Thunderbird Club

[BklynKen]

This arrived yesterday. I am back in the vintage Thunderbird owner class once again. 1977 Thunderbird

More details and better shots later but wanted to get in on Thunderbird Thursday.

Wow! Congratulations!

 

[Gaolee]

nice THUNDERBIRD....
seen these used before..
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think a TBird bucker with a ring might also work as well

My EB-2 has a Dimarzio One instead of a Mudbucker. It's a sweet sounding bass guitar. I bought one to put right up by the neck of the bolt-on 'Bird to see how that would sound. The controls would be wired V-V-V with no tone roll off. The Dimarzio One should sound pretty good up by the neck on that bass and give it a similar woody sound that puts me in the mind of a wooden front porch with a rocking chair on it.

 

[Gaolee]

Thanks. She's a fun one to play and my only 5 string. Spector did a good job on this one, the ever changing finish is awesome in the stage lights. When I was gigging I got more comments on this bass than any other I owned.

I don't have anything like that, but even so, Thunderbirds are the only bass guitars that ever get comments anyway.

 

[Gaolee]

That is exactly what my wifes friends have been asking. They know how this works.

That's the problem with being married to a saint. Maybe. So long as I don't feel too guilty about it, there's not much downside to GAS, so long as it doesn't dent the budget. That said, I don't think there's any more bass guitars in my future. I'm shockingly happy with what I have now. Drum kits are a slightly different issue. I just picked up a 1970s Reuther stencil kit with concert toms and ratted out wrap. It looks bad, but the shells are round, and all the hardware except a couple bits I have replacements for is intact. So, it gets a rewrap and some cleanup, and it becomes the thumpy '70s and '80s sound drum kit up to a point. It's only got three toms, not a whole row of 'em. I couldn't deal with all those toms anyway.

There's a reason I never manage to finish projects in any kind of reasonable time. There's always another one that looks like it's gotta happen.

 

[JIO]

I don’t know...we had an Electrolux for 25+ years...solid as a Rock, easy to operate, and it came with a handy, hand-held ‘sidekick’ that was great for the pool table.
I was a Big fan, but my Bride wanted to ‘upgrade’.
We’ve had the new vacuum for several years now, an I feel the need to bitch about it Every time I use it!

THUNDERBIRD

 

[Count Bassie]

My EB-2 has a Dimarzio One instead of a Mudbucker. It's a sweet sounding bass guitar. I bought one to put right up by the neck of the bolt-on 'Bird to see how that would sound. The controls would be wired V-V-V with no tone roll off. The Dimarzio One should sound pretty good up by the neck on that bass and give it a similar woody sound that puts me in the mind of a wooden front porch with a rocking chair on it.

Love that idea. The Model One is a good reason to buy a cheap bolt-on bass.

 

[JIO]

"When is 'now' now?"

I think the more important question is... "are we having fun yet?" (THUNDERBIRD)

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

My EB-2 has a Dimarzio One instead of a Mudbucker. It's a sweet sounding bass guitar. I bought one to put right up by the neck of the bolt-on 'Bird to see how that would sound. The controls would be wired V-V-V with no tone roll off. The Dimarzio One should sound pretty good up by the neck on that bass and give it a similar woody sound that puts me in the mind of a wooden front porch with a rocking chair on it.

did you put that pup in your EB-2 or was it there when you got it? never owned a bass with that model pup but a friend (early 80's) had a 4001 with one in the neck position (pretty common mod back then) which he loaned me to do a couple of gigs with and it sounded fantastic through my Sunn 2000s into 1 X 15" and 4 X 12"s....he had the little coil split switch installed.....never heard a Gibby with one but would love to..

 

[Miles_ONeal]

A Dimarzio One is a huge beast. A Dimarzio should make lots of thunder, but they don’t make anything like a drop-in for a Bird.

 

[Gaolee]

did you put that pup in your EB-2 or was it there when you got it? never owned a bass with that model pup but a friend (early 80's) had a 4001 with one in the neck position (pretty common mod back then) which he loaned me to do a couple of gigs with and it sounded fantastic through my Sunn 2000s into 1 X 15" and 4 X 12"s....he had the little coil split switch installed.....never heard a Gibby with one but would love to..

It was like that when I got it. There's a story about how I got it that's pretty amusing (to me). I haven't modified it since I got it in about 1982 or 1983.

 

[GBassNorth]

I don't have anything like that, but even so, Thunderbirds are the only bass guitars that ever get comments anyway.

