Thunderbird Club

[Gaolee]

I've only had one amp quit on me on a gig. After swapping cables and doing some other stuff, I turned it off-then turned it back on. Worked perfectly the rest of the night.

The only amp failure at a gig so far was due to a (sealed) water bottle falling on a rocker on/off switch. Aka user error. I had a resistor burn out in a rehearsal once and a cap explode in another rehearsal. That is it. I am feeling lucky. The two real failures were the same ACC 126 combo that I have had for more than 35 years. Not bad, really.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

I'm confused, Are we still talkin amps here?

yeah never heard a bass referred to as a chassis (but why not?) as in Count Basie's quote. The other 3 were amp related

 

[PillO]

Oh, and don't look now but there's a B cup on your E string, or is that some new form of drop D tuning.

Bs are under-rated, but you can appreciate them when you finger them. Drop Ds are disappointing; typically seen on the afternoon shift.

 

[JJR58]

Bs are under-rated, but you can appreciate them when you finger them. Drop Ds are disappointing; typically seen on the afternoon shift.

I don't even know what to do with that one. And at this time on a Sunday night!

 

[Gaolee]

Bs are under-rated, but you can appreciate them when you finger them. Drop Ds are disappointing; typically seen on the afternoon shift.

Yep. Sometimes, low mass is its own reward.

 

[TBird1958]

You left the dry cleaning tag on your bra...

That's not a dry cleaning tag! Trust me here.




It's a care tag, tells you how to wash it.

 

[Markamb1]

That bird pic is worth a thousand words! Dude, take up photography as a hobby, you have an outstanding sense of composition, balance and lighting. Oh, and don't look now but there's a B cup on your E string, or is that some new form of drop D tuning.

Ok everybody, the December challenge is on - flip us your best bird shot. Let's take 2018 out with a bang!

Thanks.... It’s a C but I like B too.

You left the dry cleaning tag on your bra...

No that’s a size tag. It’s actually brand new. I bought her the wireless ones from Victoria’s Secret. She’s abandoned every other bra including this new one. So comfortable for her. It feels seamless too when you recheck check the fit and feel daily. Seriously though your woman will love you. Check one out for her.

Bs are under-rated, but you can appreciate them when you finger them. Drop Ds are disappointing; typically seen on the afternoon shift.

Absolutely. I prefer to keep the heavy lifting out of the bedroom. Will be standard tuning well into old age. Not into the heavy drop.

 

[Markamb1]

That's not a dry cleaning tag! Trust me here.




It's a care tag, tells you how to wash it.

Exactly! The wireless ones are where it’s at though.

 

[TBird1958]

Exactly! The wireless ones are where it’s at though.

I get it, but I need the lift and separation

 

[Markamb1]

Lol I know right.

 

[Markamb1]

The Lucas vacuum. Only thing they ever made that didn't suck.

I had multiple British cars built from 1954 to 1972. The Prince is a familiar foe.

Granddad was just complaining about the Lucas electrical in his old triumph today

 

[JIO]

Lots of change lately, taking a management position in our downtown Seattle store has finally gotten me out of my car. Traffic into and out of the city can be a soul sucking, source of aggravation and even though I have my own private, assigned parking stall the daily commute from Des Moines into town would sour me on the job pretty quickly. So, I've been riding Sound Transit's Light Rail, getting on just south of Sea-Tac (Seattle's airport) and riding in, it's a pretty easy 36 minute trip that lets me off 1 block from my work.
Here, you're looking north towards the city as the line parallels I-5
View attachment 3233488

Here's the south end of Seattle's downtown, the brick building in the foreground is King Street Station (now Amtrak) once the western terminus of the Great Northern Railroad - for you train buffs. The tall light gray building is the Smith Tower, once the tallest structure on the west coast. My work is just to the right, and my train lets me off just a little to right of the this shot. Kinda fun, I'm driving a total of 5 miles a day now, just to and from the parking garage that's near my house.

View attachment 3233489

As I've said, it's been a busy time lately and just before the band's last show on Halloween I managed to fry the voice coil of one of the speakers in my GK Goldline cabinet. I'd really thought that I'd only use it for solo practice upstairs in the house, but over the past year or so, it's come out to quite a few shows. Unfortunately, the 700RBII probably pushed it too far and caused this - totally my fault.
After looking around for a month or so online I remembered to check out The Bass Shop, glad I did!
Here's an early SWR Goliath SR that I got for a really good price on Black Friday, I haven't had the chance to play all the 'Birds through it yet, but I really dig the raw tone from just the bass/amp/cab right now, it's very articulate, but with much better low end than I was getting out of any of my GK cabs. So a big switch for me after more than 15 years of GK!

