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Thunderbird Club

#155,662
KaraQ said:
Absolutely! :)

...but my bank account is worse than a significant other, always not letting me buy all the things :crying:

My goal atm is to save a bit here & there, 'til I've squirreled (is that really a word?) away enough for a '76 bicentennial T-bird. :bassist:
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They tend to be heavy. Mine sure is.
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#155,664
KaraQ said:
No doubt...that headstock looks like it could weigh 5 or 6 lbs on its own! :wideyed:
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The headstock I think looks larger than normal because it's all one color and I think that is a little deceiving. The body is just a massive chunk of wood with no contours. Thicker than the original versions it seems and possibly thicker than the modern Gibson's as well. I have never measured so I'm just going on perception. Whatever the cause, it's significantly heavier than every bass I own--by a fair amount. If I recall, it's in the 11 pound category. It does sound good, however. Some don't like the sidewinder pickups and think they just sound like a "super jazz bass." I wouldn't go there at all, but they do sound a little different from the originals. I'm still experimenting with my newer Gibson, but at this point I think the sidewinders sound better than the modern version Gibson is putting in basses. At least I have not had the trouble dialing in a good tone for me with the '76 like I have with the '06.
 
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#155,665
RedVee said:
Congrats Sergio, welcome and I hope you love the Pro V. I think you’ll find it quite different to the Goth.

PS: sorry Aus & NZ won the Women’s Football World Cup bid over Columbia.

PPS: not really sorry :D
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I am gracious in defeat, specially when it comes to football. It is like a religion in my country. Everytime my country wins, everyone loses grasp of reality. Suddenly election fraud, or corruption, or a heinous crime are no longer there. Defeats keep us in line. So, thank you for helping us stay focused hahaha

OT: I also got a new practice amp to go with my new T-Bird Pro V.

I'll keep you posted.
 
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#155,669
dagrev said:
The headstock I think looks larger than normal because it's all one color and I think that is a little deceiving. The body is just a massive chunk of wood with no contours. Thicker than the original versions it seems and possibly thicker than the modern Gibson's as well. I have never measured so I'm just going on perception. Whatever the cause, it's significantly heavier than every bass I own--by a fair amount. If I recall, it's in the 11 pound category. It does sound good, however. Some don't like the sidewinder pickups and think they just sound like a "super jazz bass." I wouldn't go there at all, but they do sound a little different from the originals. I'm still experimenting with my newer Gibson, but at this point I think the sidewinders sound better than the modern version Gibson is putting in basses. At least I have not had the trouble dialing in a good tone for me with the '76 like I have with the '06.
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I think you're right about the solid color; but they're also somewhat larger than the Epiphone/newer Gibson headstocks, yes? But, smaller than the VP, from what I gather?
 
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#155,670
Good morning and happy TT Bird loving sisters and brothers. Working half a day and driving to the in laws. Wife is going to stay there for a couple weeks. Work has been crazy and I realized I forgot to unplug my five Thunderbird so a battery change when I return. It might have been too much work, or the nightly herbal tea with brother Jim Beam, that made me forget. I am hoping to visit the Clackamas GC while there, first place I ever saw, and tried more than one bird.
I hope everyone has a good Fourth. Stay safe, and stay well.
 

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#155,671
samthebassist24 said:
Hey all! Recently acquired a Gibson Thunderbird for a great price with two known issues: it has a pretty bad hum from both pickups and the case was pretty chewed up. I got a new case and solved that issue, but I’m still trying to figure out what is causing the hum. It hums when it’s in close proximity to electrical wiring and/or lighting and where it’s facing determines how much hum there is. Whenever I touch the strings, the hum doesn’t change. I switched out the stock pickups to a set of brand new Thunderbuckers and the same issue is present, even with the exact same wiring and solder positions that the original pickups had. I checked all of the ground wires and I’m pretty sure they’re where they need to be. I also checked the ground wire that goes to the bridge and that’s in the correct spot as well. Output jack has no issues as well. I’ve played through my friend’s Epi T-Bird (stock bass, no shielding) through the exact same setup I was running my Gibson through and it had virtually no hum. Sorry for the long post, just trying to figure this issue out since I’ve gone to two guitar techs and both said the issue was with the pickups before I switched the pickups out.
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Congrats on your new Thunderbird! And welcome!

You might want to double check that the bridge is, in fact, grounded. One issue that can happen is that if the treble side rear insert has come up, the tiny ground wire (and I do mean tiny) may not be making proper contact with the bridge. This can happen if someone has glued the insert in without making sure the wire is in the correct position to made contact or if the wire becomes covered with glue. Just a thought...
 
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#155,673
KaraQ said:
I think you're right about the solid color; but they're also somewhat larger than the Epiphone/newer Gibson headstocks, yes? But, smaller than the VP, from what I gather?
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Yes, you are correct. The VP headstocks are almost the size of a guitar! It's like the Thunderbird has its own satellite/moon orbiting the planet!
 
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#155,674
KaraQ said:
Absolutely! :)

...but my bank account is worse than a significant other, always not letting me buy all the things :crying:

My goal atm is to save a bit here & there, 'til I've squirreled (is that really a word?) away enough for a '76 bicentennial T-bird. :bassist:
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Go for it when you can! I love my '76s, they sound like no other Bird, it's the real deal and while not as rare as the '60s stuff you're still playing a piece of bass history.

BTW Happy Thunderbird Thursday.

A04ZqzO.jpg
 
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#155,675
KaraQ said:
Absolutely! :)

...but my bank account is worse than a significant other, always not letting me buy all the things :crying:

My goal atm is to save a bit here & there, 'til I've squirreled (is that really a word?) away enough for a '76 bicentennial T-bird. :bassist:
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That is a great goal, but don't let it interfere with acquiring other Thunderbirds in the mean time.
 
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#155,677
Gaolee said:
And those are a colossal PITA to get on and off if you still have the strings on the bass. I don't remove the strings to adjust the truss rod, just loosen them. It's only a matter of time before one of those tiny black screws that are nearly impossible to handle without needle nose tweezers goes bouncing off somewhere in another dimension.
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Yup. Happened to one of mine. Where can I find a replacement?
 
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#155,678
GBassNorth said:
...Two observations while looking at the control cavity...
1) There's enough solder in there for two basses. But that shouldn't be causing a hum problem unless you have a cold joint somewhere.
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Yeah, looking at that top pot, I have to wonder if the wires are touching the case or suspended in the solder.

2) A fully shielded and grounded control cavity, control cavity cover and pup routes wouldn't hurt a bit and might very well solve the problem. It's a cheap and easy DIY fix and will normally quiet down the worst offenders. You can get the copper grounding tape with conductive adhesive backing from Philadelphia Luthier Supply. Here's a video on how to do the shielding...
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Never a bad idea..
 
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#155,679
KaraQ said:
I've gotten tired of having to ship/have delivered every little thing, so I went out today [now yesterday...] (with all the other people! :nailbiting:) and bought myself an early 4th of July gift :D. Largely because there weren't nobody else gonna do it! :meh:

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Decided they should go on my Thunderbird IV, since it had cheesy cheap-o chrome strap buttons, that seriously clashed with all the other (black) hardware.
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The new Schaller s-locks definitely look a lot better than the old ones, and have the minor secondary benefit of making it less likely to fall off the strap :thumbsup:

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TL: DR - I like buying new bass stuffs :D
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Definitely looks better. And a bass falling never looks as good as the one staying where it should.
 
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