Thunderbird Club

[RedVee]

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.

1979 - my last year at school. Yr 12 - HSC year we call it (or did then).

And my footy team won the Grand Final with me in the crowd. BTW they wear a jersey with a great, big, Red V on it.

 

[kat888]

1980 - first year @ Uni. Got my first bass at the end of the year.

 

[D.M.N.]

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.

Maybe, but I think I would need to gouge out some of the surrounding wood in order to get the pliers to have a grasp. I'll take a look though. I always do a pilot hole, but I guess it wasn't quite big enough this time, plus I'm thinking a rather weak screw give how easily it snapped.

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.

That's a big part of why I always come back to the '62 AVRI Precision basses. I pretty much always run my amps with the bass set to around 2, and with the precisions that's just about perfect because the 62/Fender Original pickups are quite mid range and treble dominant, with a solid low that I would describe as very tight. There's not much boom. And with how I play, preferably right on that edge of breakup, the boom can really start to muddle things up, especially if I'm playing intricate or quick parts down low. I want my notes to be distinct. That's sort of my one qualm with the Greco's pickups. They sound lovely, and very aggressive, but as you turn up the amp the low end can lose some of its clarity and distinction, even with my amps rolled so far back on the bass. I'm okay having my basses be a little bass shy at lower volumes, because they will definitely fill in as I turn up. Currently I think the Greco sounds better while practicing because it has a fuller character at lower volumes, but once I get to higher volumes, I think the Precision becomes dominant due to it not losing that definition.

@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.

Really? I would have thought A was the Chinabucker actually. Interesting you say the Thunderbucker has higher output, it must be the recording levels as I would have said Clip A was a lower output pickup , though certainly the more dynamic and clear. Is that the 63 version or the 66?

 

[kat888]

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)!

Definitely requires headphones. That's how it came down off iTunes - not a lot to be done with it. Almost certainly hasn't been digitally remastered, which doesn't help.

 

[Gaolee]

This whole discussion about pickup output is great. My favorite sounding pickup, up to a point, is the ancient Dimarzio One in my EB-2. It's pretty low output. You have to crank up the amp when playing that bass. So perhaps, I like lower output pickups. I will say that I like hearing a whole lot of detail, and that's what I could hear with Kat's clip B. More processing can tone that down, but it cannot create it. Kat can explain what, if any differences there were in the signal chain between the two clips.

I'm also listening on crappy computer speakers, so there's that, too. No subtlety involved here.

 

[Gaolee]

1980 - first year @ Uni. Got my first bass at the end of the year.

whippersnapper

 

[GBassNorth]

@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.

Again, only listened thru my iPad but what you describe is almost exactly opposite of what I heard. How odd. Tomorrow I'll plug it into my 610 cab and see if there's more there than I heard before.

 

[kat888]

Really? I would have thought A was the Chinabucker actually. Interesting you say the Thunderbucker has higher output, it must be the recording levels as I would have said Clip A was a lower output pickup , though certainly the more dynamic and clear. Is that the 63 version or the 66?

A is the 66S. B was a straight unplug and plug in the Chinabucker, so it's weird it sounds so hot ... there's no compression, eq or anything else. Nothing was redlining either. More investigation/testing required I think.

 

[RedVee]

@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.

I liked A a faction more than B.
I had them pretty much equal through the phone speaker. Thought I'd not post until I tried with headphones.
Well earbuds anyway.
Went A but would be happy with either I think. From the recording you don't get a sense of one being stronger than the other, guess the process evens it out a bit.

 

[RedVee]

A is the 66S. B was a straight unplug and plug in the Chinabucker, so it's weird it sounds so hot ... there's no compression, eq or anything else. Nothing was redlining either. More investigation/testing required I think.

So I liked the more expensive option ?
Typical

 

[JIO]

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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[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

...so, which is which then? ...or are we to choose which one we think sounds best and then you will disclose which is the $45 and which is the $180 pu later?

