Thunderbird Club

[PillO]

After a brief dalliance with the possibility of a 64 TB II, I have bought another bass.
I just could not justify the price being asked for the TB II- given it had a headstock repair. The guy actually wanted more than I paid for my 1956 100% all original P Bass a few years back.
The "new" bass satisfies a Pelham Blue itch and has a pickup set that should be a bit different to my Les Paul, TBird and ES 335 basses. I understand people talk highly of this combination (ceramic in the neck and alnico TB +s in the bridge) in the SG Bass, but I could never come at the short scale. I should have it in a week or so.

A very well cared for (immaculate) 2014 Midtown Signature- in Oz and so no problem with the Rosewood police.

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Very nice!

 

[PillO]

Like this?

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Get rid of the word; just the graphic. I suppose in deference to the sinister amoungst us, there should be one with an upside down dragon also.

 

[PillO]

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Dragon facing the other direction perhaps?

 

[PillO]

Outstanding! Now, with clovers instead of t tuners, it would be really spectacular. (no pleasing us, is there...)

I like the Ys rather than clovers.

 

[Nocturnal]

How about this idea?

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NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This?

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I like this version. You could also bump the bass side tuners up further into the point to offset the tuners. Like this (but your headstock looks better to my eyes):

 

[GBassNorth]

Possibly move the top tuners up a little too?

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Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!
Ticks all the boxes for me...
- Cool headstock with a familiar but not carbon copy shape
- rounded corners at the end of the headstock to minimize damage to itself and others while playing
- awesome logo that intuitively identifies the dragon brand
- lack of shameless overly wordy text filled advertising (think FSO) on the headstock

Now just follow Stewart Spector's lead (see pic below) on the back of the headstock and you're golden!

 

[JJR58]

EB-6 anyone?
This thing is too cool, the headstock has (6) large tuners.
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That's a rather amazing piece, (but with my big hands and fingers, even if i could play with a pic), i'd sound like even more of a hack then i am if i tried to play that.

 

[theFixer]

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BAM!!! THERE it is! Stepped away from the computer for a while. When I came back & scrolled across this photo again, it was LLLUUUVVVdrool

This one here is my oh-fishall favorite!
(That'll be $37.50 please)

 

[JJR58]

BAM!!! THERE it is! Stepped away from the computer for a while. When I came back & scrolled across this photo again, it was LLLUUUVVVdrool

This one here is my oh-fishall favorite!
(That'll be $37.50 please)

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And to add to the already numerous mix of opinions. Ddraig might be cool on the trc. Hey, i had to.

 

[PianoOfDoom]

Anybody ever use TI flats on a Thunderbird?

Yes, up until today . They sound fantastic with the right pickups (Thunderbuckers for me), but I still strongly prefer LaBellas. Keep in mind, I’m playing with the tone at 0 and the neck solo’d. I also changed to a .1uf cap to darken it up further.

 

[JJR58]

Yes, up until today . They sound fantastic with the right pickups (Thunderbuckers for me), but I still strongly prefer LaBellas. Keep in mind, I’m playing with the tone at 0 and the neck solo’d. I also changed to a .1uf cap to darken it up further.

TI's with the tone wide open. So sue me.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

And to add to the already numerous mix of opinions. Ddraig might be cool on the trc. Hey, i had to.

Totally with you. Or on the PG if one to be used?

 

[MrKeef]

So I'll be playing with an alt metal group soon (think Tool). Just curious if I could get a decent Chancellor-esque tone from my standard Epi Thunderbird and a set of Ernie Ball Hybrid Cobalt 45-105 strings? I know he uses EB, but I always thought it was with 45-110. Not 100% sure. Any tips to turn my TBird into a alt metal machine?

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Yes, up until today . They sound fantastic with the right pickups (Thunderbuckers for me), but I still strongly prefer LaBellas. Keep in mind, I’m playing with the tone at 0 and the neck solo’d. I also changed to a .1uf cap to darken it up further.

Are you using a pick?

 

[PianoOfDoom]

Are you using a pick?

*gasp*

No. Just one finger

 

[JJR58]

*gasp*

No. Just one finger

James Jamerson did it with one finger. And no ehems on this one.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

James Jamerson did it with one finger. And no ehems on this one.

Yeah, he called it "The Hook".

 

[Gaolee]

I have tried them, honestly I did not care for them at all. I wanted to have an open mind about the tone and playability, but I just couldn't get on with them - The tactile aspect was something I really disliked a lot when playing finger style, and overall the tone wasn't something that really jumped out either.
Let's not misconstrue this as me damning flats, I'm sure they're fine for lots of folks, just not me.

I had TI flats on a Ric for a while. It ended up Sunbeams for a while before it went to fund a 'Bird. So, that's all I got on TI Jazz flats. I like Cobalt flats, but they are completely different.

 

[Engle]

Hows this look then? A bit rough but it's just ideas. The headstock will be bound by the way

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Yeah!

 

[Gaolee]

So I'll be playing with an alt metal group soon (think Tool). Just curious if I could get a decent Chancellor-esque tone from my standard Epi Thunderbird and a set of Ernie Ball Hybrid Cobalt 45-105 strings? I know he uses EB, but I always thought it was with 45-110. Not 100% sure. Any tips to turn my TBird into a alt metal machine?

It's all about touch and eq. You can turn a 'Bird into any kind of machine you want with a bit of experimentation. I find that playing too hard with fingers between the 5th and 8th frets or so on the G string tends to get lost in the mix pretty easily. Other than that, it's just spending time with it to find out what it can do.