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Thunderbird Club

#152,164
GBassNorth said:
Thanks, That's a really nice offer. First I'm gonna flip through a few different sets of strings that I already have to see what works best on the 2015. I just changed out the Heavy Black Beauties for a set of light gauge La Bella Black Tapewounds. (See my findings below)


Up until about an hour ago I was running Heavy Tapered Black Beauties. They worked pretty good on the 2015 but I was still getting noticeable over saturation on notes above the 12th fret (closer to the pups) even with the pups slammed down to the max. I was also having to deal with the side effects of slamming the pups down all the way - which is a significant drop in volume. The obvious solution for that is to dime the volume knob, but as luck would have it, on the 2015 when you dime the volume you essentially remove the tone knob from the circuit and go full bright, which is not my cup of tea.

My sound goal on this bass is to have it as loud as my other birds, no chorus effect or over saturation on the notes and a full range tone knob, all while maintaining a relatively low action.

I've found that if I keep the volume at 8 or less I get the tone knob functionality I want. And if I raise the neck pup to about 10/32" below the strings I get the volume I want. That's a no go with the Black Beauties. So I took them off and tried a set of light gauge La Bella Black Tapewounds.

The Tapes are much better sounding down to the last fret on each string. Very little if any chorus effect. I did have to loosen my truss rod a half turn because the tapes didn't have as much pull on the headstock as the Heavy BB's. I was also able to lower my saddles quite a bit because of the neck adjustment, the lack of Taper wounds, and the lack of significant magnetic pull on the strings. I'm currently at about 2/32" clearance on the open E string at the 12th fret, which I consider pretty low (the BB's were about twice that high). So far I'm liking these strings on the 2015 more than the Heavy BB's. If after a few weeks I continue to like them I'll probably flip out the light gauge Tapes for a regular gauge set, which will also call for some nut work.

If I had to sum up the 2015 I'd say unlike my VP or Anniversary birds, this bass is not a work horse, it's a thoroughbred. Every part of this bass significantly interacts with every other part of the bass. When doing setups, even the smallest change in one parameter can completely undo another parameter. However, once you get everything in harmony it's a beast. The light gauge Tapes are definitely very close to perfection on this bass, maybe bested by a regular gauge set, time will tell.


I loved Cobalts on my VP but was really bummed when they just didn't sound right on the 2015. I run XL Round Nickels on my EB5 (it has the same pups as the 2015) with pretty good luck. The only reason I haven't tried them on the 2015 is that I'm trying not to duplicate what I can already get on another bass.
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Great information.
 
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#152,165
Brothers of metal:
Let us drink to the power drink to the sound
Thunder and metal are shaking the ground
Drink to your brothers who are never to fall
We're all brothers of metal here in the hall
Our hearts are filled with metal and masters we have none
And we will die for metal, metal heals, my son
TC_y_SG.jpg
 

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#152,168
How were your T-Bird experiences while recording?

We are going to record some demo songs and had a first talk with the recording engineer/producer a few days ago. He seemed a little sceptical because of "birds lacking highs" and rather liked to record with a P or J. I for myself am aware that birds are not known for their highs, especially if you are a member of the rare fingerstyle bird players like me. Anyway, I have always liked the sound in our band situation (early 80s style metal).

Given that this is my first time studio experience, I'm a little irrited about this comment. Can anybody share his experiences with birds in a similar context with me?
 
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#152,171
Scheme said:
How were your T-Bird experiences while recording?

We are going to record some demo songs and had a first talk with the recording engineer/producer a few days ago. He seemed a little sceptical because of "birds lacking highs" and rather liked to record with a P or J. I for myself am aware that birds are not known for their highs, especially if you are a member of the rare fingerstyle bird players like me. Anyway, I have always liked the sound in our band situation (early 80s style metal).

