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Thunderbird Club

#69,001
Stevis said:
Now THAT is more like it. Great shot. Some glam and some punk, with someone actually rock’n their Thunderbird.

How many of us on this list, who have purchased a new Epi or Gibson bass, have sent in their warranty cards over the years? They should have a huge database of bass players, who would probably be more than happy to be on a consumer panel to answer surveys or do focus groups. As Will noted earlier about the 2013/2014 EB model (which is really great) or the ill-fated auto-tune stuff, they don’t seem to understand their consumers or to be interested in learning. Market research costs money but so does cranking out stuff that doesn’t sell and/or has to be put on a fire sale.
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Mr. Hall is certainly not been listening at Rickenbacker. Not sure Henry J really cares either. Sorry, had to.
 
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#69,003
dukeorock said:
Man, if you have the creative urge to do it, then do it. It’s up to someone else to decide if it’s any good or not :)



Sounds perfectly valid to me! Understanding the sound of your room and cooperating with it is way more critical than what mic or how many of em you got. Though I do love me some ribbon mics :)
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Oh, there's always recording going on in there. Talent or no talent. Skill or no skill. I learn something every time, and eventually, I'll figure out the room. It's not an easy one, since it has a low ceiling and is about 20 feet long by 10 feet wide. Vocals in the same room as the kit just doesn't work very well, but I'll eventually figure out how to make it work. I'm not satisfied with the sound yet, with the exception of a couple sessions I did with the singer and guitarist. We have been getting shows with those recordings, so they work for that, too.

Ribbons are my favorite microphones. Shure 330s in particular. I didn't use those on the 90 degree thing because they are unidirectional, not figure 8 like nearly every other ribbon on the planet.
 
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#69,004
Stevis said:
And I am not saying that anyone here bought a Tbird to be a poser but it does have a non-conformist vibe (and we know that non-conformists can still be marketed to - e.g., skateboarders).
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Dammit, I am proudly a poser! I wouldn't have a shiny polyester shirt if there wasn't some posing involved!
 
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#69,005
kat888 said:
Eeeeeeee. The leather jacket is too constricting in the elbows and the zips will scratch the nitro. Those tartan pants? tights? are shocking. I never wear nail polish. My hair used to be that colour though.
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And here I always picture you as the demure type. Until you walk into a bar and the sailors leave.
 
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#69,006
Dr_Feelgoood212 said:
Your mom plays Thunderbirds and now, NOW, you finally pick one (or three) up?!


My hair was similar for a brief period, was supposed to be red... didn't work. Then I tried to go blue, but it turned really dark, colour shift, purple. Was pretty cool.
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I had hair once upon a time. Now, I have a pretty nice lampshade that sits around a shiny spot. The shiny spot matches the polyester shirt, except it's a different color.
 
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#69,009
Stevis said:
I know that you just bought a new Ric. So, I am curious why you think he is out of touch with their consumer, if you don’t mind me asking?
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Ric's are a quirky bass to begin with, some issues have been corrected, like the tail lift. But there have been reported finish issues from various years. More so from 2010 on. Finish bubbling around areas where there is hardware. There is also the strings sitting to high in the nut. And some necks you just can't get straight cause they're shot from the factory.
I had my tech slot the nut to my liking, and he did a great set up. I knew it was a good neck before i bought it. But the some of the ones i've played before hand before i purchased the one i have now, the necks were already gone, wouldn't matter what you did to it. And as always, because i'm usually not satisfied in the tone department, I swapped out the stock pick ups for Joe Bardens. Now it's a killer bass. Will it develop the finish issues, if it does, it's a nightmare to deal with Ric on a refin, with the possibility that it'll happen again.
I'll take my chances as i love the bass.
 
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#69,010
Stevis said:
I hope that there is a matching disco ball hanging in the basement of blasphemy and bad ideas!
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No, there isn't. No jackalope, either. It really needs both, except there's not enough room as it is. Maybe a lava lamp. I do have El Greco's Adoration of the Bass Guitar hanging on the wall, and a couple gilded gothic looking panels with angels that came from some church somewhere. It's a start.
 
