Thunderbird Club

[Glenn Johnson]

Thanks for thinking of me Larry! I am a fan of that genre for a number of reasons. I started out on a solid-body bass made in Japan in '66. It wasn't a Teisco, but I remember them being on the wall when I chose my first bass. (a Stadium, also badged St. George) The thing about those '60s guitars/basses is that there were literally hundreds of different designs then. It was the boom-years for inventive catering to a huge market of young aspiring musicians. (like me!) I love studying them and have favorites, including a couple that I own. For anyone interested in them, I think you just have to be drawn to that particular design/look to begin with. Then you have to make sure it is sound and adjustable (neck straight mostly) as they can be set-up for playing and they sound surprisingly good. (new) Short-scale basses are becoming more popular today and these are mostly short-scale. They are really fun to play and transport more easily being smaller. Some will go for more than others as like anything there is a 'collectors' market, but some are affordable out there. I think it's best to be able to do work on it yourself as they will inevitably need a little work to get playable.

I think I've posted my '66 Teisco Del Rey here before - it's a bit of an anomaly as it's 30" scale but the bass is as long as a Jazz bass because of it's design. I don't recall having to do any work on it other than a general cleaning/spraying the pots - it was playable when I got it.
View attachment 3671165
The massive hs is nearly as long as my '64 II. I think the reason they did this is because they sold a baritone version with the same hs & (6) tuners which fill up the space above the A and D tuners on this bass.
View attachment 3671167

My early '70's Sekova ( bought new ), always sounded like a metal trash can with rusty strings. . . But hey, it was $48.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

The 200 uses kt88s whereas the 100 and 300 use 6l6s I think it will be more like the 300. I'm guessing similar to a V4B (at half the price).

V4Bs use 7027s..

 

[PillO]

V4Bs use 7027s..

I'm referring to the modern V4B which Ampeg says uses 4x 6L6

 

[GonePlaid]

V4Bs use 7027s..

Aren't those Boeing jetliners with 3 engines aft?

 

[GonePlaid]

I'm referring to the modern V4B which Ampeg says uses 4x 6L6

Aaaah, what do they know?

 

[Engle]

Snowmaggedon in Vancouver - 2" and no one knows how to drive in it...

Yes except this time it was 5”, so the city ground to a complete halt.
And it was -10 Celsius for a few days

 

[GonePlaid]

Yes except this time it was 5”, so the city ground to a complete halt.
And it was -10 Celsius for a few days

A friend moved from Connecticut to Atlanta some years ago. It snowed one morning. She shrugged her shoulders and drove to work. She was the only one there.

 

[Patrick J]

A friend moved from Connecticut to Atlanta some years ago. It snowed one morning. She shrugged her shoulders and drove to work. She was the only one there.

I drove to NYC in a blizzard in the 80’s.
Of course I was under the influence of something.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Probably not, but I cannot say for sure. They have a website that is mostly accurate. If you can see them, it is worth doing. Yeah, it is a shameless plug for the kid, but I have seen them a couple times when they had a different trumpet player, too. They are amazingly energetic - non stop for an hour or more. And a whole lot of fun for the audience. I suspect they are having a lot of fun playing.

What's the band name again? Thanks!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Probably not, but I cannot say for sure. They have a website that is mostly accurate. If you can see them, it is worth doing. Yeah, it is a shameless plug for the kid, but I have seen them a couple times when they had a different trumpet player, too. They are amazingly energetic - non stop for an hour or more. And a whole lot of fun for the audience. I suspect they are having a lot of fun playing.

What's the band name again? Thanks!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I sold the Pro-V! Listed it 4 places, with varying prices. It sold prettyy quickly on reverb.
If anyone's interest in a summary of my experience, I'll be happy to post, but don't want to waste bandwidth if I'm the only newb to this aspect.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Of possible intrest to my Thunderbird brothers a remix of my favorite JOHNNY SMOKE song. The entire album has been remixed and mastered, the original suffered from our own amateur production. The track features my '68 Thunderbird II through my '72 Marshall Major and a 1x15 Peavey Black Widow cabinet, miced with a AKG D112. The Major sounds a little sick on this track, pre amp tubes needed replacing but we decided that we like the really raunchy tone.
Listen to NOWHERE by JOHNNY SMOKE on #SoundCloud

