Thunderbird Club

[theFixer]

The drummer quit last night. Not entirely unexpected since he was a ticking time bomb, but it's as stressful as it's a relief, since we now have to find another drummer.

Well...um... congratulations?

 

[theFixer]

That means theFixer has slept in.

Wrong end o' the day. It means I went to bed early

 

[theFixer]

But why go to ESP I wonder. Spector and Warwick have great Artist programs. Never really tried an ESP bass, always kind of thought of them as cheap beginner student level basses, kind of like LTD and OPM. Guess I need to get out more and try some new stuff.

ESP actually seems to be one of those companies that offers a higher quality product than the larger name companies, at prices that are on par with, or lower than the bigger names. My problem is... I just don't like a lotta their designs.

 

[theFixer]

Hey, look at me! 5 posts in 30 minutes, dang I'm in @theFixer territory. Speaking of which, where is our crusty cousin? Hope all is ok with him.

Him is ok. Daughter #3's birthday today

 

[theFixer]

Here is a Traynor amp near Wash DC

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WOW!!! That'll be a great deal for somebody!

 

[hillerup]

Spandex... and perms! Pointy guitars, Aria, BC Rich and oh yeah Fenders. I had a couple pop-metal scene friends I'd go out with once in a while, and they were pretty funny dudes. Lots of talk about hair, new guitars, clothes. I was the "Blues and Alternative Guy", wore jeans and a vest or something, sometimes had a goatee...
The punk scene... Fender P-Bass, for the most part, in my memory. Captain Sensible of The Damned is pictured here and there with a Thunderbird though.

Cappers used to play a beaten up silver Höfner style violin bass before switching to shortscale Fender basses (MusicMaster and Mustang basses) back in the day.

When he switched to guitars, he’s been through several different ones: NR Firebird, ESP/LTD SG style guitars, before settling on Gibson SG’s...

That's because Captain Sensible is cool.

Very cool indeed...

Correct. And a damn good bass player as well.

Yes... And even way better guitar player...

Also a damn good guitarist.

Agreed! And a stellar performer as well...

Well...um... congratulations?

Him is ok. Daughter #3's birthday today

Congratulations!

 

[Off-Beat]

Does a pot fit into the switch-hole of the Epiphone Blackbird?

I put new strings on it and it became unplayable. any high frequency gets through. Want to add a cap and either a stacked pot or a 3 way switch: Off, cap, no cap. Of course the switch would be preferred.

 

[Off-Beat]

ESP actually seems to be one of those companies that offers a higher quality product than the larger name companies, at prices that are on par with, or lower than the bigger names. My problem is... I just don't like a lotta their designs.

This is true although I like the Frank Bello FSO, but insane prices even for the Ltd.

Guitarist owns a Phoenix, great instrument.

 

[Count Bassie]

Got another question about pickups: What is the relationship betwixt resistance and pickup placement? More specifically, between resistance and tone? Might involve the dark arts of winding coils, magnet types, etc.? How dynamic a thing is this? Am I asking too much for a simple answer?
In as many lay-terms as possible, if you will- I tend to "check out" when I see too many numbers and decimal points. Thanks!

 

[PillO]

If you're thinking you don't need a tone knob but do need an on/off switch just clip the tone cap off and run a wire from the lug it was attached to to the pot housing. This in effect makes your tone knob an on/off switch. Turn the knob to zero = no output. Turn the knob to anything else = fully open tone. Keeps the original looks and is easy to reverse if you decide to sell at a later date.

Thanks for the thoughts. Blackouts are active and my thought is to have an actual off switch so that I don't have to unplug to turn off the battery. My thought on ditching "tone" is that there are plenty of other places in the signal chain in which "tone" can be adjusted - like on the amp.

 

[Larry V]

Anyone else see something like this happen, with the corner of the pick guard sort of coming up with a crack developing? No idea how long it’s been like this.

View attachment 2781426

I haven't experienced this with any of my basses but just looking at this I'd say that the screw may have been over-tightened. I'd remove the PG and see if it can be coaxed to return to flat... maybe use some gentle warming with a hairdryer and lay something flat with some heft onto it till it cools. Then when reinstalling it don't put the screws in any deeper than necessary and for that screw even less.

 

[Mike.C.]

