Thunderbird Club

[GBassNorth]

Totally agree on The Classic Pro. Not sayin it's a bad thing. But G, you did hit it on it sounding like a modern Gibby and the overlap.

Just doing my best to enable a fellow TBird addict to venture further into this dementia we call Thunderbird bliss.

What I didn't tell him was that he'll next need to purchase a Goth because it'll bring yet a different sound to the mix. And then he'll need to add a bicentennial for the same reason, followed by a 60's NR and a Studio and an Eppi PJ NR, and a....
...well you get the drift, no matter what you have, there's always something you don't have.

 

[MCF]

I hated Pro-steels. They are bass and treble with no midrange (OK there is some, but you have to crank the mid-range on the amp to get a balanced sound).
I have Fat Beams on my midtown. They sound great on that bass, I have never considered them for a Thunderbird.
I loved NYXLs on my Thunderbird. But with so many strings to try, I haven't gone back.
Black Beauties are great. They are a bit grippy. If you can get over that, they sound great, have a tame top end and last forever.



I had thought I had seen those specs on their website at one point but in a place you wouldn't think of looking. I could be mistaken. You can always ask the string guru - although now I see that @SLaPiNFuNK has been banned!?

Huh. Wonder what that’s about. His posts are generally pretty helpful IME and I’m still a customer.

 

[PillO]

Just doing my best to enable a fellow TBird addict to venture further into this dementia we call Thunderbird bliss.

What I didn't tell him was that he'll next need to purchase a Goth because it'll bring yet a different sound to the mix. And then he'll need to add a bicentennial for the same reason, followed by a 60's NR and a Studio and an Eppi PJ NR, and a....
...well you get the drift, no matter what you have, there's always something you don't have.

And you need one tuned to B standard and one tuned to D standard or drop D...

 

[StephnG]

 

[JIO]

Me attempting any tech work to an instrument, is like............. i'll just say a disaster waiting to happen.
If they can be done cheaply by someone, then yes.

I wish I could recall where I saw it, but someone dipped the pu (coils) into hot wax and it solved the problem. I imagine there is a tutorial on line.

 

[PillO]

Huh. Wonder what that’s about. His posts are generally pretty helpful IME and I’m still a customer.

Yeah, no idea. And I too am a customer. Terrific service.

 

[dagrev]

this dementia we call Thunderbird bliss....no matter what you have, there's always something you don't have.

Word.

Word nothing. Paragraph!

 

[StephnG]

 

[JIO]

...well you get the drift, no matter what you have, there's always something you don't have.

quality (nothing to do with $) over quantity

 

[MCF]

I somehow missed this until today. Sad news. He brought lots of enjoyment to the adolescent me. As I know he did to many of you.
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/rip-mort-drucker.1456781/

 

[JIO]

I somehow missed this until today. Sad news. He brought lots of enjoyment to the adolescent me. As I know he did to many of you.
RIP Mort Drucker

For sure - he was the best. Out of the many, this is one I remember - "the Cartwheels!"

 

[TBird1958]

Any have experience with a tokai thunderbird? If so, how is it?

They're not easy to find, from what I gather they are on par with an Epiphone standard bolt on neck model. A Japanese Birds go, I'd look for an Orville, Greco, ESP or Epiphone Elitist.

Tell if you think those ChinaBuckers are just a tad micro-phonic. Mine are.

No problems with mine, they're reasonably good sounding, some speculate that they're the same as an Epi 760, having both, I'm doubtful.

 

[JJR58]

They're not easy to find, from what I gather they are on par with an Epiphone standard bolt on neck model. A Japanese Birds go, I'd look for an Orville, Greco, ESP or Epiphone Elitist.





No problems with mine, they're reasonably good sounding, some speculate that they're the same as an Epi 760, having both, I'm doubtful.

I love their inherent tone. So unless i'm doing something wrong.....

 

[RedVee]

I’m still on the Hi-Beams
DR Hi-Beam I mean

 

[RedVee]

I’ve used my JC for jazz gigs where I’m sitting down. For sure that’s a big body with hard corners, but it doesn’t bother me that much.
Feedback has been an issue when I’m in a small rehearsal room, and cranked up. I played a reggae gig in a big pub with it and that was fine. The sound man said it sounded better than my J...

would be easier I guess than an Acoustic with that deep body

Yeah. Hate sets that do that too. A stupid gimmick that only real hardcore stoners appreciated so they didn’t have to get up every 15 minutes or so.

was that for those old turntables that you could line 4 or 5 records up on?

re Heavy Metal. I don’t know what that is, Not after Jethro Tull won the Grammy.

 

[bylar13]

Here is another new tune.

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[Engle]

would be easier I guess than an Acoustic with that deep body
Oh yeah! I have a Michael Kelly Dragonfly. That thing has hips!
.

 

[Engle]

Here is another new tune.

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Love that man! Be nice to have the bass about 3dB up.

 

[Gaolee]

I don't even see the other bass due to the beautiful Flamingo. That just looks so good. If it sounded like a Jazz bass I'd still love it. Fortunately I know it doesn't.

I get to play it whenever it seems like a good idea. That is pretty often.

 

[Toptube]

I love stainless steel strings. And I love stainless steel strings on my Lollar TB pickups.

I think the best all around stainless string right now, are DR Lowrider stainless. They have it all, in tone. They feel good. And while they aren't a balanced tension set, they feel more balanced than some other brands. They sound fantastic with my Lollar TB pickups.

Some other great choices are:

Rotosound Swingbass SB66 *(these are the classic roto steels everyone raves about).
DR HIgh Beams. These will seem a little too juiced in the highs, new from the pack. But, give them time. They last awhile because of that. Fat Beams have an interesting, rounded, airy, mid range tone. But I find their bottom to be anemic, they feel smaller than advertised, and their balance and tension is not great for me.
GHS Super steels are a bit lacking in midrange. But, they have a nice grinding tone to them. They feel really smooth. And GHS sells most of their strings as balanced tension sets by default, nowadays. I'm actually going to revisit these, as I have never played them since they switched to balanced. I had them on a shortscale Danelectro for years and loved them for that bass.

And a special note on Dunlop Superbright steels:

The tone is awesome. They have a very nice mid range character which makes staccato styles that much more fun. They are very flexible and should pull on the neck less, than many strings. However, I stopped using Superbrights due to quality issues, pack after pack. YMMV