Thunderbird Club

[GBassNorth]

The ones on my recently acquired Goth are “ok,” but they will be on the project list to replace. They'll have to be black of course. I’m really liking the bass and it’s helping to convince me to stop puttzing around and pull the trigger on a VP. I am happy it chose me.

Do yourself a favor. If you like your Goth stop puttzing around and buy a VP. It's a night and day difference.

 

[RedVee]

There's an easy remedy. It just requires spending money.

Remedy ? Or temporary relief ?

 

[Gaolee]

They may be too wide for the modern (more compact) headstocks.

Hipshot makes a special clover for modern Thunderbirds. I would imagine they paint those black, just like the do everything else. The ones I have on the '91, which is in primer right now, are the chrome version of modern Thunderbird clovers. They fit just fine and have no interference issues.

 

[PillO]

Sorry, whenever I see 'Spector Rex' the first thing in my mind is this:

View attachment 3431081

W T F kind of show is about shooting dogs? That is just cruel.

 

[Klondike]

Doesn’t surprise me at all. I’d love to have dinner with them.

those guys crack me up

 

[Gaolee]

As far as the tuners question, i believe it's these, but don't remember if it's the 1/2", or 3/8th's.

HB6 - 1/2

3/8", and they were still a little too big for the holes in the '91's headstock. Plus, the set screw location changed from off to one side sometime or another to centered, meaning that I reamed out the headstock to get the pegs to fit and then drilled another hole for the set screw. Once the drill was out, that bass also got holes drilled for covers and pickup rings. Once you start drilling holes in a Gibson, why stop?

 

[Klondike]

As far as the tuners question, i believe it's these, but don't remember if it's the 1/2", or 3/8th's.

HB6 - 1/2

Get the mini clovers. fit perfectly that way.

 

[PillO]

Leaves me out. If I could do maths, would have gone to med school and become a doctor. Got a headache just reading this.

Organic chemistry is the course used here to separate the wheat from the chaff for med school. I had an easy time with the course, but I had no interest in med school as I assumed that involved getting gooky stuff on your hands regularly.

 

[JIO]

I haven't seen that style before. Love to put those on my burst Epi.

They also come in black. Same footprint - better quality.

 

[Gaolee]

Leaves me out. If I could do maths, would have gone to med school and become a doctor. Got a headache just reading this.

You could be a lawyer then. It's funny watching lawyers try to comprehend arithmetic, let alone real math.

 

[BklynKen]

I have huge admiration for GL's bass-playing skills, especially as the band matured, and he does seem like a decent person with a good sense of humor. I also do not care for his voice or their music in general, but fully acknowledge why they are legionary. There's a lot of bands I feel this way about purely because their music has never interested me. Having said this, I quite enjoy this performance - note: even Geddy Lee looks at his fretboard when playing...

I love how into it the orchestral people are. I love Rush and have no problem with Geddy's voice. I also think he's a great bassist, especially playing what he does while singing.

 

[Gaolee]

Organic chemistry is the course used here to separate the wheat from the chaff for med school. I had an easy time with the course, but I had no interest in med school as I assumed that involved getting gooky stuff on your hands regularly.

Gooky stuff on hands isn't an issue. It's the evil smells that organic chemistry is all about that would have ended my pre-med career, had it ever started in the first place.

 

[Gaolee]

They also come in black. Same footprint - better quality.

View attachment 3431117

That's what's on current Gibson Thunderbirds. I'm not sure if the handles are exactly the same, but the machines are. That's the location of the current tuner set screws. On the '91, the screws were offset to about 7:30 toward the center of the headstock.

 

[JIO]

That's what's on current Gibson Thunderbirds. I'm not sure if the handles are exactly the same, but the machines are. That's the location of the current tuner set screws. On the '91, the screws were offset to about 7:30 toward the center of the headstock.

There are a few varieties as you say - I have a black set on my Teiscobird (Goth neck- don't know what year) and they are 'drop-ins'. If you study the pic I posted - the washer/spacer system is also much nicer than the MIC crap. Same basic design - just quality made like all Gotoh tuners.

 

[Gaolee]

Latest on the Burgundy Mist paint job. It's back in base coat, and will be getting color shortly. Ah, well. I would rather wait than have it fall apart shortly after it gets back.

 

[JIO]

I love how into it the orchestral people are. I love Rush and have no problem with Geddy's voice. I also think he's a great bassist, especially playing what he does while singing.

I agree - what's not to enjoy about that performance? The nonchalance GL displays while rocking so hard is cool also - like he could do it in his sleep. And as much as I'm not drawn to his voice - I agree that his skill at singing and playing simultainiously is top-notch.

 

[GBassNorth]

Last night I finally managed to get the strap length on the JAEbird sorted (I think).

I have been 'struggling' with it for a while. The DSL straps I have are brilliant once you have the length right, but getting there can be a pain in the arse, particularly if you have straplocks ... and loctite. The length is not continuously adjustable, so to change it, you need disassemble the strap and feed it through different slots (just fvck off with your 'ahems', I'm trying to be serious). All this is complicated by the JAEbird strap pins being above body centreline.

In the end, I took the Orville, fitted its strap and arranged it so the strap mid point formed the apex of a triangle, then measured from the E string to the apex. Then I did the same with the JAEbird, doubled the difference and added that to the strap length and damn me if they don'l feel pretty much identical now.

So there you go boys and girls, the secret to setting a perfect strap length is maths.

Exactly!
Now class, it's time for a pop quiz. Please solve the proper strap length difference between an Epiphone Thunderbird VP and a thunderbird Short Scale bass using the following chart...

....let's see a show of hands, who came up with 4.125 inches, anybody.... anybody.... come on now class, someone other than Kat, anybody?

 

[Miles_ONeal]

you let it go sunbathing?

Going for the bleached look, it appears.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

W T F kind of show is about shooting dogs? That is just cruel.

Underwritten by cats, of course.

 

[BklynKen]

I haven't seen that style before. Love to put those on my burst Epi.

Does your Epiphone not come with the Grover tuners that the Gibsons do?