Thunderbird Club

[BadBassDrummer]

Aren't we all...

I would love to step up to mediocre.

 

[Nocturnal]

I love the P bass I built with the '62 Lollars and half-rounds. I love the sound the Jazz makes, but hate the aesthetics. I sold the G3. I'm really meh on the Armstrong and only keep it because it's cool and vintage.

I've bonded with the 'Bird. She's my favourite by a mile. The shape,the tone, the look. Can't be beat.

You sound like me. I'm loving the St. Blues PJ bass I recently purchased. It plays and sounds amazing! Never ever liked Jazz basses for some reason. But Birds just get me every time. Like you said, the shape, tone, look, everything works for me

 

[hillerup]

You sound like me. I'm loving the St. Blues PJ bass I recently purchased. It plays and sounds amazing! Never ever liked Jazz basses for some reason. But Birds just get me every time. Like you said, the shape, tone, look, everything works for me

The Jazz just looks wrong... Like a P-Bass that's been streched in an akward way...

 

[Gaolee]

I have a P. It's a keeper. If it was shaped like a 'Bird, I would like it even more, but it does its thing very well. It is just a different animal from a 'Bird in all ways except scale length and number of strings.

 

[Leiria]

The Jazz just looks wrong... Like a P-Bass that's been streched in an akward way...

I agree.. on most J basses. I actually really like the look of the black Aerodyne without the pick guard or whatever the hell that god awful chrome piece near the knobs is. And its a PJ so it doesn't sound that bad. Theres a used one for sale in my country so I might buy it and turn it into a fretless (which is something Ive wanted for a long time)

 

[TBird1958]

I love the P bass I built with the '62 Lollars and half-rounds. I love the sound the Jazz makes, but hate the aesthetics. I sold the G3. I'm really meh on the Armstrong and only keep it because it's cool and vintage.

I've bonded with the 'Bird. She's my favourite by a mile. The shape,the tone, the look. Can't be beat.

I really liked the G-3 re issue I had to review, I'm not much of a fingerstyle player but that bass sounded Soooo Goood thru my rig!

 

[veebass]

You sound like me. I'm loving the St. Blues PJ bass I recently purchased. It plays and sounds amazing! Never ever liked Jazz basses for some reason. But Birds just get me every time. Like you said, the shape, tone, look, everything works for me

Yes, I know what you mean about Jazzes. I have a couple of nice ones. To my ear, the scooped sound just lacks the balls live for what I play. Sound good noodling away at home, but just a bit lacking live for me. Actually, an RD Standard does Jazz Bass pretty well but with more oomph. I find the series/ parallel mod helps a Jazz a lot but still not as good as a good P Bass live to my ears. I also prefer a PJ to a Jazz and I have a really good Boner Bass (90s Precision Plus). I have gigged a lot with P Basses- split coils and single coils and I like them both, but after the successful introduction of Grecobird last Saturday, I think it will be my go to for the foreseeable. I will take my trusty 73 P, a Telecaster Bass or my Asat as a backup..
I use my Gibson TBird when we play places with a bigger stage area, because I have always been nervous about damaging it in confined spaces. It is pretty well unmarked even after having it for 6-7 years). It's never let me down, always sounds huge. I would hate to damage it- it is also sentimental- a gift from my wife.
As for my other basses. I have a 98 Mapleglo 4003 and go through periods of using it until I decide I want to use something else and put it away again for a while. I haven't sold it because I know I will want to pick it up again. My Ripper is my go to if we are doing a quieter dinner set, it works really well with an amplified acoustic guitar. The much maligned Rippers are quite versatile really. Victorys do P Bass really well and have the advantage of no dead spots on the necks. The necks on my two are just pleasures to play. I have used them live and they sound great in a rock setting. I have gigged my G&L Asat (same electrics as the L2000) a fair bit too- it is a really, really solid sounding bass as well and the neck is just fantastic. These are so versatile- almost too many tonal options.
I have a Stingray but never really got on with it- the Asat in active mode does Stingray well enough for me but without the annoying over the top string noise I seem to get with a Stingray and a better neck.

 

[mistergoats]

There's an RD Standard in Ebony for sale here, $2500 CAD. I'd love to get a hold of that thing.

1978 Gibson RD Bass

 

[Larry V]

There's an RD Standard in Ebony for sale here, $2500 CAD. I'd love to get a hold of that thing.

1978 Gibson RD Bass

Aren't they boat anchors?

 

[mistergoats]

Aren't they boat anchors?

Our guitar player has two of them (guitars) and I find them very "neck forward", like they're trying to escape my hands, and I find the pick ups far too hot for my taste. I played a '79 RD Artist with the Moog stuff on board a while back and man, it was nice. But I only played it for a few minutes. It's no heavier than any other bass.

