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Thunderbird Club

#109,762
The basket is always a safe haven from weather and the lawn.

096 (2).jpg
 
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#109,763
So the VP is my first instrument shipped from across the country, Chicago to San Diego. Pretty normal for it to change daily for awhile as it gets acclimated? How long usually does it take? Today is day 3 and boy was it out of whack, E and A buzzing 1/3 of the way down the neck. a little tweak and retune and seems good again but curious how long I should expect these changes to happen.
 
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#109,764
Toybreaker said:
So the VP is my first instrument shipped from across the country, Chicago to San Diego. Pretty normal for it to change daily for awhile as it gets acclimated? How long usually does it take? Today is day 3 and boy was it out of whack, E and A buzzing 1/3 of the way down the neck. a little tweak and retune and seems good again but curious how long I should expect these changes to happen.
Click to expand...

The stock strings on VP's seemed to have a lot of "play" to them when new, I don't mind how they sound but there are other, better strings. , perhaps some Ken Smith Rockmasters, or DR Stainless Rounds 45-105.
 
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#109,765
Gaolee said:
Funny thing is that I have the exact opposite thoughts about my 2015 'Bird and 2013 EB. Both are beasts. I haven't strung them with the same strings, so all comparisons are skewed by that factor. I have DR stainless rounds on the EB and Black Beauties on the '15, as I recall. It would be a worthwhile experiment to put the same strings on both and see what happens. Not that I'll ever get around to it.
Click to expand...
Mine were both strung with the same strings (D'Addaro XL nickel rounds) but I hadn't had a chance to play it at volume when I posted that. Now that I have had a chance to turn up I think the 2015 is in fact darker than the EB5 in the lower registers (not including the B string, that's a whole different world of dark) and the TBird is capable of going a bit brighter than the EB as well.

MCF said:
I’ve gone back and forth between hybrid Slinkies (because that’s what Nikki Monninger usually uses on her birds; I love that girl) and Black Beauties because that’s what one of you suggested a while back. The BBS’s I have don’t have many hours on them and I’m getting inspired to try them again. I don’t think I left them on long enough to get to know them very well. I like how the Slinkies sound, but they go dead pretty quickly IME. But they are cheap...
Click to expand...
I had a new set of DR Hellbourg round nickel strings laying around, so I slapped them on the 2015. Interesting strings, never seen or played anything like them in the past. They have a huge diameter outer wrap coil that looks like it would feel very rough and bumpy and have lots of unwanted finger noise. Here's a snap shot of the E and A string installed next to the XL wound rounds on the G and D strings....
IMG_2697.JPG


Actually, the strings, although somewhat bumpy feeling have very little finger noise on slides and fretting. They're actually quite nice sounding and feeling. I was able to drop my action a bit more with them as well. Now down to 1/16" air gap between the 12th fret and the bottom of the E string. I need more playing time with them to draw any strong conclusions but for now they're interesting and seem worth a try.

PillO said:
I have it on good authority that regardless of how low your action is, windmills are NOT recommended with a Babicz.
Click to expand...
The good news is, I don't have that move in my routine.

Toybreaker said:
So the VP is my first instrument shipped from across the country, Chicago to San Diego. Pretty normal for it to change daily for awhile as it gets acclimated? How long usually does it take? Today is day 3 and boy was it out of whack, E and A buzzing 1/3 of the way down the neck. a little tweak and retune and seems good again but curious how long I should expect these changes to happen.
Click to expand...
There's nothing inherently unstable about the VP neck. Mine is rock solid. That said, temperature and humidity changes can effect any bass neck. Obviously, if you have your bass near a window (especially an open one) or in direct sunlight or near an HVAC vent it will see significant temperature and humidity changes resulting in necessary neck adjustments. Other than that it's not unheard of for a neck to take a day or two to set in after seeing extreme temperature and humidity changes.
 
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#109,766
GBassNorth said:
Mine were both strung with the same strings (D'Addaro XL nickel rounds) but I hadn't had a chance to play it at volume when I posted that. Now that I have had a chance to turn up I think the 2015 is in fact darker than the EB5 in the lower registers (not including the B string, that's a whole different world of dark) and the TBird is capable of going a bit brighter than the EB as well.


I had a new set of DR Hellbourg round nickel strings laying around, so I slapped them on the 2015. Interesting strings, never seen or played anything like them in the past. They have a huge diameter outer wrap coil that looks like it would feel very rough and bumpy and have lots of unwanted finger noise. Here's a snap shot of the E and A string installed next to the XL wound rounds on the G and D strings....
View attachment 3361438

Actually, the strings, although somewhat bumpy feeling have very little finger noise on slides and fretting. They're actually quite nice sounding and feeling. I was able to drop my action a bit more with them as well. Now down to 1/16" air gap between the 12th fret and the bottom of the E string. I need more playing time with them to draw any strong conclusions but for now they're interesting and seem worth a try.


The good news is, I don't have that move in my routine.


There's nothing inherently unstable about the VP neck. Mine is rock solid. That said, temperature and humidity changes can effect any bass neck. Obviously, if you have your bass near a window (especially an open one) or in direct sunlight or near an HVAC vent it will see significant temperature and humidity changes resulting in necessary neck adjustments. Other than that it's not unheard of for a neck to take a day or two to set in after seeing extreme temperature and humidity changes.
Click to expand...
pretty awesome reporting and a very fun read! thanks....looks like you are having a great time..
 
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#109,768
TBird1958 said:
Best weather in the country is here in Seattle today.......80 degrees, unbelievable. I may get drunk and pass out on the front lawn for dinner.
Click to expand...
Apparently I can no longer communicate with you. One little exchange and you send me your rain and chill and take away my 80F and sunshine.:eyebrow: Enjoy! I'll try to dry out.
 
