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Thunderbird Club

I was contributing to another thread about song outros that make you turn the volume up and this was one of my suggestions. Their bass player, Floyd London, wielded a Thunderbird and the outro, well, you’ll hear it when it gets there...

Club anthem, anyone?



Really liked this band.
 
Did you buy?
I did. You are an enabler. And thank you. Saw it and it was around my target of $425.00 for just the bass. It has the case and the shipping was an extra $60.00, which is low.

It’s what I’ve been looking for in a VP. An early one from ‘17, in decent shape with a rich, dark rosewood board and Wilkenson tuners. It’ll get new knobs and be played as is until I get it refinished in PB. The seller and I have already exchanged emails. He put new Pro Steels (will be the first try of those for me) on it when he took it in as a trade and did a setup. He’ll be shipping it tomorrow AM.
 
Good price with a case and shipping at “only” $60.00.
Per the Guitar dater project:
It’s an early one.
Your guitar was made in
Indonesia
on September, 2017
Production Number: 559

it is no longer available. It looks to be a prime candidate to have refinished in Pelham Blue. New knobs will be ordered.
Congrats!
Black isn’t too often my favorite guitar color (the Black Beauty Les Paul being a notable exception), but these do look cool. Can’t wait to see it in blue, tho.
 
I did. You are an enabler. And thank you. Saw it and it was around my target of $425.00 for just the bass. It has the case and the shipping was an extra $60.00, which is low.

It’s what I’ve been looking for in a VP. An early one from ‘17, in decent shape with a rich, dark rosewood board and Wilkenson tuners. It’ll get new knobs and be played as is until I get it refinished in PB. The seller and I have already exchanged emails. He put new Pro Steels (will be the first try of those for me) on it when he took it in as a trade and did a setup. He’ll be shipping it tomorrow AM.
I noticed the nice dark fretboard as well..
 
Might look something like this some day? (Other than the bridge, tuners, and TRC)
81BEF72E-0246-40E6-BBFE-9353D526F4E3.jpeg
 
Might look something like this some day? (Other than the bridge, tuners, and TRC)
View attachment 3850197

That’s the plan. Once I saw what you had done to the JC, I was a goner. What had been an in the back of my mind future project is becoming reality. From the pics, the saddles appear to have adjustment left in them both directions. The few chips should be easy for the refinisher to deal with. I’m going to order knobs; leaning towards the black and silver and may swap the TR cover for one with silver script. We’ll see.
 
That’s the plan. Once I saw what you had done to the JC, I was a goner. What had been an in the back of my mind future project is becoming reality. From the pics, the saddles appear to have adjustment left in them both directions. The few chips should be easy for the refinisher to deal with. I’m going to order knobs; leaning towards the black and silver and may swap the TR cover for one with silver script. We’ll see.
That’s what I would do if I were (and I may in the future) to refinish my ebony VP....but for the time being, I’m happy with her being my “Blackbird”
Just don’t be a poser and put a “Gibson” TRC on under the guise of “I didn’t like the color”
8D0711A0-AB7F-4C8F-A468-03B61F932F30.jpeg
 
I did. You are an enabler. And thank you. Saw it and it was around my target of $425.00 for just the bass. It has the case and the shipping was an extra $60.00, which is low.

It’s what I’ve been looking for in a VP. An early one from ‘17, in decent shape with a rich, dark rosewood board and Wilkenson tuners. It’ll get new knobs and be played as is until I get it refinished in PB. The seller and I have already exchanged emails. He put new Pro Steels (will be the first try of those for me) on it when he took it in as a trade and did a setup. He’ll be shipping it tomorrow AM.
Oh my! I am truly happy for you.:hyper:
You are going to love this bass! Get ready for a loud punchy bass! Those strings are going to be very lively on an already lively bass, but may be something you like. And that case is really nice as well. I love mine and carry all my Thunderbirds in it. Not too heavy or bulky like the Gibson cases.
 
That’s what I would do if I were (and I may in the future) to refinish my ebony VP....but for the time being, I’m happy with her being my “Blackbird”
Just don’t be a poser and put a “Gibson” TRC on under the guise of “I didn’t like the color”
View attachment 3850284
Never would do that!

There is nothing wrong with Epis. And it’s not like I want anyone to think it was this when it wasn’t. This is the general idea, but I’m not going to do covers or a tug bar.
92927FF9-24CC-4F4E-8141-5F356CFCE43E.jpeg
 
Roto report on the Gibson. More punch but still pretty bland, even with the Rotos. Hard to figure. When I set my Ampeg on mid #3 (800 Hz) I cranked it to 8.5 to 9 (out of 10) to get some mid punch and bite! I've never had mids set anywhere near that high before. Sounds crazy with Rotos on. Still sounded somewhat scooped (big lows and highs) even at that really so with both PUs on full. Most of the time I just used the neck or the neck with the bridge rolled off 1/4 or so. I know you can get a scooped tone to some extent with both fully on, but it kind of disappears in the mix when playing with fingers. The PUs are up about as far as they can go, and going down I would think would take the edge it does have off a little. I'm really perplexed and want this wonderful bass to have some punch. Stupid question: Could the bridge PU be in backwards and out of phase? I'm ignorant here. One reason I ask is that I find the lows really go away with both PUs, and I'm wanting to add bass to get that big sound back. Kind of shocked since the modern PUs are supposed to be a little heavy in the lows and low mids.

Next string try might be TI Jazz Rounds. Tiny strings, but huge thick tone.
 
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Never would do that!

There is nothing wrong with Epis. And it’s not like I want anyone to think it was this when it wasn’t. This is the general idea, but I’m not going to do covers or a tug bar.
View attachment 3850317
That looks nice...though the color there looks lighter than PB?
The only thing I’m not sure of on my PB Jackbass is the pickguard. Black (as in the pix) or white? I have both...
 
Roto report on the Gibson. More punch but still pretty bland, even with the Rotos. Hard to figure. When I set my Ampeg on mid #3 (800 Hz) I cranked it to 8.5 to 9 (out of 10) to get some mid punch and bite! I've never had mids set anywhere near that high before. Sounds crazy with Rotos on. Still sounded somewhat scooped (big lows and highs) even at that really so with both PUs on full. Most of the time I just used the neck or the neck with the bridge rolled off 1/4 or so. I know you can get a scooped tone to some extent with both fully on, but it kind of disappears in the mix when playing with fingers. The PUs are up about as far as they can go, and going down I would think would take the edge it does have off a little. I'm really perplexed and want this wonderful bass to have some punch. Stupid question: Could the bridge PU be in backwards and out of phase? I'm ignorant here. One reason I ask is that I find the lows really go away with both PUs, and I'm wanting to add bass to get that big sound back. Kind of shocked since the modern PUs are supposed to be a little heavy in the lows and low mids.

Next string try might be TI Jazz Rounds. Tiny strings, but huge thick tone.
definitely sounds electrical, you should get plenty of bottom with those pups...did you buy new? wouldn’t be the first time for a miswired pup..did it ever work right?
 
definitely sounds electrical, you should get plenty of bottom with those pups...did you buy new? wouldn’t be the first time for a miswired pup..did it ever work right?
Each PU sounds what I would think would be normal individually. Neck sounds pretty good by itself. Bu no, it's not new, it's an '06. Just new to me, so I know, but assume it's always sounded that way. Sounds ok at home, but in a live setting it just seems to have highs and lows and a little nasal honk on the D and G, otherwise becomes a bass blur. Sounds more like a Jazz in some ways than a Thunderbird. At least any I own.