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Thunderbird Club

#71,041
JJR58 said:
RP seems to be quite enamored with the little lovely.
Click to expand...

That’s his personal assistant, Nicola. Awesome woman. Wouldn’t know about anything else, except she may or may not have had a thing with our guitar player :)
 
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#71,042
dukeorock said:
Cleaned up this relic...
View attachment 2945481
Sounded surprisingly great...just before it ate up the tape :/
Gotta get it fixed or replaced. These things are fun.

Also, while digging through boxes trying to find stuff, came across a couple photos of a Robert Plant Tour Legendary ShackShakers did in late ‘05/early ‘06
I never got my picture taken with Robert because I didn’t want to be ‘that guy.’ Now I’m wishing I would’ve been ‘that guy.’
View attachment 2945480
First show in Paris at the Olympia

View attachment 2945496
Crowd at a Dutch festival
View attachment 2945500
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Wild times Duke!:cool::thumbsup:

When's the book comin' out?:)
 
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#71,043
ZenGuitarist said:
My VP weighs 8.6 lbs. There will always be some variation in weight but I would think that most will come in at around 9 lbs. +/- .5 lbs.

BTW, I see that your avatar is a Hofner Ignition Club. That's the bass I bought before my Thunderbird, and I love both of them.
Click to expand...
Cool! Yes, these Hofners are so cool and great bang for the buck! Same can be said about the Epi VP T Birds! I ordered a TB finish that weighs exactly the same as yours! Weird! Cool! Mine gets here next Friday.
 
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#71,044
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#71,048
I just picked up this Epiphone Thunderbird. She looks good hanging next to the Les Paul!

Everything I hate about my Thunderbird bass:

(1) When is Gibson going to stop making these 3 point bridges? I know ... the answer is never. But, I really like to be able to adjust the action on each string individually. I always struggle to set up a bass with this kind of bridge.

(2) And whats with the bridge being so short that the string silk goes over the saddle? I like flat wounds and the silk always goes over the saddle on them.

(3) Neck dive.

(4) Big unwieldy body.

(5) Worst factory setup I've ever seen. Action extremely high, and the truss rod was loose. I wasn't familiar with how a double action truss rod worked and didn't initially understand how it could be loose. Once I figured it out (had to talk to an experienced tech), I was able to get it setup nicely.

But ... the sound! With flat wounds this bass has an amazing sound. How can a $349 bass sound this good? There seems to be a sweet spot in the sound with the neck pickup all the way up, the tone about 3/4 up, and then bring the bridge pickup all the way up then back it down until you hear the bass sing! For all my complaints about this bass, it sounds incredible. The neck feels good, the finish looks good, and its really an amazing bass for the price.

Oh, and the bridge that bothered me so much ... I ordered a hipshot replacement bridge with individual string adjustments and it also solves the silk over the saddle problem. Once that arrives and is installed I'll post an update.
 

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#71,049
Dr_Feelgoood212 said:
There's ACC 370 stomp boxes too.... but most cost more used, than a real ACC 370 head in good condition.
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kat888 said:
By the time you add a class A/B power amp and the folded horn to get the ACC experience, you might as well just bring the head.
Click to expand...

All this ACC talk has really got me hankering to book a trip down memory lane. Although I would also like the option of being able to have a selection of great tonez, on the pedalboard, and running the full on classic ACC rigs pretty much confines you to within the ACC vortex. I mean all that thrust sorta creates it's own gravity wave that's kinda hard to escape from. The DiCosimo 360+ seems like it would afford the option to kick in the rip your face off ACC rocket stage on demand. And the + is not only the pre but the pre + Fuzz with a blend control. I like options, options are good.

The one speed bump with the pedal is the 24vdc pwr req. So it's going to need a dedicated 24vdc wall wart, or a specific pwr supp like the Cioks-DC10 link, that has a 24vdc slot.
Looks like the current pedal price is around $360 and the wait time is around a month and a 1/2. And since I actually prefer the 360 over the 370's tone & feature profile, this pedal is pretty much the only game in town atm. And another feature that seems to be unique with the pedal is the option for recording. The bighorns were not the most docile beasts when it came time to try and capture that sound, in a room, with mics. The pedal however, may really shine in this regard? Either just going direct or with the option to employ a cab with more manageable proximity manners. IIRC, the old 360's going direct were a tad on the noisy side, didn't have a blend for the fuzz, and from what I gather this pedal overcomes those shortcomings.