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#109,769
GBassNorth said:
Mine were both strung with the same strings (D'Addaro XL nickel rounds) but I hadn't had a chance to play it at volume when I posted that. Now that I have had a chance to turn up I think the 2015 is in fact darker than the EB5 in the lower registers (not including the B string, that's a whole different world of dark) and the TBird is capable of going a bit brighter than the EB as well.


I had a new set of DR Hellbourg round nickel strings laying around, so I slapped them on the 2015. Interesting strings, never seen or played anything like them in the past. They have a huge diameter outer wrap coil that looks like it would feel very rough and bumpy and have lots of unwanted finger noise. Here's a snap shot of the E and A string installed next to the XL wound rounds on the G and D strings....
View attachment 3361438

Actually, the strings, although somewhat bumpy feeling have very little finger noise on slides and fretting. They're actually quite nice sounding and feeling. I was able to drop my action a bit more with them as well. Now down to 1/16" air gap between the 12th fret and the bottom of the E string. I need more playing time with them to draw any strong conclusions but for now they're interesting and seem worth a try.


The good news is, I don't have that move in my routine.


There's nothing inherently unstable about the VP neck. Mine is rock solid. That said, temperature and humidity changes can effect any bass neck. Obviously, if you have your bass near a window (especially an open one) or in direct sunlight or near an HVAC vent it will see significant temperature and humidity changes resulting in necessary neck adjustments. Other than that it's not unheard of for a neck to take a day or two to set in after seeing extreme temperature and humidity changes.
Click to expand...

I just put a set of Jonas Hellborg Siggies on my purple '76, I haven't had the chance to turn up the amp yet, but have played them at practice volume, I really like those strings - They are coarse and a bit hard if you dig when playing live - but the tone! I love it!
 
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#109,770
MCF said:
I’ve gone back and forth between hybrid Slinkies (because that’s what Nikki Monninger usually uses on her birds; I love that girl) and Black Beauties because that’s what one of you suggested a while back. The BBS’s I have don’t have many hours on them and I’m getting inspired to try them again. I don’t think I left them on long enough to get to know them very well. I like how the Slinkies sound, but they go dead pretty quickly IME. But they are cheap...
Click to expand...

I quit using them on guitar because I had to change them constantly.
 
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#109,772
KB5 said:
Stumbled across a couple of cool Andertons T-Bird Videos. There are others that have been around for a while bet these are pretty new and I hadn't seen them mentioned.

First one is Dingwall D-Bird vs Gibson Thunderbird (Sorry Dingwall, the Gibby tone is timeless and unique):


Next is a pretty good comparison of the Epi VP vs a 2019 Gibby. (Two very different sounding birds):
Click to expand...


They were pretty good even allowing for the usual Anderton’s carry on.

I liked them all but you know what? the standard Gibson just has something about it.
In my view, it wasn’t disgraced in either comparo, though I was very surprised when they said it was more expensive than the D’Bird.
 
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#109,775
GBassNorth said:
Mine were both strung with the same strings (D'Addaro XL nickel rounds) but I hadn't had a chance to play it at volume when I posted that. Now that I have had a chance to turn up I think the 2015 is in fact darker than the EB5 in the lower registers (not including the B string, that's a whole different world of dark) and the TBird is capable of going a bit brighter than the EB as well.


I had a new set of DR Hellbourg round nickel strings laying around, so I slapped them on the 2015. Interesting strings, never seen or played anything like them in the past. They have a huge diameter outer wrap coil that looks like it would feel very rough and bumpy and have lots of unwanted finger noise. Here's a snap shot of the E and A string installed next to the XL wound rounds on the G and D strings....
View attachment 3361438

Actually, the strings, although somewhat bumpy feeling have very little finger noise on slides and fretting. They're actually quite nice sounding and feeling. I was able to drop my action a bit more with them as well. Now down to 1/16" air gap between the 12th fret and the bottom of the E string. I need more playing time with them to draw any strong conclusions but for now they're interesting and seem worth a try.
Click to expand...
Sounds to me like you got a keeper. And, those strings sound like they are a good option. One more to put in the "try someday" hopper.

You get your action far lower than I ever do. If my action was 1/16" at the 12th fret, the sound would be absolutely awful, as hard as I sometimes play. I don't have it that low on plain old guitars, for the same reason. Being CroMagnon is my excuse for preferring a somewhat higher action.
 
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#109,779
Glorious morning here.......
During my commute I can easily see two mountain ranges, the Olympics to the west, and the Cascades to the east. Two dormant volcanos, Mt Rainer and Mt Baker and of course a bit of Puget sound. The railroad tracks are the BNSF (ex Great Northern nee Burlington Northern) that travel north, then east to Chicago.

Up60Lwt.jpg
 
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#109,780
Gaolee said:
I didn't look. There are things I just don't want to know. The price of Shure 330s is now out of hand, which means I will probably be pretty happy with what I have.
Click to expand...

There’s a certain price ceiling that I just won’t attempt to bust through. I think that new AEA cardioid ribbon mic is probably priced ‘fairly’ at $1,000. There are mics I’d pay up to $1,500 for, but they’d better be something very special. My AEA R84 is kinda at the lower level of high end mics at $1,100, but they can be found used for about $800 and knowing what I know after years of owning one, the price is a steal. Every major engineer owns a pair and they compare very favorably to mics that cost 4-5x as much. That’s one mic I can honestly say is worth every penny.
But like you, I prefer finding more esoteric, undiscovered pieces of gear. But I’d also rather brag about how little I paid for something than how much I paid, being the product of a blue collar upbringing and all :)
 
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