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Thunderbird Club

#125,964
MCF said:
Sicko post of the day. Top that Pillo!
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OK Thunderbird challenge accepted.

GonePlaid said:
Aw, man! Where's the "Prize Patrol" when I need them? [They said they were coming- I also believe in the Easter bunny and the Great Pumpkin]
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We have previously discussed my penchant for rabbit stew on Easter, but...
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
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#125,965
gidbass said:
I remember reading that as well somewhere. The vintage pro is a neck through so there is no plate...Even if there was, if i keep it, the strap extension is a must for me...;)
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Congratulations. Don’t rush into any changes. Have a play and come pack here with questions. We love questions. Pretty sure someone here will have gone through the same process as you.

Thunderbirds
 
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#125,966
Border said:
It used to. When I was a kid growing up in Walla Walla, my dad and I would dial in stations from from who knows where. It has tubes and these funky metal sleeves that reminded me of my sisters curlers. I remember the tube or whatever it is above the glass glowing green when it warmed up.The cabinet, glass and chassis all seem to be in good shape. Most of the tubes and a few of the sleeves are there. The power cord and speaker cable are quite frayed. Made certain to keep it when cleaning out the place and getting it ready to sell. Have always intended to clean it up, never have gotten to it. Good mojo for the man cave. Thanks for asking.
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I have noticed that so many times in your pictures and wondered what it was. It didn't look like a leslie (but a leslie with a Thunderbird would be cool).

I used to troubleshoot/repair that sort of stuff when I was in high school. Unfortunately, I have forgotten much of the detail I would need to do any of that sort of thing these days.

Thunderbird!
 
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#125,968
Border said:
It used to. When I was a kid growing up in Walla Walla, my dad and I would dial in stations from from who knows where. It has tubes and these funky metal sleeves that reminded me of my sisters curlers. I remember the tube or whatever it is above the glass glowing green when it warmed up.The cabinet, glass and chassis all seem to be in good shape. Most of the tubes and a few of the sleeves are there. The power cord and speaker cable are quite frayed. Made certain to keep it when cleaning out the place and getting it ready to sell. Have always intended to clean it up, never have gotten to it. Good mojo for the man cave. Thanks for asking.
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looks like a Philco (Made in USA, Philips. late 30's). that green tube is called a tuning eye, it told you when you were in optimum tune with the station....very cool stuff....when did it last run? it may just work if plugged in, they are very rugged. i wouldn't try turning it on though since it's been off for so long.....ideally you ramp them up (mains) nice and slow..
 
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#125,971
Border said:
Thanks much Miles, I appreciate the it. If I was anywhere near I would take you up on it! I have no idea how old it is. It seemed pre historic in the late 60s when I was a kid. I am going to see what Google tells me about it. Happy Friday!
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Whatever it turns out to be, it's worth some effort. Old, kinda scary looking electrical devices are always worth some effort. I had a couple old valve driven black and white televisions for a while. The CRT portion was no good, so I never got them to work, but it was fun to plug them in and watch the tubes heat up. The picture on one was about two square inches, and the other one got a white dot in the middle of its screen. They got pretty good sound, for televisions. They smelled like ozone and doom when they were plugged in and turned on. I found that completely amusing, no drugs necessary. But, I never played a Thunderbird through one of them. The electrical consequences of my lack of knowledge were potentially dire enough to keep me from trying to wire in an input jack.
 
