Thunderbird Club

[Gaolee]

Sounds like you need a Katburglar.

Is there one available? I have a few things on the list as long as one of those is prowling around. Thanks.

 

[Gaolee]

Hey, quick one here, amidst our revelry- this just came to mind: Plan 9s original bass player, John Florence, is having some now-crisis-level chronic pain that's traveled, over many years, from lower back to hip. It's gotten very bad the last few years and has now become a kind of writhing, continual pain. He's on meds for it, but they are starting to interfere with his work (he's a computer guru), and feeding the family is coming into the enemy's crosshairs. He's also potentially playing bass as well as yours truly in the newly-reforming band, which might have been an entertaining conversation starter, but now of course that's also in doubt.

So I'm just writing to ask for some of that good Thunderbird Mojo to get sent out his way- he's going to a new doctor middle of Sept., and there's hope for relief- but till then any good vibes/prayers you can think out his way just might be a good thing.

Thanks thanks and thanks, we are holding out hope like we stole it.

Back pain can really be debilitating. All the best to him.

 

[Gaolee]

Thank you! Sorry if that was a "Google it, stupid" sort of question.

We also had a pretty long discussion about what "angry piano" means, too. All I can say is the 2001 nails it without breaking a sweat. It's probably going to get out to stomp around and get called rude a bit this evening. Or maybe the '91. It hasn't been out for a while and could use the exercise. Ahh, decisions!

 

[ubernator]

Just had a little post-porridge, pre-tea fiddle with the VT Bass DI (it's the quiet end of the day).

Maybe it doesn't like TBirds, but there's no level of discernible Drive on the thing that sounds like an overdriven valve amp. If it were a wine, it would have distinct flavours of chainsaw with hints of farty. It probably sounds great with a Jazz ... and therein lies my lesson.

I haven't used a VT, but when the BDDI came out in the late 90s I bought one, a d was fully disappointed with the low E farting out when it was dialed in to a geddy Lee type of drive, the other strings sounded fine but the low E first few frets were garbage. And this was on a jazz bass. Returned it. For a while I was just using an SD-1 with an eq to make up for the lost lows, before I figured out how to dial in the right od on my SWR bass350 itself.

I am really curious to try one. One thing the AΩ seems to be missing is an output level switch to allow it drive a power amp, although that would be the least important requirement. And guilt-tripping him indoors is fruitless.



Still the iPhone earbuds while awaiting the delivery of new enclosed Sennheisers. Yeah I know.

And yeah, I should have said 'at the moment'. It's still work in progress. Drive and Character are around 10.30, Bite and SpkrSim are both off. Maybe the Bite needs to be engaged, but I've been trying to avoid that scooped clanky generic SVT tone, wanting to get it to sound more like my amp/cab.

It does say 'VT' on the label, not 'big and dirty Bassman' -- maybe that's a clue.

Well... The speaker Sim is absolutely necessary with headphones

'I don't use batteries!' ... hang on let me check. Ohhhh ... there is a battery in there. Now that it's removed will try again later. Thanks.

It does seem to sound better with the Bite and SpkrSim engaged. It does a fair approximation of an SVT, which after all, is what it was designed to do.

yep sounds about right. Figured they would get it right by now.

Not stupid... and always the right thing, to ask anyway...

Farty: What you get with a lot of woofer, lot of lows, pushed a little too hard. Or a lot. Often associated with smaller combo amps, or an Ampeg BR head, in a rock setting.
Clank: A metally sound that might be associated with stainless rounds, lots of treble and upper mids. Think roundwounds whacking into a metal pickup cover...
Nasal: Jaco wannabees playing back at the bridge, neck p'up at less gain than the bridge p'up. (See "Honk", or speak to @GBassNorth about Jazz Basses).
Chainsaw: Hmm. Overdriven with a lot of mids, producing a non-fuzz, non-dirt kind of distortion. Overbearing, aggressive sounding. I'm thinking Motorhead, say, "Speedfreak" or "No Class"...
Edit: Chainsaw- Bass line intro to "Lounge Act" by Chris Novoselic. Milder than "Speedfreak", but in the ballpark.

You might want to add (to the chainsaw category) Jerry Only's wall of 70s acoustic heads (not 361s, they were the lower powered ones) dimed up with the mids on 11, all though to me it sounds a bit more like a leaf blower, a solid roaaarrrrr (yes that was a nod to blackies blower bass from voivod). Yes I blew a couple horns trying to keep the monitors loud enough for him to hear his vocals standing in front of his amp wall. 2002 misfits 25th anniversary tour.

 

[kat888]

Thanks. I figured that I could toss that out here in the "safe space" of the aviary and get a few "gentle" and informed responses.

BTW - you forgot to ask about 'gank'.

