Thunderbird Club

[Gaolee]

Would def like to hear that sometime.

No pressure.

I'm immune to pressure anyway, so it wouldn't work. There are band recordings all piled up on the disk that I have to deal with, and we are probably going to make more of those. Which means more projects that I'll get around to someday. A clone might be nice. He could do my day job and let me get around to everything else.

 

[theFixer]

I think we may have scared him off. Although I can think of many more variations for the initiation based off your post here Fix, and I so dare not say what they are.

Keep a note pad close by! Everybody loves a good surprise

 

[theFixer]

Not till the 25th Larry. My tech is pretty backed up with refrets and the likes. But it's the only place I trust here in NYC. Been going to them since the late '70's. Going a little crazy without her and it's not even been a day.

Some folks get to "crazy" a little quicker than others

 

[Gaolee]

My bass rig is older than I am.

1982-85 Mesa D-180 or 1973/1974 Sunn Concert Lead through a 1969-1971 Sunn 2000S 2x15 cab.

As for basses, one of them is older than I am. The others are younger.

My 360 dates to 1968. I have a small guitar amp that was built in 1949. It's all relative. The piano is 1950.

 

[theFixer]

Your pickguard.

I'm glad you liked it enough to want to put it on your build. It deserves to be on a "special" one of a kind TBird.

Very cool Mr. V

 

[Gaolee]

It's a good thing we're not all legally constrained to birth year gear. Some of us would be completely fvcked.

No kidding. First of all, I wouldn't be allowed to play a 'Bird. That would be bad. I guess an Explorer would do the trick, kinda, or a single pickup EB-2, but I would miss the 'Birds. Likewise, real bass amplifiers didn't come about until some time after I was born. It's a miracle people can live so long!

 

[ProgressiveDoom]

Failed at soldering the Model One into the EB-3... off to the other guy's bench.

Hey Count you havent had the EB 3 very long, why are you making this pickup exchange so soon?. I was going to do the same but now Im quite satisfied with the neck pickup sound as Ive had time to get used to it, just caught me off guard at first but I love it now. What I am finding is that the bridge pickup is very trebly, overly actually but that is not an issue since I never seem to use the bridge pickup but in the rare moment I would like to add more crisp definition I blend it in slightly but now Im thinking about a swap for that pickup instead. I just happen to have my Thunderbird bridge pickup laying around and thought that would be cool to put in but its slightly larger than the one thats in there now witch would require an enlargement of the pickup cavity and I sure dont want to do that to this bass. If I had a better sounding bridge pickup I may actually incorporate it into my sound more. Whats your opinion of the bridge pickup?.

 

[Gaolee]

What do you all think?

Uke makes me think he needs to wear a grass skirt and coconut bra as initiation rite.

I think he's in so long as the rites are on YouTube.

 

[Nocturnal]

I've found that if you're a novice at soldering and don't have the right tools or materials you'll likely have less than satisfactory results. Buying the right tool - a soldering iron setup with variable heat, multiple tips and a good tip cleaning sponge or wire mesh pad; along with the right type of solder - thin easy to use 60/40 solder like this...
SPECIAL PURCHASE! Guitar Solder- The ONLY stuff to use- 60/40
makes all the difference in the world.

A quick pic of my soldering setup, nothing fancy or expensive, just the basic right tools to do a decent solder or desolder job...
View attachment 2782661

A good third hand device is also a must. I have one that has two articulating arms with alligator clips and a heavy weight base (not bass in case someone wants to make a wry comment).

Nice setup GBass!! I have a Hakko F888D soldering station which is nice. Need to get a few of the holders/3rd hand type of items plus a magnifying glass so I can actually see. I have a cheap beater Epi EB0 that I need to do some practice soldering on to see if I can improve my skills.

 

[JJR58]

Keep a note pad close by! Everybody loves a good surprise

Gotta keep it under wraps. TMI doesn't always go over to well. @TBird1958 has been pretty forgiving.

 

[ProgressiveDoom]

I can play 12ers with my fingers but I prefer a pick for multis.
View attachment 2782294

O...M...and...G!, that things just oozes.......drooldrooldrooldrooldrool.

