Thunderbird Club

[theFixer]

Not for this price, but i would so love this bass.

Gibson Les Paul Triumph Bass 1973 - very rare FRETLESS!

Yup. I ain't seen wunna them in a fretless...

 

[theFixer]

Have not, will not, ever touch the stuff. Gross!

That's probly for the better. Seems it seldom ends well...

 

[JJR58]

Yup. I ain't seen wunna them in a fretless...

I have to say, it's a great sounding bass. Now i haven't ever played a fret-less one of those, but did play a fretted version at the time i picked up my Epiphone Bird. And even with a HS repair and a shot neck and frets, it was killer. It was no wonder they wanted 999 for it. probably worth less in the shape it was in. And it sold.

 

[theFixer]

That Ric 4003 you posted is a really nice looking bass... If the neck feels good to you, I would definitely say go for it - But always try out before buying, as their necks apparently are all over the place from what I read...

The old 4001's on the other hand had really skinny necks back to front and minimal taper - Can't quite remember the nut width on my old one, but I believe it wasn't as narrow as a Gibson or Epi Classic Pro (1.5") - At least I remember it being wider.

Yeah... it's still a ways off. This Ric is just #1 on the list of possibilities

 

[JIO]

I'm looking at how your hand lays across the bridge and strap length - very similar, you and I.

You're about 6'1" ? My right hand does look a bit gnarly in that pick - I always hang by the bridge and palm-mute w/a pic a lot these days.

 

[Nocturnal]

Ahhhh, they're teasing me with pictures.

View attachment 2768142

Did you save the kill switch? I would be happy to take that off your hands.

 

[BklynKen]

Ahhhh, they're teasing me with pictures.

View attachment 2768142

Are they replacing that pickup screw that looks all rusted?

 

[ProgressiveDoom]

It's a good thing i got in a little practice time after work before i jumped back on here.
So now it's bass in hand and TB.

Ive had pipe time, beer time and noodling time all at one time and now TB time and back to pipe time, beer time and noodling time I go.

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

Ive had pipe time, beer time and noodling time all at one time and now TB time and back to pipe time, beer time and noodling time I go. View attachment 2768388

Only have 7000 pages to catch up on glad to have you back.

You missed a lot of tort talk

 

[JJR58]

Ive had pipe time, beer time and noodling time all at one time and now TB time and back to pipe time, beer time and noodling time I go. View attachment 2768388

Well hello there young man.
Tell me about that Traynor.

 

[hillerup]

I have contemplated giving my 2 x 9k2 Chinabuckers away, but decided it's best to hang on to them on the slim chance I move the Epi ThunderKat II on.

Otherwise, feel free to mail them off to Denmark... I'm pretty sure I have a bird or two, that could use a set...

 

[BklynKen]

Any of you Seattle-area people had any beer from Holy Mountain Brewing? I had their Demonteller when I was in DC and it was fantastic. I’d love to try more of their stuff, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t come to NY. Probably doesn’t even make it out of Seattle much.

 

[hillerup]

I will take quick stab of what I liked and did not like about my Ric's. I owned 3 2(4001's) and 1(4003) all were from the late 1970's.

Unlike Carlo, I loved the way the look. Still do. All of mine had thinner (read not so wide at the nut) necks vs. current models I have played. I really liked the upper fret access and the minimal (as compared to older Fender products) neck radius. I loved the recorded sounds and they worked well in studio situations.

I did not like the stock bridge. Not one bit. It was an evolutionary dead end that Ric got rid of on thier newer models. Tiny frets. They wore out quickly with round wound strings and eventually I had to have the bass re-fretted. The guy I took it too destroyed the neck feel for me, by putting in railroad tie size frets (not Ric's fault) but something to consider if you plan to hold on to it for a long time. The pick up output was a bit weak. The newer ones have new pick up designs so I can't speak to that. I always felt that the bridge pick ups were particularly weak and did not add much of value (clearly opinion, not fact) to the sound. Rick-o-sound is a gimmick that has out lived its usefulness.

