Thunderbird Club

[GBassNorth]

just a thought, would she like The Hanging Tree from the Hunger Games movie ?

Perhaps try New Year's Day (U2). A song that the bass carries, is easy for most people (even millennials) to recognize, and is easier to play on a THUNDERBIRD that many might think. The verse is R & 3rd through Am C Em and the chorus pedals 8ths.

Both good suggestions, I'll run them past her.
BTW - she's decided she likes slanted tuners (like my Warwick's), wants a reversed (NR style) peg head and some kind of skull pick guard and knobs. Looks like I'll be hacking up the FrankenGoth tomorrow.

 

[RedVee]

Both good suggestions, I'll run them past her.
BTW - she's decided she likes slanted tuners (like my Warwick's), wants a reversed (NR style) peg head and some kind of skull pick guard and knobs. Looks like I'll be hacking up the FrankenGoth tomorrow.

they sound appropriate changes for a FrankenGoth

 

[tom_t]

So two weeks ago I had a chance to test my Epi VP jamming with a band for the first time. Two guitars with humbucker pickups and drums. I was playing through my Rumble 500 V3 combo. It was also the first time my band mates saw my Thunderbird. Last time we jam I was still playing Sandberg Electra TT4. It's hard to say whether they like Epi better, but it was sitting nice in the mix right from the start and there was no problem to cut through when needed. Just for a record I have Rotos 77 on it and play mostly fingerstyle. I had a blast, but jamming from 2pm till midnight have make me feel those 10 lb 6 oz. I really need to get a better strap because I like to play standing. When play with a pick I notice that I might have set my action too low.
I know it's personal preference and depends a lot on you playing technique, but just from curiosity what is your action measured on 12th fret for playing pick and fingerstyle?

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Perhaps try New Year's Day (U2). A song that the bass carries, is easy for most people (even millennials) to recognize, and is easier to play on a THUNDERBIRD that many might think. The verse is R & 3rd through Am C Em and the chorus pedals 8ths.

Awesome Tune..

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

 

[Bassmike62]

Perhaps try New Year's Day (U2). A song that the bass carries, is easy for most people (even millennials) to recognize, and is easier to play on a THUNDERBIRD that many might think. The verse is R & 3rd through Am C Em and the chorus pedals 8ths.

NYD plays great on a THUNDERBIRD. My band mates noticed it on that song 2hrs into rehearsal and went "hey man, you got a new bass" ? 1st time I brought the TBird at rehearsal.

 

[GonePlaid]

reminds me of someone but not sure what. Also sounds like a stripped down Traffic on quaaludes.

 

[Border]

Good morning Thunderbird loving sisters and brothers. Well, I am officially not getting up and going to work. I am going in later to pack up my computer and monitors and such to set up at home. Our office has closed and I am the last hold out to get set up to work from home. The band is on hiatus and I already miss getting together for rehearsal. I did print a few things off the transcription page to work on, including two versions of Soulshine. My guitarist friend talked about he and I playing it at his church so I said I would look at it, before all of this started. Glad to report Miss You and Sledgehammer are coming together well. I have been getting up and going to work for most of the last 40 years, this self isolation is going to take a little getting used to, but am looking at it as a great reason to spend more time with my Birds. Stay well everyone.

 

[JJR58]

Good morning Thunderbird loving sisters and brothers. Well, I am officially not getting up and going to work. I am going in later to pack up my computer and monitors and such to set up at home. Our office has closed and I am the last hold out to get set up to work from home. The band is on hiatus and I already miss getting together for rehearsal. I did print a few things off the transcription page to work on, including two versions of Soulshine. My guitarist friend talked about he and I playing it at his church so I said I would look at it, before all of this started. Glad to report Miss You and Sledgehammer are coming together well. I have been getting up and going to work for most of the last 40 years, this self isolation is going to take a little getting used to, but am looking at it as a great reason to spend more time with my Birds. Stay well everyone.

I'm really digging your Ampeg stack there.

 

[Border]

Thanks JJR58, it is a great sounding rig. I consider myself very lucky to play through it most every evening.

 

[GonePlaid]

Both good suggestions, I'll run them past her.
BTW - she's decided she likes slanted tuners (like my Warwick's), wants a reversed (NR style) peg head and some kind of skull pick guard and knobs. Looks like I'll be hacking up the FrankenGoth tomorrow.

