Thunderbird Club

[JIO]

I'm not a sticker guy so I don't know. If you are going the sticker route, doesn't it make sense to put them on the front where they will be seen? Or is this like having the skull and crossed bones liner in the suit jacket?

something like that...

 

[JJR58]

Last I recall, @JJR58 was in charge of initiations as part of his sucking up to the Queen. Perhaps he has been too busy dancing around a fire in his grass skirt to appropriately carry out his duties?

I know, i've been slacking.

 

[BklynKen]

I had the back of mine plastered for a bit, but have since removed them.

View attachment 3279200

What bass is that?

 

[Miles_ONeal]

It's a 'final edit' of the song, so once I have the set (4 songs) done I'll post them on SoundCloud. Here's one (on SC) using my Kubicki pre powered Saundersbird in the meantime - kind of on the other end of the spectrum style-wise

Love it, including the bass tone.Picks me up and moves me around!

 

[GBassNorth]

On this topic and within T-bird territory.., here's an example of collecting a bunch of particulars resulting in a great sounding bass. My Teiscobird, which I posted here at one point, has a mahogany body made in 1966 (Teisco Del Rey), a maple/rosewood Epi Goth neck (made within the last 8-10 years), a RI Guild Darkstar single-coil pu (2016), a Hipshot KA bridge, basic tuners, passive V/T 500k pots, and nickel RW strings. Nut is what came on the Goth neck.

View attachment 3278858

I recorded last Sunday using it on this song. (original by my guitarist) No effects - d.i. straight to the board. Before the day of recording I tried a number of my basses at home to see which sounded best for the session. The Teiscobird won out.

A fantastic looking bass (you have some of the neatest builds and finishes) that sounds equally fantastic in that mix. It's just the right balance of punch and bass to bring the Teiscobird forward in the mix without walking over others. Well done! Cool song also.

It's fun to experiment and try different sounds on different tracks to see what works best. All the Darkstar pups I've used leaned a bit towards the bright and crisp clear end of the bass range, so I wouldn't have thought to use them in a contemporary surf rock type setting, but your sound clip has got me wondering what the Teiscobird (which sounds very close to my FrankenGoth) would sound like in that genre, it might be an interesting fit, maybe even with a bit of reverb thrown in.

Thanks for posting!

 

[JIO]

What bass is that?

Saundersbird - Epi body/late 80's Saunders (P) neck/Fender-Kubicki Factor 9v pre/Wilkinson buckers/Hipshot bridge/brass nut/late 80's small plate-big clover Fender tuners

 

[BklynKen]

Saundersbird - Epi body/late 80's Saunders (P) neck/Fender-Kubicki Factor 9v pre/Wilkinson buckers/Hipshot bridge/brass nut/late 80's small plate-big clover Fender tuners
View attachment 3279263

Cool! I asked because of the string-through ferrules. You added those?

 

[JIO]

A fantastic looking bass (you have some of the neatest builds and finishes) that sounds equally fantastic in that mix. It's just the right balance of punch and bass to bring the Teiscobird forward in the mix without walking over others. Well done! Cool song also.

It's fun to experiment and try different sounds on different tracks to see what works best. All the Darkstar pups I've used leaned a bit towards the bright and crisp clear end of the bass range, so I wouldn't have thought to use them in a contemporary surf rock type setting, but your sound clip has got me wondering what the Teiscobird (which sounds very close to my FrankenGoth) would sound like in that genre, it might be an interesting fit, maybe even with a bit of reverb thrown in.

Thanks for posting!

Thanks! I use it in my band The Sean Conneries which plays many genre's of music, including a couple surf songs. Here's another of the new songs in which I play the lead baritone part through a Boss TR-2 Tremolo pedal. With the Darkstars, using 500k pots and a .047 combined with where to pu is positioned give it access to a full range of highs and lows. Have we seen your "FrankenGoth?"

I just took this which has a couple alterations since the other pic. (repositioned knobs and HS drop D tuner, tr badge... and sticker!)

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Saundersbird - Epi body/late 80's Saunders (P) neck/Fender-Kubicki Factor 9v pre/Wilkinson buckers/Hipshot bridge/brass nut/late 80's small plate-big clover Fender tuners
View attachment 3279263

apparently those Saunders are hard to come by in this country. where are they from?

 

[JIO]

Cool! I asked because of the string-through ferrules. You added those?

Yes, an option that can be done with that bridge.

 

[GBassNorth]

It's a 'final edit' of the song, so once I have the set (4 songs) done I'll post them on SoundCloud. Here's one (on SC) using my Kubicki pre powered Saundersbird in the meantime - kind of on the other end of the spectrum style-wise

Yep, all the way at the other end, but just as equally outstanding! Lush overdrive slathered across the entire song with gobs of creamy goodness. No ear piercing guitar solos or vocal track to distract from the wall of overdriven sound! I like it, a lot!

 

[JIO]

apparently those Saunders are hard to come by in this country. where are they from?