They say that Thunderbirds are prone to neck dive. That may be true, but... Placing the upper strap button on the heel block and the lower strap button off-center (towards the E string side) at the tail has resulted in a bass that hangs in roughly the same position as my Jazz and G4 basses. That's just a generic non-grippy Planet Waves strap I had laying around, and not some big suede-backed wide leather beast of a strap. I'm calling this a success.

Now to adjust the pickup height and try to drop the action in the upper register and it'll be ready for battle.

View attachment 1187130

Is your right arm in any conflict with the strap now that you moved it to the E side?

 

[Dadagoboi]

Got another question about pickups: What is the relationship betwixt resistance and pickup placement? More specifically, between resistance and tone? Might involve the dark arts of winding coils, magnet types, etc.? How dynamic a thing is this? Am I asking too much for a simple answer?
In as many lay-terms as possible, if you will- I tend to "check out" when I see too many numbers and decimal points. Thanks!

How's this:

The higher the resistance (ohms) the darker the tone and higher the output of a pickup. The closer you get to the bridge the less energy and bass you get from a string.

 

[Dadagoboi]

Thanks for the thoughts. Blackouts are active and my thought is to have an actual off switch so that I don't have to unplug to turn off the battery. My thought on ditching "tone" is that there are plenty of other places in the signal chain in which "tone" can be adjusted - like on the amp.

Off switch is provided by the third lug on the jack, no physical switch needed. Just unplugging the cord from the jack.

 

[hillerup]

Off switch is provided by the third lug on the jack, no physical switch needed. Just unplugging the cord from the jack.

I believe that's exactly what @PillO want's to avoid: Having to unplug...

 

[hillerup]

How's this:

The higher the resistance (ohms) the darker the tone and higher the output of a pickup. The closer you get to the bridge the less energy and bass you get from a string.

That's a pretty nice and clear explanation!

 

[BklynKen]

I haven't experienced this with any of my basses but just looking at this I'd say that the screw may have been over-tightened. I'd remove the PG and see if it can be coaxed to return to flat... maybe use some gentle warming with a hairdryer and lay something flat with some heft onto it till it cools. Then when reinstalling it don't put the screws in any deeper than necessary and for that screw even less.

Thanks, Larry. Good suggestion. I'll try that over the weekend.

 

[Gaolee]

Spandex... and perms! Pointy guitars, Aria, BC Rich and oh yeah Fenders. I had a couple pop-metal scene friends I'd go out with once in a while, and they were pretty funny dudes. Lots of talk about hair, new guitars, clothes. I was the "Blues and Alternative Guy", wore jeans and a vest or something, sometimes had a goatee...
The punk scene... Fender P-Bass, for the most part, in my memory. Captain Sensible of The Damned is pictured here and there with a Thunderbird though.

I had wandered into my own alternate cul de sac in the early 1980s. Punk, reggae, jazz, you name it. The whole spandex thing passed me by pretty completely. When my wife and I first bought our house, the surplus school across the street was home to some kind of megachurch. They would put on all kinds of shows, including some Christian hair metal concerts. It was really entertaining to have these hyper religious people in makeup and neon spandex wandering around the neighborhood. I was sad when the megachurch moved on and we didn't get the regular influx of really nice but really crazy looking people.

 

[Gaolee]

How's this:

The higher the resistance (ohms) the darker the tone and higher the output of a pickup. The closer you get to the bridge the less energy and bass you get from a string.

Which is why I put the higher resistance pickup in the neck position in the '91. I use the bridge pickup to provide a little brightness and balance to the sound, but the meat comes from the neck pickup. That's backwards from what most people do, but I really like what I can get out of that bass with that arrangement.

 

[silky smoove]

Is your right arm in any conflict with the strap now that you moved it to the E side?

Not at all. That said, I moved it to a new location similar to where the new De Gier Lowlander bass has it (De Gier Releases Lowlander Bass), and the whole thing has improved even more. The neck dive aspect is unchanged (i.e. it doesn’t neck dive anymore due to the upper strap button at the heel block), but now the whole thing is shifted “back” as it hangs such that the first fret isn’t such a reach anymore. I did my best to mock it up without drilling into the body to set a new strap button, but ultimately just went for it. I’m glad I did. It plays more like a Jazz/Precision bass to me now, which is definitely my comfort zone.