VH-"Runnin' with the Devil"?

 

[Gaolee]

I’m thinking it would be really fun to have a short scale mahogany NR TBird shaped object with one of these in it:
View attachment 3748558

I still haven't got around to putting the Dimarzio One into the bolt-on Thunderbird. It will go up by the neck. Controls will be rewired to VVV. No Tone, no cap. Once that's done, I suppose the other pickups will have to be replaced. Once that's done, the foot thick poly finish might have to be jackhammered off and redone. And the point of all this? Um... I dunno, because it's a TSO and I like it. It cost me $200 with a case back when. Whatever I spend on it will be completely spent, never to be seen again. I have no illusions about it ever being worth a penny more than the original $200 I paid, no matter how much it gets upgraded and changed. Maybe that's part of the joy.

 

[Gaolee]

Not even Geddy is gigging now



That’s only 3.175 mm Mike. 3 mm is nothing.

Says I, not in any danger of needing to open wallet.

We are here to enable. You are doing the work of the club. Everyone needs another Thunderbird.

 

[Gaolee]

So... my daughter found a song she really likes. It's called Blackbird Song and it's from the Walking Dead series. She brought it up on YouTube and asked me to play it. Very simple song, very basic bass line, almost a depressing song, but then again the movie isn't exactly Breakfast at Tiffanys.


After playing it once I handed the (Thunderbird) bass to her and asked her to play it. She was shocked that I'd let her play one of my basses. I told her if she could play the song I'd give the bass to her and we could modify it in any way she wants to personalize it for her. Needless to say, she really got into playing the song, and even preferred to use a pick (she was having problems playing finger style due to her long finger nails). So it looks like the FrankenGoth will have a new owner in the family and may go under the knife again.

Question for the club members here - can you think of any other songs that are along the same vein as the one above and would be easy for a beginner to pick up? I'd like to keep her interest up.

Some of the songs that are on the record Robert Plant and Allison Krause did together have a similar vibe. There are a number of traditional ballads that come from Appalachia that sound somewhat like that.

It's got to feel pretty good to have passed along both bass and Thunderbirds to a new generation. My son has a Thunderbird he messes with, even though he's a trumpet player.

 

[GonePlaid]

Some of the songs that are on the record Robert Plant and Allison Krause did together have a similar vibe. It's got to feel pretty good to have passed along both bass and Thunderbirds to a new generation. My son has a Thunderbird he messes with, even though he's a trumpet player.

TrumpetBird?

 

[Gaolee]

So two weeks ago I had a chance to test my Epi VP jamming with a band for the first time. Two guitars with humbucker pickups and drums. I was playing through my Rumble 500 V3 combo. It was also the first time my band mates saw my Thunderbird. Last time we jam I was still playing Sandberg Electra TT4. It's hard to say whether they like Epi better, but it was sitting nice in the mix right from the start and there was no problem to cut through when needed. Just for a record I have Rotos 77 on it and play mostly fingerstyle. I had a blast, but jamming from 2pm till midnight have make me feel those 10 lb 6 oz. I really need to get a better strap because I like to play standing. When play with a pick I notice that I might have set my action too low.
I know it's personal preference and depends a lot on you playing technique, but just from curiosity what is your action measured on 12th fret for playing pick and fingerstyle?

The action on my bass is around 1/4". Maybe a little more. I tend to like a fairly high action and don't tweak the setup when the weather changes. My fingers aren't especially sensitive to setup.

 

[JJR58]

The action on my bass is around 1/4". Maybe a little more. I tend to like a fairly high action and don't tweak the setup when the weather changes. My fingers aren't especially sensitive to setup.

I'm the complete opposite. I gotta have stupid low action.

 

[Gaolee]

I'm the complete opposite. I gotta have stupid low action.

We even out to be normal. Something like that. The action on my Precision is even higher. It's not like the upright, but it's getting there. The fact that I suck means it doesn't matter that much.

 

[JJR58]

We even out to be normal. Something like that. The action on my Precision is even higher. It's not like the upright, but it's getting there. The fact that I suck means it doesn't matter that much.

From what we've heard with your playing, you don't suck at all.

 

[Count Bassie]

No problem. Go wreck a bike. Voila! New TBird strap.

My kinda thinking!

Now that you mention it, I see them all the time!