Thunderbird Club

[RedVee]

They have the Hammond/Leslie/Korg synth as it all sits together. There was also a Boss patch panel type box that allows them to all work together.
Yes they are committed to giving it 'a good home'.

Bit more this morning. They have it fully assembled (except for one tri-corner connecting thingy which somehow made the trip home in my boot).

They have sent photos and report that it all works well, 1 scratchy Vol pot. Pleased as punch.

You'll need a full range PA to do it justice - fully flown time-aligned arrays should do the job. Might get a twitch out of the missus when you do that. And you'll need a bigger garage.

Haha... I think so! I'm staying stum for a while... think if I hear nothing for a while I've acquired a 'P an O'.

(OT warning... FSO & Ampeg)
While I was up there Rod said ' I thought you'd be interested in this... '
plugged into his Ampeg B15 (S I think, looks early 70s) with his CS Jaguar and handed them to me for a noodle.
The Ampeg had things rattling when I gave the E string a good pluck.
I found it hard to get comfortable with the Jag while sitting. It was 2x Jazz single coils by appearances but I didn't notice any hum. Had BassVI style pickup selectors and strangle.
It was that colour that everyone seems to love. Is it Fiesta Red? It was sorta pinkish.
Nice looking, not a fan of the colour really, I'd need a while to feel comfortable I think - where the Thunderbird felt good from the first.

 

[JIO]

"Ok, doll, you're an orphan. But what I need to know is the problem you have now. If you're not going to tell me then I'll just make a wild guess. You're scared. Probably because a man named Marco is after you. If he is, you should be scared. He's a frustrated bass player wannbe who couldn't hold down the rhythm if his life depended on it. How am I doing so far?"

"That's incredible, Mr. Dovewing! How did you know?"

Sloved gave her a smile he hoped would inspire confidence. "It's my job to know things. What I don't know is why. By the way, my friends call me Slove."

Cleo felt better. It was obvious this was the man who could help her.

Slove, I believe this is the start of a beautiful relationship.

"Ok doll-face", he said after taking a drag on his coffin-nail - "now that we have formalities out off the way - can you sing "You don't Own Me" by Leslie Gore?"

 

[theFixer]

Epi website is fairly notorious. Drove me nuts when I first started looking into Thunderbirds. Luckily the T'Bird Club can provide correct specs when required.

The T-bird club should be running their friggin' marketing department... and the R&D department... and should probly oversee production while we're at it...

 

[DerekW]

That's awesome, Vincenzo!

Now I'm going to give you some unsolicited advice I wish someone had given me when I was in my twenties. Now mind you, I was in college and working full time when I was your age and GM called and made me an offer to join their die engineering team.

Your twenties is when the world is your oyster! Dream big, travel, bed some beauties and have the time of your life. You'll never be that young and have so little responsibility ever, trust me. Your thirties will probably include a marriage and kids at which point you'll switch to dad/provider mode and your twenties will be an awesome memory.

The only regret I have about my twenties is that I didn't travel enough... I covered all the other bases and started a family at 32. I wish I had an understanding of how awesome my twenties were when I was in my twenties. I would have done that decade to 11 instead of the 8 or 9 that I can reflect upon. See more stuff, go places, live it to 11!!!!

So, so, so much this. ^^

I lived that life in my 20's to very early 30's. maintained a decent paying job to pay for it all, but took every non-working moment to enjoy life. Ive been on every continent except Antarctica (still on th bucket list), worked hard and played harder, "to all the girls I've loved before" and there were many. I have stories from pure and beautiful to full on debauchery. Stories that are so good, I can't even tell them without incriminating myself or others.
Now, staring at 50 next year, I can say I can forever look back and know that I didn't miss a thing. I have only one regret, and that is not following my working dream, settled on taking over the family business, which, though still giving me opportunities to enjoy some of the finer things in life, will always leave me feeling empty. Follow your dreams.

 

[theFixer]

NBD!!! (again)

So... it appears I've got some 'splainin' to do.