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#69,012
JJR58 said:
Ric's are a quirky bass to begin with, some issues have been corrected, like the tail lift. But there have been reported finish issues from various years. More so from 2010 on. Finish bubbling around areas where there is hardware. There is also the strings sitting to high in the nut. And some necks you just can't get straight cause they're shot from the factory.
I had my tech slot the nut to my liking, and he did a great set up. I knew it was a good neck before i bought it. But the some of the ones i've played before hand before i purchased the one i have now, the necks were already gone, wouldn't matter what you did to it. And as always, because i'm usually not satisfied in the tone department, I swapped out the stock pick ups for Joe Bardens. Now it's a killer bass. Will it develop the finish issues, if it does, it's a nightmare to deal with Ric on a refin, with the possibility that it'll happen again.
I'll take my chances as i love the bass.
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I actually took a quick look at a TB thread on Mr. Hall, after I read your post. There seemed to be a similar sentiment about quality control and poor customer service. I am really surprised about the QC stuff that you (and others) mentioned. I was always under the impression that they produced their stuff in limited quantities and figured that this would subsequently mean better quality control. To pay that much for a bass with a crappy neck and paint job would suck (and poor customer service would complete the poo sandwich).

I have one of their guitars and was always impressed with its quality for a mass produced instrument. And like my “single basses theory” from the other day, this anecdotal observation could be flawed too, but I always perceived Ric to be that outlier guitar company that was probably selling as many or more basses than they were guitars (compared to how popular their guitars were in the 60s). They have been much more aggressive in protecting their designs, than Fender and Gibson, as you don’t see anything like their headstock or body shapes from competitors. And they really haven’t changed much in their lineup over the years. I took it for granted that they were still top shelf.

Hopefully, you found the keeper, with your Ric. That’s also cool that you got the Bardens. I forgot that they did bass pups. I have some of their modern Ts in my Telecaster.
 
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#69,013
Stevis said:
... poo sandwich....
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1s3wlm.gif
 
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#69,014
Stevis said:
This post from the Gibson site kind of speaks to my point about marketing non-conformity. Here is Gibson seemingly trying to position their bass line for punk rockers. To me, the product shot lacks authenticity. Does anyone recognize this woman as a musical artist or is she a model?

Note also the punk bass players that the writer mentions. Two of the three have or had Fender signature P basses and the other played (and smashed) a P bass too (think iconic cover of "London Calling").

Then, they mention Devin Towsend. I looked him up. It is unclear if he plays punk. It is unclear whether he is best known as a bass player. And it is also unclear if he plays Gibson.

They casually allude to three basses and provide hotlinks.

The Art Of Punk Bass

The one take away? I am going to need to refrain from playing any punk in the future as I cannot do the non-conformist kick, while playing bass and wearing non-conformist boots. I could MAYBE pull off wearing the non-conformist skirt and tights, in sort of a circa 1980s Paul Westerberg SNL way. But that's it.

View attachment 2932275
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What are non-conformist boots?
Is there a TB offshoot Talk Boots that will tell me my RM Williams boots toe-dive ?

TBird1958 said:
Tights and boots, check.

Purple hair, check.

Thunderbird, check



What were we doing again?
View attachment 2932323
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But where is the tartan ?
 
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#69,016
Stevis said:
I actually took a quick look at a TB thread on Mr. Hall, after I read your post. There seemed to be a similar sentiment about quality control and poor customer service. I am really surprised about the QC stuff that you (and others) mentioned. I was always under the impression that they produced their stuff in limited quantities and figured that this would subsequently mean better quality control. To pay that much for a bass with a crappy neck and paint job would suck (and poor customer service would complete the poo sandwich).

I have one of their guitars and was always impressed with its quality for a mass produced instrument. And like my “single basses theory” from the other day, this anecdotal observation could be flawed too, but I always perceived Ric to be that outlier guitar company that was probably selling as many or more basses than they were guitars (compared to how popular their guitars were in the 60s). They have been much more aggressive in protecting their designs, than Fender and Gibson, as you don’t see anything like their headstock or body shapes from competitors. And they really haven’t changed much in their lineup over the years. I took it for granted that they were still top shelf.

Hopefully, you found the keeper, with your Ric. That’s also cool that you got the Bardens. I forgot that they did bass pups. I have some of their modern Ts in my Telecaster.
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I know Steve. They do a run for a particular year and that's it. They're are certainly not lacking for a customer base. But they also don't care about the percentage of problem basses as well. It's a top shelf bass if it's a good one. I feel mine is, and if the finish goes south, hell, i'll refin it, i like it that much. Had three in the past with no problems at all, well, except for a '93 4001s that i bought used.
 
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