Thunderbird Club

[Gaolee]

How about VVTT plus a 3 position microswitch....

There's a bolt-on Epiphone 'Bird that color in Las Vegas right now. It is causing me to think a bit more than is appropriate. Lusting after another one is unseemly if it happens before I even get the Gibson chromed out properly. Thing is that I really like those Korean Thunderbird baseball bat necks. Each one is the better part of a whole tree, as far as I can tell.

 

[Count Bassie]

Saw this on Lulls Facebook
Me likey

Wow. There's a Cadillac.

 

[mistergoats]

Yeah, but you're in Vancouver - One beautiful city!

It's equally as beautiful as your Emerald in the Northwest, Mark!

 

[mistergoats]

I'm surprised no one's jumped on the white Classic 'Bird in the Classifieds. Must not be anyone in here local (Delaware,) I suppose. (No relation to seller, FWIW, and I already have one. )

I just got one!

 

[mistergoats]

Saw this on Lulls Facebook
Me likey

Dang.

 

[Larry V]

Count - welcome to Tbird heaven!
Looks like the Royals are taking over. Now we have a Queen and a Count! Not many TB clubs can make that claim.

I think you may be forgetting that we also had Liam who claimed to be a Prince. He hasn't checked-in in awhile. Hope all is well with him.

 

[TBird1958]

There's a bolt-on Epiphone 'Bird that color in Las Vegas right now. It is causing me to think a bit more than is appropriate. Lusting after another one is unseemly if it happens before I even get the Gibson chromed out properly. Thing is that I really like those Korean Thunderbird baseball bat necks. Each one is the better part of a whole tree, as far as I can tell.

Funny thing is, the neck is what I really dislike about the standard bolt on neck Epi, as further proof of my lunacy I bought that bass with the sole intention of tearing it apart to make a 7enderbird out of it........

 

[marko57]

I just got one!

Me too, just gotta nab a photo soon to post here!

 

[Gaolee]

Funny thing is, the neck is what I really dislike about the standard bolt on neck Epi, as further proof of my lunacy I bought that bass with the sole intention of tearing it apart to make a 7enderbird out of it........

That's not lunacy. That's purposeful and practical.

The shape is what is important to my hands. Given a choice, logs are the best, but size doesn't matter as much as shape. I'm adjusting to the small size of the Gibson neck, but if it was road kill flat, like a 7ender, it would not be right. The Precision I have is flattened out, but at least the neck has an aircraft carrier deck width, so it's got something going for it. A little Jazz bass noodle isn't my idea of a good thing at all. The small, slightly flattened neck that was on the Rickenbacker is one of the reasons it didn't stick around. If it had been round, like a neck should be, then I might have kept it. Ah, who am I fooling - it would have eventually gotten sold so I could buy a Thunderbird.

As long as we are discussing royalty, I'll claim the status of being the peasant with the potato patch next to the palace gate.

 

[veebass]

The shape is what is important to my hands. Given a choice, logs are the best, but size doesn't matter as much as shape. I'm adjusting to the small size of the Gibson neck, but if it was road kill flat, like a 7ender, it would not be right. The Precision I have is flattened out, but at least the neck has an aircraft carrier deck width, so it's got something going for it. A little Jazz bass noodle isn't my idea of a good thing at all. The small, slightly flattened neck that was on the Rickenbacker is one of the reasons it didn't stick around. If it had been round, like a neck should be, then I might have kept it. Ah, who am I fooling - it would have eventually gotten sold so I could buy a Thunderbird.

I like fairly hefty necks too, but am comfortable on a Gibson TBird neck (38mm at the nut)- I actually prefer the broader neck on my Greco T Bird (42 mm).
You mention your Ric having a small, slightly flattened neck. I had heard that there has been some variation in Ric necks- my 98 4003 is 44 mm at the nut and it is quite flat.
P Basses have quite a variety of neck sizes, fretboard radii and neck profiles- just on size, some are 44mm (the C neck) and others about 42 mm (the B neck). In the 70s you could even get a 38 mm P Bass neck (the A or Jazz Bass size).
To complicate things 70s Jazz necks are a bit wider and deeper than other Jazzes and a little less noodle like. For mine they are the best Jazz necks.
My RDs, Ripper, ES 335 and Victorys are all about 42 mm at the nut.

