Thunderbird Club

[MCF]

One of Johnny's friends had a Thunderbird II.

View attachment 4217726

Killer!

 

[godofthunder59]

First gig in five months man it felt great, one of those nights where I could do no wrong. Sold out venue the event was run very well. Most fun I have had in a long long time.

 

[MCF]

And he was dedicated enough to play with a cast.

That alone makes him a Legend. Here’s the link to the doc about him. There’s some good Thunderbird footage in it.

 

[MCF]

I haven't been to a show for a year and haven't paid to go to a show for longer, so maybe this has or will change. The sound has been awful no matter what. The kick drum is overamplified and turns the bass and everything else to useless mush. The sooner that practice disappears, the better. Cheap dive bar PAs that only amplify vocals do a far better job. I blame EDM.

Last show we saw was Wille Nelson January before the Pandemic. Sound was great. But Willie’s guitar playing, not so much.

 

[MCF]

For those on the hunt, a black Gibby TBird at what could be a decent price is hiding in the classified bushes...
For Sale - The ‘21 Purge... basses and more!
No affiliation, and not in the market for another black TBird (I already have 5 black ones). The neck has a stress crack, might be in the finish only. Happy hunting!

That one is looking to choose Kara.

 

[Bassmike62]

Lightbulb moment last night...

To my ears, my Tbird sound tighter and more focussed than my Explorer, which is a bit muddy, so the natural question is: What if I put Thunderbird pick-ups in the Explorer bass ... anybody gave that a shot ?

(Would be new pick-ups, not planning any changes to the TBird, other than add an XTender)

 

[TBird1958]

Lightbulb moment last night...

To my ears, my Tbird sound tighter and more focussed than my Explorer, which is a bit muddy, so the natural question is: What if I put Thunderbird pick-ups in the Explorer bass ... anybody gave that a shot ?

(Would be new pick-ups, not planning any to the TBird, other than an XTender)

I think Glen @Instagator has done that.

 

[Bassmike62]

I think Glen @Instagator has done that.

Thx

 

[Bassmike62]

That alone makes him a Legend. Here’s the link to the doc about him. There’s some good Thunderbird footage in it.

Thx for posting it.
Very touching documentary.

 

[Instagator]

Thx

Hey Mike..I have done the things that you mentioned. I put Chinabuckers in place of the stock pickups.Big increase in clarity and brightness. I can’t imagine what it might sound like with some of the higher end pickups that some of us have gravitated to.Having said that I have no reason to remove the CB’s..they sound that good to me.I have them in three different Basses.
I put the Hipshot Gb 7 extender on it for my low work.I also switched out the stock bridge and put in a Schaller roller bridge just like the Gibson Explorers use.
I did remove the selector switch from the circuit.I run it VVT with CTS 500k pots.
I did have to cut the trim ring on the neck pickup just because Epiphone puts the pup tight against the end of the neck.
The picture of the back of two pickups is a comparison of the Chinabuckers and the Epi Vintage Pro pickups..They compare nicely.
Neck "inlays" are from creative cuts.Cool stickers. From a foot away you can't tell that they are not real.
I will say this about the Epi Explorer that I have..If someone offered me a Gibson Explorer as an even trade I wouldn’t take it.. It’s that sweet now.
You have a great Bass..Do your mods..save the parts and don’t look back. Cheers!

 

[Bassmike62]

Hey Mike..I have done the things that you mentioned. I put Chinabuckers in place of the stock pickups.Big increase in clarity and brightness. I can’t imagine what it might sound like with some of the higher end pickups that some of us have gravitated to.Having said that I have no reason to remove the CB’s..they sound that good to me.I have them in three different Basses.
I put the Hipshot Gb 7 extender on it for my low work.I also switched out the stock bridge and put in a Schaller roller bridge just like the Gibson Explorers use.
I did remove the selector switch from the circuit.I run it VVT with CTS 500k pots.
I did have to cut the trim ring on the neck pickup just because Epiphone puts the pup tight against the end of the neck.
The picture of the back of two pickups is a comparison of the Chinabuckers and the Epi Vintage Pro pickups..They compare nicely.
Neck "inlays" are from creative cuts.Cool stickers. From a foot away you can't tell that they are not real.
I will say this about the Epi Explorer that I have..If someone offered me a Gibson Explorer as an even trade I wouldn’t take it.. It’s that sweet now.
You have a great Bass..Do your mods..save the parts and don’t look back. Cheers!

