Thunderbird Club

[Hounddog409]

Congratulations! I'm sure you'll have a blast. I wish they made those in left-handed.

Remember that the EQ for these will be different than with your Fender, so give it some time. I'd say first order of business: turn the Voicing knob all the way to Flat on your D800, with extreme prejudice.

Yeah, have 2 different settings for the Ric and Jazz. Will be a 3rd for this...

Love that amp.....then after I bought it, Mesa releases the 800+ and WD800. Bastards.

 

[PillO]

Wall hangers.

I often see in the Gen Pop claims about “with my OCD...”

Wondering what works for people.

Place the wall hangers all in a row? (I would). But all the basses body ends will be uneven.
Or, ensure all the body ends of the basses are in a line (like sitting on a shelf) and have the hangers and heads all higgedly piggedly?

I go with option 3.

Nothing in straight lines.

 

[PillO]

The 7 basses were

Hofner w/tapes
EB3L w/ Lo Riders (?)
Gibson T Bird w/ Pure Blues
Cataldo w/ worn out BassBurners
Gretsch w/ Black Beauties
MusicMan Sabre w/ whatever strings it came with
Drake w/ Cobalt rounds

How do you like the `bird with Pure Blues? I have them on the JC and as much as I waver on liking them or not, they sound great when playing with others.

 

[RedVee]

All the Rex5 basses are Korean made Spectors with full neck through design, 35" scale, and all maple.
There is a Spector legend X body but it's not a Rex and is a much cheaper build. I've tried the Legends and wasn't impressed with them, totally different beast.

Edit: there's also the Forte models, which are fantastic and full on Spector DNA but as you'd guess, the price reflects it. The Korean Rex5 is the Sweet spot in the bang for the buck line up. Kinda the same as the Eppi VP is the current sweet spot in the Thunderbird line up.

Thanks.
Nocturnal and your posts are now saved into the back of my brain somewhere.

 

[Nocturnal]

Jenny Piccolo?

Exactly what went thru my brain when I read his statement.

Wall hangers.

I often see in the Gen Pop claims about “with my OCD...”

Wondering what works for people.

Place the wall hangers all in a row? (I would). But all the basses body ends will be uneven.
Or, ensure all the body ends of the basses are in a line (like sitting on a shelf) and have the hangers and heads all higgedly piggedly?

Mine are in a straight line, but the lengths are all over the place.

All the Rex5 basses are Korean made Spectors with full neck through design, 35" scale, and all maple.
There is a Spector legend X body but it's not a Rex and is a much cheaper build. I've tried the Legends and wasn't impressed with them, totally different beast.

Edit: there's also the Forte models, which are fantastic and full on Spector DNA but as you'd guess, the price reflects it. The Korean Rex5 is the Sweet spot in the bang for the buck line up. Kinda the same as the Eppi VP is the current sweet spot in the Thunderbird line up.

The Korean Rex is a fantastic deal on the used market. It is a LOT of bass for the $$$.

I had a Legend 4X and it was built solid. I replaced all of the electronics with EMG pickups and the SNC preamp. Played and sounded fantastic. I'm sure the US version is nothing short of amazing!

 

[Nocturnal]

Thanks.
Nocturnal and your posts are now saved into the back of my brain somewhere.

I hope my posts somehow become a bad influence on you. That is my goal for everyone I interact with.

 

[dukeorock]

Yeah, have 2 different settings for the Ric and Jazz. Will be a 3rd for this...

Love that amp.....then after I bought it, Mesa releases the 800+ and WD800. Bastards.

I have a regular D800 and am getting a WD800 very soon. The 800 has more headroom than the +, for what it’s worth. The regular old 800 is a pretty terrific amp!

How do you like the `bird with Pure Blues? I have them on the JC and as much as I waver on liking them or not, they sound great when playing with others.

They’re not bad strings. I guess on the Gibson I prefer Cobalt flats or BassBurner rounds. Same with the Cataldo. For a long time Lo Riders were my favorite rounds, but now I only prefer em on the Drake. I have a hunch the Pure Blues would sound nice on my P bass. Then again, I pretty much never play my P bass these days. Need to swap out the pickup

 

[JJR58]

I hope my posts somehow become a bad influence on you. That is my goal for everyone I interact with.

I think that's what we all aim to do here.

 

[PillO]

They’re not bad strings. I guess on the Gibson I prefer Cobalt flats or BassBurner rounds. Same with the Cataldo. For a long time Lo Riders were my favorite rounds, but now I only prefer em on the Drake. I have a hunch the Pure Blues would sound nice on my P bass. Then again, I pretty much never play my P bass these days. Need to swap out the pickup

I am wondering if the steel string experiment ends with me putting Pure Blues on the `bird. The RS66s are a big improvement over ProSteels and I can see why so many people like them both on a `bird and on other basses. But I keep thinking that I will end up back to nickel. On the JC, the Pure Blues have a great low mid growl with a very tame top end.. The JC has a great low mid growl as it is and the Pure Blues bring that out really well. It makes me think that they will sound good on a `bird.