 

[D.M.N.]

This whole discussion about pickup output is great. My favorite sounding pickup, up to a point, is the ancient Dimarzio One in my EB-2. It's pretty low output. You have to crank up the amp when playing that bass. So perhaps, I like lower output pickups. I will say that I like hearing a whole lot of detail, and that's what I could hear with Kat's clip B. More processing can tone that down, but it cannot create it. Kat can explain what, if any differences there were in the signal chain between the two clips.

I'm also listening on crappy computer speakers, so there's that, too. No subtlety involved here.

I'm rather fond of lower output as well. A lot of people seem hung on having a hotter pickup to drive the amp harder, but from my understand, the trade off there is the hotter you wind the pickup, the more midrange and low end become dominant, giving a darker tone. The lower output it is, the more balanced, clear and hi-fi it sounds. You typically hear the terms like "glassy" high end, and that they are brighter. And that's kind of the realm I prefer. You can also go super low output, into Low Impedance pickups, such as Phil Lesh and Jack Casady used (modified Bi-sonic pickups in their Starfires), which are real clear and hi-fi, and have a very flat frequency reponse.

While people often characterize those Fender Original pickups as crunchy and middy, they also complain about them being low output. I can attest, I have the newer '58 pickups in one bass, and they are much louder than the Original. I also cannot wait to swap them out for another pair of the Originals. In fact, I think my '62 Precision is the quietest bass I own, which is why when I first went to a Thunderbird (Zebrabird) and Ric they seemed so loud. Actually it was just being accustomed to the quieter Precision. And you want an extreme example of hot pickups, look no further than the original EB-3 neck pickup. I believe the Fender Original pickup is wound about 9-10k, the '58s are 12k, and an EB pickup is 30k. They have massive output, but they're called mudbuckers for a reason.

...so, which is which then? ...or are we to choose which one we think sounds best and then you will disclose which is the $45 and which is the $180 pu later?

See above, A is Thunderbucker, B is Chinabucker.

 

[D.M.N.]

A is the 66S. B was a straight unplug and plug in the Chinabucker, so it's weird it sounds so hot ... there's no compression, eq or anything else. Nothing was redlining either. More investigation/testing required I think.

And the 66S is supposed to be a bit more driven and hot, right? In that case, I think I may end up trying out the 63, as Thunderbucker says they are more Fender-y and less hot.

 

[D.M.N.]

Also, starting off the evening with a heavy dose of my favorite bluesman.

 

[JIO]

I played on this album "My Heart is Bleeding" in 1980 right after joining Eddie's band. He passed away in '85. Eddie was the guitarist for Jimmy Reed in the 50's and a really sweet man. He was a religious man and never touched a drop of alcohol. I always thought it was because Jimmy Reed drank himself to death.

 

[D.M.N.]

Love that abrupt ending, reminds me of Rice Pudding.

And my other favorite bluesman:

 

[JIO]

 

[D.M.N.]

Here's a weird one. This is an intermediate lineup between the 2nd JBG and BBA, with Bobby Tench on vocals, Max Middleton on keys, Jeff, Bogert, and Appice. Not the greatest quality, but an incredible document, and listenable enough on headphones.

 

[ProgressiveDoom]

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

Im no doctor but if I may offer advice I would highly recommend that one should never play with a stick up ones arse.

Here's a weird one. This is an intermediate lineup between the 2nd JBG and BBA, with Bobby Tench on vocals, Max Middleton on keys, Jeff, Bogert, and Appice. Not the greatest quality, but an incredible document, and listenable enough on headphones.

Wow this is fn' fantastic!, that bass is so punch and groove

 

[ProgressiveDoom]

Ok so last night I gave my Thunderbird Club, Family, Gang or Cult a video that was not very pleasing on the senses, it was missing a little flair and wee tad of zing and pop factor. I will try to redeem with one of my all time favorite bands. I do apologize for the non Bird content. Crank it!