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Thunderbird Club

#97,401
RedVee said:
Looks a beaut, Duke.

I still can’t find a photo of my first bass. c 76/77 looked pretty much the same as Gene Simmons was rocking at the time - as per album cover photos. So Grabber/Ripper-ish with a 2 a side tuners Gibsonish.
But in Natural wood with a clear coat, wood grain showing. Almost as blonde as pine furniture lol.
Regret selling it, peer pressure lead me to LP guitar in black. Looked beautiful but just sat in the corner 99% of the time. :banghead:
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I also do not have any pics of my first (MIJ) solid body bass. (bought new for $40 in 1966 at a local Woolworths dept store) Sounding like medieval times here, but camera's were not everyday devices back then. I only have a faded memory of it and am pretty sure I know what it was (a "Stadium", also badged St George) but with no pic I'll never know for sure. It was a 34" scale which was rare then from Japan.
 
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#97,402
Engle said:
View attachment 3218121 Had a few minutes of time to kill and popped into L&M. SWEET CANDY!!!
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They had one of the burst ones at my L&M. I tried it - it was nice, but didn't fill a need for me and didn't generate a "must have" feeling for me.

Is that a Yamaha above it? My L&M doesn't routinely carry anything beyond the TRBX174 because they don't sell well around here despite being solid instrument. Lots of metal being played around here and the preference is for Ibanez apparently.
 
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#97,403
PillO said:
They had one of the burst ones at my L&M. I tried it - it was nice, but didn't fill a need for me and didn't generate a "must have" feeling for me.

Is that a Yamaha above it? My L&M doesn't routinely carry anything beyond the TRBX174 because they don't sell well around here despite being solid instrument. Lots of metal being played around here and the preference is for Ibanez apparently.
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The Yamaha (if that’s what it was) didn’t catch my attention at all. I picked up a TBird 4 (bolt on) which seemed heavy, and an EPI EB3 which also seemed heavy and weird as a long scale.
I don’t need that Les Paul and 2K is more than a cheapskate like me is willing to spend on a bass, but it was really nice.
 
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#97,404
JIO said:
In a way a few basses could work - the "classic" bass used by the legends (Robbie Shakespeare, Aston Barrett) would be a (70's) Jazz but the low-tones come more from the amp than the bass. Neck pu, full bass on the tone control and all the treble stops off the amp. I can imagine 18" drivers (depending on the need, maybe 2) would deliver that room rattling deep-bass response that envelops the space with low end. The venerable Acoustic 360 comes to mind.

Out of the basses I own, through my Ampeg B-15N and w/o brand or model bias - the bass that delivers the roundest, sweetest pillow-like tone is my '66 P-bass with nickel wounds. Would love to hear it at reggae-gig volume through an 18". A close second would be my '65 ss Teisco Del Rey with flats. Something about the pu's. Having said this, I heard a 'deep-bass' reggae band once where the bass player played a Yamaha headless (looked like a Steinberger) that sounded huge.
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In a studio-set vid of the Wailers doing 3 O'clock Road Block (I think that's the one, but same record anyway) Aston is playing a Jazz Bass through an Acoustic 371 rig. Don't know if that means anything, but those guys weren't rich, and there was no Sam Ash in Jamaica, so maybe it does...
 
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#97,405
JIO said:
I also do not have any pics of my first (MIJ) solid body bass. (bought new for $40 in 1966 at a local Woolworths dept store) Sounding like medieval times here, but camera's were not everyday devices back then. I only have a faded memory of it and am pretty sure I know what it was (a "Stadium", also badged St George) but with no pic I'll never know for sure. It was a 34" scale which was rare then from Japan.
Click to expand...

I can’t remember what brand mine was under - I would remember St George as that is the footy club I follow :laugh: .
Mine I think was 34” but I didn’t know to check those things as a 15yo. The guitar came from the same shop (so same brand?) and had the Gibson style diamond decoration on the headstock. Aria & Diamond ring bells but I’m just guessing. I remember they both felt really nice in the hand and the guitar especially held tune ‘for ever’ and they both sounded good. But again I was 15-16 and knew nothing. I’m older know and know very little. So that’s an advance.
 
