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Thunderbird Club

#66,361
Weekends worth of gigs, done! Back at the hotel to rest up for a long drive home tomorrow. Favorite moment...a redneck falling into the Merch display and splattering Merch everywhere
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#66,362
Gaolee said:
It will have to be a P-Bird. You can get pre-finished bodies. I was playing the P-Bird this evening instead of the upright, just because. Done now, so that's why I'm on the internet unwinding before going to sleep. I was playing with waving around the bass in a way that you just can't do without jabbing yourself in the ribs with anything but a Thunderbird or Explorer shaped bass. As an aside, I had forgotten how good the fuzz circuit on an original 360 sounds when you have the bright switch thrown. Actually, it sounds good no matter what circuit you use with the bright switch thrown.

Point being that you don't have to settle for a FSO to have a P. I have a P, but I don't live with Imelda, and don't have spatial considerations. I have my aesthetic and ergonomic preferences for TSOs, and although I'll keep the 7ender, just because, my favored P is a 7enderbird.
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If you are going to have a P pickup it's only fair it should go in a P-shaped body, preferably with as much cheesy glitter and pearloid as it will take before collapsing into a quantum singularity.
 
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#66,369
kat888 said:
So I had a visitor earlier. He left this 1990 Orville by Gibson Thunderbird. It has some seriously dead nickel Rotos on it and the neck pickup is sunk into the body. Tomorrow I'll put in new foam rubber, transplant the Thunderbucker 66S, get some fresh strings on it and see about lowering the action a touch. It's 200g lighter than the Epi, and before Mike asks, the neck is slim, but more substantial than the 'slim taper' necks.

Already has an abalone speed knob...

View attachment 2909830
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Congrats! That is a really nice looking creamy white bird! :)
 
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#66,370
theFixer said:
If "bro-mance" means we'd get to hang out one night swillin' beers & talkin' about bass gear, then yer right! I'm madly in love!:cool::bassist:

Seeing a person's hands, who has passionately worked with them all their life, tells a story, just like an authentically relic'd instrument...

View attachment 2910098
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Like these ?

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#66,371
bylar13 said:
This arrived today:

View attachment 2910499
The case was a bonus as it was not included in the listing. It is basically new. It is wearinf a set of flats so it is hard to tell what it actually sounds like. The Precision neck is OK,a bit wide but if I keep it it will get a jazz neck and a set of Lollars.

Thunderbird pick-up ring mock up:
View attachment 2910500


Pretty dang close.....
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Cool you got it!

Now hop over and join the Fender Blacktop Club too!

That PU ring is pretty darn close in size - The mod might actually be doable, then... :)

Nice bonus case, btw... :)
 
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#66,372
kat888 said:
This morning I was up bright and early and had the soldering iron out.

The stock pickups are very deep with very stiff foam and they were as high up as they were ever going to get. The electronics have been swapped out, which means my Japanese Gibson (I'm still pinching myself) is now sporting a vintage repro 1966 (overwound) Thunderbird pickup. Not sure whether the trim ring is going on or not yet. The dead Rotos are gone, replaced with KS Bass Burners. The strings can settle in for a couple of days before final setting of bridge height and angle (the bridge is currently dead parallel to the body). Maybe in the future I'll get a Hipshot bridge ... don't know about that.

View attachment 2910531
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Him inside has A LOT of shoes...

Bass is looking good too btw.... :)
 
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