Thunderbird Club

[godofthunder59]

Look at the size of the door! I had a 1969 Cadillac Coupe De Ville, it was a 22 foot long 2 door car, drove like booth from Denny's.

"Drove like a both from Denny's " omg Ha!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

RIP Ken Hensley.

Invalid Link Removed

Well, carp. Phenomenal musician, and from what I've heard, a good guy.
Uriah Heep was the first big name act I went to see (1973). They set a high bar, and that's still one of my favorite concerts. Ken was easily one of my favorite key players ever.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Thunderbird Thursday
My main player for the last several weeks...
View attachment 4042598
It doesn't have the fast neck like my Anniversary Bird. And although it's very close it's still not quite as authoritative and biting as the Greco. Not nearly as gritty as the VP or as flexible as the 2015 either. And doesn't cut through quite as well as the BaCH equipped with chrome flats. But what it does do magnitudes better than all the rest is lay down an earth shaking chest pounding deep thick defined bottom end in massive volume levels even at the lowest of settings on the volume knob.

The .022uf tone cap (and maybe to a very small degree the 500k linear tone pot) transformed this Goth from a nice playing middle of the road bird to an absolute beast. None of my other birds can touch it in depth and volume. Keep in mind these are the stock Goth pups which are up around 14K ohms, I have it strung with Cobalt flats and the pups raised to the max. Bridge pup always stays off, neck pup and right hand position gives me nearly every sound I need, tone is frequently set to zero and occasionally bumped to 2 or 3 if needed for clarity, never set above 5.

The bass feels very much at home in Black Keys, Hugo and Gary Clark Jr type tunes with a driving bottom end. It's also equally well suited for piano and orchestra type settings as well as smooth jazz tunes needing a creamy smooth bass with minimal emphasis on attack but a bold sustain and decay.

Important to note - this is not my most flexible sounding bass (think 2015 or VP for that) but it out performs all my other birds for about half the music I normally play. And to think, I only paid $150 for the bass, $85 for the bridge, $35 for the strings and about $5 for the pot and cap. A total of $275 for a killer bass, wish all my other birds had a bang to buck ratio like that.

So 95% of a Greco for 25% or less of the price?

 

[GBassNorth]

So 95% of a Greco for 25% or less of the price?

Well, kinda, more or less maybe sometimes.

Let's put it this way, if I'm playing Artic Monkeys, Black Keys or Hugo type tunes this bass smokes the Greco. However, if I want to play Eagles, AC/DC and Yes type tunes the Greco would smoke the Goth.

I really need to figure out how to post sound clips. But as a test, I turned on a CD of Tom Petty (Mojo album) and played Running Mans Bible with the Greco. The Greco best matched the songs bass tone at a volume of 3 and with the tone knob at 5. I then plugged in the modded Goth and dialed in as best I could the exact same tone and volume. That put the Goth volume at a setting of one (nearly turned off) and the tone was down around 2. Keep in mind that I flipped out the stock Goth Audio Taper pot for a linear Taper one, so there's no longer an approximate correlation between the tone pot settings if the Greco uses an Audio Taper pot like Gibson does.

For those that don't have a Greco for reference, the exact same test was run on my VP and it required a volume setting of 5 and tone of 4; my 2015 bird required settings of 7 volume and 6 on tone.

So in essence, the Goth when nearly turned off on tone and volume belts out about the same tone and volume as the 2015 nearly maxed out, or the VP turned halfway up. If I max out the VP or 2015 volume the Goth walks all over them at a volume setting of 3 or higher. The down side is the Goth tone range is more limited than the others. It never really gets bright or glassy on the top end, at max tone it's more of a VP 6 or 7 type tone setting.

I suspect the exceptionally hot pup and cap combination is the reason for most of what I'm getting. Not so sure I'd see similar results on lower value pups, but if you have a Goth and want to make a real barn burner out of it, drop in a .022 cap.

 

[RedVee]

TT!..
View attachment 4042305

How are you finding the reverse ergo’s Chuck ?