 

[mistergoats]

One more layer of complication, the 1990's Japanese jazz basses, like my '94 '75RI Jazz (now with her new owner), had the earlier thin nut width necks, not reminiscent of their 70's American counterparts.

Agreed on the Rics... I was not stoked playing one. Neck felt thin (not deep) but too wide. And I was not a fan of the thick, hard edge on the 4001 I got to play. Wrist took a beating!

My P neck is MUCH fatter than the two 'Birds, but I like it. Bird necks are perfect for my hands and the notes I play.

 

[veebass]

One more layer of complication, the 1990's Japanese jazz basses, like my '94 '75RI Jazz (now with her new owner), had the earlier thin nut width necks, not reminiscent of their 70's American counterparts.

Agreed on the Rics... I was not stoked playing one. Neck felt thin (not deep) but too wide. And I was not a fan of the thick, hard edge on the 4001 I got to play. Wrist took a beating!

My P neck is MUCH fatter than the two 'Birds, but I like it. Bird necks are perfect for my hands and the notes I play.

Yes those MIJ 75 RI Jazzes were not very similar to the US 70s Jazzes at all on two critical points. The bridge pickup was not in the "70s"position and the neck was more like a 60s Jazz.
Rics are unusual to play and can be uncomfortable- the slightly shorter scale, the wide flat board and the binding. The battles with the binding on mine are the reason I bought a black ES 335 (unbound), rather than the Sunburst or the Cherry, which are both bound.
I guy I know has one of the bound ones and, although he loves it to death, he reckons they are more uncomfortable than a bound Ric. My black unbound ES 335 is very comfortable to play.

 

[Gaolee]

I like fairly hefty necks too, but am comfortable on a Gibson TBird neck (38mm at the nut)- I actually prefer the broader neck on my Greco T Bird (42 mm).
You mention your Ric having a small, slightly flattened neck. I had heard that there has been some variation in Ric necks- my 98 4003 is 44 mm at the nut and it is quite flat.
P Basses have quite a variety of neck sizes, fretboard radii and neck profiles- just on size, some are 44mm (the C neck) and others about 42 mm (the B neck). In the 70s you could even get a 38 mm P Bass neck (the A or Jazz Bass size).
To complicate things 70s Jazz necks are a bit wider and deeper than other Jazzes and a little less noodle like. For mine they are the best Jazz necks.
My RDs, Ripper, ES 335 and Victorys are all about 42 mm at the nut.

I haven't played a Greco, but from what people who have say, I'm pretty sure I would like one. My Ric was a 1998, too, and although it was spectacularly beautiful, its neck was both narrow and flattened out. Rics are all different. My P has a 1-3/4" wide neck. It's not as thick as I would like, but it's not too flattened out. If it was, I would hate it. Oddly enough, my EB-2 is both narrow (1'1/2") and proportionally thin, but it's got the ratio right. It doesn't feel like a noodle even though it is a small size. Gibson and Epiphone Thunderbirds have the ratio right, even though they aren't big necks, either.

The worst feeling neck I have ever encountered was on a Carvin that was wide. It was a five string. It also was very flat and felt like playing a piece of cardboard. I like a the neck to have some meat. I didn't find the Ric uncomfortable, and the EB-2 is very comfortable for me, so apparently, binding isn't an issue one way or another.

 

[Gaolee]

Update on the chrome project. The pickups are in question - I don't know what they are yet. The Babicz doesn't need the spacer, and without the spacer, the string height is a whole lot easier to get right. That means a bridge cover will be easier to get. New strings are here, but I don't plan to put them on until the Hipshot tuners arrive. They are EB Cobalt flats. I haven't used them before, so they are an experiment.

