Thunderbird Club

[Gaolee]

Hey! You don't actually know me, do you?

No, but I like your shirt.

 

[Gaolee]

Hey, M & M's taste good, though. Yes, I'm $890 into the CP all told. Doubt I could get a good used Gibby for that price, but I might be wrong.

It depends on whether you use the Duke'o'frock method of accidentally winning things with lowball bids and offers.

 

[GonePlaid]

American English had some incomprehensible regional dialects, but those are mostly gone now. Having spent a fair amount of time in western North Carolina means that I heard and learned to speak and understand the hill dialect that was prevalent in that area. It is not a separate language, but it sounds like one if you aren't familiar with it. I haven't been there for decades, and it would not be a surprise if the dialect is mostly gone now.

Stationed in Charleston, SC, 67-68. 'Geechee' and Gullah' left me saying "say What?"

 

[Gaolee]

Stationed in Charleston, SC, 67-68. 'Geechee' and Gullah' left saying "say What?"

I heard a fair amount of Gullah at times. There are a number of tribal languages out here that are mostly, but not completely dead. There are some efforts now to revive those languages. If those efforts are successful, it will just add to the richness of sounds we can hear. That would be a great outcome, aside from any social or other benefit.

 

[StephnG]

Shell Shock was WW I. My grandfather came back with a Silver Star, a Purple Heart, and a good dose of that. He recovered, but it took time. Unfortunately, I never knew him. WW II called the same thing Battle Fatigue. A cousin who served in the Pacific in the Navy had a bit of that. There were things he would not talk about until we took his story as part of the Smithsonian's Veterans History Project. Even then, he asked that nobody say anything about those things until after he was gone. He felt shame and grief about things he couldn't do anything about. As a family, we managed to miss Korea, Vietnam, and everything else that has come along. I don't know if if it was still called Battle Fatigue in Korea. I believe PTSD came into use sometime after Vietnam, but there's no reason I would know for sure.

It's a good reason, among many good reasons, to avoid shooting wars if possible.

My Father & Uncle's all fought in the Pacific Theater of WWII & they were the same way although every once in a while we could pull stories out of them with a good bottle & a pair of pliers lol My Uncle Frank in particular saw some pretty intense stuff, think of the opening scene of "Private Ryan" only in the Pacific, he actually drove "The Duck" onto the beach with all hell breaking loose around him!! Everybody else had it relatively easy in comparison but still had crosses to bear. We can't even imagine what that's like although at least those wars meant something more than "Political Objectives & Oil" God bless them!!

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Shell Shock was WW I. My grandfather came back with a Silver Star, a Purple Heart, and a good dose of that. He recovered, but it took time. Unfortunately, I never knew him. WW II called the same thing Battle Fatigue. A cousin who served in the Pacific in the Navy had a bit of that. There were things he would not talk about until we took his story as part of the Smithsonian's Veterans History Project. Even then, he asked that nobody say anything about those things until after he was gone. He felt shame and grief about things he couldn't do anything about. As a family, we managed to miss Korea, Vietnam, and everything else that has come along. I don't know if if it was still called Battle Fatigue in Korea. I believe PTSD came into use sometime after Vietnam, but there's no reason I would know for sure.

It's a good reason, among many good reasons, to avoid shooting wars if possible.

makes sense since post WW1 conflicts became more mobile instead of being stuck in a trench being incessantly shelled as happened in that war...

 

[Gaolee]

makes sense since post WW1 conflicts became more mobile instead of being stuck in a trench being incessantly shelled as happened in that war...

Different names, same damage. We were not involved in anything that would prompted me to sign up when in the proper age bracket. Therefore, I have not been through it, for which I'm grateful.

 

[GonePlaid]

Different names, same damage. We were not involved in anything that would prompted me to sign up when in the proper age bracket. Therefore, I have not been through it, for which I'm grateful.

In 64 , as a (barely) HS grad, I figgered my chances of getting drafted were pretty good(bad?), I'd enlist into the deep water NAVY. The opposition wasn't about to mess with a carrier group, so relatively safe.

 

[Larry V]

In 64 , as a (barely) HS grad, I figgered my chances of getting drafted were pretty good(bad?), I'd enlist into the deep water NAVY. The opposition wasn't about to mess with a carrier group, so relatively safe.

...and you got to eat at a table and sleep in a dry bunk. At least that's what I've heard about why so many sign up for the Navy.

 

[GonePlaid]

...and you got to eat at a table and sleep in a dry bunk. At least that's what I've heard about why so many sign up for the Navy.

And "see the world" according to recruiting posters. I visited Hawaii, Japan, HK, Thailand, and the Philippines. 'Course I wanted to do Europe and the Med, but no complaints.

 

[FlyingPigSound]

FWIW, I like the black PG. The knobs?

Yeah...I went back and forth on the white and black pickguard, but I've found that the white makes it pop on stage especially. When I played a black jetglo Ric a few years ago, if it weren't for the white pickguard, it often looked like I had no instrument (and that thing had miles of chrome)

 

[PillO]

OUU! Guaglione!!!

