Thunderbird Club

[dukeorock]

Going well with this new band's music. I have nine of the ten songs down now. But holy crap it's hard keeping track of nine new-to-me songs in my head. I guess that's what rehearsal is for. Fortunately that JAMC song I can do in my sleep.

Internalizing songs. I hate when I only know the material well enough to memorize it to get through the gig. It’s such a good feeling once you can get past that and feel like a part of the experience instead of being the dude trying to remember all the chords and stops

 

[BklynKen]

Internalizing songs. I hate when I only know the material well enough to memorize it to get through the gig. It’s such a good feeling once you can get past that and feel like a part of the experience instead of being the dude trying to remember all the chords and stops

This is kind of a weird situation in that there’s only one gig.

 

[dukeorock]

Anyone interested in discussing their rigs they prefer with their ‘Birds?

My main three amps at the moment are;
Reiner 6SL7 tube pre w/power amp
Mesa M9
Mesa D800
Jonseing for an all tube amp again.

My sealed 18” based cab gets the most gigs, but I have others.

Last night I just used the house rig because the changeovers were as fast as possible, no soundchecks and there were 5 acts on the bill. It was a GK700rb with an Ampeg PF115 cab. That poor cab was hanging on for dear life. It just can only take so much low end. Though my Bird was fantastic, I could see myself with another, strung with flats

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

Anyone interested in discussing their rigs they prefer with their ‘Birds?

My main three amps at the moment are;
Reiner 6SL7 tube pre w/power amp
Mesa M9
Mesa D800
Jonseing for an all tube amp again.

My sealed 18” based cab gets the most gigs, but I have others.

Last night I just used the house rig because the changeovers were as fast as possible, no soundchecks and there were 5 acts on the bill. It was a GK700rb with an Ampeg PF115 cab. That poor cab was hanging on for dear life. It just can only take so much low end. Though my Bird was fantastic, I could see myself with another, strung with flats

Bird through Mesa Strategy can shatter the Earth, and sound great doing it!
Luckily the one time I had mine on full power, it was only through a 410, so only some minor house leveling happened

A bird through tubes in general sounds great though! Thunderbirds, IMO, really shine with some tube overdrive.

 

[JJR58]

I'm not gigging, but the practice rig consists of;
GK700rbii.
Ampeg SVP-CL.
Darkglass B7Ku.
Ampeg 810.

 

[dukeorock]

Bird through Mesa Strategy can shatter the Earth, and sound great doing it!
Luckily the one time I had mine on full power, it was only through a 410, so only some minor house leveling happened

A bird through tubes in general sounds great though! Thunderbirds, IMO, really shine with some tube overdrive.

My 6SL7 tube pre has been my favorite of what I have on hand, so I get it. I’m a Mesa endorser. Even with that I’d have to think long and hard about coughing up the dough for a Strategy. Mostly because my main gigs are still on upright and tubes do me no favors there. Still might figure out how to get one though! The M9 doesn’t exactly suck either

 

[dukeorock]

I'm not gigging, but the practice rig consists of;
GK700rbii.
Ampeg SVP-CL.
Darkglass B7Ku.
Ampeg 810.

Not sure that’ll get loud enough for practice, man

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

My 6SL7 tube pre has been my favorite of what I have on hand, so I get it. I’m a Mesa endorser. Even with that I’d have to think long and hard about coughing up the dough for a Strategy. Mostly because my main gigs are still on upright and tubes do me no favors there. Still might figure out how to get one though! The M9 doesn’t exactly suck either

I'd never dream of buying a Strategy new, I endorse previously loved gear
It's not like you need to bring a Strategy to upright gigs... well in a way you do, but not the tube amp...
The Prodigy is another one to consider too.

 

[bylar13]

 

[dukeorock]

I'd never dream of buying a Strategy new, I endorse previously loved gear
It's not like you need to bring a Strategy to upright gigs... well in a way you do, but not the tube amp...
The Prodigy is another one to consider too.

I can get a Strategy new for less than I see em go for used, so that’s the good news. The Prodigy is an option too, but I tried both before they came out and the Strategy kinda kicked my butt. This time of year, even thinking about that price point ain’t wise, but a lifetime of iffy decisions has gone fairly well so far

 

[Gaolee]

Is that the definition of cool, or what?