 

[GBassNorth]

It's really cool that you're doing all of this! It's even cooler that you're sharing your experiments and results with us! I'm thinkin' most folks here have wondered about most of these same things, but lack the tools, knowledge, & resources to execute the tests themselves. IMHO... you're providing a public service! The 250k vs. 500k thing has actually been on my mind for the past week or so as I've been wrenchin' on my own 'bird, so I'm anxious to read what you have to say about that. I forget... are you running these tests using the stock pups?

Thanks Fix. I was hoping others would pick up some tips and tricks and general info as it relates to modifying their TBirds. I'm certainly no expert luthier, just a hack like 90% of the other people out there that might try to mod a bass. My goal is to realistically illustrate just what one is getting into (the good, the bad, and the ugly) when they go down the personalization route with their bass. I'm learning along the way, hopefully posting those learnings will save others some time, money and grief or give them modding ideas.

As for the pups, I took the stock Goths out and replaced them with Barts (EMG35 size dual coil humbuckers). One of the other club members mentioned flipping the bridge and neck pups to take advantage of the overwound neck pup in a more dominant location. Since I favor the neck pup I might try that option in the test rigs before I bolt everything down. My gut feel is it will make for a weak bridge pup signal but with a vol/vol control setup that might be easy to manage. My tone goal is ultra dark and deep on this bass but usable in a dub, club, reggae setting at one end of the spectrum and modern swing at the other end.

 

[theFixer]

My default is always dirty iron/dirty joint as a first look at problems. Causes all kinds of problems because you end up with a joint that can act like a semi-conductor. When I solder, I always have a went paper towel handy to clean the iron and remove any excess solder before starting. And flux; always enough flux.

The other common error is not enough heat; you don't end up with a good electrical or mechanical connection.

The third common error is to much heat and the component gets cooked.

It's kinda sad/funny. You'd think a guy with a soldering iron like this, would be a lot more experienced/better solderer than I am...

I also have a 7 dollar soldering iron that came in a blister-pack. I like this one better
I used to work in the maintenance dept. at an electronics manufacturer. They had hundreds of these things, and were constantly going through the place "re-certifying" them. If they failed to meet the cert. specs for any reason... it was off to the dumpster. In the case of this particular rig (and most others that were discarded), the true tip temp was off by 2 degrees from what the display reads. That's it. That's all that's wrong with it. Off the record... I salvaged quite a few of these things, and gave them to friends. Only saved one for myself. Wish I'd saved more! The iron cradle holds tweezers & alternate tips. The little beige square you see beneath the handle, is a small sponge for tip cleaning. I've had it for years, and only used it once during that time (I've always been too afraid I'd screw sup'm up). Hangin' around with you diddlers & gadget-heads finally inspired me to dig it out & do my first guitar electronics work (results TBA soon).

 

[Count Bassie]

How does one fail at soldering?

More to do with signal flow in the wiring harness I suppose.

I have n old Radio Shack iron, desoldering bulb, wet sponge in a bowl, tweezers and an alligator clip thing with a magnifying glass on it. I tried to simply copy the same colors the old p'up used to the Model One's colored wires, same pots etc. I even desoldered the wrong p'up at first, re-soldered it back. That one works fine. It's the Dimarzio I've missed something with.

It'll get done...

 

[Count Bassie]

Hey Count you havent had the EB 3 very long, why are you making this pickup exchange so soon?. I was going to do the same but now Im quite satisfied with the neck pickup sound as Ive had time to get used to it, just caught me off guard at first but I love it now. What I am finding is that the bridge pickup is very trebly, overly actually but that is not an issue since I never seem to use the bridge pickup but in the rare moment I would like to add more crisp definition I blend it in slightly but now Im thinking about a swap for that pickup instead. I just happen to have my Thunderbird bridge pickup laying around and thought that would be cool to put in but its slightly larger than the one thats in there now witch would require an enlargement of the pickup cavity and I sure dont want to do that to this bass. If I had a better sounding bridge pickup I may actually incorporate it into my sound more. Whats your opinion of the bridge pickup?.

