Thunderbird Club

[Nocturnal]

Sweet! Does it have a big chunky neck?

I wouldn't say it's chunky in a bulky way, but its wider and thicker than the Gibson necks. Similar to my older Goth Bird neck, but feels more comfortable to my hand. I was expecting it to be fatter than it actually is.

I believe basswood is correct for TB-70. What year is your Greco?
My white 1990 Greco has the basswood body as well. Hard to compare because of the polar opposite strings I have on them, but my 1977 Greco Tbird II with well broken in TI Jazz Flats and mahogany construction seems to have a bit more punch and is a bit more lower mid range focused than my 1990 White Greco Tbird IV with new GHS Boomers and a basswood body which is more bottom end focused. Both are outstanding basses worth much more to me than I paid for them. Love your black one and the factory gig bag.

Mine was built in 1990 as well. I don't know what strings are on this but they are rounds. The silks are a pink/fuchsia color, which I have never seen before. I did a search and found other people that had bought a bass from Japan had the same strings on their bass. Haven't been able to find a definitive answer as to what brand they are. They are nice tho.

I need to clean it up a little and do some minor tweaking, but it is a solid bass and I think I will be very happy with this purchase.

 

[GonePlaid]

I wouldn't say it's chunky in a bulky way, but its wider and thicker than the Gibson necks. Similar to my older Goth Bird neck, but feels more comfortable to my hand. I was expecting it to be fatter than it actually is.



Mine was built in 1990 as well. I don't know what strings are on this but they are rounds. The silks are a pink/fuchsia color, which I have never seen before. I did a search and found other people that had bought a bass from Japan had the same strings on their bass. Haven't been able to find a definitive answer as to what brand they are. They are nice tho.

I need to clean it up a little and do some minor tweaking, but it is a solid bass and I think I will be very happy with this purchase.

Those silks are from old Kimonos.not really

 

[dukeorock]

It was a real pleasure to meet you and the band as well and I totally understand the time and all. I just got to work since I have a 6 AM start so with an hour to drive home last night, I cut out at 10 PM. It was great that you all started at 8 and I got to see 2 hours! I'll definitely make the next one too and if you're serious about the PB NR, hell yeah, I'll bring it for you and I'll be sure to make the strap as long as I can. What are you about 6'3"? 6'4"?

Right around there, yeah!

Sorry, that's all I shot... I tried to shoot more but the big girls, and there was two of them, didn't care that I was recording.

View attachment 4328851

Here's the best I can do for you.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLq9DiM2SiWPNhB9nuvv3YcdKo2YFLPuK2

Those two bigger girls are a major pain and they come to a lot of shows. One got in our van last night while we were loading out and refused to leave. That wasn’t fun to deal with. They just get sideways drunk every time and turn into...I dunno a nice way of saying it

 

[Larry V]

Those two bigger girls are a major pain and they come to a lot of shows.

In lots of different states or just Michigan and Ohio?

It's cool to have dedicated fans like the two I sat with from Ohio, Troy and Valerie(?). They drove 5 hours and got a room to come see you guys. He said he sees you all every chance he gets.

One got in our van last night while we were loading out and refused to leave. That wasn’t fun to deal with. They just get sideways drunk every time and turn into...I dunno a nice way of saying it

The life of a touring pro...



I really wanted to shoot more vid for our friends here on Talk Bass but I'd have had to be a videographer and stand up and move around to just get the band and I felt that the crowd wouldn't have appreciated me obstructing their line of sight so I just sat there front row.

You guys have plenty of video on YouTube so I didn't want to be a PITA.

 

[Larry V]

Ouch!

 

[BklynKen]

View attachment 4328942

Ouch!

Ouch for bass players or ouch for Old Spice?

 

[GonePlaid]

View attachment 4328942

Ouch!

And it's not even a good bass.

 

[Larry V]

Ouch for bass players or ouch for Old Spice?

Both!

The ad team being clueless is just par for the course.

 

[dagrev]

Big girl story: We were playing at a car show at the Ky Fairgrounds years ago. There were two large young ladies dancing and smiling in front of me. At some point one of the said something. I couldn't hear and bent over and asked what thy said. One said we like your button. I said, "What?" They said, your button, pointing to one I just put on my strap. It said, "I love hogs" with a heart and a hog (swine) on it. I thanked them. They stayed put and kept dancing and I stayed away from the front of the stage. (I friend had a family member who had a hog farm and that morning gave me the button and I just stuck it on because I thought it odd.) Never wore it to a gig again.

(No offense to big girls or boys.)

 

[GonePlaid]

Big girl story: We were playing at a car show at the Ky Fairgrounds years ago. There were two large young ladies dancing and smiling in front of me. At some point one of the said something. I couldn't hear and bent over and asked what thy said. One said we like your button. I said, "What?" They said, your button, pointing to one I just put on my strap. It said, "I love hogs" with a heart and a hog (swine) on it. I thanked them. They stayed put and kept dancing and I stayed away from the front of the stage. (I friend had a family member who had a hog farm and that morning gave me the button and I just stuck it on because I thought is odd.) Never wore it to a gig again.

(No offense to big girls or boys.)

Us truckers useta say big girls are great-keep ya warm in the winter and provide shade in the summer. ' Course I wouldn't say that now.

 

[dagrev]

Us truckers useta say big girls are great-keep ya warm in the winter and provide shade in the summer. ' Course I wouldn't say that now.

I would have been really tosty or really shady....

