Thunderbird Club

[TBird1958]

Hi baby!

Drop me a PM when you have a moment, missed ya. I'm out with the Fam tonight but will check back.

 

[JJR58]

Drop me a PM when you have a moment, missed ya. I'm out with the Fam tonight but will check back.

I will, and enjoy your fam time.

 

[JJR58]

Aw shucks, I'm blushing. When you getting your alien Chechen scary self out here to visit anyway?

I'm too scared of myself self right now. Soon man.

 

[JJR58]

Just proof I’m still a mean sob who does gives a f... Uh. wait, what?! I’ll have to answer to our Queen.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Well, you know, apart from some dirt and lots of dust, it works great! Even the old strings sound some kinda fresh, not dull, even though it might be a good idea to cook them out or whatever phrase you use in proper English/American. And as I told earlier, it is like new, it even had the protective decal on the back plate. And I suppose - haven't yet found (the right )time and 'peace' to plug it into the LD 150, I have no reason to mistrust in that department.
AND NOW a question of playing/updating: I'm aware the best thing now would be to get me a new set of strings. Back in the day I was a big fan of the standard gauge RotoSound roundwound strings (Ive owned a Squier Precision, a Japanese Jazz Bass clone I still own - though heavily modified with Schallers, BadAss bridge and Big Bertha humbucker pu - and a MusicMan with graphite neck, a heavy mf that was , played at the time thru a Bassman 100 and later thru a SVT II as in the pic..
But I'd like some advice as to all experience you here have with the (EPI) T-Bird: Is Roto Sound roundwound standard gauge (normal tuning) a good way to go or is there any other type string that absolutely excels in combination with the T-Birds characteristics soundwise?

If you like Rotosounds, you should like them on a TBird. I prefer Cobalt Flats for most things, but have a set of RS66s on a Vintage Pro; they worked well on a Classic Pro and the BoltOn as well.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Funny you mention thin. I’ve been working to sort out sone Nikki/Silversun Pickups songs. There are a couple recorded in BEAD. And a couple in D#G#C#F#. Do you suppose I could get two more Thunderbirds and dedicate one to each alternate tuning?

You need one for each of E, D#, D, C#, C, and B. At least.
Or build a six-next TBird for those tunings...

 

[KaraQ]

Great goal!
I play pretty much by ear so the challenge I set for myself years ago was to try to spend at least an hour every day playing along with songs I've never heard before. If I can pick up the bass line it's great but if not I at least try to hit the melody. It's great for ear training and pattern recognition. I'm not going to claim I hit every song note for note the first time through, but after practicing like this for a while you'd be surprised how close you can get on a first run with a song you've never heard before.

Today I started out on YouTube here...


And about ten songs later ended up here...


If I run across a song I really like I'll write the name down and come back to it for extended loop practice to the point I can competently play it without any significant clams or muffs. Just my way of having fun on the bass without getting in a rut.

That's pretty awesome!

I should probably use that idea, have a set amount of time set aside for ear training. It's always been one of my two worst bass-playing skills (the other being finger playing ).
Although, I have made some progress in the last few months. I'm generally able to pick out & play with the roots now!
And, I'm finding I have to spend less time on my still-somewhat-uncooperative left index finger, which frees up practice time for advancing that goal.

 

[PillO]

You need one for each of E, D#, D, C#, C, and B. At least.
Or build a six-next TBird for those tunings...

And you need one for all the flat tunings too. Eb, Ebb, Cb, Cbb, etc.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I guess that's one area where I'm...fortunate?
I'm in the same location always, so my settings never change (unless I'm fiddling with a new bass to find the sound I like best from it). My main bass, the bolt-on Epi-'bird with the "broken in" Roto 77s, keeps the neck p/u maxed, and the bridge p/u & tone at 70-80%.

The amp, however, is on "1". It always stays the same (I haven't changed any of the amp settings in years... ), it's the constant for when I am trying out sounds on a new bass.

I set the amp volume & EQ for the room and then try not to touch it. But bass tone, pickup mix, and even volume controls vary with songs.

