Thunderbird Club

[PillO]

I use these effects and have added a outboard BBE Sonic Stomp out of the MXR d.i.+ before the amp - both stay on, as does the BOSS CS-2. They all get used at various times in a set - usually in and out within a song. No need for anything else - each is pre-set for when engaged. Whatever helps get the sound you want. This does it for me.

View attachment 3424746
and for travel...
View attachment 3424755

Love the button extender

 

[Nocturnal]

Come on, PillO everyone regrets at least one pie in their lifetime.

Yes. At LEAST one.

 

[PillO]

I’ve posted many pics of my buddy’s bike shop where one of my bands rehearses. Best bike shop in Nashville. Sadly, after 20 years, he was forced to close up shop. Too many folks coming in for hours asking for his advice and expertise, only to order what he recommended online to save a couple bucks. Very sad day. We had a party of sorts tonight to help sell off remaining inventory and celebrate the shop. Played a sort set too. RIP Gran Fondo.
View attachment 3424798 View attachment 3424799 View attachment 3424800

That sucks.

People lament the loss of the local <insert type of good> store and the hollowing out of main/high street and the dearth of retailers there and in the same breathe praise the low service, low price online retailer or big box store.

Why are there no local music stores in your town? because you and your bandmates look and try there but buy from Sweetwater or some other online retailer to save a couple of bucks. If you are going to try stuff out, you owe that store the sale; that store did the work.

I go through the same with people that complain about airline service. They shop online for the best price and then complain that there is no food service, costs to check a bag etc.

There is no free lunch. What is wrong with people that they think that there is?

 

[MCF]

Put 'em on and play it. Anything less than a quarter inch is kinda low action. I might be kidding. I might not.

Pretty much knew you’ll say that. Thought I’d ask anyway.

 

[Count Bassie]

The middle class food chain in Florida is Publix. They pay their employees on average less than Walmart.

My choice is to make the most economical decision for me. I know quality and buy what does the job when it comes to essentials. I'll pay $3k for the right espresso machine, I won't pay an extra dollar for a bar of Lindt.

Just don't get any lindt in your belly button.

 

[Count Bassie]

Seriously considering scuffing my T-bird and giving it a few coats of that nice vintage white. Maybe a Stewmac rattle can job would do it. Any opinions?

 

[PillO]

Seriously considering scuffing my T-bird and giving it a few coats of that nice vintage white. Maybe a Stewmac rattle can job would do it. Any opinions?

Don't do it. Buy another (white) bird. Did you expect some other answer?

And being that it is sarcasm Friday*: Is it racist to play a white thunderbird if you also have a black one?


* I'm trying to invent sarcasm Friday; give a bird brother a hand...

 

[PillO]

A little of Mr. Pete Way......

UFO is one of those bands that really should have been a much bigger deal.

 

[Kriegs]

And being that it is sarcasm Friday

That is a funny joke.

 

[Klondike]

I am curious about the experiences with EB Rounds here. I have never tried them, but they are inexpensive and readily available. The bird needs new strings; when Rotos die, they seem to expire quickly.* I got a bunch of strings from @SLaPiNFuNK not long ago and since I like to amortize the cost of delivery over several sets, I am not yet ready to order.

So, my choices are to put the DR Pure Blues intended for the JC onto the bird or buy a set at L&M L&M have a limited selection - anything D'Addario and anything EB. But DR or LaBella are sparse. I asked about ordering and the suggestion was anything D'Addario or EB is fast; anything else, find a store with them in stock and they will get them in from that store.

So, I am considering NYXLs - they have sounded good on many basses. But I am curious about EB. Are they as short lived as some say? Some great players use EB, but they get them free and have a tech install a fresh set for each show.



*My experience with the Roto life cycle - twangy good good good good good good good good good terrible.

I chose the EB rounds because they were pretty cheap and I needed sjort scale. When I put roumds on a bird I really like StringJoy strings! Www.stringjoy.com They arent as hard on the fingers and imo sounds great! I hope the EB i put on Rumblekat last a little while but am not holding my breath as with anything these days you get what you pay for.

 

[RedVee]

Seriously considering scuffing my T-bird and giving it a few coats of that nice vintage white. Maybe a Stewmac rattle can job would do it. Any opinions?

I vote no.