First off the pickup in my EB-3 is gone fairly microphonic- enough to give an impressive howl of feedback if the gain on my amp is set where I really want it. Bad... maybe it coud be rewired though, but I remember really liking the sound of my old Gibson EB-0 when I swapped a Model One into it, so I'm going with it. I'll keep the original, maybe if I get it rewound, well it might even go back in- as I mentioned before, I've been enjoying what it is- I just can't reliably use it this way.

This morning after my run at the replacement I plugged in to find I had no neck p'up. Bt I was fooling with the bridge pickup, and although I found it very twanky and boxy indeed, it was almost ok solo'd. Don't know how it would sound in a mix, I never finally make a judgement until I can hear it out in the wild, as it were. But if it were a good bit less honky I'd like it better. Need to really hear it with the Dimarzio.

 

[Off-Beat]

I'm struggling with push pull pots in my Goth right now. The TBird control cavities are quite a bit more shallow than normal basses. Consequently I've had to use a forsner bit to hog out the spots where the stacked push/pull pots will go and I've also had to modify the solder lugs on the bottom of the pot to just barely clear the control cover plate, not ideal. Now I see why the 2015 bird used toggles vs the push pull pots used in the EB bass. Not sure what your cap value is right now but if it's way too bright you might want to try a .1 uF first. And then go up or down from there as needed.

Thanks for the tips. It has no cap at all. Straight to the jack.

 

[Dadagoboi]

It's absolutely magnificent my friend! That finish makes me wanna jump right in & go for a swim! It's been a privilege to watch it go from a couple chunks of wood, to this beautiful, unique, masterpiece. I, for one, hope you'll continue to share your builds with us. I can't get enough! Do you have a couple more finished pics you could show us?

Thanks! it's not finished yet, takes a lot longer to set up a twelver. For me, anyway. There are more pix on the entire build here:

MARCH (MULTISTRING) MADNESS...32 and counting

You can check the 'watch this thread' boxes and get notifications.

 

[GBassNorth]

Thanks for the tips. It has no cap at all. Straight to the jack.

In that case buy three orange drop caps (.022, .047, and .100uF). Also buy a couple of alligator clips. Try the .047uF cap first by clipping one end of the cap to your tone pot center lug and the other to a ground wire that's soldered on the back of the pot. Play your bass in a mix of the type of music you normally play. If you feel it needs more bass then clip the .100uF cap in place of the .047, if it needs less bass then clip the .022 in place of the .047.
Note: when doing the test, set your tone pot on about 50%. If you turn your tone pot to full on bright you might not notice any difference in the caps. Good luck!

 

[Off-Beat]

In that case buy three orange drop caps (.022, .047, and .100uF). Also buy a couple of alligator clips. Try the .047uF cap first by clipping one end of the cap to your tone pot center lug and the other to a ground wire that's soldered on the back of the pot. Play your bass in a mix of the type of music you normally play. If you feel it needs more bass then clip the .100uF cap in place of the .047, if it needs less bass then clip the .022 in place of the .047.
Note: when doing the test, set your tone pot on about 50%. If you turn your tone pot to full on bright you might not notice any difference in the caps. Good luck!

No pot yet, but thanks for the advice, didn't think of crocos. If the sound fits I just might leave it with the cap fully open.

 

[theFixer]

OH!!! I'm SO HAPPY!!!

I think it was a week ago that I started this project! When I first removed that electronics from my 'bird... I only removed the wiring that was necessary to take everything out of the body. When I put it back together, my neck pup pooped out. Whilst @kat888 was helping me out with the rewire, I discovered that the previous owner(s) had wired it incorrectly (and extremely sloppily), so it came back apart. Trouble-shooting revealed a bad volume pot on the neck pup. As luck would have it... I had one in my guitool box, so I replaced the bad one, removed all the crappy wiring, attempted to remove the ridiculous solder stalactites, & reassembled. Now, the neck pup worked, & the bridge pup was all static-y & cutting out (pretty sure I cooked this one when I was tryin' to get rid of the 3 pounds of excess solder). So... back apart it came. Yesterday, I finally got to replace the bad volume pot (I went ahead & did the tone pot too), and today, I'm puttin' 'er all back together! I still have to set 'er up, but initial testing revealed that my efforts have not been in vain! Got rid of the constant hum & static issues it's always had, and it seems to have a slightly stronger output, and MUCH better tone!