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Thunderbird Club

#148,481
That’s one I built years ago that was way too frickin heavy. I thinned/chambered it to bring down the weight. Used to look like this:
BC269174-2BAC-4167-95AC-CDC356E56CB5.jpeg
AFFF71DD-E17F-400B-8EF2-B5E3372FA34D.jpeg
8620E3CE-1EBD-49C6-8003-C2911F792E0E.jpeg


And then:
0FCED3A7-1415-43B8-BF0A-41D4F5EAD0A3.jpeg

981C3D3A-8314-4F18-BB03-F2C732BF09E8.jpeg

Presently:
86B687D4-E382-47F0-BF0B-2144E1730D0A.jpeg
1B16E306-C557-4B4F-A5D3-52BB349305E1.jpeg


The center raised section is presently a “cap” that’s held on with screws. I did that so I can try different pickups/positions. I’m pretty happy with the Chinabucker, but I might experiment with a Mudbucker that I have.
At some point I’ll glue on a maple center and do a nitro finish.

kringle77 said:
Hey, what is that 21 fret bolt on bird in the photo.
Click to expand...
 
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#148,482
Engle said:
That’s one I built years ago that was way too frickin heavy. I thinned/chambered it to bring down the weight. Used to look like this:
View attachment 3769564 View attachment 3769565 View attachment 3769566

And then:
View attachment 3769567
View attachment 3769570
Presently:
View attachment 3769574 View attachment 3769575

The center raised section is presently a “cap” that’s held on with screws. I did that so I can try different pickups/positions. I’m pretty happy with the Chinabucker, but I might experiment with a Mudbucker that I have.
At some point I’ll glue on a maple center and do a nitro finish.
Click to expand...
The cap bolts on, if not the neck. Gorgeous.
 
Last edited:
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#148,485
GBassNorth said:
Hey, I have a paddle too...
View attachment 3769000
1968 all original, I'm the second owner. Don't think I'd ever consider hitting someone with it, might scratch the finish.;)
Click to expand...
That is nice! I’ll grudgingly admit the tort looks great. I had a ‘68 Mustang back in the day. CBS hadn’t quite yet figured out how to screw the company up.
 
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#148,487
Nocturnal said:
That looks incredibly clean!
Click to expand...
Gaolee said:
Mine is a ten year old Road Worn. It came from the factory battered, and I have enjoyed not worrying about bangs, dents, and scratches. It is no longer a fake relic. It is truly a scarred warrior now. So, it is the weapon of choice for the zombie apocalypse.
Click to expand...
My '68 P bass is in excellent condition (Elderly's would list it as EC-). It has some player wear to the base coat, finish checking, fading and the usual pick guard shrinkage but overall doesn't look anywhere near it's 52 year old age. Still plays beautifully but has been sidelined for several years now that I'm more focused on Gibson sounds.

Engle said:
That’s one I built years ago that was way too frickin heavy. I thinned/chambered it to bring down the weight. Used to look like this:
View attachment 3769564 View attachment 3769565 View attachment 3769566

And then:
View attachment 3769567
View attachment 3769570
Presently:
View attachment 3769574 View attachment 3769575

The center raised section is presently a “cap” that’s held on with screws. I did that so I can try different pickups/positions. I’m pretty happy with the Chinabucker, but I might experiment with a Mudbucker that I have.
At some point I’ll glue on a maple center and do a nitro finish.
Click to expand...
That's an impressive transition and excellent forethought on the raised center cap. Have you played around much with pup positions on the bird?
 
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#148,488
GBassNorth said:
My '68 P bass is in excellent condition (Elderly's would list it as EC-). It has some player wear to the base coat, finish checking, fading and the usual pick guard shrinkage but overall doesn't look anywhere near it's 52 year old age. Still plays beautifully but has been sidelined for several years now that I'm more focused on Gibson sounds.


That's an impressive transition and excellent forethought on the raised center cap. Have you played around much with pup positions on the bird?
Click to expand...
Strings on the P?
 
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#148,489
Chucky Stiletti said:
what mods did you do to the Valve Jr?
Click to expand...
Swapped out a few resistors, modified a circuit, I don't remember what all else. I think I changed some capacitors as well. There was a mod to induce a form of sag, but I didn't do that one. It's been a while. It made a bit of difference, but I'm not convinced it was worth the effort for a person like me who does not have golden ears.
 
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#148,490
MCF said:
That is nice! I’ll grudgingly admit the tort looks great. I had a ‘68 Mustang back in the day. CBS hadn’t quite yet figured out how to screw the company up.
Click to expand...
Thx, IMHO tort looks at home on a FSO but not much else and also seems to go well with aged white. You're also spot on about CBS, by about '69 or '70 they had pretty much vanquished all essential pre CBS talent and used up any left over inventory. I have a '74 mustang Guitar (not bass), it's very nice but I sure wish it was a '68 or older.
 
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#148,493
GBassNorth said:
She's currently sporting a set of D'Addero Chromes, 45-100 flatwounds, that I put on about a year ago and have only seen a few hours of action. Sounds sweet, will sound even better once the strings break in a bit. LOL - however, that might be years down the road.
Click to expand...
The match made in heaven. That’s what my humble MIM P wears and I couldn’t be happier with how it plays and sounds.
 
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#148,494
That's an impressive transition and excellent forethought on the raised center cap. Have you played around much with pup positions on the bird?[/QUOTE said:
Thanks - I created a lot of sawdust in the process! It sure is nice to have made it into a bass I can pickup and enjoy playing for a whole set.
I haven’t tried any other pickup positions. That one sure works well with RS66s.
Click to expand...
 
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#148,498
A few days ago I posted a pic of my black modified Tele-style P-bass here which I call the T2K Mk II. (Tele 2000 - second version) Here's another pic of it. It 'was' heavy ash at 10lbs/2oz so today I "chambered" it, basically filling it full of multi-sized holes under the large '70s Tele-bass style pg. I did it on a friends industrial drill-press. I went down 1" leaving 1/4" at the base of each Forstner bit hole. It is now 9lbs/8oz so I lost 10oz which is pretty good all things considered. My custom builds are all lighter but nine and a half pounds is acceptable. I've yet to test/assess it for any sound/tonal difference but if there is any difference it will most likely be subtle. It's an awesome sounding bass - it's what L2000's are know for.
I kept the pics as thumbnails as they are not of a THUNDERBIRD

32393BE5-D031-4E80-B33A-C279AFC139D2.jpeg CCFE70F2-853E-4E9E-BE7B-8A5ADFE53552_1_201_a.jpeg
 
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