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Thunderbird Club

Indeed. How far back does the Bakersfield sound go? I know Leo F really liked C&W, but I don't think that's really the same thing.
The mid-fifties at a place called the Blackboard in Oildale. A few years later, Buck and Merle came along and that’s when it started taking on the name. At its essence, it was garage band country.
 
I never really paid attention to LS until about 2005 when I was playing with someone that turned me onto the Allman Brothers. I remember thinking I should check some more Southern Rock. As with many other groups the first 4-5 albums are my favourites. It turned out I had heard much more than SHA and Freebird, I just didn’t know it.
On the surface LS seems like they might be very “redneck”, but check out the lyrics to the Ballad of Curtis Loewe and Saturday Night Special.
It’s actually Curtis Loew. Ed King’s tongue in cheek humor. A southern black man with a Jewish last name.
 
I'll ask the group here, I'm in a 3 piece Hard Rock band, and the lead player has asked me to fill in more on some of the leads (8-9). Our favorite Floridan recommended a POG, which I'm using on 5-6 (3 different settings). I would like to add some chorus or flanger as well, both to the POG and separately. The use of effects is new to me.

Do Thunderbirds respond better to one or the other? Looking at EH Electric Mistress, BF-3, MXR Chorus Deluxe and the like.
 
I'm not a super Country guy, but I've seen Dwight Yokam & company 3 times. Very good bassist, and a unique lead player.
Yeah, we’ve seen him a few times. First couple of shows the bassist was playing a Lake Placid Blue J bass that actually sounded great. The last time was in 2019 and he was playing a P. Four strings, not fives, each time.
 
I'll ask the group here, I'm in a 3 piece Hard Rock band, and the lead player has asked me to fill in more on some of the leads (8-9). Our favorite Floridan recommended a POG, which I'm using on 5-6 (3 different settings). I would like to add some chorus or flanger as well, both to the POG and separately. The use of effects is new to me.

Do Thunderbirds respond better to one or the other? Looking at EH Electric Mistress, BF-3, MXR Chorus Deluxe and the like.
I also use a octaver to fill in or add lows when I need to play higher. Some are better than others. My EBS is fine, but would likely try another. My beef with it is I had an Ashdown head once and the sub octive on it was fantastic. Now I'm ruined. Very natural sounding. In my experience my old MXR p90 phaser is more useful to me than a flanger or chorus. I have both. They each sound great when I'm alone, but in a band setting the flanger and chorus kind of disappear or at best don't help when others are playing. Bass intros wold be fine. I have a Boss Bass chorus which really is good for bass, but still kind of sucks something of the mids out of the tone live. I suppose if you play high it would work better. Could all be me too! The p90 can take a little as well, but adds something nice in other places. I'd never ever sell my old p90.

I'm not generally fond of distortion pedals on a bass (drive a tube amp and that compression is another matter), but that might be an option to thicken things up. But in my experience distortion seems thin out and cut lows as much as anything, thus getting you more in the guitar sonic territory. Something I try to avoid. I use to use some compression, but not sure that will help as much as other things.
 
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I also use a octaver to fill in or add lows when I need to play higher. Some are better than others. My EBS is fine, but would likely try another. My beef with it is I had an Ashdown head once and the sub octive on it was fantastic. Now I'm ruined. Very natural sounding. In my experience my old MXR p90 phaser is more useful to me than a flanger or chorus. I have both. They each sound great when I'm alone, but in a band setting the flanger and chorus kind of disappear or at best don't help when others are playing. Bass intros wold be fine. I have a Boss Bass chorus which really is good for bass, but still kind of sucks something of the mids out of the tone live. I suppose if you play high it would work better. Could all be me too! The p90 can take a little as well, but adds something nice in other places. I'd never ever sell my old p90.

I'm not generally fond of distortion pedals on a bass (drive a tube amp and that compression is another matter), but that might be an option to thicken things up. But in my experience distortion seems thin out and cut lows as much as anything, thus getting you more in the guitar sonic territory. Something I try to avoid. I use to use some compression, but not sure that will help as much as other things.
time to clone the Ashdown....:rolleyes:...:D
 
I'll ask the group here, I'm in a 3 piece Hard Rock band, and the lead player has asked me to fill in more on some of the leads (8-9). Our favorite Floridan recommended a POG, which I'm using on 5-6 (3 different settings). I would like to add some chorus or flanger as well, both to the POG and separately. The use of effects is new to me.

Do Thunderbirds respond better to one or the other? Looking at EH Electric Mistress, BF-3, MXR Chorus Deluxe and the like.
It’s really hard to hear a chorus on bass in a live setting while the rest of the band is playing - unless you have a fair bit of high end in your signal.
I’ve mostly used it for the downward run in “These Boots are made for Walking” and Sledgehammer where I combined it with octave up/down.
My pedals are fairly pedestrian - Chorus is the Boss CEB-3.

If you add distortion, I’ve found you want something that will retain your original signal and allow you to blend in the distorted signal. You don’t want the bottom to drop out when you hit the switch. I use a regular Big Muff Pi. (Not much cool factor:laugh:)
 
Stop posting pics of that bass! My wife has to slap me out of a trance every time you show it. It's like Homer Simpson and donuts. :D


You mean this bass? :angel: :whistle:

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:)
 
I also use a octaver to fill in or add lows when I need to play higher. Some are better than others. My EBS is fine, but would likely try another. My beef with it is I had an Ashdown head once and the sub octive on it was fantastic. Now I'm ruined. Very natural sounding. In my experience my old MXR p90 phaser is more useful to me than a flanger or chorus. I have both. They each sound great when I'm alone, but in a band setting the flanger and chorus kind of disappear or at best don't help when others are playing. Bass intros wold be fine. I have a Boss Bass chorus which really is good for bass, but still kind of sucks something of the mids out of the tone live. I suppose if you play high it would work better. Could all be me too! The p90 can take a little as well, but adds something nice in other places. I'd never ever sell my old p90.

I'm not generally fond of distortion pedals on a bass (drive a tube amp and that compression is another matter), but that might be an option to thicken things up. But in my experience distortion seems thin out and cut lows as much as anything, thus getting you more in the guitar sonic territory. Something I try to avoid. I use to use some compression, but not sure that will help as much as other things.

Maybe I should look at phaser instead. The whole point is to add to the leads, not disappear, or get mushy or whatever. I'm not looking at distortion or overdrive, that's kind of what I can get from my Thunderbasses.
 
I'll ask the group here, I'm in a 3 piece Hard Rock band, and the lead player has asked me to fill in more on some of the leads (8-9). Our favorite Floridan recommended a POG, which I'm using on 5-6 (3 different settings). I would like to add some chorus or flanger as well, both to the POG and separately. The use of effects is new to me.

Do Thunderbirds respond better to one or the other? Looking at EH Electric Mistress, BF-3, MXR Chorus Deluxe and the like.
I was using an MXR Micro Flanger for a while and really like it. I'm now using a Whirlwind Orange Box in its place, which is about as close to the original MXR Phase 90 as you can get. I really like it. Both work really well on bass. No perceptible loss of low end. I find the phaser works better for my use than the flanger right now.
 
I was using an MXR Micro Flanger for a while and really like it. I'm now using a Whirlwind Orange Box in its place, which is about as close to the original MXR Phase 90 as you can get. I really like it. Both work really well on bass. No perceptible loss of low end. I find the phaser works better for my use than the flanger right now.
I have an 'el cheapo' phaser that works well for the jazz gig but not so well for the rock gigs. Also kinda depends on which bass I use. And seems to not 'play well' with the POG for some reason, so one or t'other.
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