The pickup ashtray looks great, in my opinion. I got the upper screw in a little crooked. That bugs me, but that's my problem. Besides, I'll probably forget that it's crooked.

What I find interesting is that the pickup ashtray forces me to play it in a way that has a very different sound. Old school juicy thump happens on the neck side of the ashtray. Snarl happens down below. That's with all of the pots remaining the exact same.

 

[ThaCoast]

Good news is my fretboard has arrived. Bad news is i wasnt home when they delivered so it's being held until 2mrw (friday) so i can go pick it up. One project that'll be done before snow falls, meaning i'll work outside for the remainder bit. & all my other projects will follow suit.

 

[Klondike]

Update on the chrome project. The pickups are in question - I don't know what they are yet. The Babicz doesn't need the spacer, and without the spacer, the string height is a whole lot easier to get right. That means a bridge cover will be easier to get. New strings are here, but I don't plan to put them on until the Hipshot tuners arrive. They are EB Cobalt flats. I haven't used them before, so they are an experiment.

The pickup ashtray looks great, in my opinion. I got the upper screw in a little crooked. That bugs me, but that's my problem. Besides, I'll probably forget that it's crooked.

What I find interesting is that the pickup ashtray forces me to play it in a way that has a very different sound. Old school juicy thump happens on the neck side of the ashtray. Snarl happens down below. That's with all of the pots remaining the exact same.

Pictures as this happens?

 

[Gaolee]

Pictures as this happens?

Yep, I know the rules. It doesn't exist yet.

 

[mistergoats]

Yes those MIJ 75 RI Jazzes were not very similar to the US 70s Jazzes at all on two critical points. The bridge pickup was not in the "70s"position and the neck was more like a 60s Jazz.
Rics are unusual to play and can be uncomfortable- the slightly shorter scale, the wide flat board and the binding. The battles with the binding on mine are the reason I bought a black ES 335 (unbound), rather than the Sunburst or the Cherry, which are both bound.
I guy I know has one of the bound ones and, although he loves it to death, he reckons they are more uncomfortable than a bound Ric. My black unbound ES 335 is very comfortable to play.

Right, I forgot about the pick-up placement.

 

[wolfkeller]

Though my T Bird bros might dig this. This is what I do

 

[ThaCoast]

Agreed on the Rics... I was not stoked playing one. Neck felt thin (not deep) but too wide. And I was not a fan of the thick, hard edge on the 4001 I got to play. Wrist took a beating!

My P neck is MUCH fatter than the two 'Birds, but I like it. Bird necks are perfect for my hands and the notes I play.

Rics are unusual to play and can be uncomfortable- the slightly shorter scale, the wide flat board and the binding. The battles with the binding on mine are the reason I bought a black ES 335 (unbound), rather than the Sunburst or the Cherry, which are both bound.
I guy I know has one of the bound ones and, although he loves it to death, he reckons they are more uncomfortable than a bound Ric. My black unbound ES 335 is very comfortable to play.

i've played a few ricks while browsing the shops & i gotta say i was disappointed. Not only with how it felt, but how it sounded: it was overall very thin. The neck, the body, the tone. I like having my basses that weigh something, but ricks just don't. & contrary to VeeBass, i don't mind the binding, it doesn't jab me when i play, but i've played rick copies that felt & sounded better than the real deal, & i own a copy that was 1/2 the price of the real deal.

In other news, i've got my fretboard!!! Much bubble wrap & my fretwire is there as well. No cracks, nor breaks in the board blank. It's pretty thick so i gotta radius is somehow with my lack of tools, but i'll achieve it.

EDIT: i've printed out templates to create a radius block (im either doing 9.25 7ender or 12" radius like the goth has. Speaking of which, i'm going to stop calling it a goth, it's more a ghost than anything. Besides, Ghost thunderbird sounds cooler than Goth thunderbird. So much work done today, but my old fretboard removal will be next week sometime.