 

[veebass]

Aren't they boat anchors?

They are indeed a tad on the hefty side, Larry- I think mine weighs about ten and half pounds.
Certainly there were heavier Fenders from that period and some of the boutiques are heftier, but if weigh is a major consideration, probably not the bass you are looking for.
Surprisingly well balanced though. Neck a bit chunkier than a Gibson TBird, more like some of the Epis- so quite playable.
They sound great. Jazz bassish with power. Bright but with plenty of bottom as well.

Ebony is very rare- story goes that only about 100 Standards in ebony were made- I know where another is, about 6 feet from where I am sitting.

 

[rickwebb]

Gotta chime in on the "Other Basses Issue" here...
I have a 1981 Rickenbacker 4001S here for sentimental reasons- (the late great Chris Squire, and I used to be a HUUUGE Geddy Lee/RUSH fan). It doesn't leave the house because I hear it's a fairly rare specimen around these parts .
I'm a huge fan of Jazz Basses. Playability, looks and versatility... but they're a little lacking in the BOOM department.
Up until fairly recently (13-14 months or so?), my main squeezes were a pair of late 80's MIJ Fender Jazz Bass Specials- like the ones Duff McKagan is most often associated with.

And then IT happened... I got bitten by the Bird Bug.
Love my Epi Classic Pros to death- and I get more compliments on them from everybody- musicians and non-musicians alike.
Gotta love that!

 

[veebass]

Our guitar player has two of them (guitars) and I find them very "neck forward", like they're trying to escape my hands, and I find the pick ups far too hot for my taste. I played a '79 RD Artist with the Moog stuff on board a while back and man, it was nice. But I only played it for a few minutes. It's no heavier than any other bass.

My son has a 78 RD Artist guitar in Antique Burst- lovely guitar- slightly longer scale than a "normal" Gibson. Jimmy Page was known to use one at times.

We have an RD Artist Bass and it is a whole different animal- with the electronics. Can do anything with them.

 

[veebass]

Gotta chime in on the "Other Basses Issue" here...
I have a 1981 Rickenbacker 4001S here for sentimental reasons- (the late great Chris Squire, and I used to be a HUUUGE Geddy Lee/RUSH fan). It doesn't leave the house because I hear it's a fairly rare specimen around these parts .

My son won't allow the 56 P to leave the house without a security detail. Apart from loving that bass, which does play beautifully, I think he sees it as inheritance.

 

[Larry V]

They are indeed a tad on the hefty side, Larry- I think mine weighs about ten and half pounds.
Certainly there were heavier Fenders from that period and some of the boutiques are heftier, but if weigh is a major consideration, probably not the bass you are looking for.

I guess that's all I was trying to say. My Studio V was a boat anchor at 10 lbs. so I'm a little biased towards my sub 8 lbs. TBirds. It's really surprising what an extra two pounds can mean.

 

[Gaolee]

The shape of a Thunderbird is what works for me. I like the neck far closer to vertical than most, and with no upper horn in the way, it does that. Nothing else pulls it off. I suppose an Explorer might, but I'm perfectly happy with 'Birds.

 

[Klondike]

I might as well chime in. I dont have a P or a J or even a PJ. I do have a Spector Rex. Active EMG's and she sounds awful good. Would love to find a Ripper and a G&L M2000 one day. Maybe even a Les Paul.

I've found a small company called B&G who make what they call Little Sister. Beautiful sounding guitar. One day I asked them if they planned on making a Bass and they responded "wait for Big Sister". I guess that means they do plan on adding a bass. Anxious to hear that.

 

[mistergoats]

They are indeed a tad on the hefty side, Larry- I think mine weighs about ten and half pounds.
Certainly there were heavier Fenders from that period and some of the boutiques are heftier, but if weigh is a major consideration, probably not the bass you are looking for.
Surprisingly well balanced though. Neck a bit chunkier than a Gibson TBird, more like some of the Epis- so quite playable.
They sound great. Jazz bassish with power. Bright but with plenty of bottom as well.

Ebony is very rare- story goes that only about 100 Standards in ebony were made- I know where another is, about 6 feet from where I am sitting.

I heard 100 a year between '77 and '79, so around 300. They are legendary.

 

[Nocturnal]

Gotta chime in on the "Other Basses Issue" here...
Up until fairly recently (13-14 months or so?), my main squeezes were a pair of late 80's MIJ Fender Jazz Bass Specials- like the ones Duff McKagan is most often associated with.

I had an all black Jazz Special that I really liked. Had to sell it to buy back my BlackBird but I knew the Special was going to be the easiest to replace when the time comes to get another.

 

[TBird1958]

There's probably a 7ender underneath a rock in my back yard they're so common!