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Thunderbird Club

#106,341
PillO said:
Speaking of a light touch...

[Background] On my Spotify feed over the weekend, it presented me with new music by Weezer, so I assume a new release. It is all covers, and very good/interesting ones [/Background]

So, I was listening to Stand By Me, both the original and the cover by Weezer For reference:


And I was struck by a number of things. This is a great song. I can play it. There is potential there to do an interesting cover of it.

So I started playing round with it. I have settled on playing it an octave down with a fair bit of overdrive. Now I need a guitar part for it. I'm thinking simpler and crunchier. Essentially, a punked up Stand By Me. Playing down an octave, I have to have a light touch on the B string to keep from clanking too much. I need to work on a light touch anyway. It is a good exercise.
Click to expand...

I logged miles this week up to Sacto and back for meetings.
I listened to the new Weezer twice. Pretty good. Reminded me of Pinups, so of course I had to go into a Bowiethon.

Record your Stand By Me and post it please!
 
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#106,342
fasterpussycat said:
Older brother Carlo will be along sooner or later to set everyone straight, but Plonk was known for using Harmony basses with the Small Faces and it looks like an H27 to me.

View attachment 3330471
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Just looked again. Headstock is a dead ringer for the H27. So many 335 type basses back then, but not with that headstock. Thinking you nailed it
 
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#106,343
Nocturnal said:
Exactly what went thru my brain when I read his statement.



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

View attachment 3329088



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!
Click to expand...
So my DiamondLife system arrived today. Two 48” slats (Cherry) one will be above the other with the basses staggard.
 
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#106,345
Just spent way too much money on a few sets of strings. I once played TI flats on a friends bass and really liked em, but the price sure was off putting. Got a short scale set anyway. If I hate em, I’ll send my legal team Jeff’s way since he recommended em. And I’m SERIOUS.
Got a set of BassBurners for the Cataldo, Cobalt Flats for the Gibson ‘Bird. And one other set of nickel rounds to put on...something. I’d like to try a set of strings on the Aria before selling it. Need something for the Drake too. I know I like Lo Riders on that bass, but am considering trying a set of Ken Smith RockMasters just for kicks. A local shop carries em and V speaks highly of em.
Really curious about Pyramids. Stupidly expensive, but are they worth it? Do they last a long time?
 
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#106,346
Hounddog409 said:
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
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Installed super slinky's tonight and got all the sitckers/plastic off. Oiled up the fret board and cleaned everything. Installed Dunlap strap locks.

Played through the set list for the 3/5 gig. Mainly to stretch the strings some.

Really like the slinky's on it. Sounds killer. Very comfortable playing. And zero neck dive, even with a cheap strap. Must have helium injected in that massive headstock.

Still some fret buzz, will probably need to adj truss a bit. Strings still in contact with fret when checking neck relief. Gonna let it acclimate a few days and play it a bunch.

Will check relief this weekend and adj as needed. Then adj bridge and intonation after.

Really liking this bass. Already surpassed the MIM Jazz and Carvin in pecking order. Sits firmly at #2 right now. Cant wait for rehearsal Saturday.
 
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#106,347
Hounddog409 said:
Installed super slinky's tonight and got all the sitckers/plastic off. Oiled up the fret board and cleaned everything. Installed Dunlap strap locks.

Played through the set list for the 3/5 gig. Mainly to stretch the strings some.

Really like the slinky's on it. Sounds killer. Very comfortable playing. And zero neck dive, even with a cheap strap. Must have helium injected in that massive headstock.

Still some fret buzz, will probably need to adj truss a bit. Strings still in contact with fret when checking neck relief. Gonna let it acclimate a few days and play it a bunch.

Will check relief this weekend and adj as needed. Then adj bridge and intonation after.

Really liking this bass. Already surpassed the MIM Jazz and Carvin in pecking order. Sits firmly at #2 right now. Cant wait for rehearsal Saturday.
Click to expand...

I don't know if you use a pick for the music you play, if not, you owe it to yourself to try it with a Thunderbird - those pickups really light up when you hit them with a pick. Further, try rolling off the bridge pickup, magic there!
 
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#106,348
dukeorock said:
Just spent way too much money on a few sets of strings. I once played TI flats on a friends bass and really liked em, but the price sure was off putting. Got a short scale set anyway. If I hate em, I’ll send my legal team Jeff’s way since he recommended em. And I’m SERIOUS.
Got a set of BassBurners for the Cataldo, Cobalt Flats for the Gibson ‘Bird. And one other set of nickel rounds to put on...something. I’d like to try a set of strings on the Aria before selling it. Need something for the Drake too. I know I like Lo Riders on that bass, but am considering trying a set of Ken Smith RockMasters just for kicks. A local shop carries em and V speaks highly of em.
Really curious about Pyramids. Stupidly expensive, but are they worth it? Do they last a long time?
Click to expand...
Oh, please try the Rock Masters! I've been curious about them, but I don't like how Ken Smith E strings fit on my Thunderbird. I think it's because of their longer winding length.
 