 

[BklynKen]

Yeah, have 2 different settings for the Ric and Jazz. Will be a 3rd for this...

Love that amp.....then after I bought it, Mesa releases the 800+ and WD800. Bastards.

Cool stuff. I felt the Voicing knob sucked all life out of my 2013 Gibson until I killed it completely. Here's what I liked.

 

[Inky13]

More like arguing with myself as to whether it's justifiable to put a $300-$400 neck on an $800 bass.

My little music room...

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Also have a bike on an indoor trainer in that room plus all the cases and gig bags. The need for room outweighs the need for stuff at the moment. Sold a couple amps too

That would be sweet to have a dedicated music room and have everything warm and cozy. Most of my crap is out in the garage, AKA “The Freezer”.

 

[Inky13]

More like arguing with myself as to whether it's justifiable to put a $300-$400 neck on an $800 bass.

Perhaps a Mighty Mite?

 

[JIO]

View attachment 3329088

The far right black T-bird (Epi VP?) hs is decidedly larger than the rest - having not had one in my hands yet it looks to be very close in size to my '64.

 

[JIO]

Cool stuff. I felt the Voicing knob sucked all life out of my 2013 Gibson until I killed it completely. Here's what I liked.

View attachment 3329128

Pretty basic - I'd like to hear a side-by-side of this head and the Ashdown 800. (it has a few more tweak-able parameters) Another amp I'm curious about is the Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 (also very basic) - I see so many pro's using Aguilar.

 

[BklynKen]

Pretty basic - I'd like to hear a side-by-side of this head and the Ashdown 800. (it has a few more tweak-able parameters) Another amp I'm curious about is the Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 (also very basic) - I see so many pro's using Aguilar.

No experience with Ashdown. I have pretty limited amp experience overall. Just what's at practice spaces and such. I know I hated the D800 until I turned down the Voicing. First amp that really spoke to me was a GK 800RB.

 

[JIO]

No experience with Ashdown. I have pretty limited amp experience overall. Just what's at practice spaces and such. I know I hated the D800 until I turned down the Voicing. First amp that really spoke to me was a GK 800RB.

We are so spoiled - there are so many great sounding amps out there! I had an Ashdown for long enough to like it, but comparing a few similar heads? I'd have to have the few in question awhile playing them at home and live before I could ever make a concrete decision of which is "best" for my ears. What does "voicing" offer?

 

[TBird1958]

TBird arrived today.

Initial impressions:

Did not weigh it, but this Freakin thing is light. Much lighter than my MIM Jazz or 4003S. I'm guestimating under 9 lbs

Fit and finish..could not find anything negative to report. Not a sharp fret, finish issue, sloppy pot, etc. In fact, comparing to the RIC, I say on par with the almost 2k instrument. Very impressed.

Noodled a bit. Neck is a tad thinner than the Jazz or RIC. Very comfortable for me at least, but I'm not picky about neck size. Fatter than an Ibby, thinner than a P and im good.
Neck relief is out of spec...strings touch fret when I checked relief. BUT....this did sit in zero degree temps this morning. Strings were shipped kinda loose...nowhere near in tune. I tuned and will let hang until tomorrow night. Will adj truss if needed. Not an issue, but did not play too much given the clank. This was not set up since built, so no big deal.

Plan on putting on new strings tomorrow. Not crazy about the OEM. Have a pack of Super Slinky's I will throw on before I check/adj neck.

Sound? Even with the clack, it sounded like I remember TBirds sounded like back in the day....

Long story short.....I think someone at Epiphone done screwed up. Neck threw TBird, at a very high quality, for 699 list?

I wouldn't be any less happy if I spent 1499.
Blows the MIM Jazz away, at a lower cost. And it's not even close.


View attachment 3328965 View attachment 3328966 View attachment 3328967

You're preaching to choir...………….

We love it anyway!

 

[fasterpussycat]

Perhaps a Mighty Mite?

All sorted. Just a matter of waiting now.

 

[fasterpussycat]

Pretty basic - I'd like to hear a side-by-side of this head and the Ashdown 800. (it has a few more tweak-able parameters) Another amp I'm curious about is the Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 (also very basic) - I see so many pro's using Aguilar.

I was really impressed by an Aguilar AG700 I spent a few minutes playing through.

 

[BklynKen]

What does "voicing" offer?

I think similar to GK's Contour, which is scooping.