Thunderbird Club

[JJR58]

That's how I explain having nine bass guitars, six of them 'Bird variants.

It is ok to have more of everything.

 

[Gaolee]

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

Sounds like it is choosing you. That's how it always works.

 

[Gaolee]

Jenny Piccolo?

Cindy. I had a crush on her.

 

[Gaolee]

It is ok to have more of everything.

Dog math. The basis of calculus.

 

[Gaolee]

'This active EQ control modifies the amplifier’s response from a more flat like curve (in the counter- clockwise position) to a more vintage curve (in the clockwise position) by modifying and shifting the frequency response in all regions with a simple turn of the knob. As the control is rotated clockwise, the low end increases and the high end increases while the midrange decreases and shifts upward. Common uses for the more vintage positions are the old school funk and slap tones, and rock tones where a rounder bottom and a little bite are needed. Experimentation is an important part of discovering the potential of this powerful tool.'

AKA 'scooping'

I usually end up wanting mids, which means that knob would be useless to me. Funny how many amp builders seem to think it's a good idea, though.

 

[GonePlaid]

Cindy. I had a crush on her.

And a hammerlock?

 

[JJR58]

I usually end up wanting mids, which means that knob would be useless to me. Funny how many amp builders seem to think it's a good idea, though.

I'm now wondering if that description is applying to the D series Mesa's. I find it operates much differently on the Carbine series. Plenty of mids on those amps. To my ears anyway. A pic for reference on the voicing of the M6, if anybody really cares.

 

[PillO]

I usually end up wanting mids, which means that knob would be useless to me. Funny how many amp builders seem to think it's a good idea, though.

The low mids are the meat of the musical sandwich. Bass and treble are the slices of whole wheat bread on either side* - necessary for a sandwich. High mids are the condiments of the musical sandwich - they add taste (usually) but are not absolutely necessary to have a perfectly serviceable sandwich.

*white bread for empty calorie pop music, pumpernickel for German oom-pah music

 

[BklynKen]

I'm now wondering if that description is applying to the D series Mesa's. I find it operates much differently on the Carbine series. Plenty of mids on those amps. To my ears anyway. A pic for reference on the voicing of the M6, if anybody really cares.

View attachment 3329462

The voice knob on the M6 actually looks useful, as opposed to the D800. Nice-looking amp. I like simple.

 

[JJR58]

The voice knob on the M6 actually looks useful, as opposed to the D800. Nice-looking amp. I like simple.

I think they operate much differently from each other. And yes, i love the simplicity of the M6.
You're welcome to come check it out anytime once i have it.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

My settings on a D800 using a T Bird are nearly identical to your picture



Aguilar were big in Nashville for awhile. Not so much in at least 5 years. I think the AG700 and the TH500 are terrific amps, personally. I also endorsed Ashdown for a few years and quite liked their ABM series



That’s all it is. For electric bass I’ve never met a contour knob I liked

In of itself the Contour is pretty useless. It's really meant as a corrective adjustment (volume contour is the old name) for volume adjustments to adjust the SPL accordingly to the way the human ear works as per the Fletcher-Munson curves. The ear is not as sensitive to EQ settings at higher SPL levels;

It also compensates for different speaker impedances which are never linear. Some modern PA stuff does it automatically. The MB (MarkBass) stuff calls it VLE (Vintage Loudspeaker Emulation) while they refer to the "Voicing" as VPF (Variable Preshape Filter).

 

[JIO]

Yes the VP has a HUGE headstock that is quite noticeable in this lineup. I would love to compare this side by side to a 60"s reverse Bird, mainly because I would love to play a 60's model again.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

View attachment 3329540

I like the original dimension...the new ones (although I'm getting used to them) are too small and the BaCH is way too BIG...

 

[Gaolee]

And a hammerlock?

No, it was seventh grade. That would have been second grade. She probably would have put the hammerlock on me in second grade.

 

[Gaolee]

I like the original dimension...the new ones (although I'm getting used to them) are too small and the BaCH is way too BIG...
View attachment 3329584

I'm partial to the current ones, but then I don't have a vintage one to compare them to. My Precision and the P-Bird have huge 7ender headstocks, which I find to be bludgeons. That's useful at times, but not most of the time.

 

[dukeorock]

Actually, the voicing control is a range of mid settings, so it can go from a scoop to a mid bump. Doesn't work quite like the contour on the GK which is a mid scoop only on the my RB. Personally i like the voicing on the M6. But it's not to say anyone else would.

EDIT; Actually, @fasterpussycat described it's purpose and function quite well.
Edit#2; If that reference was actually regarding the M Carbine series.

The Carbine mid control is different for sure. There are several other amps that used a similar style mid control. 5 position, with position 3 being ‘flat.’ On my Carbine I tend to use position 2 for upright and 3 for electric

 

[fasterpussycat]

KAT MADE A GRAMMATICAL/SPELLING ERROR

Yeah, yeah, whatever. Varmint!

I did work a full day, then 14 hours overnight and another full day. Good thing I'm not operating heavy machinery.

 

[Gaolee]

Yeah, yeah, whatever. Varmint!

I did work a full day, then 14 hours overnight and another full day. Good thing I'm not operating heavy machinery.

Or any other machinery. At some point of sleep deprivation, you are legally insane. I'm not sure what the cutoff is, but there's your defense, if you need one.

 

[Gaolee]

The Carbine mid control is different for sure. There are several other amps that used a similar style mid control. 5 position, with position 3 being ‘flat.’ On my Carbine I tend to use position 2 for upright and 3 for electric

What does position 2 do? The upright sounded honky to me the other night. I usually run the eq flat on the amp, especially now that I have a H/LPF to keep things under control. It turned out I had bumped the controls and increased both treble and high-mids by enough to notice it.

 

[fasterpussycat]

I usually end up wanting mids, which means that knob would be useless to me. Funny how many amp builders seem to think it's a good idea, though.

When I modelled my Traynor settings in the tonestack calculator, they displayed as a pronounced boost in the bass* and low mids and otherwise flat. Makes sense as the both controls are maxxed and the freq selector is at minimum.

* out in gen pop 3 ppl just died of shock