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#97,407
Count Bassie said:
In a studio-set vid of the Wailers doing 3 O'clock Road Block (I think that's the one, but same record anyway) Aston is playing a Jazz Bass through an Acoustic 371 rig. Don't know if that means anything, but those guys weren't rich, and there was no Sam Ash in Jamaica, so maybe it does...
Click to expand...
good point...I've seen bassists in the islands using combinations of nylon and steel strings and I doubt better sound is the reason...
 
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#97,410
Count Bassie said:
In a studio-set vid of the Wailers doing 3 O'clock Road Block (I think that's the one, but same record anyway) Aston is playing a Jazz Bass through an Acoustic 371 rig. Don't know if that means anything, but those guys weren't rich, and there was no Sam Ash in Jamaica, so maybe it does...
Click to expand...

Case in point - they knew where the deep-bass goodness emanated from!
 
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#97,411
RedVee said:
I can’t remember what brand mine was under - I would remember St George as that is the footy club I follow :laugh: .
Mine I think was 34” but I didn’t know to check those things as a 15yo. The guitar came from the same shop (so same brand?) and had the Gibson style diamond decoration on the headstock. Aria & Diamond ring bells but I’m just guessing. I remember they both felt really nice in the hand and the guitar especially held tune ‘for ever’ and they both sounded good. But again I was 15-16 and knew nothing. I’m older know and know very little. So that’s an advance.
Click to expand...

I hear you - as a 13 yr old I was completely clueless about such details. It was a "guitar", it had 4 strings and it was electric - I was now part of what was going on! ... tone?, intonation?, scale length?, technique? Can I play "I'm Your Captain" all the way through? :D
 
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#97,412
Some recent shots with the 'bird, at The Echo and Lodge Room in LA. Have flats on it now, not really my thing but it suits the band well.

K-R6zmneX2Z7JhlLUCruHMvab0QPi3C2BsX5scCTzwUDdvMZ4GEKlyKORD8vUPI_quY-_xexbWaMzingE=w1224-h1834-no.jpg

echo1.jpeg
echo2.jpeg
echo3.jpeg

2018-11-07 21.38.47.jpg
 
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#97,413
Mike.C. said:
View attachment 3217661 To all those who got the VP right away, did your bass come with black spacers on both pups? I got my VP this spring with a spacer only on the bridge. I got one via Thunderbucker Ranch. I like it - more consistent.
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Mine was made Aug 2017 - is it an early one? Only bridge spacer seen here (day of purchase picture).
IMG_4210_2.jpg
 
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#97,416
RedVee said:
I can’t remember what brand mine was under - I would remember St George as that is the footy club I follow :laugh: .
Mine I think was 34” but I didn’t know to check those things as a 15yo. The guitar came from the same shop (so same brand?) and had the Gibson style diamond decoration on the headstock. Aria & Diamond ring bells but I’m just guessing. I remember they both felt really nice in the hand and the guitar especially held tune ‘for ever’ and they both sounded good. But again I was 15-16 and knew nothing. I’m older know and know very little. So that’s an advance.
Click to expand...
Self-awareness is always a big improvement.
 
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#97,417
Count Bassie said:
In a studio-set vid of the Wailers doing 3 O'clock Road Block (I think that's the one, but same record anyway) Aston is playing a Jazz Bass through an Acoustic 371 rig. Don't know if that means anything, but those guys weren't rich, and there was no Sam Ash in Jamaica, so maybe it does...
Click to expand...

By '74 Marley was on Island and equipment was no problem.

My English GF in '76 had done PR for Island (including Free, The Wailers, Nazareth, and Skynyrd) basically shepherding the 'come soon, mon' craziness on tour. According to her all those bands were well taken care of. Why wouldn't they have the best gear available?
 
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