Wow, thx Glen, getting lots of info here !
Gonna talk to a local luthier sometime in late April or May about sanding down the neck a bit and will the pup topic in there.

 

[dagrev]

I haven't been to a show for a year and haven't paid to go to a show for longer, so maybe this has or will change. The sound has been awful no matter what. The kick drum is overamplified and turns the bass and everything else to useless mush. The sooner that practice disappears, the better. Cheap dive bar PAs that only amplify vocals do a far better job. I blame EDM.

Word!

 

[dagrev]

First gig in five months man it felt great, one of those nights where I could do no wrong. Sold out venue the event was run very well. Most fun I have had in a long long time. View attachment 4218253 View attachment 4218254

Fantastic! Glad to hear that bit of great news. Apparently playing so fast on Jbass the right hand is nothing but a blur!

 

[Instagator]

Wow, thx Glen, getting lots of info here !
Gonna talk to a local luthier sometime in late April or May about sanding down the neck a bit and will the pup topic in there.

And it sounds like a Thunderbird. Just don't run across the stage with it..if you fall it could poke your eye out,

 

[Bassmike62]

And it sounds like a Thunderbird. Just don't run across the stage with it..if you fall it could poke your eye out,

The way things are panning out around here, I'd be shocked if I run across any kind of stage in 2021, so I have plenty of time to get accustomed to pointy things.

 

[Nocturnal]

The brown truck brought something fun today. It popped up on GC's site the other day and I couldn't pass it up. It was a total of $342 shipped with the fitted Epi case. I had a $50 gift card so I actually paid $292 for it. It is need of a proper cleaning and the strings are beyond dead but those things are easily remedied. Has a few scratches on the back but still in great overall condition. Well worth the price of admission.

 

[Blazer]

I just finished a phone call with the most wonderful lady on earth and I feel like singing a song, THIS song.



Something's gotten hold of my heart
Keeping my soul and my senses apart
Something's gotten into my life
Cutting it's way through my dreams like a knife
Turning me up, and turning me down
Making me smile, and making me frown

In a world that was war
I once lived in a time that was peace and no troubles at all
But then you came my way
And a feeling of unknown shook my heart,
made me want you to stay
All of my nights, and all of my days

(yeah I gotta tell you now)
Something's gotten hold of my hand
Dragging my soul to a beautiful land
Yeah, something has invaded my night
Painting my sleep with a colour so bright
Changing the grey, and changing the blue
Scarlet for me, and scarlet for you

I got to know if this is the real thing
I got to know it's making my heart sing
Wo-hoo-o-ye-e-e-e-e e-
You smile and I am lost for a lifetime
Each minute spent with you is the right time
Every hour, every day
You touch me and my mind goes astray, yeah
Baby, baby

Something's gotten hold of my hand
Dragging my soul to a beautiful land
Something has invaded my night
Painting my sleep with a colour so bright
Changing the grey, and changing the blue
Scarlet for me, and scarlet for you

 

[godofthunder59]

Fantastic! Glad to hear that bit of great news. Apparently playing so fast on Jbass the right hand is nothing but a blur!

My Zep tribute so the Jazz got most of the playing time. We open with a set of Bad Company that gets the fretless Precision, in the Bad Co set are some Free songs so sneak the bird in there. While I miss my bird horribly I really like (maybe even love)my Roadworn Jazz, first Jazz Bass I ever warmed up to.

 

[GBassNorth]

The brown truck brought something fun today. It popped up on GC's site the other day and I couldn't pass it up. It was a total of $342 shipped with the fitted Epi case. I had a $50 gift card so I actually paid $292 for it. It is need of a proper cleaning and the strings are beyond dead but those things are easily remedied. Has a few scratches on the back but still in great overall condition. Well worth the price of admission.

View attachment 4218531

Beautiful!
Once I saw how sweet Kara's Ruby Red Eppi bird looked I pretty much decided I'd go that route (at least that color) with my next bird purchase. For the last couple of weeks I've been searching everywhere for a red bird, even GC daily. I never saw that one pop up. Glad it went to a good home. If you see any more red Eppi birds be sure to flag me, I'm still in the hunt.

 

[GonePlaid]

The brown truck brought something fun today. It popped up on GC's site the other day and I couldn't pass it up. It was a total of $342 shipped with the fitted Epi case. I had a $50 gift card so I actually paid $292 for it. It is need of a proper cleaning and the strings are beyond dead but those things are easily remedied. Has a few scratches on the back but still in great overall condition. Well worth the price of admission.

View attachment 4218531