Yep.

 

[bylar13]

Well not sure where the text went but here goes...

I have posted this before (probably too much!) but it is my Orange OB-1 500 with a 3 x12" set up.The cab are Tecamp and Earcandy. The OB-1 has a foot-switchable distortion that gets blended with the clean signal, if I need it.

I am in the minority here (it seems) that I prefer solid state to tube amps. I had a couple of SVT's and other tube amps over the years but they always felt "slow" to me, if that is a thing. Like, there is a micro second of delay between when I hit the note and how the amp reacts to it. It is all probably in my head but that is how it feels.

This rig sounds great (to me). Lots of low end, way louder than I need for the places I play and easily portable. If I played bigger and better joints, I would go with something bigger but not more complex. Not a fan of stomp-boxes. I try to keep things really simple. I think it is more a reflection of my personality and musical ability than anything else....

View attachment 2842289

 

[Gaolee]

Internalizing songs. I hate when I only know the material well enough to memorize it to get through the gig. It’s such a good feeling once you can get past that and feel like a part of the experience instead of being the dude trying to remember all the chords and stops

That's why you are a pro and I'm a hack! I can usually get the feel of a song pretty well, but always manage to forget the chart somewhere along the line unless it's a really simple chart. Playing like a stiff isn't my problem. Being accurate enough that it isn't a mess really is. But, what the heck. Embrace the Mingus philosophy - If it sounds funny, play it three times and call it jazz. It's the "oh, shiny" problem sometimes. Somebody in the audience catches my attention, or somebody in the band does something really great, and then ...

 

[Korladis]

Anyone interested in discussing their rigs they prefer with their ‘Birds?

My main three amps at the moment are;
Reiner 6SL7 tube pre w/power amp
Mesa M9
Mesa D800
Jonseing for an all tube amp again.

My sealed 18” based cab gets the most gigs, but I have others.

Last night I just used the house rig because the changeovers were as fast as possible, no soundchecks and there were 5 acts on the bill. It was a GK700rb with an Ampeg PF115 cab. That poor cab was hanging on for dear life. It just can only take so much low end. Though my Bird was fantastic, I could see myself with another, strung with flats

My main amp is a Mesa D-180, but it's in the shop, so I'm using a Sunn Concert Lead.

Either way, I play through a Sunn 2000S 2x15 with Faital 15PR400 drivers.

I can get a Strategy new for less than I see em go for used, so that’s the good news. The Prodigy is an option too, but I tried both before they came out and the Strategy kinda kicked my butt. This time of year, even thinking about that price point ain’t wise, but a lifetime of iffy decisions has gone fairly well so far

I like the tone of the Strategy better than that of the Prodigy. The latter has a boosted top end that I don't care for.

 

[Gaolee]

I am in the minority here (it seems) that I prefer solid state to tube amps.

You aren't the only one. I don't like the Ampeg sound much at all and don't own or want a tube bass amp. Give me an Acoustic 360 and I'm happy. An original for rock and roll, a Grexa Acoustic USA 360 for anything that needs the extended top end (anything that uses the upright, for example). There is absolutely nothing like a 'Bird through either 360. If it doesn't shake your bones into motion, you are dead!

Small venues get the little Carvin rig, since it's all about a clean sound. Bass = clean for me. Guitar is another story, but we aren't talking about that right now.

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

You aren't the only one. I don't like the Ampeg sound much at all and don't own or want a tube bass amp. Give me an Acoustic 360 and I'm happy. An original for rock and roll, a Grexa Acoustic USA 360 for anything that needs the extended top end (anything that uses the upright, for example). There is absolutely nothing like a 'Bird through either 360. If it doesn't shake your bones into motion, you are dead!

Small venues get the little Carvin rig, since it's all about a clean sound. Bass = clean for me. Guitar is another story, but we aren't talking about that right now.

What about a Bird through a Mesa, slaved out to a 371? Almost the best of both worlds, if I had a 360 there'd be no 'Almost' about it!

