Thunderbird Club

[Chucky Stiletti]

With rings

I don't believe Epiphone has much of a history with making their pickups available as an aftermarket purchase. It is my opinion that we, as a club, should start hammering them with requests to do so with these 760s. There's strength in numbers y'all!

Funny you should say that..
The friend in my previous post plays bass in the Neil Young tribute band Not so Young. The lead singer guitarist is none other than Jim Rosenberg, CEO of Epiphone whom I've known for years as he's from this area. His son Dillon plays lead guitar and has his successful act Archer Nation. I remember him as a 5 or 6 year old running around the redwoods of the San Lorenzo valley years ago when we used to jam with his pops and other friends..
Maybe I should pass on a petition..

 

[theFixer]

A few thoughts on Cosmofest yesterday (I don't do reviews, just thoughts and observations):

I know very few Bif Naked songs and she only did one that I know. But she is a rocker and I liked her show and her music. I should listen to more of her stuff.

Richie Kotzen - wow that guy can play and his songs are great. I will be buying tickets next time he is through!

Kim Mitchell - that guy looks like he loves to play. He played the same set, made the same jokes as the show I saw in Burlington a month or so ago. But he rocks. And Peter Fredette is a really solid bass player and singer.

April Wine - well the clock stopped in 1980 for them. Their sound is dated and they are performing their songs exactly as they have for the last 3 1/2 decades. I like their music, but really they are a nostalgia act now. Drum solo was too long, the bass solo was too long, and the harmonica solo was too long. More than 4 bars of any of those is too much. 4 bars might be too much... A band can stay together and play their songs with a more modern sound and with new interesting arrangements. Don't live in the past.

No `bird sightings.


Went to the meet and greet with Jordan Rudess (Keyboards - Dream Theater et al). Very nice, soft spoken guy. Did a picture with my daughter and told her it is cool that she is learning piano.

Didja happen to catch Doug Aldrich? That guy is a Rock guitar ANIMAL!

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

I was careful to say that those theories & formulas don't mean anything to the end user. Designers, builders, engineers, obviously... but ya don't see yer average Joe walkin' into Guitar Center with probes, scopes, & calculators. The end user typically cares about how it sounds and if it will work for them in their setting. Much like buying a car. The average buyer doesn't care about gear ratios or air-to-fuel ratios, etc. They care about, "Can I afford it?" and, "Will it do what I need it to do?".

You're stating the obvious now, they may not walk in with test gear but they sure know 400 Watts is louder than 100. Right?

 

[Christine]

Jeff is the Energizer bunny of flattery! He'll wear ya down

I'll have to get my whip out

 

[theFixer]

Funny you should say that..
The friend in my previous post plays bass in the Neil Young tribute band Not so Young. The lead singer guitarist is none other than Jim Rosenberg, CEO of Epiphone whom I've known for years as he's from this area. His son Dillon plays lead guitar and has his successful act Archer Nation. I remember him as a 5 or 6 year old running around the redwoods of the San Lorenzo valley years ago when we used to jam with his pops and other friends..
Maybe I should pass on a petition..

So... yeah... you just volunteered to head this thing up! We want aftermarket 760s!!!

How old is the kid at stage right?

 

[PillO]

With rings

I don't believe Epiphone has much of a history with making their pickups available as an aftermarket purchase. It is my opinion that we, as a club, should start hammering them with requests to do so with these 760s. There's strength in numbers y'all!

Ordinarily, that might be effective. But, as Gibson (the owner of Epiphone) is currently going through a bankruptcy reorganization, that is unlikely to be effective. During the reorganization, very few changes can be expected.

 

[PillO]

Didja happen to catch Doug Aldrich? That guy is a Rock guitar ANIMAL!

He wasn't playing (doing a clinic), but I walked past him as I was off to the bathroom...

 

[Instagator]

Funny you should say that..
The friend in my previous post plays bass in the Neil Young tribute band Not so Young. The lead singer guitarist is none other than Jim Rosenberg, CEO of Epiphone whom I've known for years as he's from this area. His son Dillon plays lead guitar and has his successful act Archer Nation. I remember him as a 5 or 6 year old running around the redwoods of the San Lorenzo valley years ago when we used to jam with his pops and other friends..
Maybe I should pass on a petition..

Let him know that I have been bidding on busted up Vintage pro (Embassy and Thunderbird Basses) just to get the pickups.
Don't get in my way if you see one on EBay

 

[theFixer]

You're stating the obvious now, they may not walk in with test gear but they sure know 400 Watts is louder than 100. Right?

I addressed that when I said that the wattage ratings were more like a guideline. If I wanted a high power tube amp, I would automatically start looking for 300 watts minimum... but if I came across (for instance) an HD150... I would excitedly plug it in & try it out... and if it performed as I needed it to... I would buy it and use it, even though it says it's only 150 watts, and I had been shopping for 300+. The point I'm making is... who cares what it says on the box, as long as it performs as you need it too.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

I addressed that when I said that the wattage ratings were more like a guideline. If I wanted a high power tube amp, I would automatically start looking for 300 watts minimum... but if I came across (for instance) an HD150... I would excitedly plug it in & try it out... and if it performed as I needed it to... I would buy it and use it, even though it says it's only 150 watts, and I had been shopping for 300+. The point I'm making is... who cares what it says on the box, as long as it performs as you need it too.

Although I fully understand your point I think we are talking apples and pears...

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Let him know that I have been bidding on busted up Vintage pro (Embassy and Thunderbird Basses) just to get the pickups.
Don't get in my way if you see one on EBay

Hmm..

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

So... yeah... you just volunteered to head this thing up! We want aftermarket 760s!!!

How old is the kid at stage right?

So... yeah... you just volunteered to head this thing up! We want aftermarket 760s!!!