(But do what you want)

 

[RedVee]

Is it just me...???

I was stuck behind a rent a van in traffic on the commute home.

The company name was AnisRent.

The bind moggles

 

[bylar13]

I have settled on these. I only play one bass and between practice, gigs, lots of sweat and general Tom Foolery, strings don't last that long for me. I am usually able to snag these for about $16 a set online. I change them frequently and I like that the G is 50mm.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...BgdpkJTqKFrqwA08qXvdSkw0RHjq_4TYaAjRhEALw_wcB


I have never liked flats (sound & feel) so avoid them at every turn.

 

[Klondike]

That video is one of the reasons that I thought cheap experiment.
View attachment 3424690

At $15 each, it was hard to pass up. Unfortunately, it isn't working. The octave does not sound great. If it is a copy of the Boss OC2 (as is claimed) it is a poor copy or the OC2 doesn't; sound great with bass. The overdrive could be good, but it produces some noise that even at low levels brings feedback. If it weren't for the noise, it might be a keeper. Oh well, L&M have a good return policy on used gear.

For reference (for any who care) The Ultimate Behringer Guitar Pedal Clone List - Tone Start

I found that video interesting, but not interesting enough for me to buy anything from Behringer.

 

[Klondike]

@PillO. That YYZ pedal. Want to hear your take on it.

What YYZed pedal? Did I miss something i that 367 skipped posts? Lol

 

[Klondike]

[QUOTE="JIO, post: 22684373, member: 171973]
I don't support Walmart.[/QUOTE]


I dont either, never did.

 

[JJR58]

What YYZed pedal? Did I miss something i that 367 skipped posts? Lol

It's basically the pedal version of the Tech21 Geddy Lee pre-amp.

 

[Klondike]

I wouldn't say I'm put off by the Cobalt Flats on the 2015 bird. I think I t's really more a function of truly dialing in this beast properly.

An issue I had early on with the 2015 that I attributed to the strings was actually more a function of having the action set too low. Just barely high enough to avoid fret buzz but low enough that the strings were choking out vs ringing out. I raised the action a RCH and solved that problem, no more easily noticeable dead spots. Now I'm working on perfect G to E balance in regards to volume. That required raising the G side of the pups and lowering the E side. Something I haven had to do on my other birds but was always necessary on my P basses.

The last piece of the puzzle I'm still struggling with is the goofy volume/tone knob interplay. With the tone knob set to zero I get a relatively linear volume increase as I turn the volume knob from zero to nine. But if I take the volume knob to ten it's like the tone knob just got cranked to ten also. Huge upper mid or treble bump between 9 and 10 on the volume knob. My 2013 EB does this too, not as bad but it's there.

So looking at the set up issues I've worked through and the ones I'm still trying to resolve on the 2015, I can't help but scratch my head and recall - EB touts the Cobalts as an exceptionally bold string because of the extra strong attraction the string material has to magnetic fields. I don't have any way to measure the size or strength of the 2015 pup magnetic fields but they visibly are massive and I wouldn't be surprised to find out they're stronger as well. Makes one wonder how a different string would act on this bass.

Maybe tapes on it then.

Ya tapes might be a better option as they dont have the metal wraps. They are surprisingly good sounding and they still have a bit of grit to their tine when ya dig in.

 

[Klondike]

That sucks.

People lament the loss of the local <insert type of good> store and the hollowing out of main/high street and the dearth of retailers there and in the same breathe praise the low service, low price online retailer or big box store.

Why are there no local music stores in your town? because you and your bandmates look and try there but buy from Sweetwater or some other online retailer to save a couple of bucks. If you are going to try stuff out, you owe that store the sale; that store did the work.

I go through the same with people that complain about airline service. They shop online for the best price and then complain that there is no food service, costs to check a bag etc.

There is no free lunch. What is wrong with people that they think that there is?

Ya this is pretty much where my brain is. An individual may be trying to get the “best bang for the buck” by paying a couple bucks less but in the end all that happens is the degradation of a n economy. It is a slow moving machine but it really happens.

 

[TBird1958]

Seriously considering scuffing my T-bird and giving it a few coats of that nice vintage white. Maybe a Stewmac rattle can job would do it. Any opinions?

No, don't do that.

Buy a bolt on neck one used and make it your project.