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Thunderbird Club

#134,621
Dadagoboi said:
Zak Starkey has been with them since '97, Pino Palladino since John died, except for this last tour. Simon Townshend plays second guitar. The new record is them plus Benmont Tench and a few others. If the rest is anything like that first cut I'm looking forward to it. Roger says it's Pete's best work since Quadrophenia.

Pete and Roger are often referred to as 'The Two'.
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I like the little bit I've heard, it sounds like forward motion, not an effort to regain something lost, which means it's honest.
 
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#134,622
Dadagoboi said:
Zak Starkey has been with them since '97, Pino Palladino since John died, except for this last tour. Simon Townshend plays second guitar. The new record is them plus Benmont Tench and a few others. If the rest is anything like that first cut I'm looking forward to it. Roger says it's Pete's best work since Quadrophenia.

Pete and Roger are often referred to as 'The Two'.
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They have continued to mature- in a way that does not get old, but better, more concise. Meaning plumbs deeper, more is "said" with fewer syllables, notes.

...unlike myself, who can go on bs-ing for many pages, lol.
 
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#134,623
TBird1958 said:
I saw Al Stewart twice, once for Past, Present and Future at Pacific Lutheran Univ., his performance of "Roads to Moscow" was quite memorable. I saw "Modern Times" at Seattle's Paramount theater - at one point between songs someone in the crowd yelled "Carol" ( a song from Modern Times) and Al stopped and asked the audience " is that what you want to hear ?" Yes! So he played the song, it's the only time I've seen that happen at a big show.

Because Thunderbirds, here's one of my fave A.S. songs that has a Bird.
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I’ve only seen him three times. The first was at Cal Poly SLO. Year of The Cat tour. Very memorable with a cool slide show for Roads. I was a history major in college and it’s still a hobby of sorts. I still keep his stuff in rotation. The last time I saw him was at an amphitheater. He was so gracious and spoke to everyone who stuck around to talk after the show. A true gentleman.
 
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#134,624
MCF said:
I’ve only seen him three times. The first was at Cal Poly SLO. Year of The Cat tour. Very memorable with a cool slide show for Roads. I was a history major in college and it’s still a hobby of sorts. I still keep his stuff in rotation. The last time I saw him was at an amphitheater. He was so gracious and spoke to everyone who stuck around to talk after the show. A true gentleman.
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Saw Willie nelson about 22 years ago in Providence. Same, spoke to everyone who came by. He stood at the door of his travel home and was attentive and gracious to every last one of us.
That's grace.
 
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#134,629
Gaolee said:
I have wrestled with the idea that vibration and play over time will improve a musical instrument. There's no clear answer to that one. I know the 2001 Thunderbird I have is somehow just a little better, although paint did something to the 1991 that gets it very close. Usually it seems to be holes in the paint. Go figure.

What is true is that wood does continue to change over time. It hardens and crystallizes. There's a reason you can't drive a nail into old Douglas fir, but you can drive a nail into new Douglas fir, even if it's old growth. The Japanese figured this out and would buy logs and submerge them in ponds for a long time to age the wood they made lacquer boxes with. They still had to dry the wood, but aging it changes it. The way the wood is dried also has an effect. If it's air dried, it will move and do what wood does, but it not have as many oddball internal stresses in it. Over time, wood cycles in the environment with humidity and temperature. All of this adds up to changes.

A mediocre instrument that was hidden under the bed for 50 years will have all the same age changes, except it won't have as many environmental changes and it won't be subjected to the kinds of energy and stresses that vibration cause. Maybe it will improve, maybe it won't.

It won't make a lick of difference to the metal parts. The magnets could get weaker with time. A fretted instrument will have fret wear, which is both good and bad. Fret ends polish and get smoother. The frets themselves wear away. Pick your poison.

Conclusion: I dunno.
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Me neither. I bought my '64 II in '78. It was what one could consider a closet queen. (very little use) So only 14 years old at that point, hardly vintage by age but since it was a 3 year run it was being sold as vintage. (in 1978) I played it a lot being my only bass. Played it in Chicago blues bars on a regular basis. Added a bridge pu in the late 80's and played it through the 90's into the 2000's. I've played it live more recently and it roars - every bit the vintage icon in sonic delivery. My '66 P was played professionally - hard, for 40 years at least, day in and day out. Just as wonderful sounding (in a different way) as the '64 II. Both old, one really played - the other bought, played a bit, sat, played regularly by an amateur... with similar end results.
 
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#134,631
Nocturnal said:
Hamer Slammer short scale import bass. I have one just like it, but mine has a neck. ;)
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I picked up a 6 string Slammer by Hamer strat copy a few months back (so I could learn some basics on guitar)… For C$80 at my local L&M. Any new or used guitar or bass comes with a complementary setup... which costs C$75 on a floating bridge. So I bought a C$5 guitar. I refer to it as the Hammer Slammer.
 
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#134,637
RedVee said:
Yeah, the Classic Pro is a Epi built version of the current series of Gibson T’bird. Same neck through construction, same pickups.

My take on the Pro IV/V is that it is the Epi “modern” interpretation of the neck through T’bird. That is - not “Classic”.

Both displaced by the Vintage Pro now (I think).

The other Epi T’birds, the IV, the Goth are their “value” interpretation of the T’bird. The various Limited Editions off the IV I think of as their “value plus” T’birds. They can have different pickups, guitar sized humbuckers.

I think I’ve spent too much time thinking about their model structure. :laugh:

Oh, Gibson & Epiphone seem to call a vast range of pickups “T’bird +”.
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Notice that they have never specified "plus what"?
 
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