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Thunderbird Club

#128,301
MCF said:
So I’m immersed in the shed tonight. Playing through a Carvin B100 (Vintage San Diego). I love this combo. It sounds so great. I play through it most of the time. So the compression circuit goes wonky. Cuts in and out. I turn it off. Restart it and same thing. Even with the compressor dial off. Any ideas? I had it given to me; long story. Carvin is long gone now. Should I just forget about it or anyone think it can be fixed? I’m a bit sentimental about it
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everything can be fixed. PM me.
 
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#128,302
Keith Rawlings said:
Well that was 20 years ago. I wouldn’t dare stand on my old Kay like that anymore; but the Bird was my first love that got me into loving bass in all its forms.
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My theory is that bass players either become lead guitarists in time, or eventually upright players if they really are bass players. Your Thunderbird knew you were a bass player.

I had a Kay that I got for $150 about 35 years ago. It had been a NYC Public Schools tool before I got it. It was more broken than not, but I fixed it a few times and played it. The the cat climbed it and broke the neck off of it. I fixed it again. Then the darn cat did it again. The plywood was delaminating, the bridge was more parts I made than not, and the neck eas repairs from one end to the other. So it was laid to rest. Oh well. The Chinese made Christopher I have now is better in all ways except coolness.
 
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#128,305
Gaolee said:
As long as it is parts and pieces, not some black box with a wire in and a wire out. I am completely analog that way.
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it is.....the optos wear out and do funky things....sometimes it's footswitch contacts...
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#128,308
JIO said:
I worked with a decorative artist friend in SF who did some work for Kirk Hammett in his Pacific Heights mansion in the late 90's and I visited one morning. Unfortunately KH wasn't there but I got to see his room full of monster/horror movie memorability. (he's a huge collector of it) He had one of the only 2 or 3 Creature of the Black Lagoon head-cowls and lots of first generation monster/horror movie posters. He also had a toy I had as a kid - a Robbie the Robot mechanical tin toy from the early 60's. They go for well over $500 these days. My friend did a bunch of very Hollywood-set looking finishes on his poster gallery walls - looked like Vincent Price would appear from around the corner. He said Kirk would discus what he was after in his bath robe while playing his guitar non stop. He sold the place years ago but I always think about that morning when I pass it.
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There was a display of his horror memorabilia that came through Toronto. A friend went to opening night and met KH there. The exhibition would be interesting, but in all honesty I would be a bit meh on meeting KH. He plays well but nothing he has done has had any real impact on me. I might be tempted to say something like "Oh, you're KH? I didn't recognize you without a wah under your foot." But more likely, I would just want to talk old 50s and 60s horror movies, not music.

But I am not normal. I don't get star stuck by musicians. The only ones I have been really impressed at meeting are Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater - that guy really is hugely talented and probably a musical genius) and Geddy Lee (Big Dirty Band, and I hear he has played with a couple of other guys and put out some records with them). On the other hand, I would probably be really excited to meet Britney Spears or Katy Perry, but not for musical reasons.
 
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#128,314
MCF said:
So I’m immersed in the shed tonight. Playing through a Carvin B100 (Vintage San Diego). I love this combo. It sounds so great. I play through it most of the time. So the compression circuit goes wonky. Cuts in and out. I turn it off. Restart it and same thing. Even with the compressor dial off. Any ideas? I had it given to me; long story. Carvin is long gone now. Should I just forget about it or anyone think it can be fixed? I’m a bit sentimental about it
Click to expand...

Sure it can be fixed, there are many capable techs. When it comes to repairing amps I like Steve Soar's approach, "The older the easier".
 
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#128,316
PillO said:
There was a display of his horror memorabilia that came through Toronto. A friend went to opening night and met KH there. The exhibition would be interesting, but in all honesty I would be a bit meh on meeting KH. He plays well but nothing he has done has had any real impact on me. I might be tempted to say something like "Oh, you're KH? I didn't recognize you without a wah under your foot." But more likely, I would just want to talk old 50s and 60s horror movies, not music.

But I am not normal. I don't get star stuck by musicians. The only ones I have been really impressed at meeting are Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater - that guy really is hugely talented and probably a musical genius) and Geddy Lee (Big Dirty Band, and I hear he has played with a couple of other guys and put out some records with them). On the other hand, I would probably be really excited to meet Britney Spears or Katy Perry, but not for musical reasons.
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Yah, I hear you about "mega-stars", especially ones that I don't really follow or know much about anyway. (like KH) I've met and talked with a few local cats who would be considered by most as legendary players/musicians (Bobby Vega, Nels Cline, Michael Manring) but they are all pretty down to earth. My gf was in a bathroom once standing next to Lady Ga Ga - just two women adjusting their make-up on a day-to-day human level.
 
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#128,318
Chucky Stiletti said:
it is.....the optos wear out and do funky things....sometimes it's footswitch contacts...
View attachment 3544358
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For that amp. I have had things, not just amps, that were designed in a way that made them virtually unfixable. It is frustrating when some minor issue makes one of those useless. If you can substitute parts and come up with workarounds for that kind of thing, my hat is off to you.
 
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#128,320
Gaolee said:
My theory is that bass players either become lead guitarists in time, or eventually upright players if they really are bass players. Your Thunderbird knew you were a bass player.

I had a Kay that I got for $150 about 35 years ago. It had been a NYC Public Schools tool before I got it. It was more broken than not, but I fixed it a few times and played it. The the cat climbed it and broke the neck off of it. I fixed it again. Then the darn cat did it again. The plywood was delaminating, the bridge was more parts I made than not, and the neck eas repairs from one end to the other. So it was laid to rest. Oh well. The Chinese made Christopher I have now is better in all ways except coolness.
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My Kay is now suffering from the years of road wear and just having been played a lot, but it still sounds pretty good. I do hope to someday purchase something with a more defined sound like a nice old carved top - something reasonable though; but these days I have to run everything by my financial advisor (wife) when it comes to gear purchases.
 
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