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Thunderbird Club

#40,324
hillerup said:
That reminds me - How did the restoration work out?
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It hasn't. I acquired a period correct three point and found the one BiCen pickup I own. Disassembled the bass and stuck it in a closet. Just one of the many uncompleted projects. Maybe when the weather cools and I can spend some 'Me time' in the shop. Right now I'm fully occupied with customer builds.
 
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#40,326
JIO said:
The more I play, the stronger my hands get, especially the left hand/fingers which then leave me in better position to both dig-in and to also play with finesse. More variety of touch = more nuance of expression. It's all pretty subtle but at the end of the day I feel I have more control of my input/tone. In a recent bass player mag article, Sting said he prefers to play 'behind the amp' meaning I think he has to play more physically as his amp isn't as loud as it could be. This offers a certain character of tone because of the need to 'push' the output/tone more aggressively with ones fingers. I've tried it and like it, but I also like playing with the amp volume a bit higher and being more delicate with my fingers. Less of a workout physically. Both have +'s and I try to mix it up depending on the music.
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My heavy handededness comes from all kinds of manual work over the years, playing unamplified upright in the occasional fairly loud setting, and general CroMagnon-ness. I can back it off just fine and let the amp make the noise. But then when it's time to dig in, out comes the claw again. Funny thing is that if I want volume from the 'Bird, I have to be gentle with it, relative. Ripping the strings off the neck results in clank and not much volume. There's some middle ground somewhere. In time, it may appear through the mists. Anybody want to put odds on when that might be?
 
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#40,327
kat888 said:
It is but I cannot live there, as the rule is I must live on the east coast of any country I am in ... which puts me in Newfoundland, home of Diamond Guitar Pedals.
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Move to Victoria. It's on the east coast of Vancouver Island. Water to the east, land to the west. More or less. You didn't specify how wide the water had to be.
 
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#40,328
Gaolee said:
My heavy handededness comes from all kinds of manual work over the years, playing unamplified upright in the occasional fairly loud setting, and general CroMagnon-ness. I can back it off just fine and let the amp make the noise. But then when it's time to dig in, out comes the claw again. Funny thing is that if I want volume from the 'Bird, I have to be gentle with it, relative. Ripping the strings off the neck results in clank and not much volume. There's some middle ground somewhere. In time, it may appear through the mists. Anybody want to put odds on when that might be?
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Yes, likewise (too) many years of hands-on work. Lately I've needed to back off as my wrists especially are not recovering as quickly. We are machines and machines eventually wear out. Luckily we adapt and figure out a more conducive approach. ;)
 
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#40,329
ThunderbirdMax said:
What do you guys think of the Babicz 3 point bridge ? is it "better" than a regular 3 point bridge ?
I think that it looks far better than the Hipshot.
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I like them. Define "better." I put one on the 1991 as part of the chrome project because of the way it looks. Yeah, I'm pretty shallow. But I got to know them when I got the EB and now the 2015 'Bird. So, I have three bass guitars with Babicz bridges. They are straight forward to set up, straight forward to get intonation right, and straight forward to set string height. That said, I have no problems setting up a 3-point, and the magical 2001 'Bird has its original 3-point. That bridge matches the neck radius, so individual string height adjustments aren't particularly important. The 2001 has the lowest action of any bass I own, and it's rock solid stable, just like the Babicz bridges. I don't think either one sustains more or less, at least not to my ears. I suppose if you struck a note and waited to see how long it decayed, there might be a difference, but when playing, the next note always comes along before the last note dies anyway.

If you want a lot more adjustments and a slightly easier setup process, then go with the Babicz. Otherwise, the 3-point works just fine. I even have a 2-poing on the EB-2, and it's just fine as well. I think too much gets made of bridges. I have no opinions, just facts, as you all know.
 
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#40,330
JIO said:
Yes, likewise (too) many years of hands-on work. Lately I've needed to back off as my wrists especially are not recovering as quickly. We are machines and machines eventually wear out. Luckily we adapt and figure out a more conducive approach. ;)
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I think my hands escaped in kinda sorta OK condition. It's just dumb luck. My body crashes well and holds up to a staggering amound of getting beat around without much lasting damage. Hands are one of the few strong parts of this otherwise wimpy body. It's useful for playing. I'll take it and say thank you.
 
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#40,334
BklynKen said:
Only reason I put the Hipshot on mine was for the adjustable string spacing. Conversely, I find the Babicz kinda dumb-looking; longer than it is wide (or at least it looks that way). And as I've said, I think the Hipshot looks quite good in black. Not so much in chrome.
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That's the deal breaker for me on those two bridges, need to be able to adjust string spacing.
 
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#40,338
BklynKen said:
Ah, yeah. Great company, too.
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The 1991 has Hipshot tuning machines. They make clovers that fit on a modern 'Bird headstock without conflict, so that's what I got for that bass. They don't advertise the slightly smaller clovers. You have to call Hipshot and make sure you are specifying the right thing in order to get them, but they work really well and Hipshot's representative who helped me navigate it was outstanding.
 
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#40,339
Gaolee said:
The 1991 has Hipshot tuning machines. They make clovers that fit on a modern 'Bird headstock without conflict, so that's what I got for that bass. They don't advertise the slightly smaller clovers. You have to call Hipshot and make sure you are specifying the right thing in order to get them, but they work really well and Hipshot's representative who helped me navigate it was outstanding.
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Are they what's advertised here as "Mini Clover" (HB6MC)?

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#40,340
ProgressiveDoom said:
Its hard up to keep up to posts after Ive been away from the computer for a few hours, soooo busy here. If the Pic is still conveniently close buy I would love to see it.
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This is the better one. LJ at Music Central in Hopkinsville, KY plugged the holes and spent way too much time matching the paint, but he's a perfectionist like that. Likely that this bass is gonna get sanded down and repainted at some point, I just haven't decided on a color yet.
18238904_10209285362828088_6832568275636881130_o.jpg
 
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