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Thunderbird Club

#89,862
GBassNorth said:
Hang in there BBD!

Remember, no matter how good you are, there's always somebody better. Don't let that fact discourage you. Just play your best and also know there's a boat load of players out there that would like to play as good as you do (probably myself included).

I ran through a short period of bass self doubt in the late 1990's. Went to a bar with a few of my friends and was sitting with my back to the band as they were setting up. We were all talking and drinking and not paying much attention to the stage. After a couple of songs I mentioned to one of the guys at our table that the band sounded really good, especially the bass, nice and tight, really in the groove and plenty of chest pounding punch. My buddy laughed and pointed at the stage.

I turned around to see the band and much to my surprise there wasn't a bass player. The guy on keyboard was doing their bass lines along with the other keys. It hit me like a ton of bricks, some schmuck on a keyboard was laying down some of the best sounding live bar band bass lines I'd ever heard, while simultaneously playing the electric piano. I seriously considered hanging it up at that point, I mean why bother playing bass when some guy who doesn't even play bass sounds better than I do.

Fortunately I didn't quit. After a few weeks of moping around and not picking up my basses I said screw it! I'm playing bass because it's fun and I like it. I'll never be the best player and might not even make it beyond mediocre, but that's fine with me, at least I'm doing what I like, if others don't like it they can listen to someone else.

Life is short, follow your passion, enjoy what you do and do what you enjoy. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Bravo.
 
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#89,864
Nocturnal said:
I know most here are purists when it comes to the 4-in-line headstock, but I really think the Dingwall D-Bird headstock works on the body style. It still has some of the "flow" of the original but just not so long. I prefer this 2+2 to the Spector 2+2 headstock on a Bird styled bass.

View attachment 3112433
View attachment 3112434
Click to expand...

Yep... I like that one also.
Like a smooth whooosh
 
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#89,865
GBassNorth said:
To my eyes, the Dingwall headstock always looked out of proportion to the body. Just a tad too small for my tastes, kinda like all Musicman guitar headstocks.

@Christine - the alternate style headstock that I think would look cool on a Bird would be your take on a reverse Sadowsky headstock. Maybe a bit more angular curves (vs the rounded curve under the Sadowsky name) and maybe even add a perimeter route like Gibson does. That would be too cool.
Here's a pic of the stock Sadowsky head...
View attachment 3112912
I think you could tweak this for a really neat Tbirdish look.
Click to expand...
I like it..
 
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#89,870
RedVee said:
Sunshine on ?
Click to expand...
It used to be a rough place years ago, it's one of those trendy waterside places now. Years ago I got a job with a large woollen mill chain, they had a shop on the Bangor road in Leith and I got sent there for a couple of weeks. I was staying in a nice little B&B on the edge of Leith and walked in every day and in the evening I would stroll across a park to a friendly pub (friendly once they found out I was Welsh :roflmao:). One night I walked in from the pub and got chatting to the folks who ran the B&B and they asked me where I'd been, so I told them, they were completely horrified and anyone but anyone who walks through that park gets mugged, the conversation got on how did I walk to the shop, down the hill, over the bridge and up the high street... again complete horror. They gave me strict instructions never to do it again and told me another safe way to go. I gathered over the next couple of days that everyone thought I must be the worlds toughest person to walk alone in that area so they just left me alone :roflmao: Once I started looking, even the Police were walking around in groups of four. Ignorance is bliss sometimes :)
 
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#89,872
Christine said:
Were you sick on your new bass? Poor you, never mind, get a cloth and wipe it up. You'll feel better in the morning. That will teach you to eat too much peperoni
Click to expand...
I've had that bass for nearly a year...
I got tired of using a vintage SS amp with an 18" speaker so I decided I needed a vintage tube amp with an 18" speaker :D
 
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#89,880
GBassNorth said:
Hang in there BBD!

Remember, no matter how good you are, there's always somebody better. Don't let that fact discourage you. Just play your best and also know there's a boat load of players out there that would like to play as good as you do (probably myself included).

I ran through a short period of bass self doubt in the late 1990's. Went to a bar with a few of my friends and was sitting with my back to the band as they were setting up. We were all talking and drinking and not paying much attention to the stage. After a couple of songs I mentioned to one of the guys at our table that the band sounded really good, especially the bass, nice and tight, really in the groove and plenty of chest pounding punch. My buddy laughed and pointed at the stage.

I turned around to see the band and much to my surprise there wasn't a bass player. The guy on keyboard was doing their bass lines along with the other keys. It hit me like a ton of bricks, some schmuck on a keyboard was laying down some of the best sounding live bar band bass lines I'd ever heard, while simultaneously playing the electric piano. I seriously considered hanging it up at that point, I mean why bother playing bass when some guy who doesn't even play bass sounds better than I do.

Fortunately I didn't quit. After a few weeks of moping around and not picking up my basses I said screw it! I'm playing bass because it's fun and I like it. I'll never be the best player and might not even make it beyond mediocre, but that's fine with me, at least I'm doing what I like, if others don't like it they can listen to someone else.

Life is short, follow your passion, enjoy what you do and do what you enjoy. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
It's become a fact of life. If the budget gets cut, so do the personnel. How many bass players does it take to change a light bulb? 0, the keyboard player does it with his left hand. I say that with no joy, just observation.:banghead::(
 
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