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#106,349
dukeorock said:
Just spent way too much money on a few sets of strings. I once played TI flats on a friends bass and really liked em, but the price sure was off putting. Got a short scale set anyway. If I hate em, I’ll send my legal team Jeff’s way since he recommended em. And I’m SERIOUS.
Got a set of BassBurners for the Cataldo, Cobalt Flats for the Gibson ‘Bird. And one other set of nickel rounds to put on...something. I’d like to try a set of strings on the Aria before selling it. Need something for the Drake too. I know I like Lo Riders on that bass, but am considering trying a set of Ken Smith RockMasters just for kicks. A local shop carries em and V speaks highly of em.
Really curious about Pyramids. Stupidly expensive, but are they worth it? Do they last a long time?
Click to expand...
Also curious about those SIT strings.
 
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#106,350
dukeorock said:
Just spent way too much money on a few sets of strings. I once played TI flats on a friends bass and really liked em, but the price sure was off putting. Got a short scale set anyway. If I hate em, I’ll send my legal team Jeff’s way since he recommended em. And I’m SERIOUS.
Got a set of BassBurners for the Cataldo, Cobalt Flats for the Gibson ‘Bird. And one other set of nickel rounds to put on...something. I’d like to try a set of strings on the Aria before selling it. Need something for the Drake too. I know I like Lo Riders on that bass, but am considering trying a set of Ken Smith RockMasters just for kicks. A local shop carries em and V speaks highly of em.
Really curious about Pyramids. Stupidly expensive, but are they worth it? Do they last a long time?
Click to expand...

They are indeed very nice, I'd kind of forgotten about them for a time because the one Mom n Pop shop that sold them quit doing so. Thus I'd just pick DR Stainless Rounds by default, they're not bad by any stretch but the Smith's are a bit more refined, warmer - not brittle, and they last really well. That said I'm going to be ordering a couple more sets of the DR Jonas Hellborg Siggies this weekend, can't wait to try them on the VP and a '76.
 
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#106,351
BklynKen said:
Oh, please try the Rock Masters! I've been curious about them, but I don't like how Ken Smith E strings fit on my Thunderbird. I think it's because of their longer winding length.
Click to expand...

I’ll probably grab some tomorrow. I’ve only ever tried BassBurners on the Cataldo but I love those a lot
 
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#106,353
TBird1958 said:
They are indeed very nice, I'd kind of forgotten about them for a time because the one Mom n Pop shop that sold them quit doing so. Thus I'd just pick DR Stainless Rounds by default, they're not bad by any stretch but the Smith's are a bit more refined, warmer - not brittle, and they last really well. That said I'm going to be ordering a couple more sets of the DR Jonas Hellborg Siggies this weekend, can't wait to try them on the VP and a '76.
Click to expand...
You found the Rock Masters more refined than the DR? If so, I definitely don't think I'd like them sine I find DRs too refined.
 
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#106,355
dukeorock said:
Kinda proves each of us have more affect on the tone than the instruments, but in my mind there are distinct differences. The Cataldo with fresh BassBurners is a whole other world and often my favorite in these kinds of ‘shootouts.’ I was surprised at how contemporary the Hofner sounds, despite the clacky tapewounds. The Drake still sounds good to me despite having truly crappy strings. The EB3L has the coolest throaty mids of the bunch, but is a bit wanting in the lows. Great for recording though. The Sabre will almost certainly get new pickups and will be switched to passive after hearing this. I’ve always thought a single master volume for multiple pickups is a terrible idea. It’s still a neat bass though. The Gretsch with Black Beauties is cool, but sounds better with Cobalt flats, etc
Click to expand...
I always find these kinds of shootouts interesting, thanks for posting. The advantage of having one person do a multi bass shootout is how relative the sound samples are vs listening to different players on different sound clips with different recording gear and different playing styles playing different tunes - just so many variables it becomes almost meaningless.

To my ears (just played on my iPad speaker with no headphones) the Sabre sounded best followed by the Gretch. May have a completely different take if I routed the iPad through my bass amp. But to be honest, the sabre had more depth and bottom than the others, most of which were more mid focused than I normally play. Would be interesting to hear all of these with new strings and all onboard controls centered. And don't change those sabre pups, it's what makes a Musicman a Musicman.
 
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