Love it. And yeah, dig the bass tone!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Thanks for thinking of me Larry! I am a fan of that genre for a number of reasons. I started out on a solid-body bass made in Japan in '66. It wasn't a Teisco, but I remember them being on the wall when I chose my first bass. (a Stadium, also badged St. George) The thing about those '60s guitars/basses is that there were literally hundreds of different designs then. It was the boom-years for inventive catering to a huge market of young aspiring musicians. (like me!) I love studying them and have favorites, including a couple that I own. For anyone interested in them, I think you just have to be drawn to that particular design/look to begin with. Then you have to make sure it is sound and adjustable (neck straight mostly) as they can be set-up for playing and they sound surprisingly good. (new) Short-scale basses are becoming more popular today and these are mostly short-scale. They are really fun to play and transport more easily being smaller. Some will go for more than others as like anything there is a 'collectors' market, but some are affordable out there. I think it's best to be able to do work on it yourself as they will inevitably need a little work to get playable.

I think I've posted my '66 Teisco Del Rey here before - it's a bit of an anomaly as it's 30" scale but the bass is as long as a Jazz bass because of it's design. I don't recall having to do any work on it other than a general cleaning/spraying the pots - it was playable when I got it.
View attachment 3671165
The massive hs is nearly as long as my '64 II. I think the reason they did this is because they sold a baritone version with the same hs & (6) tuners which fill up the space above the A and D tuners on this bass.
View attachment 3671167

I've been a fan of the various Tesico and similar guitars and basses since the mid-60s. I always wanted a Mother of Toilet Seat 4 pickup guitar from Lafayette but could never afford it back then.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Everything goes with tube distortion!

Opera?

 

[Instagator]

I sold the Pro-V! Listed it 4 places, with varying prices. It sold prettyy quickly on reverb.
If anyone's interest in a summary of my experience, I'll be happy to post, but don't want to waste bandwidth if I'm the only newb to this aspect.

Please post.I have some things that are not moving here. I've read the rules and created an account.Just haven't listed yet. Thanks.

 

[Bassmike62]

I've been using it as a backup and for some detuned material pretty regularly and really like it, the neck is bigger than any of my Gibsons and for me that means I play it a little less. Don't get me wrong, it's wonderful bass and def a keeper but it's not a Gibson, the neck on my '89 just kills and Lull pickups have a much different, fuller tone, the '76s are so unto themselves, the Epi is nowhere near them for playability or tone. It may sound like I don't care for it but that's not true, it's just different and I like that about it very much - Just as I like my Greco, Jackson, Orville and Lull.

Have you posted a recent family pic ?

 

[Gaolee]

Yes except this time it was 5”, so the city ground to a complete halt.
And it was -10 Celsius for a few days

Seattle is worse that way. When it snows here, YouTube fills up with drivers doing dumb things and sliding down hills videos. We do this for the rest of the world's entertainment.

 

[Gaolee]

What's the band name again? Thanks!

Orgone

ORGŌNE // California Soul

 

[PillO]

I sold the Pro-V! Listed it 4 places, with varying prices. It sold prettyy quickly on reverb.
If anyone's interest in a summary of my experience, I'll be happy to post, but don't want to waste bandwidth if I'm the only newb to this aspect.

I'm interested. Which price moved it, how painful was the experience?

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Please post.I have some things that are not moving here. I've read the rules and created an account.Just haven't listed yet. Thanks.

Research suggested I try CraigsList & Facebook Marketplace first, with Reverb a close second. Ebay was everyone's last choice- including mine.
Obvs I put it in the TB classifieds first. I started at $550 and dropped the price to $500 after a day or two, hoping to move it quickly to someone I know (at least virtually). With no bites, I set up a Craigslist and FB Marketplace ad. After 2-3 more days, I set up a Reverb ad. I didn't pay for FB boosts, Reverb bumps, etc. Shipping was quoted at either actual cost or $50, depending on the site, and is in addition to the prices below.
TB class.: $500
CraigsList: $550
FB Market: $550
Reverb: $600
In less than 48 hours, I had an offer at Reverb of $525. Rather than haggle, I took it. The buyer paid in <24 hours, and the package has been dropped off at a UPS pickup site.
With shipping, the buyer paid $575. After actual shipping cost (just over $50) and Reverb's charges, I should net just over $500, which is what I paid for the Pro-V to begin with, including shipping.

I re-used the packaging that @DWLANG used for the VP I bought from him, along with a bit more stuffing I had laying around (not from Thanksgiving) due to the smaller case.

Next time, I'll still list it in the TB classifieds, but otherwise I will likely just go straight to Reverb unless it's something totally mainstream- which seems unlikely in my case.