Given that this is my first time studio experience, I'm a little irrited about this comment. Can anybody share his experiences with birds in a similar context with me?
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Did some demos once for a guy where he picked the musicians (most from the band I was in at the time), and the instruments he wanted us to play. In my case it was a '55 Pbass because they they have their own sound and that's what he had in his head, and paying for. The engineer was bound and determined to get it to sound like something else. I know they are trying to fit the sonic pieces together and that's not always easy, but a good number just have Pbass and Jbasses on the brain because they are so common--and they know they won't have much adjusting to do. Some, not all.
Get an old 60s Thunderbird (expensive)--or a Epiphone Vintage Pro. They are the closest thing going to the originals at a fraction of the cost. And they are not lacking in bright (if that's what you want out of them)!

I have never attempted recording with a Thunderbird, but I think a few people tried it before with pretty good success.;)
 
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#152,173
Scheme said:
How were your T-Bird experiences while recording?

We are going to record some demo songs and had a first talk with the recording engineer/producer a few days ago. He seemed a little sceptical because of "birds lacking highs" and rather liked to record with a P or J. I for myself am aware that birds are not known for their highs, especially if you are a member of the rare fingerstyle bird players like me. Anyway, I have always liked the sound in our band situation (early 80s style metal).

Given that this is my first time studio experience, I'm a little irrited about this comment. Can anybody share his experiences with birds in a similar context with me?
Click to expand...
If it was my/our music being recorded, I'd tell the engineer to work with it. We're paying you. It's my bass that gives the sound I want. If it was a hire job, I'd tell him/her I can't play a P-the neck's too wide. But, then again, I'm a GOF and I'm not changing now. ( I can play a J neck but I'd rather not sound like :poop:)
 
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#152,174
Chucky Stiletti said:
Pretty stoked, just found me a matched sextet of GE these...:hyper:
View attachment 3830509

For this bad boy..
View attachment 3830515
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Good morning Chucky and happy Saturday. The matching set of tubes is a great find, and I bet sound sweet in that head. I have to ask, is that your TR6 in the background? Those are too cool! I have lusted after those, and XKEs since I knew what cars were. Anyway, thanks for bringing a smile to this ol face. Take care.
 
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#152,175
Scheme said:
How were your T-Bird experiences while recording?

We are going to record some demo songs and had a first talk with the recording engineer/producer a few days ago. He seemed a little sceptical because of "birds lacking highs" and rather liked to record with a P or J. I for myself am aware that birds are not known for their highs, especially if you are a member of the rare fingerstyle bird players like me. Anyway, I have always liked the sound in our band situation (early 80s style metal).

Given that this is my first time studio experience, I'm a little irrited about this comment. Can anybody share his experiences with birds in a similar context with me?
Click to expand...

I would ask myself if maybe the producer isn't up for the job if he can't make your bass sound good in the mix.
 
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#152,178
flashgod said:
View attachment 3831512 View attachment 3831514 Finally changed the original bridge of my Epibird and installed a Babicz bridge. Easy replacement. I always disliked the muddy sound which was caused by the imperfection of the bridge. The massive Babicz bridge with the right saddle length is a big improvement.
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That bridge looks really good on a Thunderbird, it fits, is functional and aesthetically pleasing - love it!
 
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#152,179
Thumper said:
Sorry to see that. I guess my plan to have the body re-drilled is a good one. What are you going to do now?
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I sent e-mail to the store where I got my VP and ask them to contact Epi for a spare parts. I also sent few emails to couple other stores. Right no waiting for their response.
If I can't get replacement parts I start hunting for screw and nut that looks exactly like original.
New screw and nut would actually be the better and probably cheaper solution then new bridge. That way I can choose which way I want a saddle.
 
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#152,180
tom_t said:
View attachment 3831269
Not the best quality picture, but you can see what happened.

So no, you can not flip saddle on your Epi VP.

You probably knew that. I learned it today.
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Ugh. A lot of us suspected. Sorry that happened.
But... you can get new bolts and nuts. Maybe Loctite them.
 
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