearly brighter.

I’ve not tried the 916 pups so no opinion on those but I’d completely agree with your take on the early (pre 2022) VP pickups, the later model called a 64 has warmer thicker sounding pickups. I have 1976 sidewinders and control harness in my white BaCH NR and they are not as bright or dark as my VP. I also have a 1979 bone stock bird with sidewinders and it’s just about as bright as my VP on the top end but quite a bit deeper on the bottom.
Again, I’d think the VP with the right strings would deliver the grind. Which strings would you recommend? ProSteels maybe?

 

[Miles_ONeal]

yep, like you say, get a different drummer because chances are the incompetent one would sound much worse with a click track....

One problem can be when the leader (or a key instrumentalist) isn't listening and/or otherwise starts to drift. Do you drift with them or fight back? It depends on the band/leader. Click tracks don't drift. But honestly, if you can't stay with the rhythm section, then just run with it or work on it.

 

[MCF]

To my ears, they are quite the opposite.
Nothing thin or overly bright sounding at all.
It’s a massive sounding pickup wth articulation.

With my now properly wired ‘77, I agree. I find myself reaching for it more than I ever thought I would. Full, the right amount of growl, plenty of bottom and present mids. Some of it has to do with how I eq the amps and my preference for stainless strings…

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Speaking of metronomes - I always found this short video of multiple metronomes automatically adjusting their timing to sync up with each other, interesting…

I think we need to try that exact same experiment with 5 blindfolded drummers wearing earplugs

Or 5 blindfolded Thunderbird players. If we have another GTG.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I have been recording with two different groups. One does not use a click, the other does.

Composing/producing/editing is sure easier with a click!

As a musician, you should be able to keep a steady meter without depending on others. But you should also be able to make music groove while playing with a click.

For live music, I don't mind a straight click (Metronome-like) as much, though I'd rather just the timekeeper (typically drummer) have the click and everyone play to the timekeeper's time.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

The 760s are pretty bright. The first ones from VPs more so. If you can't get bright out of them something else is off I would think. Of course something could be not right with them...

Worst case, roll the tone down, use only the neck pickup. If still too bright, adjust amp or pedal EQ. My VP pickups were brighter than I liked, but mainly because they lacked as much low end as I wanted. The Epi 64 pickups are better about that. The Thunderbuckers I have in my VP now have no such issues. 8^)

My 916s have less aggressiveness and mids and are a cleaner bright than the VPs. That's what I recall when A/B ing them.

I wouldn't call my sidewinders bright. Definitely not compared with the 760s which are clearly brighter.

I haven't had a chance to play 916s yet. You need to host a GTG!

The only sidewinders I know of playing were definitely not overly bright. They did bring the thunder.

 

[dagrev]

I’ve not tried the 916 pups so no opinion on those but I’d completely agree with your take on the early (pre 2022) VP pickups, the later model called a 64 has warmer thicker sounding pickups. I have 1976 sidewinders and control harness in my white BaCH NR and they are not as bright or dark as my VP. I also have a 1979 bone stock bird with sidewinders and it’s just about as bright as my VP on the top end but quite a bit deeper on the bottom.
Again, I’d think the VP with the right strings would deliver the grind. Which strings would you recommend? ProSteels maybe?

I have not tried ProSteels on a VP. I have GHS flats on the white and SIT SS on the burst. The rounds that are ideal for me would be SIT NPS or SS, or GHS Boomers. All of those have nice hefty lows and all can be aggressive, yet in a pleasant way if that makes any sense. I find thought my rigs that the SIT SS are brighter but not as full in the mids as the NPS. Possibly it's the highs being more present and it simply sounds that way, to me anyway.

Oh, for some great grind (mids and upper mids) Dean Markely Blue Steels (SS version). Those are great strings. Nicely balanced tone-wise. Unfortunately they are defunct, but some sets were still available online. I some some for times when I want to go "round."

 

[dagrev]

With my now properly wired ‘77, I agree. I find myself reaching for it more than I ever thought I would. Full, the right amount of growl, plenty of bottom and present mids. Some of it has to do with how I eq the amps and my preference for stainless strings…

My wiring. Possibly @GBassNorth can identify how it's wired.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Wednesday........

don't need no stinking metronome!....

 

[dagrev]

don't need no stinking metronome!....

Yep! V was nailing it and the rest of the band keeping up.

 

[dagrev]

Ordered what this is supposed to be. Hopefully dark enough to be rich and light enough to show up and not look nearly black.

 

[GBassNorth]

My wiring. Possibly @GBassNorth can identify how it's wired.
View attachment 7522589

Yes, that bicentennial bird is wired correctly - assuming the .047uf tone cap is that value and goes from the center lug of the tone pot to the center lug of the neck volume pot, kinda hard to see that volume pot connection; also assuming the tone pot lug not shown in the pic is grounded to the tone pot body.

Only notes I’d make are the white bridge ground wire looks pretty anemic and frail, check its connections; and there is some solder splatter laying on the cavity floor that should be removed so it doesn’t come loose and work its way into the output jack or create a short somewhere else.

 

[MCF]

Were they testing Subway amps and cabs in Petaluma?

Large Earthquake Rattles Bay Area: Did You Feel It?

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake and a hefty aftershock struck Wednesday morning, shaking communities.

patch.com

 

[Miles_ONeal]

don't need no stinking metronome!....

When the bass player IS the metronome...