 

[MCF]

That was the exact info that I was looking for on those pickups. Thanks! It seems pretty obvious that I should just keep everything stock then. I did need to lower both pickups quite a bit. The pull of those pickups had some pretty interesting string interactions. Once I dropped the pickups each about 1/8”, the tone came alive!

Now I have a new and potentially silly issue. My 2015 of course has factory black hardware, but it has chrome strap buttons on it. Is chrome factory-correct for these or is it likely the previous owner swapped out the factory black ones? Part two of the question - if black is the factory strap button, where can I find the same make/model that was on it from the factory?

My original strap buttons are black. Here are the specs.
Aluminum
Black powder coat
Part #430–19162 / 430–19162E

4.0 gm / 0.14 oz

Maybe you can get them from Gibson.

 

[Warpeg]

My original strap buttons are black. Here are the specs.
Aluminum
Black powder coat
Part #430–19162 / 430–19162E

4.0 gm / 0.14 oz

Maybe you can get them from Gibson.

Thanks!

It took a little digging, but it appears that the proper factory strap buttons for a modern Thunderbird are made by Kluson: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

These can been seen on the 2015 Thunderbird legacy page: Gibson.com: Thunderbird Bass 2015

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

I wouldn't say it's chunky in a bulky way, but its wider and thicker than the Gibson necks. Similar to my older Goth Bird neck, but feels more comfortable to my hand. I was expecting it to be fatter than it actually is.



Mine was built in 1990 as well. I don't know what strings are on this but they are rounds. The silks are a pink/fuchsia color, which I have never seen before. I did a search and found other people that had bought a bass from Japan had the same strings on their bass. Haven't been able to find a definitive answer as to what brand they are. They are nice tho.

I need to clean it up a little and do some minor tweaking, but it is a solid bass and I think I will be very happy with this purchase.

yeah, mine is just wider (89)…as far as thickness, it’s more tapered than my 60’s…(Greco wears the black nut Ahem!)….

 

[Butcherboy]

What's the Suzi Quattro 'Bird like?

…oh, c’est un bijoux…action is low, not as lightweight as my 65 but not far…same pickups as used for the Greco Tetsu Yamauchi signature P-Bass, so sounds like a P (if you want), like a J (if you need) or like a gentle Thunderbird with both pickups open….will be the next one out on stage, hopefully in August….

 

[dukeorock]

In lots of different states or just Michigan and Ohio?

It's cool to have dedicated fans like the two I sat with from Ohio, Troy and Valerie(?). They drove 5 hours and got a room to come see you guys. He said he sees you all every chance he gets.
.

The two girls just come to Michigan and Ohio and occasionally Nashville. I’m not sure we’ll be seeing them again after last night. They way they often act, I wouldn’t be heartbroken

Troy sees us all the time. Nice guy and we’re grateful when his wife comes to keep him in check
Heck, he saw us three times just last week, then made the long drive to Bay City anyway. Gotta love dedicated fans. They keep a roof over your head

 

[Blazer]

Well, my self made bass is almost done.

There's some details in the finish where it didn't cure properly.

But it sounds like a beast.

 

[GonePlaid]

Well, my self made bass is almost done.

View attachment 4329195 View attachment 4329196 There's some details in the finish where it didn't cure properly.

But it sounds like a beast.

 

[Gaolee]

Interesting string interactions is an understatement. I do all of my own setups and most of my own luthier work, but I never experienced anything like the 2015 on what should have been a simple set up. I found the pup magnets to be so strong that they would pull the strings out of intonation cause fret buzz and choke the sustain out if not completely lowered.

Of course it took me days of chasing my tail to figure out what was going on. It was nutz. I’d gap the pup at about the same as my other birds, adjust the saddle heights, tweak the neck and set the intonation to perfection then the next day (after the strings had become fully magnetized by the pups) the darn fretboard would have buzz nearly the full length, the bass would be out of tune and the intonation would be off. I finally realized the trick was to slam the pups to dead bottom, then do the set up, let it sit over night, then in very small increments each day raise the pups until they start to impact the action or create a chorus effect at which point they need to be backed back down a hair. All is fine now, and I went the extra step and installed tapes, which are a bit less prone to magnetic interactions.

As for the strap pins, mine are chrome as well. I’m the second owner but I don’t think they were changed by the original owner since they’re just stock strap pins and not strap locks. You can see here…
View attachment 4328754

I would have to look, but I believe the buttons on my '15 are black. I am on an airplane right now, so looking is kinda tough. But ya gotta love free wifi on airplanes these days.

 

[Gaolee]

Right around there, yeah!



Those two bigger girls are a major pain and they come to a lot of shows. One got in our van last night while we were loading out and refused to leave. That wasn’t fun to deal with. They just get sideways drunk every time and turn into...I dunno a nice way of saying it

Say it not nicely then. You are among friends.

My recent larger individual story happened at a show my son played before the shutdown. They needed a merch-girl, and my son volunteered me. It was actually kinda fun anyway and I didn't mind. About halfway through, a rotund young woman wearing a tube top and tight shorts started dancing around in front of the merch table. I wasn't paying all that much attention until she came right in front of the table and was dancing while looking right at me. Once she got my attention, she pulled down her tube top and put on a show. I completely cracked up. There were others who would have been more aesthetic, but her enthusiasm made up for a lot. She was laughing pretty hard, too. Beats me what that was all about. I figured if you were going to flash anybody, it would be the band. Shows what I know.