Ya see... when I got that Goth, I liked it much more at first glance, than I thought I would. When I plugged it in, I fell in love with it. This was at the time when I was just accepting that I was simply not going to find a neck that I was truly comfortable with, on the budget that I'll have available. With as much as I loved the T-bird look and sound... I decided that somehow some way... I was gonna make that Goth work for me. Well... last night, I spotted a MIC 'bird at GC that they'd just taken in on trade. I stopped in to check it out, and it was a whole different 'bird altogether! The neck on this thing is more like what I expected on the Goth. Though the Epi website states that the Goth has a 1.73" nut width... my calipers showed 1.49". This one measures out to 1.70" at the nut!!! This thang definitely ain't no "modern C shaped slim taper"! I'd hafta call it a "D", or maybe even a "U"! Compared to everything else (except maybe the 5 string) that I've brought home... this thing is huge! To me, it feels like the illegitimate love child of a Gibson "Rounded '59" and that walnut Ric 4003 neck that I liked so much. It's a long way from the "perfect" neck... but it's much less fatiguing. The action is better than it was on the Goth, and I believe I can make it better still! Though the nut slots could be deeper... they're better than they were on the Goth, and (added bonus) they're at uniform heights! The pickups are louder, with (technically) "better" tone. I say that with parentheses and quotes because, though the tone is clearer and more defined on this bass... I absolutely LOVE the dirty, honky, snarl of the Goth. That thing is a Rock & Roll machine, and I will have another! For right now... playability is king. As far as physical condition... I'll give it a solid 8.5. The jack's a little loose & kicks off a little noise, but I've got one to throw in it if needed. That's the only black mark! Either the folks at GC are taking pity on me, or I'm getting pretty good at this, cuz somehow, I managed to stroll in there and trade my Goth for a more expensive bird, with a proper Epi T-bird hardcase & a $30.00 set of Cobalts... even up (Momma would be so proud)!

Can anybody help me out with that serial number? GDP didn't recognize this one...

<edit>
Silly me. I tried the serial number at GDP again. This time I left off the letters at the beginning. The results are somewhat humorous. You see... on the neck plate, directly above the Epiphone logo... the words "Hand crafted in China by..." are proudly cast into it, yet the serial number trace states:

"Your guitar was made in
Korea
on January, 2008
Production Number: 125"

This lines up with what @Nocturnal said regarding the Korean Epis having large necks! This means that, in future conversations... I'll now apparently have to ask the question, "Is it a Korean Chinese 'bird, or a Chinese Chinese 'bird?".

 

[kat888]

20s? Nice if you can remember them...

Just had a bit of a go on a Steinberger Spirit XT-2 when I was in town earlier. The lack of headstock wasn't disconcerting at all. Could happily have one of those as a travel bass. A pessimist will always see three and a half basses as three...

[edit:] It may actually be easier for a TBird player to adjust to the 'non-standard' layout, despite the fact that it's canny short in comparison to a Bird.

 

[theFixer]

20s? Nice if you can remember them...

Just had a bit of a go on a Steinberger Spirit XT-2 when I was in town earlier. The lack of headstock wasn't disconcerting at all. Could happily have one of those as a travel bass. A pessimist will always see three and a half basses as three...

 

[Haji]

Not sure you wanna hear about my uncles wrinkled arse.

Scottish wrinkled at that.

So kinda like a pair of elongated Scotch eggs?

 

[theFixer]

That's awesome, Vincenzo!

Now I'm going to give you some unsolicited advice I wish someone had given me when I was in my twenties. Now mind you, I was in college and working full time when I was your age and GM called and made me an offer to join their die engineering team.

Your twenties is when the world is your oyster! Dream big, travel, bed some beauties and have the time of your life. You'll never be that young and have so little responsibility ever, trust me. Your thirties will probably include a marriage and kids at which point you'll switch to dad/provider mode and your twenties will be an awesome memory.

The only regret I have about my twenties is that I didn't travel enough... I covered all the other bases and started a family at 32. I wish I had an understanding of how awesome my twenties were when I was in my twenties. I would have done that decade to 11 instead of the 8 or 9 that I can reflect upon. See more stuff, go places, live it to 11!!!!

@Dr_Feelgoood212 ... read and heed, my friend. We all lead very different lives, so living yours to it's fullest, will mean something different to you than it does to me, or Larry, or anyone else. One thing that ALL of us who are lookin' at our 20's in the rear view mirror will agree on... whatever you do... "do" the hell out of it, and savor every morsel. It'll be over so much faster than you can possibly imagine. (this is probably the point at which I should reach over & pop ya in the back of the head & say "DON'T ROLL YOUR EYES AT ME BOY!!! I know what I'm talkin' about!").

 

[RedVee]

NBD!!! (again)

So... it appears I've got some 'splainin' to do.

