Thunderbird Club

[Gaolee]

Do tell, passive/active a/b compared??

I don't quite understand the question, but here goes anyway. The preamp kept killing batteries, and the bass wouldn't make any noise when the battery died. And, the sound was incredibly scooped. It just wasn't quite the sound I like, and it wasn't ideal for a fretless bass. Not that the bass was fretless when I got it. It was a factory second that I got second hand as a "losing" ebay bid. Gotta love those. Anyway, the stock pickups were OK passive, I suppose, but I put Alumatones in a guitar I resurrected from the dead. They are like a cross between a P-90, a Fender single coil, and a very clean piezo in the guitar. I don't know how else to describe them. In the bass, they are extremely clear and they are also very sensitive to how close the are to the strings. If you raise them up next to the strings, they get aggressive and modern sounding. Lower them, and they get much more mellow. They will never be thumpy, but in a Thunderbird, thumpy isn't what you would expect anyway.

I play passive bass guitars. I don't need the competition.

 

[Klondike]

I guess its my mistake for the confusion. Sorry. I was thinking you got it with original pups (active) and fot myself cornfused. Therefore the "active/passive" comment. You bought it with alumatines or put them in?

 

[Gaolee]

Yep. It was active when I got it. It was the first and only active bass I have ever owned. It's passive now. That probably says everything you need to know about what I like. Yes, I put the Alumatones in. Those are incredible pickups. If you ever have a reason to put those in anything, do it. They are different, but they sure are good. I put Alumatones in a guitar, and that convinced me to try Bass Bars in the fretless 'Bird.

The fretless 'Bird always gets some weird looks. It's never a beautiful woman, unfortunately. It's always some strange guy who spends the evening trying to figure out *** it is.

 

[GBassNorth]

Pictures. Somebody said pictures...

From left to right:
1991 Gibson
1999 Epiphone bolt-on
2006 Epiphone Pro IV, passive, fretless, Alumatone Bass Bars
2015 Gibson

It's a happy brown family.

So Gaolee, looks like you now have your 2015 Bird. Can you give us a rundown on how the 2015 sounds vs previous birds? Do the EB pups and controls make a big difference in the bird?

 

[Medic579]

Got this today, 2014 USA T-Bird 120th anniversary edition! 999.99 at my local GC on clearance!!!

 

[Medic579]

It's my first "Real USA Gibson" couldn't pass up the price!!

 

[RedVee]

Hi all, I was driving down to Melbourne today and decided to stop off at Yass NSW for lunch.
Look what was across the road from the Info Centre....

Thought you may get a kick from it.

 

[Basshappi]

Medic579, She's a classic beauty, congrats!
Wear it proud, Play it loud!

 

[Leiria]

I have a set of EB flats, Cobalts, on my T-bird and it's working out very well. Lots of top end, but a solid sound. Good snarl but with that flat-vibe I like.

I would say neither of these two are "Mo-Towny" as you say, but def have the flats feel of less harmonic emphasis than round-wounds. They are more "fundamentally focused".

I actually read about them before my original post on flatwounds but the lack of info and demos from people not on EB payroll made me want the DAD more. But now you've just described exactly what I'm going for so now I'm definitely going to try them

 

[Count Bassie]

I actually read about them before my original post on flatwounds but the lack of info and demos from people not on EB payroll made me want the DAD more. But now you've just described exactly what I'm going for so now I'm definitely going to try them

I think someone else around here has em also, and their report was quite favorable. "Angry piano" was part of their description, with a similar comment about not sounding like round wounds.

 

[gaffster787]

@Medic579 Beautiful finish on that one. I see they used a "throwback" case for the anniversary edition. You could probably flip that one a make a few hundred easily. I was actually was planning to flip my first one. Until the band heard it at gig.

 

[Larry V]

Pictures. Somebody said pictures...

From left to right:
1991 Gibson
1999 Epiphone bolt-on
2006 Epiphone Pro IV, passive, fretless, Alumatone Bass Bars
2015 Gibson

It's a happy brown family.

Now you're making me want to take a group shot of my TBirds. Something I haven't done lined up like you've done there.

 

[kirillstokes]

View attachment 775464 View attachment 775467 View attachment 775469 View attachment 775473 View attachment 775474 View attachment 775466 Got this today, 2014 USA T-Bird 120th anniversary edition! 999.99 at my local GC on clearance!!!

Only Gibson is good enough congrats

 

[kirillstokes]

my t-bird was at the video shoot))

 

[Medic579]

I love the thing, gotta admit I have always been a bit skeptical of high end fender and gibbons. I am a die hard Peavy USA bassist I have 7 and my main is a 99 USA Cirrus 5 walnut neck thru and it is a great bass! I have played lots of high end fenders that I didn't like but never a Gibson. I really fell in love with this thunderbird. Seems to have a pretty good setup already. Very playable I'm excited to get it to my tech and let him tweak it to my tastes.

 

[Larry V]

Epi's on the wall and Gibby's in the stands.

That's the first time I've taken a group shot of them together in a tight frame.

Love my 'birds!

 

[Nocturnal]

Thought the club might be interested...

Link Removed

My new blog, featuring a gear review of my Ebird.

I'd be stoked to hear feedback.

Nice job on the Goth write up.

 

[Count Bassie]

Yep, good buzz, nice turns-of-phrase laced in there.

 

[GBassNorth]

David - a fair and accurate write up on the Eppi Bird! As for your output Jack nut there's an easy fix...
Next time you tighten the nut down just put a drop of clear fingernail polish on the threads near the nut. Works the same as locktite but is free. Every Squier bass I own had this same problem, all fixed and never resurfaced.

 

[Haji]

Hi all, I was driving down to Melbourne today and decided to stop off at Yass NSW for lunch.
Look what was across the road from the Info Centre....

Thought you may get a kick from it.

Its a good thing they label those pictograms. Without the words, it could be something like "Beaten to death is shallow water", "Radar", and "Dissolved in acid".

Trust me. You might not think it's funny right now, but it is.