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Thunderbird Club

Happy New Year Everyone..
This is probably a good time to review the 10 Commandments of Bass as we move into 2021.
Cheers Everyone.

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For this final Thunderbird Thursday of this year, thought I'd put up some pics of one of the previously mentioned "non-factory" Thunderbirds, my Classic Pro project.

I ordered a custom size brass string nut from Axe Masters on eBay, and picked it up yesterday.

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Popped off the Black Tusc xl, to do a test fit.

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Almost perfect! Just a bit of filing needed for the D & G strings, for a better fit :thumbsup:

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(in the pics, it looks a bit shifted to the bass side, that's just from the stings pulling it, since it's not glued down)


I'll do the filing later, then glue it down.
One more step done! :hyper:


In related news, I've got knobs from Q-parts on the way; and, I've been emailing with Pickguard Planet in Chico about the pickguard/trc/electrics cover, and they're sending me tracings to see how the Gibson parts fit before I order them :thumbsup:



Those will be the last things to get taken care of, before getting the process started for paint...:nailbiting:

I was going to ask if that was a brass nut - from the pic it looked like it could have been bone. Considering T-birds are on the dark-side tonally, a brass nut will help keep definition in the tone. Give us a review once you get it dialed. :bassist:

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I was going to ask if that was a brass nut - from the pic it looked like it could have been bone. Considering T-birds are on the dark-side tonally, a brass nut will help keep definition in the tone. Give us a review once you get it dialed. :bassist:

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What year is that? Curious about the gap between the TRC and the nut. On mine the TRC sits right up again the nut.
 
Of course! And they never need re-tuning, even after changing strings! :bookworm:




....however.... :thumbsdown:

I seem to have one or a few, shall we say..."non-factory" basses... :jawdrop:

They sometimes need help :(

My '64 II is relentless as far as being in tune - rarely does it need anything but a minimal tweak. Old wood has a rock-solid memory
 
It is, 1939, big craze among guitarists and harp players because of their simplicity of their (state of the art then) design. although negative feedback (a technique that reduces distortion) was discovered a decade before, projector and music amplifiers did not adopt it until Williamson’s papers from the late 40’s. this resulted in amplifiers that could be driven hard into distortion by how hard one played....perfect for R&R.....further, loud amplifiers were not not a requirement at the time so efficiency was not as important clearly shown by the fact the output tube complement of 6L6 biased correctly could dish out as much as 50 Watts in today’s designs but is only good for 12 Watts here. the binding you mention is part of the harness which is the heart of the whole thing before printed circuit boards established connectivity....we’ve come a loooong way...that said, simplicity can be very sexy...

I so love hearing the past described by someone who knows what they are talking about. Happy New Year CS! :bassist:
 
I was going to ask if that was a brass nut - from the pic it looked like it could have been bone. Considering T-birds are on the dark-side tonally, a brass nut will help keep definition in the tone. Give us a review once you get it dialed. :bassist:

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But don’t take it out in the cold.


Happy Birthday @JIO
 

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