Thunderbird Club

[Count Bassie]

Fun and energetic video from 1991- boy do they sound and look different from their 1979 debut album. Gone is the Rickenbacker and looks like there's a Streamer Stage II in there-

They sound like pretty generic, cookie-cut pop here: the cutie-pie, borderline kiddie-porn penchant has been replaced by a more run-of-the-mill misogyny... Lol.

 

[Count Bassie]

Thanks for the details! A lot of reviews say its great in a band setting, but sounds "off" if used for solo, "at home" practice, which is what I would likely use it for.

An old Hartke Kickback combo is great for that.

 

[GBassNorth]

Are those DR Neon strings?

Optima Gold Roundwound strings. An excellent sounding round, gold plated and not cheap but they last at least three times longer than nickel rounds and like most coated strings they tame a bit of the finger noise. Most of my gold hardware birds have them, completes the look and delivers the tone.

 

[JIO]

No not any noticeable ones.

 

[JIO]

Yeah-really red-faced.

steamed I'd say...

 

[JIO]

Optima Gold Roundwound strings. An excellent sounding round, gold plated and not cheap but they last at least three times longer than nickel rounds and like most coated strings they tame a bit of the finger noise. Most of my gold hardware birds have them, completes the look and delivers the tone.

I strung a gilded Peavey B-Quad with those (for sale & sold) but never really played them. Good to hear they sound good.

 

[GBassNorth]

I like this mod, I mean the neck pickup. And the smoother blend knob. What exactly is the pickup switching? Do you bring in the neck pickup into the two pickup mix?...

Pretty much. The control layout is three Vol/tone stacks, a kill switch and a true blend knob.

The dedicated vol/tone stacks allow me to custom fit different tone caps and pot values into each pickup output so I can really fine tune the overall flavor of the beast. Right now I'm running .022uf caps on each of the Goth pickups but I'll probably bring the bridge stack up to .045uf to tame the sizzle.

The kill switch is latching (stays on or off, not intermittent) and cuts the complete signal to the output jack.

The Tru Blend Pot differs from a pan pot pretty significantly. Turned all the way towards the bridge (sugar position) brings both Goth Bass (GB) pickups in at nearly 100% and the EB Mudbucker at nearly 0%. As you turn the knob towards the Cream position the Mudbucker starts to creep in until you reach center detent, at which time you have a 50/50 blend between the EB and GB pickups. Continue turning in the cream direction and you eventually reach 100% EB and nearly 0% GB. If I can source an audio taper True Blend pot I'll replace this one. This B taper pot just has too much signal shift around the center detent, an A taper would spread that shift out over a broader sweep of the pot. Unfortunately, the only A taper true blend I've seen was a Fender pot, they are hard to find and made specifically for pick guard mounting vs a through body mount like a Thunderbird, but I have a fix for that, just gotta find the Fender pot.

 

[GBassNorth]

I strung a gilded Peavey B-Quad with those (for sale & sold) but never really played them. Good to hear they sound good.

View attachment 7533429

You played them on my BlingBird. Not drastically different sounding than most nickel rounds, a little warmer and more forgiving of bad left hand technique, kinda similar to DR Black Beauty strings but smoother and less grippy.

 

[GBassNorth]

I strung a gilded Peavey B-Quad with those (for sale & sold) but never really played them. Good to hear they sound good.

View attachment 7533429

Is that B Quad neck a lined fretless? If so, those strings would have sounded killer on that bass.

 

[Count Bassie]

Pretty much. The control layout is three Vol/tone stacks, a kill switch and a true blend knob.

The dedicated vol/tone stacks allow me to custom fit different tone caps and pot values into each pickup output so I can really fine tune the overall flavor of the beast. Right now I'm running .022uf caps on each of the Goth pickups but I'll probably bring the bridge stack up to .045uf to tame the sizzle.

The kill switch is latching (stays on or off, not intermittent) and cuts the complete signal to the output jack.