View attachment 3233490

Congrats on your new position! SWR delivers the goods - I bought a 400s head and 4X10 Goliath new in the 90's (pre-Fender) and it's still going strong.

 

[GonePlaid]

sometimes they overheat and go into thermal shutdown. once cool they'll work fine again.

Took it to my tech. He checked it out-nothing wrong. Cleaned it and gave it back. It hasn't done it since but it's been sorta 'retired'. 14y/o Bassman 25.

 

[GonePlaid]

The only amp failure at a gig so far was due to a (sealed) water bottle falling on a rocker on/off switch. Aka user error. I had a resistor burn out in a rehearsal once and a cap explode in another rehearsal. That is it. I am feeling lucky. The two real failures were the same ACC 126 combo that I have had for more than 35 years. Not bad, really.

I think you've 'squoze' your money's worth out of it.

 

[GBassNorth]

I get it, but I need the lift and separation

Egads, our Queen has separation issues!

 

[BadBassDrummer]

I was really drawn to it in part because of it's size, not all that big. I get all creamy when I hear my 'Birds through it.

I had the 4x12 built because apparently I am a bit of size queen. I hate all the sound blowing by my knees and the tall cabinet helps alleviate that issue. I do wish it was a lighter.

 

[jpmcbride]

This is a unique thread on TB. I can drop in a and read the recent posts and have no idea what you all are talking about

I've been paying my TBird a lot lately. I was using my P-Bass for a while, then recently a short-scale Mustang, but I just keep going back to the TBird and one of the reasons is the "reach". I've seen comments before (usually negative) about how the shape of the body moves the neck out further than on other basses, and how long the stretch is to play the lower frets. I'm actually finding this to be a positive. I play a lot of blues and one key in particular that is problematic is F. I prefer not to use open strings if possible - to me fretted notes sound better and are more controllable. In the key of F my choices are way down at fret 1 using some open notes, or up the neck at the 8th fret on the A string. I much prefer the sound at the 8th fret. But on a a standard bass, I'm having trouble getting my fretting hand to cover 4 frets at the 8th fret because my hand is so close to my body? Does that make sense? With my fretting hand that close to my body, I can't easily get underneath the neck to properly fret the notes, one finger per fret, and end up having to not use the pinky, and have to shift to get the notes the pinky would normally handle. I could raise my bass higher, but I prefer it to hang mid to lowish. The TBird moves those notes out away from my body so I can get around them easily. As far as the stretch to the lower frets being a problem, it doesn't seem to bother me. I fond myself shifting the Bird over on my right hip when making that long reach. It just happens naturally without any thought.

Did I mention the sound of this bass is amazing?

 

[Kriegs]

You Guys are exotic...Providence RI for me..

Ditto

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

I get it, but I need the lift and separation

I woulda figured a wireless setup would allow for more movement on stage.

 

[ToddOfThunder]

This is a unique thread on TB. I can drop in a and read the recent posts and have no idea what you all are talking about

I've been paying my TBird a lot lately. I was using my P-Bass for a while, then recently a short-scale Mustang, but I just keep going back to the TBird and one of the reasons is the "reach". I've seen comments before (usually negative) about how the shape of the body moves the neck out further than on other basses, and how long the stretch is to play the lower frets. I'm actually finding this to be a positive. I play a lot of blues and one key in particular that is problematic is F. I prefer not to use open strings if possible - to me fretted notes sound better and are more controllable. In the key of F my choices are way down at fret 1 using some open notes, or up the neck at the 8th fret on the A string. I much prefer the sound at the 8th fret. But on a a standard bass, I'm having trouble getting my fretting hand to cover 4 frets at the 8th fret because my hand is so close to my body? Does that make sense? With my fretting hand that close to my body, I can't easily get underneath the neck to properly fret the notes, one finger per fret, and end up having to not use the pinky, and have to shift to get the notes the pinky would normally handle. I could raise my bass higher, but I prefer it to hang mid to lowish. The TBird moves those notes out away from my body so I can get around them easily. As far as the stretch to the lower frets being a problem, it doesn't seem to bother me. I fond myself shifting the Bird over on my right hip when making that long reach. It just happens naturally without any thought.

Did I mention the sound of this bass is amazing?

Pics!