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Thunderbird Club

#131,306
Gaolee said:
I haven't been to Britain anywhere since the summer of 2001. At the time, I don't recall seeing a KFC or BK. I'm not sure there was even a Starbucks infestation there yet. My family went to visit my wife's family, and we had our son, who was 10, with us. So, no time in pubs. Before that, we were there in 1989 before the kid was born, and did spend time in pubs. Pub grub was the way to go. It was far better than anything KFC or BK puts out. I also don't recall pubs being anything but individually owned. They had affiliations with one brewery or another, but they were all different. The independents had the best grub, so far as I recall, but it's hazy at this point. It's probably also wrong by now, pushing 30 years later.
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We were sadly disappointed with the pubs during our trip this summer. It has changed a lot since my school days there in ‘77 and another long stay during the summer of ‘83. The main issue IMO is that so many are gone those that remain are packed. But we were only in the big cities during the trip. I can’t speak to the towns and villages. Hoping to return again soon as I love the place.
 
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#131,309
PillO said:
I know her...
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download.png
 
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#131,311
Thank You My Queen!!
We sincerely appreciate your gracious acknowledgement & appointment, that said I feel you should know the story of how this "Proud Lefty" came to be;

It all started about 5 years ago when I was trying to come up with the "Next Revelation" in "Neck Dive Abolishment" at that point I had just acquired my "Epi Pro 5er" & just out curiosity I grabbed her by the lower wing and held her up, to my amazement she balanced perfectly!! Problem solved!! I just have to find a "Lefty Bird" and string it "Righty"

The search was on & I looked EVERYWHERE for one, the search for a "Lefty Bird" ended up being the search for "Hens Teeth" I couldn't find one Anywhere!!

Good thing I had the "Epi Pro 5" to keep me busy, I put much research & work into her "Metamorphosis"
IMG_20191001_211936682.jpg


In the meantime I had to wait like 4 years until 2018 when Gibson decided to make a limited run of Lefties again. Once acquired I did the absolute minimum modification wise, the only thing I replaced was the stock nut with a "Graph Tek"
IMG_20191022_200153687.jpg

Then re positioned the front strap pin which of course required drilling & was rather "painful" but we got through it LOL

In the "re string" process I decided to go with "DR Black Beauty Taper Heavies" Per "Geezers" recommendation!!

Even though he's not a "Bird Enthusiast" as far as I know, tell you what, it seems that these strings were made for them!! If anyone in "TB Land" is considering a change string wise, I highly recommend you give these a shot, it requires a bit of a "tweak" being that only the "core" rides the "saddle"
IMG_20191022_200114993.jpg

But well worth the effort!! They also come in a standard set so it's relatively easy to acquire them, I for one will NEVER go back!!
The SKU # I believe is BKBT50

Black Beauties | Coated Bass | DR Strings
https://www.drstrings.com/coated-bass-black-beauties

I have played my fair share of TBirds but this one here puts the THUNDER in the Bird!! It TOTALLY exceeds my expectations, lives up to her name and leaves Everything Else in a wake of Post Sonic Boom Rubble!! Once she hits Mach 1 The Crown, Demeter Amps along with Schroeder Cabs kick in the Afterburners & assist with Thrust Vectoring LOL
IMG_20190822_195451672.jpg

Again we are Honored to now join the illustrious ranks as # 787 and thank our Good Queen not only for this gracious appointment, but for all the hard work she does for her Royal Subjects here on
Talk Bass....
Long Live The Queen!!!

IMG_20191017_165118307.jpg

IMG_20191022_161738601.jpg
 
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#131,312
GBassNorth said:
Well that was an interesting experiment. Here's the findings...

Neck Pickup - volume setting full on, tone set at zero
Both basses sound virtually identical on the open E, A, and D strings with the Gibby slightly brighter on the G string. Tele volume is very linear from 0 to 10, no effect on tone and much louder than the Gibby in every setting until the Gibby volume hits 10. At that point the Gibby jumps up over the Tele in volume and the Gibby tone becomes noticeably brighter (even with tone knob still set on zero). The max tone setting on the Tele was about equivalent to the 8 tone setting on the TBird.

Bridge Pickup - volume setting full on, tone set at zero
Again both basses sound virtually identical on the open E, A, and D strings with the Gibby still slightly brighter on the G string. On this Pickup the Tele is much louder in every setting but the Gibby gets closer at max volume. The max tone setting on the Tele was about equivalent to the 8 setting on the Gibby.