I also found for live applications, I had to EQ quite a bit for the venue (more than I do now with my Thunderbird or than I ever did with my Jazz bass) even though the amp was the same. This, like most of this is subjective rant, often times left me feeling like I was missing the punchy mids I needed to cut through a mix with guitars & drums. The bass provided plenty of wide, low end and plenty high end but getting consistently solid rock tones was often times a struggle. YMMV

Loved my Jetglo 4001 too... I replaced the white pickguard with a chromed metal, which kinda blended better with that huge chrome bridge pickup bezel and the bridge.

I totally agree on the bridge being a PITA to intonate, the useless bridge pickup cover which was a pain to remove, the useless Rick-O-Sound feature I never used, the hard binding on the body that made my underarm/wrist sore, and the soft frets that wore out when using Roundwound Roto's...

But apart from all that - I loved the look and most of all the Ric sound!

I still hanker after a Burgundy-Burst 4003s. Sorry Carlo! Lol, some things just have to be. Even if you can't intonate it without taking the stupid bridge apart.

Yeah, that was NOT a good design: Impossible to get to those intonation screws...

That's the FIRST thing you do on a Ric ... remove the sodding pickup cover! Why they persist with them is a mystery.

Totally waste of chrome... It was in the way and a pain to remove without taking the entire bridge pickup assembly apart.

Thanks for the input man

The 4003SW I like, comes with their single coils in it, so I was already figgerin' on swapping them out (if I were to go that way). I love the idea of some sexyass chromed out Thunderbuckers in there... I just don't know exactly how complex of an undertaking that would be. Good thing it's still down the road a piece

But, the whole thing about getting a Ric is THAT Ric sound - Nothing else sounds like a Ric...

 

[RedVee]

Thanks!

Seriously considering building the JAEbird in Asia. My Taiwanese buddy/ex partner has a South China factory that can do it (he's a major supplier to Williams Sonoma so the bang for buck quality is top notch on everything). CNC, wood shop, metal shop, plating facility, finish line, and excellent R&D and sourcing people plus logistics.

Planning a trip back next spring to see what's what. With the right marketing and a reasonable price worldwide sales could be good. Still a lot of JAE fans out there!

That could be interesting.

 

[RedVee]

Thanks for the input man

The 4003SW I like, comes with their single coils in it, so I was already figgerin' on swapping them out (if I were to go that way). I love the idea of some sexyass chromed out Thunderbuckers in there... I just don't know exactly how complex of an undertaking that would be. Good thing it's still down the road a piece

The 4004 has humbuckers i think

 

[RedVee]

Cool! You take those... I'll take the RR and the NR

Maxx & JAEbird here... but alas, the wallet doth protest.

 

[RedVee]

@theFixer You should check one of these out:

Gibson IV Bass 1987 Pearl White | Evan's Equipment Emporium

1 3/4 nut width/Thunderbird pick ups. Basically a set neck P-Bass with Thunderbird pick ups. Cheaper than a Ric. I have seen them in $700 range in great shape. If the neck were thinner, I would own one and have modded it to my taste.

That's cool - is that the Victory shape?

 

[kat888]

the useless Rick-O-Sound feature I never used

Now you see, that had me caught like a rabbit in headlights ... ooooooooooh .... stereoooooooo ...

 

[JIO]

Now you see, that had me caught like a rabbit in headlights ... ooooooooooh .... stereoooooooo ...

I have a mid 90's Peavey B-Quad with stereo - but it was adjustable for each string! Now that is totally useless! I redid the harness w/a Bartolini and it is now much more useable (w/o that extravagance) and sounds just as good or better. Just because something can be done doesn't always mean it should be done.

 

[ProgressiveDoom]

Only have 7000 pages to catch up on glad to have you back.

You missed a lot of tort talk

I dont think I have enough time to read 7000 pages, family,band,sports and work life wont allow me enough hours in a day. What are some hilites?, Kat came out of the closet and professed her true love for tort?. Fixer hooked himself up with the biggest and baddest badass neck you ever seen on a Thunderbird?. JJR58 pimped out his Thunderbird in chrome everything?. Cataldo bought the rights to Thunderbird and our Queen is now the official Representative/Pinup Model?. What else did I miss?. Thanks for being glad to have me back, Its cool checking in to see so many of you die hards keeping the wheels rolling. Ill try tuning in more now that my part of the country goes into frozen oblivion for the next 7 months.