Ya see... when I got that Goth, I liked it much more at first glance, than I thought I would. When I plugged it in, I fell in love with it. This was at the time when I was just accepting that I was simply not going to find a neck that I was truly comfortable with, on the budget that I'll have available. With as much as I loved the T-bird look and sound... I decided that somehow some way... I was gonna make that Goth work for me. Well... last night, I spotted a MIC 'bird at GC that they'd just taken in on trade. I stopped in to check it out, and it was a whole different 'bird altogether! The neck on this thing is more like what I expected on the Goth. Though the Epi website states that the Goth has a 1.73" nut width... my calipers showed 1.49". This one measures out to 1.70" at the nut!!! This thang definitely ain't no "modern C shaped slim taper"! I'd hafta call it a "D", or maybe even a "U"! Compared to everything else (except maybe the 5 string) that I've brought home... this thing is huge! To me, it feels like the illegitimate love child of a Gibson "Rounded '59" and that walnut Ric 4003 neck that I liked so much. It's a long way from the "perfect" neck... but it's much less fatiguing. The action is better than it was on the Goth, and I believe I can make it better still! Though the nut slots could be deeper... they're better than they were on the Goth, and (added bonus) they're at uniform heights! The pickups are louder, with (technically) "better" tone. I say that with parentheses and quotes because, though the tone is clearer and more defined on this bass... I absolutely LOVE the dirty, honky, snarl of the Goth. That thing is a Rock & Roll machine, and I will have another! For right now... playability is king. As far as physical condition... I'll give it a solid 8.5. The jack's a little loose & kicks off a little noise, but I've got one to throw in it if needed. That's the only black mark! Either the folks at GC are taking pity on me, or I'm getting pretty good at this, cuz somehow, I managed to stroll in there and trade my Goth for a more expensive bird, with a proper Epi T-bird hardcase & a $30.00 set of Cobalts... even up (Momma would be so proud)!

Can anybody help me out with that serial number? GDP didn't recognize this one...
View attachment 1178833 View attachment 1178834 View attachment 1178835

<edit>
Silly me. I tried the serial number at GDP again. This time I left off the letters at the beginning. The results are somewhat humorous. You see... on the neck plate, directly above the Epiphone logo... the words "Hand crafted in China by..." are proudly cast into it, yet the serial number trace states:

"Your guitar was made in
Korea
on January, 2008
Production Number: 125"

This lines up with what @Nocturnal said regarding the Korean Epis having large necks! This means that, in future conversations... I'll now apparently have to ask the question, "Is it a Korean Chinese 'bird, or a Chinese Chinese 'bird?".

Good work @theFixer - enjoy that 'Bird!

20s? Nice if you can remember them...

Just had a bit of a go on a Steinberger Spirit XT-2 when I was in town earlier. The lack of headstock wasn't disconcerting at all. Could happily have one of those as a travel bass. A pessimist will always see three and a half basses as three...

[edit:] It may actually be easier for a TBird player to adjust to the 'non-standard' layout, despite the fact that it's canny short in comparison to a Bird.

View attachment 1178839

Any reasonable person would agree that a travel Bass doesn't factor in the 3 Bass rule.

 

[theFixer]

Good work @theFixer - enjoy that 'Bird!


Any reasonable person would agree that a travel Bass doesn't factor in the 3 Bass rule.

Hell... I bet you could even get a baritone guitar under the fence too!

 

[Richard I]

Bought it in 1965, added a '68 Tele pickup and switch in '73.

Now has a Duncan Quarter Pounder.

Neck is 1-3/4" at the nut and chunky.

I'd love to hear that, sir.

 

[hillerup]

DIY. Housing is in the making for months now, but it's sufficient as is. They stick with velcro.

View attachment 1178687

Found the wood in the dumbster and width fit with a doormat. It's a tad to narrow in length and I don't want to cut the mat.



I blame the lack of stands, had to compensate with stereos.

But why the doormat? Why not just velcro the pedals to the piece of wood?

 

[hillerup]

So... How was the probing?



Damn! I was anticipating an elaborate story about anal probing and such...



Enough with the suspense JR: WHAT'S UP WITH THE PROBING???


I blew my chance with the probing.
Just when I was ready and willing, I started in with "The Dude" and "Pelham Blue Thunderbirds", think I killed their strong desire for foreplay, the door opened, and out I went.

Yeah, following the "Dude's" life doctrines usually will get you a long way - Mostly in trouble though...

Either that, or they realized it was shabbas, and they don't do probings on shabbas...

 

[Off-Beat]

But why the doormat? Why not just velcro the pedals to the piece of wood?

The doormat is the female velcro to the pedal's male.

€: Understood that wrong. Well I like to stick them anywhere I want and it looks different.

 

[hillerup]

I seem to recall that Kat used the Velcro to hold the cat on the pedal board. Not sure where she plugs into it though.

Maybe here..?

