Thunderbird Club

[GBassNorth]

Well I finally got around to removing the Cobalt Flats from my Eppi VP (which had been on for months and sounded great) to try the next string option with this TBird. On a club members recommendation I tried Fender Pure Nickel rounds. Here's the journey so far...

Stock VP strings - killer aggressive sound, tons of upper mids and lower mids, too much finger noise and fret clack for my tastes. Preference on a scale of one to ten (with 10 tops) = 7

DR Silver Stars - completely tamed the top end, beautiful bright silver color, reduced finger noise, lost the aggressive nature of the bass, tension seemed low compared to the stock strings. Preference on a scale of one to ten = 6

EB Cobalt Flats - sweet top end, brighter sounding than the Silver Stars but less finger noise than the stock strings, great bottom end and solid mids, very bright for a flat, maybe even brighter sounding than some nickel rounds, with tone knob rolled off a lot of note definition is lost. Preference on a scale of one to ten = 8

Fender 7150 Pure Nickel Rounds - not too much finger noise, very nice top end, ultra punchy, beautiful lower mids and lows, very nice tension, excellent note definition even with the tone knob rolled off. Approaching nirvana for me. Excellent option for finger players who like Cobalt Flats but want a tad crisper sound. Preference on a scale of one to ten = 9

After a month or two of play time I'll flip these out for Roto rounds, if anyone else has a string selection they recommend for the VP please speak up. I'm still looking for the perfect string for this bass.

Notes:
Tone preference = deep, dark, smooth, well defined, lower mid punch, sweet upper mids, no brittle highs, no finger noise.
Feel preference = tight, not floppy, not rubbery, slick, not sticky, not rough, well balanced tension across all strings.
Visual preference = not much, no gaudy silk colors.
Playing style = fingers only, no pick, no slap, no tap, no pop.
Right hand home position = between the neck pup and neck heel.
Tone knob position = at or less than 50% up.
Pup volume positions = neck solo or neck set at twice the volume of the bridge pup.
Music played = everything from hard rock to polka and waltz, mostly swing and classic/progressive rock.

 

[TBird1958]

You owe it a set of Ken Smith Rock masters and a Tortex .73 pick.
Your wife and neighbors may not like so much, but you will

 

[JJR58]

Happy Fathers day to all the proud dads.

Aside from that, lots of cool pics there folks.

 

[GonePlaid]

I would put a Squier logo on it if I could. Just to mess with people. It's one of those CroMagnon things, y'know.

Correction: 5quier.

 

[GonePlaid]

Well I finally got around to removing the Cobalt Flats from my Eppi VP (which had been on for months and sounded great) to try the next string option with this TBird. On a club members recommendation I tried Fender Pure Nickel rounds. Here's the journey so far...

Stock VP strings - killer aggressive sound, tons of upper mids and lower mids, too much finger noise and fret clack for my tastes. Preference on a scale of one to ten (with 10 tops) = 7

DR Silver Stars - completely tamed the top end, beautiful bright silver color, reduced finger noise, lost the aggressive nature of the bass, tension seemed low compared to the stock strings. Preference on a scale of one to ten = 6

EB Cobalt Flats - sweet top end, brighter sounding than the Silver Stars but less finger noise than the stock strings, great bottom end and solid mids, very bright for a flat, maybe even brighter sounding than some nickel rounds, with tone knob rolled off a lot of note definition is lost. Preference on a scale of one to ten = 8

Fender 7150 Pure Nickel Rounds - not too much finger noise, very nice top end, ultra punchy, beautiful lower mids and lows, very nice tension, excellent note definition even with the tone knob rolled off. Approaching nirvana for me. Excellent option for finger players who like Cobalt Flats but want a tad crisper sound. Preference on a scale of one to ten = 9

After a month or two of play time I'll flip these out for Roto rounds, if anyone else has a string selection they recommend for the VP please speak up. I'm still looking for the perfect string for this bass.

Notes:
Tone preference = deep, dark, smooth, well defined, lower mid punch, sweet upper mids, no brittle highs, no finger noise.
Feel preference = tight, not floppy, not rubbery, slick, not sticky, not rough, well balanced tension across all strings.
Visual preference = not much, no gaudy silk colors.
Playing style = fingers only, no pick, no slap, no tap, no pop.
Right hand home position = between the neck pup and neck heel.
Tone knob position = at or less than 50% up.
Pup volume positions = neck solo or neck set at twice the volume of the bridge pup.
Music played = everything from hard rock to polka and waltz, mostly swing and classic/progressive rock.

