Thunderbird Club

[MCF]

Nothing dirty about that. If it was the right tool for the job and it worked for you, life it good.

Absolutely. Yesterday was a day for working on my Shadows list. P with Chromes. No shame for doing that here.

 

[TBird1958]

Oh yes the ever popular neck dive, Ive sure heard a lot about it but never experienced it for myself. Not missing it I suppose.

The one bass I've owned that truly was a neck diver.

Like a Stuka over Poland

 

[kat888]

Kat is afraid to sleep because she fear's that as soon as she nod's off someone like myself will start posting about Tort or P shape objects and other random non Thunderbird related shenanigans.

True!

The problem is actually getting to sleep after being up on a major incident all night - sh1t tends to play in my head over and over. Then my body clock's going 'ding ding ding ding' because it's daylight, there are the daytime noises etc.

 

[MCF]

I don't have an Epiphone classic pro, nor do I have a Hipshot, so take this for what it's worth. I put a Babicz, which is very similar in concept to a Hipshot on a 1991 Gibson as part of swapping out the black hardware for chrome. I had the Babicz on it for some time with the stock pickups. My take on it is that the Babicz is much easier to adjust and set up. It's more adjustable, so you can get a much more accurate setup with it. It doesn't have a huge impact on the sound, sustain, or tone. What little sound effect is far overshadowed by the ability to perform fine tuning when you are adjusting things. I suspect you will find the same thing with a Hipshot. If you hate the 3-point and want something different, I think either one is a good way to go. If you expect some kind of sound enhancement, you will be disappointed.

I'm not a three point hater. But I love the Babicz. Very easy to get a perfect setup that sticks for pretty much ever unless you change string gauge. The three point is an elegant design with fixed radius and simple adjustment scheme. Intonation is not a problem. My only complaint is the propensity for the inserts to pull out. I bit the bullet on my Epi and glued them in.

 

[ProgressiveDoom]

The one bass I've owned that truly was a neck diver.

Like a Stuka over Poland

Love that analogy. The only neck dive Ive experienced comes from my Chickenbacker, that one is in contention for a neck diving championship trophy. My Thunderbacker never dives, it came with the strap button located on the neck plate so at least I can defend the bird in that respect.

 

[MCF]

That it is!

And I specifically sought out the 2013 model because it had the tort guard vs the black one on the 2014 model. In my mind the very Fenderish 2013/14 EB shape and burst finish needed a Tort guard to look right. Looks wise, it fits perfectly in my Fender line up but sound wise it's Gibson on steroids and just destroys every Fender I've ever played, owned or heard.

My next Gibby acquisition will be something TBird shaped, preferably in the NR style and equipped with the 2013/14 EB or 2015 TBird electronics (maybe with chrome or nickel covers and a two piece bridge if possible). I might even go shell pink or sea foam green with a parchment pick guard and a Fender neck. One Bird to rule them all!

Sea Foam. Wonderful. Number 4 color in my book. 1. Daphne Blue. Tie for 2 and 3. Lake placid Blue and Pelham Blue.

 

[Nocturnal]

It's a bit unusual for us, it's Arizona's fault, large area of high pressure is supposed to come up the west coast, it will temporarily cancel the on-shore, cooler air flow from the Pacific Ocean.

You are welcome Just sharing the love.

 

[Gluvhand]

Oh yes the ever popular neck dive, Ive sure heard a lot about it but never experienced it for myself. Not missing it I suppose.

Same here pretty much. My 'Bird doesn't dive one bit. The forward rotation is another story but I do the "strap over the front" workaround.

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

View attachment 1190918
Sea Foam. Wonderful. Number 4 color in my book. 1. Daphne Blue. Tie for 2 and 3. Lake placid Blue and Pelham Blue.

It's funny, I've said this before, but I hate Lake Placid Blue… until it ages and greens, then I love it.

 

[MCF]

Salmon steak with mashed spuds, carrots & peas. No tort.

Good taste Red.

 

[Gaolee]

Do you ever sleep?

She takes Kat naps. What do you think?

 

[Count Bassie]

It's a lovely thought!
Were you all to come I daresay my modest home would not be sufficient space - but hey, as I've said before, should any of you be passing through, the welcome mat is always out!

Maybe Plan 9 gets to go west?... Would love to stop and hang for a bit! Tomorrow never knows I guess.

...I have so much fun playing live, hopefully that's what you're seeing

No doubt- the best players to see are the ones who love to play!