Saunders was an early (late 80's) independent builder who produced a bass called The Concord (1 & 2 pu variety) but folded pretty quickly. I've yet to see the whole bass but a couple of his NOS necks ended up on eBay. I got this one for $75 and when another came up I was out-bid. (a little over $100) The neck was sub-contracted to the Fender Custom Shop, which had just been established in the late 80's. It's really high quality as would be expected. The maple figuring is pretty crazy.

More recently had HS convert the E tuner to drop D

 

[GBassNorth]

Thanks! I use it in my band The Sean Conneries which plays many genre's of music, including a couple surf songs. Here's another of the new songs in which I play the lead baritone part through a Boss TR-2 Tremolo pedal. With the Darkstars, using 500k pots and a .047 combined with where to pu is positioned give it access to a full range of highs and lows. Have we seen your "FrankenGoth?"

I just took this which has a couple alterations since the other pic. (repositioned knobs and HS drop D tuner, tr badge... and sticker!)

View attachment 3279287

Nailed it! Love the trem and baritone focus. Very well played!

And yes, that's almost exactly the same sound as my FrankenGoth, very much in the baritone guitar range with the coils split but equally able to deliver a huge deep wooly overdriven bassline in Humbucker mode. It wasn't at all what I expected when putting it together from various parts but it sure delivers the goods.

Traditionally I've not really focused much of my playing time in the baritone guitar range, I've always focused on the deeper darker more seedy side of town but this build just sounds so musical I'm trying to find the right niche for it. I've already written about it a couple of times on this thread so I don't want to belabor the point, but in essence it's a stock Goth bass with Bart Humbuckers, an Aggie preamp and unique coil switching and string selection.

Maybe next time I'm down your way I'll drop it off with you for a few months and you can noodle around on it. It just has a very unique tonal range that I've not run across in many other basses. Heck, might even be a good candidate for a unique black ice type Gildaxe finish.

 

[JIO]

Yep, all the way at the other end, but just as equally outstanding! Lush overdrive slathered across the entire song with gobs of creamy goodness. No ear piercing guitar solos or vocal track to distract from the wall of overdriven sound! I like it, a lot!

Composition by Tom Dimuzio - love when it goes to the A-C-D-C part!

 

[JIO]

Nailed it! Love the trem and baritone focus. Very well played!

And yes, that's almost exactly the same sound as my FrankenGoth, very much in the baritone guitar range with the coils split but equally able to deliver a huge deep wooly overdriven bassline in Humbucker mode. It wasn't at all what I expected when putting it together from various parts but it sure delivers the goods.

Traditionally I've not really focused much of my playing time in the baritone guitar range, I've always focused on the deeper darker more seedy side of town but this build just sounds so musical I'm trying to find the right niche for it. I've already written about it a couple of times on this thread so I don't want to belabor the point, but in essence it's a stock Goth bass with Bart Humbuckers, an Aggie preamp and unique coil switching and string selection.

Maybe next time I'm down your way I'll drop it off with you for a few months and you can noodle around on it. It just has a very unique tonal range that I've not run across in many other basses. Heck, might even be a good candidate for a unique black ice type Gildaxe finish.

Wow, that would be awesome GBN! I'd love to meet you and play/hear that bass! You could test drive a few others of mine in the process! I've wanted to try a trans-black over silver-leaf finish for a while now - a T-bird would be the perfect platform for that look!

My (passive) Glam P/J also favors 'lead' voicing due to it's heavily chambered body and bridge internal anchoring. Still offers nice fat bass but really sounds good in the higher register.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Saunders was an early (late 80's) independent builder who produced a bass called The Concord (1 & 2 pu variety) but folded pretty quickly. I've yet to see the whole bass but a couple of his NOS necks ended up on eBay. I got this one for $75 and when another came up I was out-bid. (a little over $100) The neck was sub-contracted to the Fender Custom Shop, which had just been established in the late 80's. It's really high quality as would be expected. The maple figuring is pretty crazy.

View attachment 3279311
More recently had HS convert the E tuner to drop D
View attachment 3279327

thanks. my bad, I was confusing them with these..

 

[JJR58]

It's a 'final edit' of the song, so once I have the set (4 songs) done I'll post them on SoundCloud. Here's one (on SC) using my Kubicki pre powered Saundersbird in the meantime - kind of on the other end of the spectrum style-wise

Finally listened to this through some headphones. This is awesome. Had no idea you did material on the heavy side of things. Love this!!!!

 

[BklynKen]

thanks. my bad, I was confusing them with these..
View attachment 3279377

I love that bridge. It would look so good on a Thunderbird.

 

[JIO]

Finally listened to this through some headphones. This is awesome. Had no idea you did material on the heavy side of things. Love this!!!!

Thanks man. I loved it while it lasted. It was a short lived due to a split in concept. Tom and I were in one camp and the other guitarist and drummer were in the other. We recorded a few songs and never played live, as was initially our plan. Here's my composition - Dialator. My 'direction' to the guys was to channel the ocean. I used a click track to stay static, like a ship in a squall. The other is Toms beautiful song Strumpet. (played on a Moog guitar) I used my fretless Factorbird on it. Tom nearly died last year if not for emergency surgery that was successful - be good to the ones you cherish - life is short.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

always thought Purple would have sounded MUCH better with a T-Bird...