How old is the kid at stage right?

He's 10. Started at 4.

 

[PillO]

Hmm..
View attachment 3038095

Buy the Casady.... They are awesome!

 

[dukeorock]

View attachment 3037802 View attachment 3037803


So what do you all think..With rings or without?
I’m doing a little experiment with the Epiphone 760 Pro pickups.
I removed the pickups from my Embassy and put them in my Gumby Bass.I used all CTS 500K pots and the same cap as the Embassy has.
No doubt that the sound of the Thunderbird Vintage Pro comes from these pickups.
Until I can find a source for these I may move them back and forth.
Just a little rainy day project for the weekend..

Looks great either way, but on that bass, I think no rings looks better...saying

 

[GBassNorth]

I was careful to say that those theories & formulas don't mean anything to the end user. Designers, builders, engineers, obviously... but ya don't see yer average Joe walkin' into Guitar Center with probes, scopes, & calculators. The end user typically cares about how it sounds and if it will work for them in their setting. Much like buying a car. The average buyer doesn't care about gear ratios or air-to-fuel ratios, etc. They care about, "Can I afford it?" and, "Will it do what I need it to do?".

You're stating the obvious now, they may not walk in with test gear but they sure know 400 Watts is louder than 100. Right?

I addressed that when I said that the wattage ratings were more like a guideline. If I wanted a high power tube amp, I would automatically start looking for 300 watts minimum... but if I came across (for instance) an HD150... I would excitedly plug it in & try it out... and if it performed as I needed it to... I would buy it and use it, even though it says it's only 150 watts, and I had been shopping for 300+. The point I'm making is... who cares what it says on the box, as long as it performs as you need it too.

Although I fully understand your point I think we are talking apples and pears...

To wrap the conversation up let me just say I asked the "under powered" question because I've heard it many times and even repeated it myself. In fact advice I've given many times on TB when asked about amp sizes is to go for something near 300 watts if you want tubes or about 500 watts if you want SS. More than that is even better, less can be limiting.

After giving that advice many times (which has worked well for the way I play and the venues I was in) I've started to question it using first hand experience vs generally accepted truisms. I found that I never turned my SVT much beyond half up when playing large indoor bars with my 610 and a heavy drummer and two guitarists each with a Marshall half stack. The one time I loaned out the SVT to a friend and had to instead bring my HD150 to play in that same bar I was sweating bullets about it not having enough balls. Turned out it was a total non issue. The 150 was turned up a little beyond the halfway point and was just as loud as the SVT.

Point being, real world experience with all variables roughly the same didn't amount to a noticeable difference in playing volume. Could the SVT have buried the HD150 in a full volume head to head at that venue - yes. But that's just goofy, no sane person would ever go close to those volume levels at that venue. Outdoor venues may be a totally different experience.

 

[PillO]

To wrap the conversation up let me just say I asked the "under powered" question because I've heard it many times and even repeated it myself. In fact advice I've given many times on TB when asked about amp sizes is to go for something near 300 watts if you want tubes or about 500 watts if you want SS. More than that is even better, less can be limiting.

After giving that advice many times (which has worked well for the way I play and the venues I was in) I've started to question it using first hand experience vs generally accepted truisms. I found that I never turned my SVT much beyond half up when playing large indoor bars with my 610 and a heavy drummer and two guitarists each with a Marshall half stack. The one time I loaned out the SVT to a friend and had to instead bring my HD150 to play in that same bar I was sweating bullets about it not having enough balls. Turned out it was a total non issue. The 150 was turned up a little beyond the halfway point and was just as loud as the SVT.

Point being, real world experience with all variables roughly the same didn't amount to a noticeable difference in playing volume. Could the SVT have buried the HD150 in a full volume head to head at that venue - yes. But that's just goofy, no sane person would ever go close to those volume levels at that venue. Outdoor venues may be a totally different experience.

Well, now that you are wrapping up, I'll add some confusion into the mix...

The position of the dial has little to do with how loud you are. That is, just because the volume knob is at say 8, that does not make the amp twice as loud as 4. In fact, I suspect that many amp manufacturers do this on purpose; get you up to 90% of full volume by the 5 mark knowing that most consumers will not try the amp at full volume before buying and are unlikely to afterwards but will assume that 10 must be twice as loud as 5.

 

[theFixer]

He's 10. Started at 4.

That's awesome!!! Gotta bring that boy up right

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Well, now that you are wrapping up, I'll add some confusion into the mix...

The position of the dial has little to do with how loud you are. That is, just because the volume knob is at say 8, that does not make the amp twice as loud as 4. In fact, I suspect that many amp manufacturers do this on purpose; get you up to 90% of full volume by the 5 mark knowing that most consumers will not try the amp at full volume before buying and are unlikely to afterwards but will assume that 10 must be twice as loud as 5.

Yeah, but these go to 11..

 

[GBassNorth]

Well, now that you are wrapping up, I'll add some confusion into the mix...

The position of the dial has little to do with how loud you are. That is, just because the volume knob is at say 8, that does not make the amp twice as loud as 4. In fact, I suspect that many amp manufacturers do this on purpose; get you up to 90% of full volume by the 5 mark knowing that most consumers will not try the amp at full volume before buying and are unlikely to afterwards but will assume that 10 must be twice as loud as 5.

It's all relative. I know from goofing around with both amps that they both get a lot louder than I'd ever need past the halfway point. So if ones five is equal to the others six so be it. They both did what I needed at or near half up and they both had a ton more to give than I was asking of them. Again, the SVT is louder than the HD150, but in actual playing settings either one will get me where I need to be with plenty of spare juice sitting in the wings.

 

[PillO]

Yeah, but these go to 11..

It's one louder. Innit.