 

[hillerup]

They have the Hammond/Leslie/Korg synth as it all sits together. There was also a Boss patch panel type box that allows them to all work together.
Yes they are committed to giving it 'a good home'.

The Roland MP600 electric piano is in my garage ATM. I'm just about to head out and have a look. Surprisingly my wife barely twitched when I told her.
I had a google and it doesn't get a real good wrap, but I found 4 very short YouTube videos by one bloke, and it sounded ok to me.

If it ends up with me, that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

I assume it would just plug into one of my amps with a guitar cable or similar?
Guess a little more research is coming up.

What Korg synth was it?

 

[hillerup]

That's awesome, Vincenzo!

Now I'm going to give you some unsolicited advice I wish someone had given me when I was in my twenties. Now mind you, I was in college and working full time when I was your age and GM called and made me an offer to join their die engineering team.

Your twenties is when the world is your oyster! Dream big, travel, bed some beauties and have the time of your life. You'll never be that young and have so little responsibility ever, trust me. Your thirties will probably include a marriage and kids at which point you'll switch to dad/provider mode and your twenties will be an awesome memory.

The only regret I have about my twenties is that I didn't travel enough... I covered all the other bases and started a family at 32. I wish I had an understanding of how awesome my twenties were when I was in my twenties. I would have done that decade to 11 instead of the 8 or 9 that I can reflect upon. See more stuff, go places, live it to 11!!!!

Great advice!

 

[hillerup]

NBD!!! (again)

So... it appears I've got some 'splainin' to do.

Ya see... when I got that Goth, I liked it much more at first glance, than I thought I would. When I plugged it in, I fell in love with it. This was at the time when I was just accepting that I was simply not going to find a neck that I was truly comfortable with, on the budget that I'll have available. With as much as I loved the T-bird look and sound... I decided that somehow some way... I was gonna make that Goth work for me. Well... last night, I spotted a MIC 'bird at GC that they'd just taken in on trade. I stopped in to check it out, and it was a whole different 'bird altogether! The neck on this thing is more like what I expected on the Goth. Though the Epi website states that the Goth has a 1.73" nut width... my calipers showed 1.49". This one measures out to 1.70" at the nut!!! This thang definitely ain't no "modern C shaped slim taper"! I'd hafta call it a "D", or maybe even a "U"! Compared to everything else (except maybe the 5 string) that I've brought home... this thing is huge! To me, it feels like the illegitimate love child of a Gibson "Rounded '59" and that walnut Ric 4003 neck that I liked so much. It's a long way from the "perfect" neck... but it's much less fatiguing. The action is better than it was on the Goth, and I believe I can make it better still! Though the nut slots could be deeper... they're better than they were on the Goth, and (added bonus) they're at uniform heights! The pickups are louder, with (technically) "better" tone. I say that with parentheses and quotes because, though the tone is clearer and more defined on this bass... I absolutely LOVE the dirty, honky, snarl of the Goth. That thing is a Rock & Roll machine, and I will have another! For right now... playability is king. As far as physical condition... I'll give it a solid 8.5. The jack's a little loose & kicks off a little noise, but I've got one to throw in it if needed. That's the only black mark! Either the folks at GC are taking pity on me, or I'm getting pretty good at this, cuz somehow, I managed to stroll in there and trade my Goth for a more expensive bird, with a proper Epi T-bird hardcase & a $30.00 set of Cobalts... even up (Momma would be so proud)!

Can anybody help me out with that serial number? GDP didn't recognize this one...
View attachment 1178833 View attachment 1178834 View attachment 1178835

<edit>
Silly me. I tried the serial number at GDP again. This time I left off the letters at the beginning. The results are somewhat humorous. You see... on the neck plate, directly above the Epiphone logo... the words "Hand crafted in China by..." are proudly cast into it, yet the serial number trace states:

"Your guitar was made in
Korea
on January, 2008
Production Number: 125"

This lines up with what @Nocturnal said regarding the Korean Epis having large necks! This means that, in future conversations... I'll now apparently have to ask the question, "Is it a Korean Chinese 'bird, or a Chinese Chinese 'bird?".

The dater is wrong about the country/factory...

Your bass is made at the Unsung factory in China (UC = Unsung, China).

The date however is correct...

The dating formula is: F(F)YYMMRRRR which translates to:

F(F) = Factory
YY= Year
MM = Month
RRRR = Production number

More info about this here:

Invalid Link Removed

 

[hillerup]

The doormat is the female velcro to the pedal's male.

€: Understood that wrong. Well I like to stick them anywhere I want and it looks different.

That makes sense...