AFA music played, you should try to broaden your musical horizons-maybe some bluegrass or klezmer? You might try Chromes. Except for the Cobalt flats I just put on my Epi Bird 5er, and 1/2 rounds on my Gibby LP 5er, that's what I'm using.

 

[PillO]

Correction: 5quier.

5quire

Wouldn't want to confuse those that are brand conscious and spelling conscious.

 

[GonePlaid]

5quire

Wouldn't want to confuse those that are brand conscious and spelling conscious.

You're assuming they're conscious.

 

[ProgressiveDoom]

Fishing line solves a lot of problems.

That said, I don't have any interest in doing that kind of fiddly work ever again.

It doesnt look like its worth the irritation. This seems like a mod that I would rather pay for if absolutely necessary.

 

[ProgressiveDoom]

5quire

Wouldn't want to confuse those that are brand conscious and spelling conscious.

You're assuming they're conscious.

You mean I am conscious?

 

[Engle]

It would sit ill with me. Also I feel like it would be presenting myself as being ashamed of playing an Epiphone, which I'm not.

And most people I know off this site don't know about the Vintage Pro.

I have Porsche 914 2L wheels on my Karmann Ghia. When people ask what it is, I proudly tell them it’s a VW

As far as getting a semi acoustic and a Thunderbird, both my Epiphone basses (JC & VP) were the smart buy compared to their Gibson counterparts. If I were to put a Gibson truss rod cover on the VP, I would continue preaching Epiphone.
I find it amusing that Gibson/Epiphone made such a great replica for low $ and was curious if the truss rod cover could be easily swapped to further the illusion.
Chances are the I won’t bother.

 

[ProgressiveDoom]

I have Porsche 914 2L wheels on my Karmann Ghia. When people ask what it is, I proudly tell them it’s a VW

As far as getting a semi acoustic and a Thunderbird, both my Epiphone basses (JC & VP) were the smart buy compared to their Gibson counterparts. If I were to put a Gibson truss rod cover on the VP, I would continue preaching Epiphone.
I find it amusing that Gibson/Epiphone made such a great replica for low $ and was curious if the truss rod cover could be easily swapped to further the illusion.
Chances are the I won’t bother.

I had a Chickenbacker that had a Rickenbacker truss rod cover that was proudly stamped "Made In USA" and the first mod I made was to yank that thing off and cut out a blank replacement. A Rick and a Chicken?, not gonna fool anybody with that comparison. I have Nissan Titan aluminum rims on my GMC Sierra, the first thing I did was pop the Nissan centers off and put GMC logo over the blank. On the second day with the Nissan wheels a tow truck driver yelled in traffic at me "Are those Nissan Titan rims"? and the last 5 years nobody has mentioned it again.

 

[Christine]

I have Porsche 914 2L wheels on my Karmann Ghia. When people ask what it is, I proudly tell them it’s a VW

As far as getting a semi acoustic and a Thunderbird, both my Epiphone basses (JC & VP) were the smart buy compared to their Gibson counterparts. If I were to put a Gibson truss rod cover on the VP, I would continue preaching Epiphone.
I find it amusing that Gibson/Epiphone made such a great replica for low $ and was curious if the truss rod cover could be easily swapped to further the illusion.
Chances are the I won’t bother.

I need to see pictures of your Ghia I love them, they are the best cars almost ever. I did like the 914 too, I had a drive of one once and loved it hugely but I never managed to own one, like the Ghia

The TRC on the classic pro and Gibson are a different size and not interchangeable, I put a Gibson(alike) TRC on my CP, in hindsight I don't know why but it does no harm, I'll never sell it or at least with it on and the differences in the body and PG logo are enough for anyone who has half a clue to know what it really is. If you want to put a new TRC on go for it but just be honest or you'll give the club a bad name

 

[PillO]

You're assuming they're conscious.

touche

 

[theFixer]

Well I finally got around to removing the Cobalt Flats from my Eppi VP (which had been on for months and sounded great) to try the next string option with this TBird. On a club members recommendation I tried Fender Pure Nickel rounds. Here's the journey so far...

Stock VP strings - killer aggressive sound, tons of upper mids and lower mids, too much finger noise and fret clack for my tastes. Preference on a scale of one to ten (with 10 tops) = 7

DR Silver Stars - completely tamed the top end, beautiful bright silver color, reduced finger noise, lost the aggressive nature of the bass, tension seemed low compared to the stock strings. Preference on a scale of one to ten = 6

EB Cobalt Flats - sweet top end, brighter sounding than the Silver Stars but less finger noise than the stock strings, great bottom end and solid mids, very bright for a flat, maybe even brighter sounding than some nickel rounds, with tone knob rolled off a lot of note definition is lost. Preference on a scale of one to ten = 8

Fender 7150 Pure Nickel Rounds - not too much finger noise, very nice top end, ultra punchy, beautiful lower mids and lows, very nice tension, excellent note definition even with the tone knob rolled off. Approaching nirvana for me. Excellent option for finger players who like Cobalt Flats but want a tad crisper sound. Preference on a scale of one to ten = 9

After a month or two of play time I'll flip these out for Roto rounds, if anyone else has a string selection they recommend for the VP please speak up. I'm still looking for the perfect string for this bass.