@Chucky Stiletti traded his ball cap for a doo rag and his Thunderbird for a 6 string acoustic.

 

[Instagator]

Did anyone here purchase a 3T sunburst VP Thunderbird off of Facebook Marketplace Monday? The location was Blowing Rock NC.

 

[PillO]

Switched my Gibby back to the stock white pickguard and black knobs, the black pickguard and gold knobs are kinda cool, but I think it pops better on stage this way... (I also have a hard time seeing the faint white numbers on the gold knobs without my readers, especially on stage)
View attachment 3668423 View attachment 3668424

Pfffft. Numbers. As Lemmy would say, Everything louder than everyone else.

 

[GBassNorth]

?...
Some say that the nitro finish allows the wood to "breath" and thus sound better...I don't know about that...

Might be some truth to that. I know I sound better when I can breathe.

Hey, M & M's taste good, though. Yes, I'm $890 into the CP all told. Doubt I could get a good used Gibby for that price, but I might be wrong.

The operative word in that sentence is "good". I've seen a couple of TBirds in the $900 range but most had issues. $1200 and up is the norm for true "good" TBirds (yes there's always exceptions but they are few and far between). Anything less than $1200 on a bird in mint condition is an exceptional buy. I did just that on both my Anniversary and 2015 birds but it took years of searching to come across those deals.

I don't 'need' another TBird[except the new Epi RI, NR, VP, TBII/IV, etc.], but from the comments herein, I'd be looking at a VP first. I think. Maybe.
View attachment 3668518

My advice to anyone looking for a bird - if you have more than $1000 to spend look for a mint used Gibby and be very patient, good deals in the sub $1200 bracket do happen once in a blue moon. If you have less than $1000 to spend on a bird just go straight to Sweetwater and buy the lowest weight brand new one you can find in the color you like (get the hard case with it).

I personally wouldn't waste my dollars on a brand new Gibby and I wouldn't waste my time on a used VP. YMMV

 

[PillO]

My CP sounds good, but the fit and finish, the feel to me is on the cheap side. Of course, it's a $500ish bass vs. the $2,000ish for my Gibson.

If you replace Gibson with gibbon, that is kind of funny.

vs

 

[dukeorock]

Hey, M & M's taste good, though. Yes, I'm $890 into the CP all told. Doubt I could get a good used Gibby for that price, but I might be wrong.

I made some Hail Mary bids a couple years ago on a 2014 and a 2002 Gibson. Got em both for $800 each. Foolishly sold the 2014, but they felt and played identically. I tricked out the 2002 with Lollar pickups, Hipshot bridge and tuners. It’s an amazing bass. I had also scooped up a Cataldo NR41, which is why I sold the ‘14. Not sure how easy it is to get Gibson’s for $800 now. I spent a lot of time searching em out. All that to say I know it can be done.

It depends on whether you use the Duke'o'frock method of accidentally winning things with lowball bids and offers.

You make such a beautiful thing seem kinda...crass

 

[JIO]

That is one good looking bass. I don’t care for the bridge (complaint about a Thunderbird’s bridge? YOU DON’T SAY!), but that finish is really, really lovely.

For clarification - this gold II has an upgraded bridge allowing for correct intonation. There are couple out there now including the Badbird. Once this is done there are no complaints about that bridge/string-stop system.

How cool is that. I don't see any of the typical marks left behind by the PU covers in that pic. If those are gone, they "typically" leave indications in the finish if not removed early on and left off. But who knows, may be a crazy one off. Glad you posted it!

Not always - my '64 had all of its original covers etc and really didn't leave marks. Both the pu cover & bridge cover had black plastic spacers between them and the body. The brass mute was attached to the underside of the bridge - so no trace of it either.

The lower strap pin is gold and has been moved. I like it a lot, original or not.

Yep - didn't mention it cause most people change their strap-pegs to Strap-Looks etc, but its position/location is correct - same as my '64 II. Same with the upper one - some birds may have left the factory with the peg only on the neck heal but many had it on the non-horn as this one (and mine) has/had. I really have no memory of adding the heel peg back in '78, but for sure it came with the non-horn location so that may have been what I did.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

just when I thought i’d seen it all...
was wondering why harmonics on the G string wouldn’t ring...

 

[Glenn Johnson]

I made some Hail Mary bids a couple years ago on a 2014 and a 2002 Gibson. Got em both for $800 each. Foolishly sold the 2014, but they felt and played identically. I tricked out the 2002 with Lollar pickups, Hipshot bridge and tuners. It’s an amazing bass. I had also scooped up a Cataldo NR41, which is why I sold the ‘14. Not sure how easy it is to get Gibson’s for $800 now. I spent a lot of time searching em out. All that to say I know it can be done.



You make such a beautiful thing seem kinda...crass

Well, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for the info. It's nice to be surrounded by such a wonderful, friendly group of Thunderbird enablers - but hey, isn't that what Talkbass is all about? Cheers!