So 95% of a Greco for 25% or less of the price?

hmmm... thinking music please

Well, kinda, more or less maybe sometimes.

Let's put it this way, if I'm playing Artic Monkeys, Black Keys or Hugo type tunes this bass smokes the Greco. However, if I want to play Eagles, AC/DC and Yes type tunes the Greco would smoke the Goth.

I really need to figure out how to post sound clips. But as a test, I turned on a CD of Tom Petty (Mojo album) and played Running Mans Bible with the Greco. The Greco best matched the songs bass tone at a volume of 3 and with the tone knob at 5. I then plugged in the modded Goth and dialed in as best I could the exact same tone and volume. That put the Goth volume at a setting of one (nearly turned off) and the tone was down around 2. Keep in mind that I flipped out the stock Goth Audio Taper pot for a linear Taper one, so there's no longer an approximate correlation between the tone pot settings if the Greco uses an Audio Taper pot like Gibson does.

For those that don't have a Greco for reference, the exact same test was run on my VP and it required a volume setting of 5 and tone of 4; my 2015 bird required settings of 7 volume and 6 on tone.

So in essence, the Goth when nearly turned off on tone and volume belts out about the same tone and volume as the 2015 nearly maxed out, or the VP turned halfway up. If I max out the VP or 2015 volume the Goth walks all over them at a volume setting of 3 or higher. The down side is the Goth tone range is more limited than the others. It never really gets bright or glassy on the top end, at max tone it's more of a VP 6 or 7 type tone setting.

I suspect the exceptionally hot pup and cap combination is the reason for most of what I'm getting. Not so sure I'd see similar results on lower value pups, but if you have a Goth and want to make a real barn burner out of it, drop in a .022 cap.

ok, what happens with Goth at 10? speaker cone ejection ?

 

[GBassNorth]

?...
ok, what happens with Goth at 10? speaker cone ejection ?

LOL - Darn near! More importantly, If the wife ever heard it at that volume it would certainly be husband ejection.

Actually, with tone set at zero and on board volume at 8, while plugged into my 450 watt SS amp with volume only at about one quarter up and gain about one third up playing through my Berg HT322 it sounds other worldly! At a volume of 9 it starts to pick up an ugly upper mid bump and at 10 its unbearably loud and equally unbearably horrible sounding. Probably slamming the bejabbers out of the SS preamp, I don't recall if the clipping light was on, but no intent to ever play at that volume anyway.

Some day when the wife isn't in the house I'll plug into my SVT-VR and Berg NV610 rig just to see how it reacts to a full tube and fridge killer set up.

 

[Larry V]

Some day when the wife isn't in the house I'll plug into my SVT-VR and Berg NV610 rig just to see how it reacts to a full tube and fridge killer set up.

But won't she know that some tom-fu%^ery went down when all the dishes and glassware/stemware are all moved in the cabinets... at least that's what happens at my house when I "test" my equipment.

We no longer have a China cabinet but when we did, it rattled like crazy when levels were TURNT UP! Now I just rattle the kitchen cabinets one room over from the music room.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

How are you finding the reverse ergo’s Chuck ?



hmmm... thinking music please



ok, what happens with Goth at 10? speaker cone ejection ?

liking them, l was expecting a thicker body like the one on the bicentennial (probably because the chrome, three point and large tuners create an optical bias) but as V pointed out, those two basses aren’t even close. really like the thin body of the Greco....definitely more neck dive than on any of my other birds when using the bout strap button but much better balance with the behind the neck heel button...hoping to practice this weekend to see how it feels after a couple of hours on a strap...

 

[TBird1958]

Well, kinda, more or less maybe sometimes.

Let's put it this way, if I'm playing Artic Monkeys, Black Keys or Hugo type tunes this bass smokes the Greco. However, if I want to play Eagles, AC/DC and Yes type tunes the Greco would smoke the Goth.