Notes:
Tone preference = deep, dark, smooth, well defined, lower mid punch, sweet upper mids, no brittle highs, no finger noise.
Feel preference = tight, not floppy, not rubbery, slick, not sticky, not rough, well balanced tension across all strings.
Visual preference = not much, no gaudy silk colors.
Playing style = fingers only, no pick, no slap, no tap, no pop.
Right hand home position = between the neck pup and neck heel.
Tone knob position = at or less than 50% up.
Pup volume positions = neck solo or neck set at twice the volume of the bridge pup.
Music played = everything from hard rock to polka and waltz, mostly swing and classic/progressive rock.

I got one for ya. If ya got a couple "disposable" dollars & ya find 'em on sale... Boomers. The last person I encountered that actually used them, was back in 198?. I'd be interested to hear the opinion of someone who speaks our language. There's been a couple folks that have asked about 'em, and the place went silent. Make no mistake... I don't expect you to like them (hell, I don't even like nickel rounds). The curiosity is more to confirm or disprove suspicions, and to have an answer should someone happen to ask. Of course it's possible that they may have improved over the past 30 years or whatever, so maybe a surprise awaits...

 

[theFixer]

You mean I am conscious?

If you have to ask, does it really matter?

 

[GBassNorth]

I need to see pictures of your Ghia I love them, they are the best cars almost ever. I did like the 914 too, I had a drive of one once and loved it hugely but I never managed to own one, like the Ghia

Ditto! The Ghia is one of my all time favorite affordable collector cars. The other being a TR6. Both are a blast to drive, great to look at, easy to maintain and going up in value. I expect their price to about double in the next 10 or 15 years. Get em while you can.

 

[PillO]

I got one for ya. If ya got a couple "disposable" dollars & ya find 'em on sale... Boomers. The last person I encountered that actually used them, was back in 198?. I'd be interested to hear the opinion of someone who speaks our language. There's been a couple folks that have asked about 'em, and the place went silent. Make no mistake... I don't expect you to like them (hell, I don't even like nickel rounds). The curiosity is more to confirm or disprove suspicions, and to have an answer should someone happen to ask. Of course it's possible that they may have improved over the past 30 years or whatever, so maybe a surprise awaits...

I have Boomers on the Midtown right now. I really don't like them. The E and A are too dull and thumpy and the D and G are too bright and twangy. And overall, they sound like having rubber bands on your bass. But to each his own, YMMV, etc. I probably won't use and GHS product after this experience.

 

[ProgressiveDoom]

If you have to ask, does it really matter?

Id rather not be

 

[GBassNorth]

I got one for ya. If ya got a couple "disposable" dollars & ya find 'em on sale... Boomers. The last person I encountered that actually used them, was back in 198?. I'd be interested to hear the opinion of someone who speaks our language. There's been a couple folks that have asked about 'em, and the place went silent. Make no mistake... I don't expect you to like them (hell, I don't even like nickel rounds). The curiosity is more to confirm or disprove suspicions, and to have an answer should someone happen to ask. Of course it's possible that they may have improved over the past 30 years or whatever, so maybe a surprise awaits...

Hey Fix!
Yeah I've tried the round core boomers on other basses and loved them. Great low end and a smooth sheen at the top end. Overall a relatively dark sounding string but with good definition. Fairly long lasting string also. It might be a good pairing with the VP pickups, which to my ears are a relatively bright pup with a strong midrange. Not sure if they still make the Boomers in hex core but I've never tried those before. I suspect they'd sound similar to the round core but be stiffer and have a different attack.

 

[ProgressiveDoom]

Hey Fix!
Yeah I've tried the round core boomers on other basses and loved them. Great low end and a smooth sheen at the top end. Overall a relatively dark sounding string but with good definition. Fairly long lasting string also. It might be a good pairing with the VP pickups, which to my ears are a relatively bright pup with a strong midrange. Not sure if they still make the Boomers in hex core but I've never tried those before. I suspect they'd sound similar to the round core but be stiffer and have a different attack.

GHS Boomers sound amazing on my Precision bass, I will buy them again.