 

[Stevis]

BTW - you forgot to ask about 'gank'.

Dare I ask? The word sounds like it might be something communicable.

 

[kat888]

Is there one available? I have a few things on the list as long as one of those is prowling around. Thanks.

Un/fortunately my days of shinning up drainpipes are well behind me. It was a useful skill when people locked themselves out of houses/offices and such.

 

[kat888]

Gank = really agressive upper mids and treble with a giant hole where the thunder should be.

 

[PillO]

I run 'realistic' straight (no chaser), enjoy a certain amount of cynical humor (to a point), try my very best to be generally aware of the world around me, and realize that each persons point of view dynamically shapes the world around them. It's how we can all be exactly the same and totally different at the same time.

Just to be clear, I don't think of cynic as being negative. By the dictionary, a cynic is someone who believes that others are motivated by self-interest. This is why I say that the predictive power is great. The vast majority of people, in the vast majority of situations act in their own self interest. I think that meshes pretty closely with what you are saying. I will add that cynicism can co-exist with optimism. In fact, for those of us that have studied economics, there is a strong belief that individuals acting in their self-interest can optimise outcomes, which is to say that economists are optimistic cynics.

 

[PillO]

Remember... the only stupid question, is the one you ask! (... wait... that doesn't sound right for some reason...)

I think what you are looking for is "there are no stupid questions, but there sure are a lot of inquisitive idiots". But enough about the general population.

 

[PillO]

"Always... wait-- NEVER- go out in a snowstorm."

-The Abominable Snowman in the film Monsters, inc.

For some reason, the first thing that leaps to mind is this:

 

[PillO]

BTW - you forgot to ask about 'gank'.

Dare I ask? The word sounds like it might be something communicable.

I think Gank is what leads to sporran rash.

 

[JIO]

Just to be clear, I don't think of cynic as being negative. By the dictionary, a cynic is someone who believes that others are motivated by self-interest. This is why I say that the predictive power is great. The vast majority of people, in the vast majority of situations act in their own self interest. I think that meshes pretty closely with what you are saying. I will add that cynicism can co-exist with optimism. In fact, for those of us that have studied economics, there is a strong belief that individuals acting in their self-interest can optimise outcomes, which is to say that economists are optimistic cynics.

All well stated PillO - my aversion to (toxic) cynicism lies with how it causes negativity and inaction. A fellow art professor who lead a dept where I was teaching experienced his staff of professors cynically mocking students in a meeting. He returned with "before you joke about such and such issue, first offer one good solution to the problem". It ended the easy cynicism which offers no solution. At that moment I understood how something light and clever was only that.

 

[godofthunder59]

I watched the Chris Catero reviews last night. First Classic Pro, then Vintage Pro. I like them both do that didn't help.

But something struck me in his comments.
Classic Pro - thinner wings and lighter weight than you may expect from a Thunderbird.
Vintage Pro - redo of the Vintage Thunderbird, hefty feel to it. Large head on it.

So different bodies? More weight??

??? I wait for the Club view ???

No real 60's Thunderbird I have ever played felt hefty, leave that to 7ender. Sometimes I think people today who discuss Thunderbirds really don't know what they are talking about.

 

[Stevis]

Gank = really agressive upper mids and treble with a giant hole where the thunder should be.

So, is it me or do most/all of these bass tone euphemisms describe what you DON'T want to sound like?

Is there a similar list that describes desirable bass tone (besides Thunderbirdesque or angry piano )?

 

[Gluvhand]

So, is it me or do most/all of these bass tone euphemisms describe what you DON'T want to sound like?

Is there a similar list that describes desirable bass tone (besides Thunderbirdesque or angry piano )?

I like some clank sometimes. Think Steve Harris.

 

[Dadagoboi]

...there is a strong belief that individuals acting in their self-interest can optimise outcomes...

Optimize outcomes for whom is the question. Pardon my cynicism.

 

[JIO]

I watched the Chris Catero reviews last night. First Classic Pro, then Vintage Pro. I like them both do that didn't help.

But something struck me in his comments.
Classic Pro - thinner wings and lighter weight than you may expect from a Thunderbird.
Vintage Pro - redo of the Vintage Thunderbird, hefty feel to it. Large head on it.

So different bodies? More weight??

??? I wait for the Club view ???

My '64 II (w/added bridge bucker/pot) is 9lbs even - very manageable weight for a big angry piano

 

[JIO]

Optimize outcomes for whom is the question. Pardon my cynicism.

jolly well played!

 

[Haji]

Depending on what you're after, desirable sounds can still be described in what could be taken as a negative manner. It's why a vocabulary in common is so useful.

For instance, I like some distortion but hate fuzz. Describing that will only make sense in a common framework. As long as we have a pretty good idea of what's meant, it's all good.