Thunderbird Club

[GBassNorth]

Any Deadheads- or at least fans- here? Phil Lesh is another fave, as is his playing on this version of "I Know You Rider". Alas, I'm not sure Phil ever touched a Bird (of the Thunder variety, anyway). This and a half dozen Uriah Heep live songs have made up the bulk of my listening today (all multiple times, of course).

Dead Head here.
I'm not aware of Lesh ever playing a TBird on stage or for any recorded song although I think he did play a Gibson EB-0 very early in his career with the Dead. He is mostly known for his long history with Alembic and the custom Quadraphonic wall of sound they created for his stage performances with the Dead (independent tone shaping and output for each string on the bass, routed to high power dedicated channel amps powering a massive array of something like 32 speaker cabinets).

This is probably one of my favorite Lesh live recordings. He's using a much more modest sound system setup but still very interesting rack components. The bass is an Alembic as well.

Nice trippy laid back wandering signature Dead Head sound.

Here's a link to a very interesting short read on how his music and gear evolved...
Phil Lesh Tone & Sound – Bass Guitar Gear Guide - Jam Buzz
Enjoy.

 

[GBassNorth]

Nup, we started at guitar but he thought uke would be better.

Considering a bass Uke?

I have a mahogany one of these, lots of fun. Quite a bit different than playing a regular bass, but once you get used to it it's really pretty powerful. Most Uke bands are in dire need of a bass Uke player, so always lots of opportunities to sit in with different bands.

 

[RedVee]

Considering a bass Uke?

I have a mahogany one of these, lots of fun. Quite a bit different than playing a regular bass, but once you get used to it it's really pretty powerful. Most Uke bands are in dire need of a bass Uke player, so always lots of opportunities to sit in with different bands.

Yes, I have thought of it and it is still on the table - but maybe as a ‘one day’ thing. I do sorta love them though. Or, the thought of them as I haven’t played one. I was super keen on an Asbury for a good while but tried one and decided against it.

The thought at the moment is to encourage the likely (potential?) melody players to remove the digit and get strumming. My ‘at wits end’ plan is to jump in with them and drag them along - at least for a song or two. Then onto ABG and or washboard or just background vocals. Or something.

For my sins I’ve ended up as the leader, or President in this setup, and I’m trying to advance us. Change things up from relentless accordion, make it more interesting for us and our audience. Getting my folks more involved would be great but I’ve been stuck at the ‘take a horse to water’ stage. Some never will but I’m trying to nudge the others into action.

 

[PillO]

Or you can always go for the always on HPF only version for ~half the price.

https://www.broughtonaudio.com/product-page/always-on-high-pass-filter

With only one knob to twiddle, less than half the fun.

 

[ToddOfThunder]

Thursday..
View attachment 3438175

Daaaaaaaaaaaang!

 

[ToddOfThunder]

Honestly on the wrapping of the strings around the tuners I couldn't tell you - Nor do I pay much attention to it other than cutting off what I consider excess length when I'm restringing - Probably a gross sin in somebody's book, not mine

+1 I’ve accidentally cut too much off my E before, it didn’t even have a full wrap. It stayed that way until it needed new strings. It also stayed in tune.

 

[ToddOfThunder]

View attachment 3438227 Thunderbird Thursday

Kitty!!!!!!

 

[ToddOfThunder]

The round things at the end of bass strings. Remove one from an old string and slide it down to the ball end on your new string as a spacer.

Wow excellent idea!

 

[Engle]

+1 I’ve accidentally cut too much off my E before, it didn’t even have a full wrap. It stayed that way until it needed new strings. It also stayed in tune.

The Chromes on my Jazz are like that (I think it’s the E). When I look at it, I worry. But it’s been fine for at least 3 years.

 

[fasterpussycat]

Just leaving this here

 

[JIO]

View attachment 3438227 Thunderbird Thursday

Getting caught playing the bassline to "Cat Scratch Fever"

 

[JIO]

Just leaving this here

That's the first I heard from the deceased Dr in the early 70's. Voodoo music.

 

[JIO]

We're all going to hell...

 

[Gaolee]

I love mine! HPF is a no brainer, but I think the magic is in the LPF, on upright. I can crank the highs for the slap stuff, but tame back the ice pick stuff way up high. Great design

It has made a huge difference for me. I'm not sure what kind of magic happens when you cut certain frequencies, but it's magic.

 

[Gaolee]

I have the Fdeck one. It fits nicely inside the upright’s quiver.

I was using one of those, and it makes a difference. It's just high-pass, though. The high and low pass filter works even better.

 

[Gaolee]

Just leaving this here

He will be missed.

 

[dukeorock]

I was using one of those, and it makes a difference. It's just high-pass, though. The high and low pass filter works even better.

I have a couple fDecks and used em until I got my Grace Felix. Something really cool about the fDeck is it gets the impedance right for a piezo pickup and the closer to the pickup that you match impedance, the better. So strapping an fDeck to your tailpiece is very efficient. For me, the benefits of my Grace pre outweighs that...plus I always forget to change batteries

 

[JJR58]

I have a couple fDecks and used em until I got my Grace Felix. Something really cool about the fDeck is it gets the impedance right for a piezo pickup and the closer to the pickup that you match impedance, the better. So strapping an fDeck to your tailpiece is very efficient. For me, the benefits of my Grace pre outweighs that...plus I always forget to change batteries

That Grace pre really is a beautiful piece of kit. Would love to hear that one.

 

[Band Mom]

Hi all! Been a while. I've just recently returned to Bird ownership after sorting out some financial issues at home, and purchased a wonderful specimen from a fellow TBer.

Question that I'm sure has been answered numerous times: Where can I find a black pickguard for a Gibby Bird that *also* has the Bird emblem on it? Most legit custom pickguard places I've asked tell me that it's a copyright issue, so now I'm just waiting around for one to pop up on Reverb and other places. I wish I could simply pull the guard off of one of those Epi birds with the black guard, but I'm guessing it won't fit properly. Any advice?

 

[Gaolee]

I have a couple fDecks and used em until I got my Grace Felix. Something really cool about the fDeck is it gets the impedance right for a piezo pickup and the closer to the pickup that you match impedance, the better. So strapping an fDeck to your tailpiece is very efficient. For me, the benefits of my Grace pre outweighs that...plus I always forget to change batteries

Impedance match was the biggest reason I got an fDeck in the first place. It does work that way as well as being a HPF. Going wireless also solved the impedance match, although it wasn't a given that it would work that way.