Thunderbird Club

[PillO]

Yes, I boggle at the dexterity and skill that I do not posess.
What drives me nuts is when you watch a demonstration of a bass, supposedly in order to sell the things, and it's all about slappin & tappin & poppin. That gives me zero, nuthin.

I want fingers and picks of recognisable, iconic?, basslines so I get an idea of yes/no/maybe for that bass and its sound. Edit: not necessarily that, but something musical/melodic please.

PS I do enjoy tapping etc in videos of a bass cover of a song. It's not relevant to my limited skill set but I do enjoy them.

I marvel at the dexterity involved in all these slappity, poppity, tappity stuff.

I am firmly of the opinion that dedicated/directed practice should be aimed at skills to be acquired in the proportion in which they will be used. So, to develop the dexterity required to do these things requires many hours of dedicated/directed practice. Then I wonder if they have dedicated time proportionally.

I wonder if there is good money in youtube slappity poppity videos...

 

[D.M.N.]

Welp, went to move the strap button, and the screw sheared off as I was putting it in. Fantastic, now I can't add one where I wanted it centered on the heel and I have a bloody hole in the finish. Oh well, I guess it'll get covered if and when I eventually get it refinished.

 

[PillO]

You know, I am finding myself in the GP threads less and less every day. I just inadvertently wandered into a sandbox scuffle between several kids about exposed pole vs covered pole pickups. My goodness, the trifles that consume bandwidth when you Have nothing substantive to discuss are amazing. Of course, after reading a couple of pages I felt compelled to interject some common sense into the discussion.
I doubt it will make any difference. If there's one thing that can be said about the GP on TB it's that many of those members have brains like Sakrete - all mixed up and permanently set.

Sayre's Law - In any dispute the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the issues at stake

 

[Gaolee]

I suppose we should commemorate that as well!

That takes me back to the days when I told time by record side. 20 minute and you have to flip the record. 20 minutes later, it's time for the next record.

 

[Gaolee]

Thinking about relocating the strap button on the Greco to the neck heel. Pulled out the Zebrabird today and realized what a far more comfortable position it hangs in on the strap, and I think that might be due to the button at the heel. Thoughts?

Yes. It's due to the button at the heel.

 

[D.M.N.]

Yes, I boggle at the dexterity and skill that I do not posess.
What drives me nuts is when you watch a demonstration of a bass, supposedly in order to sell the things, and it's all about slappin & tappin & poppin. That gives me zero, nuthin.

I want fingers and picks of recognisable, iconic?, basslines so I get an idea of yes/no/maybe for that bass and its sound. Edit: not necessarily that, but something musical/melodic please.

PS I do enjoy tapping etc in videos of a bass cover of a song. It's not relevant to my limited skill set but I do enjoy them.

I marvel at the dexterity involved in all these slappity, poppity, tappity stuff.

I am firmly of the opinion that dedicated/directed practice should be aimed at skills to be acquired in the proportion in which they will be used. So, to develop the dexterity required to do these things requires many hours of dedicated/directed practice. Then I wonder if they have dedicated time proportionally.

I wonder if there is good money in youtube slappity poppity videos...

Most demo videos with slap do nothing for me. I love good funk slap bass, but using it to demo every bass, and only slapping, gets real tiresome. Although, to be fair, even when playing finger style most demos don't accurate tell me anything about the bass since they play finger style so differently then I do. Now demos like this? This is some dexterity that blows me away.

 

[TBird1958]

Thinking about relocating the strap button on the Greco to the neck heel. Pulled out the Zebrabird today and realized what a far more comfortable position it hangs in on the strap, and I think that might be due to the button at the heel. Thoughts?

Welp, went to move the strap button, and the screw sheared off as I was putting it in. Fantastic, now I can't add one where I wanted it centered on the heel and I have a bloody hole in the finish. Oh well, I guess it'll get covered if and when I eventually get it refinished.

Dylan, go buy a set of two new strap pins and screws, use a needle nose plier to get the broken screw out. Put the original back where it was and add a the third pin at the heel. Several of my 'Birds including the Greco have 3 pins - Who cares? No hole to fill.

 

[D.M.N.]

Dylan, go buy a set of two new strap pins and screws, use a needle nose plier to get the broken screw out. Put the original back where it was and add a the third pin at the heel. Several of my 'Birds including the Greco have 3 pins - Who cares? No hole to fill.

Already got new ones on order, definitely going the 3 position route. Getting it out likely won't be so easy, it snapped below the wood line.

 

[ProgressiveDoom]

SO MUCH plate on top of the double tracking on the guitars -- someone stop the jangling!

Hey wait a second!, now I remember!. You posted this song once before and even shaved 4 seconds off the end of the track. What is new this time?.