Funny thing is, when gigging I received positive comments and inquiries on this bass, my Alembics and my Gibby SG Supreme. Never once did I ever receive a positive or negative comment when playing my Fender Jazz or Precision basses. Chalk up the lack of audience interest in Fender basses to common and boring vs the TBird fresh and exciting look. Same goes with sound - Jazz humdrum nasal and P Bass yeah thats what we expected sound, vs TBird wow a P bass on steroids sound or SG yum thick gooey molasses foundation.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Funny thing is, when gigging I received positive comments and inquiries on this bass, my Alembics and my Gibby SG Supreme. Never once did I ever receive a positive or negative comment when playing my Fender Jazz or Precision basses. Chalk up the lack of audience interest in Fender basses to common and boring vs the TBird fresh and exciting look. Same goes with sound - Jazz humdrum nasal and P Bass yeah thats what we expected sound, vs TBird wow a P bass on steroids sound or SG yum thick gooey molasses foundation.

not to offend anyone but a Jazz bass strung with rounds and both pickups and tone set on full is anything but nasal..

 

[TBird1958]

Where was I...…….Oh yeah.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Where was I...…….Oh yeah.

recognize the car...is that Bird yours? Never seen it..

 

[Count Bassie]

not to offend anyone but a Jazz bass strung with rounds and both pickups and tone set on full is anything but nasal..

Ok I'll chime in, though I generally don't get into contention on this stuff. But...
There are settings on a Jazz and a P that kill. A Precision, for instance, through something like a Fender Dual Showman, strung with rounds and played with a pick, is scary, huge, and very satisfying. Nothing stock there.

A Jazz, as above, played with a fat eq curve, is Bump-City-into-the-next-county.

It's somewhat arguable that you can get something from interesting to cool as an ape in a Ferrari, with anything.

I've also had to make things with big limitations work at times, so maybe I'm just less discriminating.

 

[Engle]

My EB-2 has a Dimarzio One instead of a Mudbucker. It's a sweet sounding bass guitar. I bought one to put right up by the neck of the bolt-on 'Bird to see how that would sound. The controls would be wired V-V-V with no tone roll off. The Dimarzio One should sound pretty good up by the neck on that bass and give it a similar woody sound that puts me in the mind of a wooden front porch with a rocking chair on it.

But....chrome...need chrome

 

[Engle]

not to offend anyone but a Jazz bass strung with rounds and both pickups and tone set on full is anything but nasal..

And then there’s Aston Barrett. That’s not exactly a nasally tone either

 

[GBassNorth]

not to offend anyone but a Jazz bass strung with rounds and both pickups and tone set on full is anything but nasal..

Well I have to admit, when I'm playing funk that sounds like it's from a cheezy low budget 1970's porn movie, the first bass I reach for is my Jazz. Not only can I get all the nasal tones I want, but as you note it's capable of so much more - like bark and honk.

Seriously, I actually cut my teeth on a Jazz bass. This was my go to bass for well over a decade...

Even when I wandered from Fender Jazz basses I still made sure to get something that had at least one Jazz pup...


Then this happened...

And that led to this and this...

Which led to a bunch more of the same.

The journey isn't over yet, but I can honestly say for every single hour my "has been go to Jazz" is plugged in my Gibby's (birds and SGs) get hundreds of hours of amp time.

It took me a long time but I finally figured out I'm just a Humbucker kind of guy, single coils just don't excite me much these days, and generally speaking that to me is the significant difference between Gibson and Fender basses. Two very different approaches to making great bass guitar sounds. In the right hands either one is capable of creating bliss, in my hands it's a Gibby or similar Humbucker equipped bass. YMMV

 

[Count Bassie]

And then there’s Aston Barrett. That’s not exactly a nasally tone either

Was going to mention him!

 

[Count Bassie]

Well I have to admit, when I'm playing funk that sounds like it's from a cheezy low budget 1970's porn movie, the first bass I reach for is my Jazz. Not only can I get all the nasal tones I want, but as you note it's capable of so much more - like bark and honk.

Seriously, I actually cut my teeth on a Jazz bass. This was my go to bass for well over a decade...
View attachment 3517651

Even when I wandered from Fender Jazz basses I still made sure to get something that had at least one Jazz pup...
View attachment 3517644 View attachment 3517645 View attachment 3517649 View attachment 3517650 View attachment 3517654 View attachment 3517656 View attachment 3517658

Then this happened...
View attachment 3517653

And that led to this and this...
View attachment 3517660
View attachment 3517659
Which led to a bunch more of the same.

The journey isn't over yet, but I can honestly say for every single hour my "has been go to Jazz" is plugged in my Gibby's (birds and SGs) get hundreds of hours of amp time.

It took me a long time but I finally figured out I'm just a Humbucker kind of guy, single coils just don't excite me much these days, and generally speaking that to me is the significant difference between Gibson and Fender basses. Two very different approaches to making great bass guitar sounds. In the right hands either one is capable of creating bliss, in my hands it's a Gibby or similar Humbucker equipped bass. YMMV

Good story bro.