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#125,972
Gaolee said:
Whatever it turns out to be, it's worth some effort. Old, kinda scary looking electrical devices are always worth some effort. I had a couple old valve driven black and white televisions for a while. The CRT portion was no good, so I never got them to work, but it was fun to plug them in and watch the tubes heat up. The picture on one was about two square inches, and the other one got a white dot in the middle of its screen. They got pretty good sound, for televisions. They smelled like ozone and doom when they were plugged in and turned on. I found that completely amusing, no drugs necessary. But, I never played a Thunderbird through one of them. The electrical consequences of my lack of knowledge were potentially dire enough to keep me from trying to wire in an input jack.
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ZAP!!...:roflmao:
 
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#125,973
Gaolee said:
Whatever it turns out to be, it's worth some effort. Old, kinda scary looking electrical devices are always worth some effort. I had a couple old valve driven black and white televisions for a while. The CRT portion was no good, so I never got them to work, but it was fun to plug them in and watch the tubes heat up. The picture on one was about two square inches, and the other one got a white dot in the middle of its screen. They got pretty good sound, for televisions. They smelled like ozone and doom when they were plugged in and turned on. I found that completely amusing, no drugs necessary. But, I never played a Thunderbird through one of them. The electrical consequences of my lack of knowledge were potentially dire enough to keep me from trying to wire in an input jack.
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There is nothing like that smell. <3
 
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#125,975
Gaolee said:
Whatever it turns out to be, it's worth some effort. Old, kinda scary looking electrical devices are always worth some effort. I had a couple old valve driven black and white televisions for a while. The CRT portion was no good, so I never got them to work, but it was fun to plug them in and watch the tubes heat up. The picture on one was about two square inches, and the other one got a white dot in the middle of its screen. They got pretty good sound, for televisions. They smelled like ozone and doom when they were plugged in and turned on. I found that completely amusing, no drugs necessary. But, I never played a Thunderbird through one of them. The electrical consequences of my lack of knowledge were potentially dire enough to keep me from trying to wire in an input jack.
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Wise man. When I was a kid, I had a Silvertone bass amp that a joint broke on the capacitor. My Dad was really good with electronics and an iron, but instead of him fixing it, he took me to a buddy of his who had an awesome home shop (the guy worked for NASA). The expert gave me a lesson in the dangers of poking around in stuff without knowing what you’re doing. Scared the you know what out of me. After the lesson, he fixed it in about a minute. Worked like a charm and sounded...well like a cheap Silvertone with a crummy speaker.
 
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#125,976
We were discussing Silvertone and Danelectro Wasp bass guitars a bit ago. They are somewhat like NR Thunderbirds, except a whole lot lighter, weirder, and smaller. I was wasting time on Reverb at lunch just now, and look what turned up:

Danelectro Wasp 1965? | Music City Asheville

The freebass was black and rattier and didn't have any logo at all on the headstock, but this is what it looked like. It was worth the $300 some guy on St. Mark's Place bought it from me for. And probably still is. It sure wasn't worth any $2500. Still isn't.
 
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#125,977
BklynKen said:
Update on my BC Rich. Turns out the original tuners on it are old Schaller M4S. I ordered a set of their newer lightweight ones that look identical, so they should be a direct drop-in. I'm told I should drop 3.174 grams from the headstock. Hopefully that stabilizes things a bit.

Eagle! Thunderbird!
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12+ grams for 4 tuners is less than 1/2 an ounce. I doubt that's going to make much of a difference. Schaller's idea of 'lightweight' is misleading IMO.

Here's the difference between a standard Gotoh sealed tuner and a Gothoh Resolite:

ZejezWK.jpg


That's almost an ounce (~28 grams) per tuner. Times four is a 1/4 lb, 4 oz.

Expensive but worth it on a headstock like this. Resolites and Stealths for octaves.

9MREw0Z.jpg
 
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#125,978
Gaolee said:
We were discussing Silvertone and Danelectro Wasp bass guitars a bit ago. They are somewhat like NR Thunderbirds, except a whole lot lighter, weirder, and smaller. I was wasting time on Reverb at lunch just now, and look what turned up:

Danelectro Wasp 1965? | Music City Asheville

The freebass was black and rattier and didn't have any logo at all on the headstock, but this is what it looked like. It was worth the $300 some guy on St. Mark's Place bought it from me for. And probably still is. It sure wasn't worth any $2500. Still isn't.
Click to expand...
That's kinda oddly cool. Does seem a bit steep on the price.:greedy::eyebrow:
 
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