Conclusions
If you normally play a modern Gibson TBird on a tone setting of 8 or less and play either Pickup on a volume of about 8 or 9 you'll likely find the TBird indistinguishable from the Tele MP. If you play the TBird at any of the lower volume settings it will sound thin as compared to the much beefier Tele at the same setting. The TBird is capable of going slightly brighter than the Tele If you max out the birds tone knob but it's not as much of a difference as you'd expect. Where the TBird starts to differentiate itself from the Tele is when you turn the volume of the bird past 9 to the max. It's then that the TBird throws away any linearity and makes a noticeable mid and upper mid tone bump and perceived volume increase as well.

In other words, To get the most balls to the wall sound out of your bird just max only one of the two volume knobs (more likely the neck) the tone knob and other volume knob really won't help or hurt much where ever they are set. In nearly every other setting the Tele MP matches or bests the TBird.

So there you have it, the Fender Telecaster Modern Player is pretty much a mocking bird capable of delivering nearly all of the TBird greatness, except in a bulkier, less sleek and more clunky kind of way. Get one if you want to retain your TBird sound roots but visually look like every other bass lemming out there.
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Thanks for the effort. Huh. I’d go for it had She Who Must Be Obeyed not been paying such close attention to my flock these days. But TBO, I certainly don’t need another bass until the EPI Vintage Pro NRs come out in a few months.
 
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#131,314
StephnG said:
Thank You My Queen!!
We sincerely appreciate your gracious acknowledgement & appointment, that said I feel you should know the story of how this "Proud Lefty" came to be;

It all started about 5 years ago when I was trying to come up with the "Next Revelation" in "Neck Dive Abolishment" at that point I had just acquired my "Epi Pro 5er" & just out curiosity I grabbed her by the lower wing and held her up, to my amazement she balanced perfectly!! Problem solved!! I just have to find a "Lefty Bird" and string it "Righty"

The search was on & I looked EVERYWHERE for one, the search for a "Lefty Bird" ended up being the search for "Hens Teeth" I couldn't find one Anywhere!!

Good thing I had the "Epi Pro 5" to keep me busy, I put much research & work into her "Metamorphosis"
View attachment 3572730

In the meantime I had to wait like 4 years until 2018 when Gibson decided to make a limited run of Lefties again. Once acquired I did the absolute minimum modification wise, the only thing I replaced was the stock nut with a "Graph Tek"
View attachment 3572768
Then re positioned the front strap pin which of course required drilling & was rather "painful" but we got through it LOL

In the "re string" process I decided to go with "DR Black Beauty Taper Heavies" Per "Geezers" recommendation!!

Even though he's not a "Bird Enthusiast" as far as I know, tell you what, it seems that these strings were made for them!! If anyone in "TB Land" is considering a change string wise, I highly recommend you give these a shot, it requires a bit of a "tweak" being that only the "core" rides the "saddle"
View attachment 3572772
But well worth the effort!! They also come in a standard set so it's relatively easy to acquire them, I for one will NEVER go back!!
The SKU # I believe is BKBT50

Black Beauties | Coated Bass | DR Strings
https://www.drstrings.com/coated-bass-black-beauties

I have played my fair share of TBirds but this one here puts the THUNDER in the Bird!! It TOTALLY exceeds my expectations, lives up to her name and leaves Everything Else in a wake of Post Sonic Boom Rubble!! Once she hits Mach 1 The Crown, Demeter Amps along with Schroeder Cabs kick in the Afterburners & assist with Thrust Vectoring LOL
View attachment 3572773
Again we are Honored to now join the illustrious ranks as # 787 and thank our Good Queen not only for this gracious appointment, but for all the hard work she does for her Royal Subjects here on
Talk Bass....
Long Live The Queen!!!

View attachment 3572774
View attachment 3572775
Click to expand...

Ashdown...
 
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#131,317
Glenn Johnson said:
JB wasn't ALWAYS right, just almost always right. Vodkatini is the correct term. I like my dry Martini's with a dash of dry vermouth, and a little dirty, and always with either 1 or 3 olives. 2 olives is unlucky. :roflmao:
Click to expand...

I don't think JB was about being 'right' - as being a Scottish British spy gives any indication... ;)
 
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#131,318
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#131,319
MCF said:
We were sadly disappointed with the pubs during our trip this summer. It has changed a lot since my school days there in ‘77 and another long stay during the summer of ‘83. The main issue IMO is that so many are gone those that remain are packed. But we were only in the big cities during the trip. I can’t speak to the towns and villages. Hoping to return again soon as I love the place.
Click to expand...
yeah London's done for pubs... lived there in the early 90's and every corner had one...was there last year and they are all now yuppie "theme" type places...they still thrive in the country outside of the major cities.....
youngsters prefer imported lagers to local fine ales....the power of marketing at it again..
 
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