 

[GBassNorth]

As threatened, a comparison between a $USD45 pup and a $USD180 pup (not necessarily in that order). The difference through the amp is much more apparent.

I wish I could relax more when recording, but at the moment the process completely psyches me out. I'd have a couple of beers to loosen me up but it was 0800, which is early even for me.

I was going to do a clanky SVT emulation as well, but the cats started throwing books onto the VT Bass DI. These then are direct into the PreSonus AudioBox iTwo and GarageBand, all settings exactly the same. Fresh Ken Smith Bass Burners on both basses, pickups set at the same distance from the strings.

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I like the second recording a bit better. Seemed a bit more forward with stronger attack and sharper notes.

 

[GBassNorth]

Much more relaxed.

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Kat - I like it! In fact I'd like it even more if you were a bit more heavy in the mix. To be honest I only got a chance to play it through my iPad so there might be more of you there but I just didn't hear quite as much bassline as I normally like to hear.
Be bold brother (sister)!

 

[RedVee]

Most demo videos with slap do nothing for me. I love good funk slap bass, but using it to demo every bass, and only slapping, gets real tiresome. Although, to be fair, even when playing finger style most demos don't accurate tell me anything about the bass since they play finger style so differently then I do. Now demos like this? This is some dexterity that blows me away.

Nice bass too. JAEbird?

 

[kat888]

Hey wait a second!, now I remember!. You posted this song once before and even shaved 4 seconds off the end of the track. What is new this time?.

Nothing, merely demonstrating I don't always play with a stick up my arse.

 

[JIO]

Incredible. Love the sparkle finish; it really works on that bass.

thanks! It was pretty easy, very deliberately low-rent (but nice) - I wanted to emulate the finishes from the 60's like the ones that were on Silvertones and other entry-level guitars/basses then. (and Duncan Yo-Yo's too!)

That's Killer!

Thanks! I don't care what the naysayers say - a 50+ yr old piece of wood that has been vibrated with music all those years achieves a definite tonal quality beyond the pu's etc. Whether one calls it mojo or whatever - it's real - my ears know the difference between very good, and special.

Maaaaaaaaan... that is fawngkee!!!

Did the neck fit the pocket without mod?

thanks! No, I needed to redefine it in a few ways as it was a (30") short scale bass. Here's my thread covering it - Teiscobird project

 

[D.M.N.]

As threatened, a comparison between a $USD45 pup and a $USD180 pup (not necessarily in that order). The difference through the amp is much more apparent.

I wish I could relax more when recording, but at the moment the process completely psyches me out. I'd have a couple of beers to loosen me up but it was 0800, which is early even for me.

I was going to do a clanky SVT emulation as well, but the cats started throwing books onto the VT Bass DI. These then are direct into the PreSonus AudioBox iTwo and GarageBand, all settings exactly the same. Fresh Ken Smith Bass Burners on both basses, pickups set at the same distance from the strings.

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I dunno which one's which, but I think I prefer Bass A. I feel B, while certainly being a bolder sounding pickup, has a bit too much low end going on, to where if I was to push that through my amp and the amp into overdrive, I feel the low end would become a bit too flubby, whereas A, while not having quite so much boom, would stay together better and be more focused as it reached over drive.

 

[Gaolee]

Nice bass too. JAEbird?

It sure looks like a Cataldo.

 

[Gaolee]

Already got new ones on order, definitely going the 3 position route. Getting it out likely won't be so easy, it snapped below the wood line.

Even that can be solved with needle nose pliers and a death grip. If you need to use some filler once the screw is out, so be it, but you probably won't. The button at the heel will likely cover the whole mess. Just use a big enough drill bit to make the pilot hole so it doesn't happen again.

 

[Gaolee]

I dunno which one's which, but I think I prefer Bass A. I feel B, while certainly being a bolder sounding pickup, has a bit too much low end going on, to where if I was to push that through my amp and the amp into overdrive, I feel the low end would become a bit too flubby, whereas A, while not having quite so much boom, would stay together better and be more focused as it reached over drive.

I had not thought of it in those terms. I liked the dynamics of B, but you make a great point. I find that I eq out lower frequencies more often than not when things don't sound good. Same kind of thing.

 

[Gaolee]

Aaaaand... We blew past page 1978, the year I escaped from high school. Here we are on page 1979, when I was probably on the air at the radio station in college.

 

[kat888]

I like the second recording a bit better. Seemed a bit more forward with stronger attack and sharper notes.

@GBassNorth and @Gaolee both like the Chinabucker

@D.M.N. chose the Thunderbucker -- well done Dylan.

They both sound a bit 'strange' through the DAW compared to the amp. And as I said earlier, there is a clearly audible difference through the amp. Thunderbucker has higher output, more dynamics and is more 'present' and you only have to smack it a little to get it really snarling. The Chinabucker is a shy and retiring little thing.