The Tru Blend Pot differs from a pan pot pretty significantly. Turned all the way towards the bridge (sugar position) brings both Goth Bass (GB) pickups in at nearly 100% and the EB Mudbucker at nearly 0%. As you turn the knob towards the Cream position the Mudbucker starts to creep in until you reach center detent, at which time you have a 50/50 blend between the EB and GB pickups. Continue turning in the cream direction and you eventually reach 100% EB and nearly 0% GB. If I can source an audio taper True Blend pot I'll replace this one. This B taper pot just has too much signal shift around the center detent, an A taper would spread that shift out over a broader sweep of the pot. Unfortunately, the only A taper true blend I've seen was a Fender pot, they are hard to find and made specifically for pick guard mounting vs a through body mount like a Thunderbird, but I have a fix for that, just gotta find the Fender pot.

Actually that sounds like a sensible layout.
I always have like a Killswitch. I should get those and a Hipshot lever (for low D) on all my basses...

 

[JIO]

Is that B Quad neck a lined fretless? If so, those strings would have sounded killer on that bass.

Yes, carbon fiber, 24 fret lined and gloss-coated fretless. That neck was the closest feel to my '64 II. A fretted B-Quad neck came up on eBay but it was over $1k... I seriously considered it but passed. The B-Quad also had a Wilkinson piezo bridge - it was Peavey's most elaborate 18v active bass from the mid '90s.

The holes in the control cover give small screwdriver access to adjust the stereo wiring - crazy comp[licated.

 

[ectoflanger]

Yes, carbon fiber, 24 fret lined and gloss-coated fretless. That neck was the closest feel to my '64 II. A fretted B-Quad neck came up on eBay but it was over $1k... I seriously considered it but passed. The B-Quad also had a Wilkinson piezo bridge - it was Peavey's most elaborate 18v active bass from the mid '90s.

View attachment 7533452
The holes in the control cover give small screwdriver access to adjust the stereo wiring - crazy comp[licated.
View attachment 7533455

Very nice- so the neck is carbon fiber and the body made of wood? What year is it?

 

[Miles_ONeal]

You just need a better (less nice) iron. Head to the Good Will and grab a couple.

I think playing steel with an iron would be a great visual in some settings but the mass and moment arm would make it unwieldy.

 

[5StringBlues]

I'm not a country fan either. Maybe bluegrass. But there are a few songs where I like the steel guitar, lap or otherwise-

"There's No Way Out of Here", both the original Unicorn version and David Gilmour's. The latter, along with a fair number of others, I originally mistook for a harmonica.

"Old Man" by Neil Young.

"Breathe" by Pink Floyd

"Lunatic Fringe" by Red Ryder

"When the Levee Breaks" by Led Zeppelin

And you could play. pretty any standard slide guitar parts with it. I would rather do that than special tune regular guitars.

I imagine that was Gilmour's philosophy since for the longest he just had that one black Strat. When he played live, the slide part of "There's No Way Out of Here" was either played by overdriven Strat or saxophone player.

Steve Howe does a good amount of steel with YES, nothing anywhere traditional tho.



He seems to like making space noises.

 

[ectoflanger]

I think playing steel with an iron would be a great visual in some settings but the mass and moment arm would make it unwieldy.

Especially if there was also someone on the washboard- but you'd have to find an antique iron without teflon on it-

 

[MCF]

Steve Howe does a good amount of steel with YES, nothing anywhere traditional tho.



He seems to like making space noises.

Like Going for the One!

Gotta watch on YouTube….

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Gotta love España.....

 

[Instagator]

Definitely. They all look mad.

Yeah…they were steamed.

 

[ectoflanger]

Gotta love España.....
View attachment 7533515

That's awesome- what parts of Spain have you been to? A friend of mine recently got a place in Alajar in the southwest close to Portugal-

 

[ectoflanger]

Pretty cool, quirky set by Tin Drum at LAX , August 1991. Speaking of quirky, bassist and drummer brothers Tony Fox Sales and Hunt Sales were not only Iggy Pop alumni but the sons of comedian Soupy Sales.

Another cool thing was Reeves Garbriels' chrome Steinberger GL-2 that Ned custom made with a mylar chrome covering.