And about using the pedal as an ersatz rig- pwr amps like Crowns, are not that spendy- especially on the used market. Likewise the Acoustic B1000HD heads are about on par with the Crowns etc; on the used market and they seem like they would afford the 370 vibe option as well? And I swung by GC, to check out the price of the Acoustic B810 cabs and they are on clearance atm for $650:
B810-MKII-Acoustic-Amplification-2.jpg

So for around $1300ish? or so, the ersatz ACC rig looks like a doable option? The big ups going this route is that the cab is shipping, whereas most vintage ACC rigs are local pick-up only or the cost for shipping the cab alone is $hundred$ more. And it may be minor heresy to opt for the 8x10 over the folded horn, but in most real world apps the fridge may actually be the better option? And in the end, it's still going to take the same amount of Ballz, to rock a long in the tooth vintage ACC rig as it would be to rock a new cab smell one.

Either way, I guess I'll know in about six weeks or so- least as far as the 360+ pedal goes. ;)
 
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#71,050
jpmcbride said:
I just picked up this Epiphone Thunderbird. She looks good hanging next to the Les Paul!

Everything I hate about my Thunderbird bass:

(1) When is Gibson going to stop making these 3 point bridges? I know ... the answer is never. But, I really like to be able to adjust the action on each string individually. I always struggle to set up a bass with this kind of bridge.

(2) And whats with the bridge being so short that the string silk goes over the saddle? I like flat wounds and the silk always goes over the saddle on them.

(3) Neck dive.

(4) Big unwieldy body.

(5) Worst factory setup I've ever seen. Action extremely high, and the truss rod was loose. I wasn't familiar with how a double action truss rod worked and didn't initially understand how it could be loose. Once I figured it out (had to talk to an experienced tech), I was able to get it setup nicely.

But ... the sound! With flat wounds this bass has an amazing sound. How can a $349 bass sound this good? There seems to be a sweet spot in the sound with the neck pickup all the way up, the tone about 3/4 up, and then bring the bridge pickup all the way up then back it down until you hear the bass sing! For all my complaints about this bass, it sounds incredible. The neck feels good, the finish looks good, and its really an amazing bass for the price.

Oh, and the bridge that bothered me so much ... I ordered a hipshot replacement bridge with individual string adjustments and it also solves the silk over the saddle problem. Once that arrives and is installed I'll post an update.
Click to expand...

I have a Hipshot on one of my Gibson’s. I think you’ll be pleased. I personally don’t mind the 3 points, but I changed mine to go chrome. Neither of my Gibson’s neckdive at all, and though it’s all subjective, I find them super comfortable to play. So much that I pretty much only play one of my T Birds these days. But to your point, the sound is what drew me to them. Fortunately for me, everything else fell right into place. I have two Gibson’s and a Cataldo and I’m giddy with all of them :)
 
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#71,053
Rob Martinez said:
I have noticed the Epiphone Thunderbird Vintage Pro basses have varying weights, mostly in the 9 lb range, though I have heard some get one that is 8 lbs. I get there will be varying weights, but I saw one at 10 lbs 10oz what could account for an almost 2 lb difference between what is essentially the same instrument?
Click to expand...

No idea, but I have two identical chinese Epi Goths, which have a 2.2+ weight difference...
 
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#71,055
GBassNorth said:
You can probably drop weight quicker and easier by switching to light weight tuners and a light weight bridge. Then there's always alumatone pickups, which I think are also lighter than stock pups. If you did all that you might drop a pound or two.
Click to expand...

I would be cheaper to exercise, though... ;)
 
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#71,056
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#71,057
JJR58 said:
Not only is the GK sad and lonely, but LVB is pissed, just look at him.
View attachment 2945270
Click to expand...

Didn't he always look pissed..?

I would too, if I had to sit still for hours while being drawn or painted... Good thing we have digital cameras now... ;)
 
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