I really need to figure out how to post sound clips. But as a test, I turned on a CD of Tom Petty (Mojo album) and played Running Mans Bible with the Greco. The Greco best matched the songs bass tone at a volume of 3 and with the tone knob at 5. I then plugged in the modded Goth and dialed in as best I could the exact same tone and volume. That put the Goth volume at a setting of one (nearly turned off) and the tone was down around 2. Keep in mind that I flipped out the stock Goth Audio Taper pot for a linear Taper one, so there's no longer an approximate correlation between the tone pot settings if the Greco uses an Audio Taper pot like Gibson does.

For those that don't have a Greco for reference, the exact same test was run on my VP and it required a volume setting of 5 and tone of 4; my 2015 bird required settings of 7 volume and 6 on tone.

So in essence, the Goth when nearly turned off on tone and volume belts out about the same tone and volume as the 2015 nearly maxed out, or the VP turned halfway up. If I max out the VP or 2015 volume the Goth walks all over them at a volume setting of 3 or higher. The down side is the Goth tone range is more limited than the others. It never really gets bright or glassy on the top end, at max tone it's more of a VP 6 or 7 type tone setting.

I suspect the exceptionally hot pup and cap combination is the reason for most of what I'm getting. Not so sure I'd see similar results on lower value pups, but if you have a Goth and want to make a real barn burner out of it, drop in a .022 cap.

Interesting, I don't work the volume knobs much, esp on the single pickup basses. my Lull, Greco, Jackson and the Les Paula are all very hot, so much so that I usually use the -10db pad on the GK, they're just a bit too loud for the practice room upstairs. The rest are fine, but I find the '76s really don't sound great until you get a bit of volume behind them, then they "open up" with their own tone.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

my desk at work.....blows my mind i could get a few 60’s Birds with what these contraptions cost.......

 

[GonePlaid]

liking them, l was expecting a thicker body like the one on the bicentennial (probably because the chrome, three point and large tuners create an optical bias) but as V pointed out, those two basses aren’t even close. really like the thin body of the Greco....definitely more neck dive than on any of my other birds when using the bout strap button but much better balance with the behind the neck heel button...hoping to practice this weekend to see how it feels after a couple of hours on a strap...

So, it's a strap-on?

 

[GonePlaid]

Interesting, I don't work the volume knobs much, esp on the single pickup basses. my Lull, Greco, Jackson and the Les Paula are all very hot, so much so that I usually use the -10db pad on the GK, they're just a bit too loud for the practice room upstairs. The rest are fine, but I find the '76s really don't sound great until you get a bit of volume behind them, then they "open up" with their own tone.

My volume knobs on all my basses have 2 settings: 0[off] and 10. Don't hafta try and see the numbers with my 75 y/o eyes.
EDIT: someday 0/11

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

So, it's a strap-on?

of sorts, yes...

 

[Miles_ONeal]

my desk at work.....blows my mind i could get a few 60’s Birds with what these contraptions cost.......
View attachment 4043536

I wish I could take you on a tour through my work's buildings. You'd love it. Especially the research facility.
Also, have you been in an anechoic chamber?

 

[GBassNorth]

So, it's a strap-on?

of sorts, yes...

...except it's a reverse strap on.
Does that make it a strap off?

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

I wish I could take you on a tour through my work's buildings. You'd love it. Especially the research facility.
Also, have you been in an anechoic chamber?

Lol..like this?

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Lol..like this?
View attachment 4043610

Yep. They’re awesome.

 

[GBassNorth]

my desk at work.....blows my mind i could get a few 60’s Birds with what these contraptions cost.......
View attachment 4043536

Chuck, I'm really disappointed. No TBird screen saver on your laptop! You're slacking son.

 

[Butcherboy]

That Greco, so cool!

....NGD (new Greco day) for me.... TBR-70 has landed ...

 

[BklynKen]

my desk at work.....blows my mind i could get a few 60’s Birds with what these contraptions cost.......
View attachment 4043536

What contraptions? I don't see any.... ;-)