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Thunderbird Club

#182,201
TBird1958 said:
Sweetwater posted some Fedex info to me this AM but it hasn't gone live yet, I'm hoping that it'll show by next Thur or Fri so I can take it with me to the Seattle area Bass GTG.
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That's coming up! My schedule is so haywire these days that I had completely forgotten. I hope the Flamingo doesn't fall in love with the NR and run off with it.
 
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#182,202
Mvf said:
The sound is not bad, with maybe a little more bite than I remember my 2012 having, but compared to the Orville…. Hmm…The Orville is much louder and more aggressive, with a more middy sound. The Gibson has more high end, and also seems to have more low end, and an over all more even sound across the board. Have not opened the picups jet to check what they are, will do that when I change the bridge.
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Also, try setting the neck pickup on full and the bridge pickup rolled off a little. A lot of us seem to find that is a sweet spot for tone.
 
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#182,204
Warpeg said:
Okay, I'm going to ask a question that's probably been asked hundreds of times, but I just gotta' know: Is the reverse body shape an exact mirror of the non-reverse body shape? I understand there have been subtle variations/adjustments over the years, but are the two body shapes that similar?
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They don't look especially similar to me, starting with the lack of a raised neck through the body to the shape of the wings, and pretty much everything else.
 
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#182,206
Goatrope said:
View attachment 4356263 View attachment 4356264

The TBird has landed!

Man, what a cool one. It’s off the operating table and now resting comfortably in recovery. :hyper:

This was my first time doing a setup on a 3-point. Pretty intuitive, and certainly functional. It’s no Babicz, but does the job.

I actually ordered through GC last week, after talking to SW and not getting a warm fuzzy. Order with GC was conditional upon the box being sealed from Gibson. I didn’t want anyone from GC monkeying around with it.

So I got it today, and it wasn’t set up at all, other than being tuned. I admit I was scared when I saw that mile-high action. But I got everything dialed down, nominally, to where my Reverse sits, in terms of relief and string height. Then I had to fix the intonation, which was super flat. But all fine now.

Sounds very good. I think I’ll leave the pups as they are. Real meaty and clear.

Fit and Finish is excellent save for the bottom side of the neck, beneath the edge of the first three frets. Kinda rough there. Have to work to see it. I can feel the edge of the fretboard is much sharper than my Reverse, which is rounded and glassy smooth.

Neck is definitely wider in the hand, but still comfy. Quite a bit of neck dive, which I’ve got zero with my Reverse. I’ll have to see how it plays live before it’s an official complaint. :thumbsup:

I need a few gigs on it to really know her, but I’m off until the 14th so…. I’ll abuse her at home for a while.
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Congrats!
 
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#182,208
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#182,214
PillO said:
Hey, we don't do "searches" `round here...
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Chucky was referring to my pic. They’re so gorgeous I’ll just post ‘em again.
B287C336-1A23-43E7-A3F3-EA3EB5A7EDE9.jpeg
 
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#182,215
Chucky Stiletti said:
yep, needs an output transformer, probably the most expensive component (100 bucks or so)…happens so quickly sometimes… common occurrence so the replacement comes with lugs/crimps hence no soldering needed…
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Burning output transformers smell terrible... Not that I have ever done that... On purpose...
 
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#182,219
PillO said:
Burning output transformers smell terrible... Not that I have ever done that... On purpose...
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burning any transformer smell terrible....i remember being at a Paper Mill on the Finnish/Russian border that had a ground fault on a medium voltage 10kV oil filled transformer that morning and there was oil on the floor all over the place....the 2" diameter wire winding just exploded and there were strands just dangling out of the case......I could NOT for the life of me flush that smell from my nose for what seemed like weeks!....:eek:..
on Marshalls they don't fully fail (open or short) but instead singular windings start fusing due to the heat altering the performance and power output....ie, can only get about 30 Watts into 8 Ohms instead of the intended 50+....
 
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#182,220
PillO said:
They are gorgeous. But as one is Gibson and one Epiphone, how can we be sure they are comparable? ;):laugh:
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I will say this about that particular Epi. The action is as low as I have I on any Bass, about 3/64. And that’s with the stock three point still a few turns above the deck. Razor straight neck. And it plays so great you wouldn’t know it wasn’t a 1.5 nut just by feel alone. With Dunlap Marcus Miller stainless steel Superbrights and equing, it sounds very close to a Gibson with Tbird + pickups. I doubt many could tell the difference. At 25% the price of a Gibson, it’s an amazing bass. Kind of like Will’s pixie dust Gibson.
 
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