By no means am I saying SS sucks, my Birds sound great through my 371, but if I could only choose one, it'd be tubes.

 

[Haji]

Ever listen to any cab shootouts on YouTube? Like a “which 112 is best?” kinda thing? I just don’t see how close mic’ing a bunch of cabs at low volume is gonna tell me what I need to know. Maybe it’ll help me guess a little better, but it’ll still be a guess

I watch lotsa bass and guitar stuff on yoot Oob. The sounds are only useful in a general sense. Every once in a while I find something that I go look to check out in the real world...which requires going to a music store and playing Sweet Chile o' Mine for 44 minutes. I'm of the opinion that whatever it sounds like with someone else will sound a good bit different with me.

 

[dukeorock]

I am in the minority here (it seems) that I prefer solid state to tube amps. I had a couple of SVT's and other tube amps over the years but they always felt "slow" to me, if that is a thing. Like, there is a micro second of delay between when I hit the note and how the amp reacts to it. It is all probably in my head but that is how it feels.

The ‘fast’ ‘slow’ descriptor is a hot button topic on TB, but I totally get it, at least as an emotional response to how amps can feel. SVT’s are tricky. I’ve played through some pretty life changing ones, but also played through a whole lot of crappy sounding ones. My most recently backlined show with an SVT CL and matching 810 was a total nightmare. Just a sloppy, sludgy mess of a rig.

My first bass amp ever (1979?) was a Sunn 200s with a matching 215 cab. Can’t even remember what I thought of it. Most of my early tube amps died a horrible death before I finally said, “wait, tell me again what this ohms thing means?” Lost an unbelievable 200 watt Marshall to my youthful stupidity. After that I got an Ampeg V4b that was pretty nice, so long as it could live in its sweet spot. Quiet practices, it sounded boring, loud outdoors shows it turned to mush. Wound up getting a GK 400rb that I used (and swore by) for a decade. Just loved the punch of that amp with my two 115 EV loaded cabs. Like a moron, I switched to a 410 and it was never quite the same. I blamed the amp because everyone was switching to 410’s, so it couldn’t be that! I was a genius

 

[JJR58]

I could go either way, SS, Tubes. But i'm happy with the tone with my current rig. It's never really been cranked in the little studio apartment, except for once.
Otherwise, i play at a pretty low volume.

 

[dukeorock]

My main amp is a Mesa D-180, but it's in the shop, so I'm using a Sunn Concert Lead.

Either way, I play through a Sunn 2000S 2x15 with Faital 15PR400 drivers.


I like the tone of the Strategy better than that of the Prodigy. The latter has a boosted top end that I don't care for.

I haven’t played through a D180 in many years, but the first time I ever did, I nearly cried. Mostly because I couldn’t afford one I gotta try one again some day.

You aren't the only one. I don't like the Ampeg sound much at all and don't own or want a tube bass amp. Give me an Acoustic 360 and I'm happy. An original for rock and roll, a Grexa Acoustic USA 360 for anything that needs the extended top end (anything that uses the upright, for example). There is absolutely nothing like a 'Bird through either 360. If it doesn't shake your bones into motion, you are dead!.

Another amp I loved but haven’t played through in way too long!

I watch lotsa bass and guitar stuff on yoot Oob. The sounds are only useful in a general sense. Every once in a while I find something that I go look to check out in the real world...which requires going to a music store and playing Sweet Chile o' Mine for 44 minutes. I'm of the opinion that whatever it sounds like with someone else will sound a good bit different with me.

Totally agreed!

I could go either way, SS, Tubes. But i'm happy with the tone with my current rig. It's never really been cranked in the little studio apartment, except for once.
Otherwise, i play at a pretty low volume.

When I was a kid in L.A., a GK with an 810 was kind of the gold standard on the club scene. No mystery to me why, either. One of my favorite local punk bands, The Stepmothers, used a Sunn Model T, and it was incredible sounding too. The bass player played a fretless P bass, which was unorthodox, but sounded terrific. I bought a fretless because of him. Except mine was a Kramer aluminum neck with that ebanol fingerboard. Man, that bass sucked for what I was trying to do