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Thunderbird Club

#140,621
Miles_ONeal said:
I beat myself up at times about finger noise on the strings when I'm not playing flats. I just realized tonight that Nikki of Silversun Pickups- who's apparently picky about her sound, especially on record- has clear noise when sliding on "Widow's Weeds". I'll keep working on minimizing it, but if Nikki can put out an album with that, I'm OK. :headphone:
Speaking of Nikki, she has tone for dayyyssss... :drool:
And I notice that she loves her some Ampeg refrigerator... :eek:
And of course THUNDERBIRDS. :bassist:
She won't even try basses that other manufacturers offer her. :wideyed:
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I like finger noise. It's real. Bob Mould gets a ton on this track and I always liked it a lot.

 
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#140,624
rodv66 said:
Rosewood or maple? Why choose?View attachment 3676833
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So, for me it's the rosewood. But, I like the blue better than the red and I don't think the light colored fretboard goes with the darker colored body very well. But I'll also temper this with the fact that I tend to choose my basses based on looks over function. For me it's all about form, I ride a custom chopper that's stretched out to a ridiculous length, I play basses like Warlocks, Mockingbirds and Thunderbirds which I'm told all have neck-dive issues and none of this bothers me in the least. So as the Italians say after giving advice, "TF do I know anyways?" :roflmao: :laugh: :roflmao:
 
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#140,626
gaffster said:
Here's a story. One band member was telling me of a guitarist who was playing music for a living but unfortunately had his double-wide burn down to ashes one night while he was playing in a club. He was homeless with just a guitar to his name. Several local musicians "banded" together and put on a concert to raise money to get the musician back on his feet. Apparently they raised about $1K, not bad at all. Unfortunately he didn't get the point and used the money to buy a second guitar.
Click to expand...
He belongs in this club.
 
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#140,627
BklynKen said:
I like finger noise. It's real. Bob Mould gets a ton on this track and I always liked it a lot.

Click to expand...


That sounds very deliberate, intentionally part of the sound. Maybe not, but that's how it comes off to me, which is different. But as I'm noticing more and having more pointed out, I'm rapidly getting more comfy with it. Thanks.
 
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#140,628
TerribleTim68 said:
So, for me it's the rosewood. But, I like the blue better than the red and I don't think the light colored fretboard goes with the darker colored body very well. But I'll also temper this with the fact that I tend to choose my basses based on looks over function. For me it's all about form, I ride a custom chopper that's stretched out to a ridiculous length, I play basses like Warlocks, Mockingbirds and Thunderbirds which I'm told all have neck-dive issues and none of this bothers me in the least. So as the Italians say after giving advice, "TF do I know anyways?" :roflmao: :laugh: :roflmao:
Click to expand...
Form is the function! Style over comfort! Shallow is a virtue around here.
 
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#140,630
Count Bassie said:
...ask John Paul-Jones.
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Live? I generally associate his album tone with all the highs rolled off. He's one of the influences on why I like to play my std with the flats.

On a side note (What? In TB?), one of the things I always loved about "Ramble On" is how it opens with focused energy on the vocals, guitar, and drums, and JPJ's just rambling across the hills and through the vales on that bass. (Insert heart eyes (ears? both!) emoji)
 
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#140,632
Miles_ONeal said:
...
We’ll see but I may eventually place the std with a VP.
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I did NOT see that coming. I was perfectly content with the standard Epi, just in case I hadn't already raved about it enough. I'm still a big fan. But to even consider it. What have you people done to me? :help:
 
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#140,633
Gaolee said:
Form is the function! Style over comfort! Shallow is a virtue around here.
Click to expand...

Interestingly, I initially was drawn to rosewood for appearance, because I knew nothing about guitars,. I had no idea that the wood would impact playing. In my youthful naivete, I assumed they would all play the same. So I started on rosewood, and it felt good. But when I would try maple necks, I could NOT get along with them.

Years later I found some maple necked guitars I liked, but I never could play as fast (not that I could play fast). How much of that was conditioning vs how my body interacted with the wood, I can't say. But to this day, maple is my least favorite fingerboard material and rosewood is my favorite.
 
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#140,634
the wall...
B6B184AE-6ACA-44C5-990F-99CC40B258E5.jpeg
 
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#140,638
Who are your influences on tone?

I was thinking about this after the thoughts on VP vs std. The people who I knew influenced my tone were 60s/70s rockers such as John Paul Jones, Geezer Butler, Berry Oakley, and Phil Lesh. Phil was the only one of those who regularly played with more mids than lows.

But listening to Ben E King's "Stand by Me", I started poking around. Lloyd Trotman played double bass on that, and the influence was clear. Based on the meager Wikipedia article, I realized Trotman was a monster, playing on a TON of the music that influenced me before I got into harder rock/early metal, back when so many of the acts were black. From the Drifters and Sam Cooke to James Brown, the Isley Brothers, and Jackie Wilson, there was Trotman.

He didn't impact my playing style a lot (AFAIK); I rarely get as percussive as his double bass. But I can hear some compositional influence, if not nearly as much as the others I named above. But he may have been the godfather of the tone I've gone for on bass.
 
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