 

[JIO]

The one bass I've owned that truly was a neck diver.

Like a Stuka over Poland

Well, more about no upper horn than heaviness of the hs I would imagine. Cool axe none-the-less.

 

[MCF]

I wonder about geddys p bass, they started around 68/69 and I highly doubt he got a new one to start with. Possibly a pre-cbs, which was basically a "used bass" back then


I had a Gibson SG bass briefly in 2013 before it got stolen before I could make the first payment on it.

I just remember the short scale being easy to play, and I could get all the sounds I needed from the 2 pickups, I didn't have it very long, and didn't have a Thunderbird to compare it to.

I wish I had money when GC was blowing out birds for $799 a few years ago, 2014 I believe they were.

I would get another SG if I could, but I can't. It was pretty slick.

Don't recall a $799 Gibson in any SoCal GC I frequented. And in 2015, I was on the hunt. Went to every store more than once. The 2015 went to $999.00 when I snagged mine. There were 2013s at $999 and $1099. I don't recall a single 2014. I did see a mess of a 2013 on the wall in Pasadena that I talked to them about; they were willing to do $899.00 because the inserts were pulling up. I passed (in hindsight I should have bought it). All of the ones during the GC blowout included cases. Deals of the decade. Some of us were lucky to score amazing basses at incredible prices. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. I'm never going to part with my 2015. It's a lifer.

 

[GBassNorth]

Yeah... that mudbucker is a real bulldozer. I imagine it would take a bit more than a 1/4 maple veneer to slow it down!

I've always fancied that lava burst. Saw one on Reverb.com recently for $1100.00 Seems like a good deal considering the limited run...

Yes, that's a decent price for one in mint condition. They come up on the block fairly infrequently, maybe a couple times a year. So bite if you're interested.

 

[MCF]

Yeah, it's part of a project and the whole thing is a rolling Charlie-Fox. The service pack had to be applied to enable the critical system to see the new storage for migration tomorrow ... but that stopped stuff working and now we have to wake up a lot of people to apply the vendor's recommended solution - reboot the bugger.

Windows, right? I hate windows. Unfortunately, it's all I can use in my company.

 

[D.M.N.]

Yeah, THEY suck b***s.

Chromed plastic cover on the mudbucker? BIIIG control cavity and wide stance knobs? I know exactly what you mean about the neck profile. Hang on to that one, it's the grail!

Yep, that's the one! Still has some chrome paint on the bridge surround too! It's no museum piece, had a headstock repair as well as a cavity control repair on the bottom side, but you can't really see too much of that. Certainly a quirky bass but love it! Gotta take it in to be worked on at some point, want to get the bridge pickup sorted as well as new electronics, the varitone is getting worn out I think, it's hard to put it on the two setting for both pickups and it crackles a lot, but seeing how much that model goes for compared to how much I got it for, totally worth it.

 

[MCF]

I don't envy you the wait, the trip might not be too bad though - hopefully it'll cool off some later.



It's a bit unusual for us, it's Arizona's fault, large area of high pressure is supposed to come up the west coast, it will temporarily cancel the on-shore, cooler air flow from the Pacific Ocean.

Wimps! You all don't know heat. Sacto, probably the most livable city in Cali these days, has had several +105 days this season, and it isn't even August. Give me Seattle any day.

 

[Stevis]

It's a lovely thought!
Were you all to come I daresay my modest home would not be sufficient space - but hey, as I've said before, should any of you be passing through, the welcome mat is always out!

Didn't the TV Thunderbirds have a secret HQ in the Pacific? Maybe @Gaolee can apply his skills to building OUR "secret" HQ on island near Seattle and @TBird1958 can handle the tasteful lighting and decor?

We can all travel from our respective parts of the world, in/on our Thunderbird issue jets, rockets, submarines and jet packs and convene there, to strategize about marshalling our sonic bass forces and superior sense of rhythm to foil our evil nemesis, T.O.R.T. (have no idea what the letters stand for there but we need an evil nemesis).

And after each mission (or gig):

 

[GBassNorth]

Thats pretty much exactly what I'm after. All the demos on youtube make them sound super aggressive and grindy, but my favourite EB tones from Jack Bruce, Tim Bagshaw etc are nothing like that.

I forgot it was you with the incredible SGs!

Apparently there's a nice lava burst on eBay right now at a fair price. No relation, but if you're inclined to buy one that's a cool one to get, pretty rare and quite beautiful. Will hold its value very well if not grow in value.