No idea how I'll manage if I ever play out live again (fairly unlikely )

It's much too early to be hopeless!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

What I've been doing instead of sleeping

View attachment 4013269

View attachment 4013270

View attachment 4013272

View attachment 4013274

fin


...for now...

Awesome! And?

 

[KaraQ]

You need one for each of E, D#, D, C#, C, and B. At least.
Or build a six-next TBird for those tunings...

And you need one for all the flat tunings too. Eb, Ebb, Cb, Cbb, etc.

And don't forget, you'll need at least another one of each tuning as a backup!

 

[MCF]

Seen that before but wow! Pretty good singing for all that dancing!

So I read Jeff Tweety’s book. He was originally a bassist. He says this video makes him happy. Works for me.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Love this footage of Bootsy in 71:

A little "Riders on the Storm" influence on the keys?

 

[KaraQ]

.....
It's much too early to be hopeless!

I haven't played live in years, at least since I hurt my fingers in '01. Working up the nerve to play in front of other people again is still a ways off on my bass-playing-things-to-do checklist...

Awesome! And?

And it's okay.
Will take some getting used to, since the bass can now move horizontally on its centerline axis more easily (aka, tilts top-forward ).

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Love this footage of Bootsy in 71:

Bootsy is such a monster. And here he is in the Stage Musician Monster's Master Class.

I just realized I should be listing Bootsy as one of my influences. It's not that I play the styles he does[1], but that he is a primo example of do your own thing in your own way.

[1] Much less with his speed. The only time I've gone as fast as Bootsy plays was going flat out on deserted highways on my VF750F Interceptor.

 

[BklynKen]

I have been debating with myself for several weeks. "How useful is BEAD tuning?" I have a bass tuned BEAD. And then I tuned one to DGCF.

Who won? You or yourself?

Actually, I spend lots of time playing with myself, well playing with my bird.

Ahem?

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Exactly.

My creative take could be pretty much note for note or it might be what I perceive as the proper note regardless of what is being played. Touring bands like Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin rarely played their songs note for note on stage. Heck, the Grateful Dead practically rewrote every song every time they played it on tour. Unlike studio bands like The Eagles that rarely deviated from their studio recordings while on stage. It takes all kinds, one is no better than the other, unless you're in a tribute band, then you better play it like the original.

As an Engineer, a business leader, a corporate manager, a husband and father most of my adult life, I took great pleasure in the one little bass playing slice of my existence where I didn't have to be a conformist. It was and still is refreshing and relaxing to be interpretive and creative. But my hat certainly goes off to those who insist on nailing every little nuance of every little note on every song they play, that's a skill that I'll probably never have on a broad basis, and actually not one that I really want either.

I think that maybe three or four times in the several years I've played bass at church, someone has asked me to learn a specific bass line to a song, or part of one. They were generally tough for where I was at at the time, but well worth it. Usually, they just want me to be me and do something that works. Sometimes that's close to an original bass line, often it's not. I feel pretty blessed (and thrilled) to be playing with these peeps!

Years ago when I played (mostly guitar) in a duo, the leader wanted the songs to sound nearly identical each time we played. I got to stretch out a bit on the one song I contributed, and one of his I wrote the guitar part for. It was fun, but for me could have been a lot more fun. But I learned a lot, got to play out, and we made more than we spent, so I didn't complain!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

First time I've seen a pic of Jeff without a shirt! I think I've only seen one with Iggy *in* a shirt.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I haven't played live in years, at least since I hurt my fingers in '01. Working up the nerve to play in front of other people again is still a ways off on my bass-playing-things-to-do checklist...

And it's okay.
Will take some getting used to, since the bass can now move horizontally on its centerline axis more easily (aka, tilts top-forward ).

Part of why I like the top hole on the plate as the anchor point. It helps a bit.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

called into last minute jam at my buddy’s today...no time to get any of my gear so used this setup (the J is mine but was here getting frets dressed)...forgot how badazz these amps sound!....