Thunderbird Club

[kat888]

RS66 for ever and always.

 

[Korladis]

Can't explain it but to say that I THINK I get a simpler, easier-to-pronounce note with bass emphasis with flats. It also may be the way one hits a string. I tend to be fairly percussive when I hit a string, and I like to play up toward the neck as opposed to playing by the bridge.

I just came up from the basement, throwing around on the Bird, and on my preamp I had the bass knob pulled down quite a bit, down around the 7-8 o:clock position, mids up a bit, treble around 1 o'clock... mid sweep around 1.5K I think... whatever... but the sound opened right up when I pulled the bass down and the mids up... and that's when I appreciate what flats do. I still get a nice touch up top- in fact it's almost kind of brittle sounding in the top end of the note. Then down low it's fat and plain. The whole thing comes off as a little "woody" sounding, and very concise. Super tight for funky passages, still breaks up nice when you drive it hard.
It ain't dead if you can put life into it.

I guess. I whack the strings pretty hard, and usually play kinda towards the neck. I just can't seem to get the grind with flats that I do with rounds. Of course, last time I played with flats I used a fairly clean, solid state amp, whereas now I use an overdriven tube amp. So it might not make as much of a difference now.

 

[Gaolee]

Adding to the rash of inquiries about pups, etc here...
So far the Deep Sixx pups in my Blackbird seem a tad woofy, not so very tight and nimble. This is after a few more gigs, and comparisons with my previously regular dub-gigger. That may be due on part to the old (maybe a good 10 years now) LaBella 760-FL flats on it. But, I am considering mod options:
1) DiMarzio Model one at the bridge position, as I kinda like a little woof at the sweet-spot, and more snap from the bridge. Probably because I'm used to a P/J setup...
2) Pair of TB+, w/ black covers. This is the "What the hell, let's full-on 'Bird already!"

Open to thoughts... of course I'm going to change strings first- that may put the issue to rest without further mucking about...

I'm a huge fan of Dimarzio Model One pickups. They sound great no matter where you put them. My favorite location is the neck pickup on the EB-2 with the stock mini humbucker at the bridge. But, one of them would sound fantastic at the bridge, too. If you really want to go for it, put one in each position.

 

[Gaolee]

I guess. I whack the strings pretty hard, and usually play kinda towards the neck. I just can't seem to get the grind with flats that I do with rounds. Of course, last time I played with flats I used a fairly clean, solid state amp, whereas now I use an overdriven tube amp. So it might not make as much of a difference now.

I don't want that much grind, but then I don't play music that works well with too much bass overdrive. Playing location depends on the bass. The 'Birds generally get played down between the pickups, so fairly close to the bridge. That makes a big difference. Flats tame some of what I would consider harshness that happens when I play there. Not all of it. The angry piano lives!

 

[Count Bassie]

RS66 for ever and always.

I can appreciate that.

 

[Count Bassie]

I don't want that much grind, but then I don't play music that works well with too much bass overdrive. Playing location depends on the bass. The 'Birds generally get played down between the pickups, so fairly close to the bridge. That makes a big difference. Flats tame some of what I would consider harshness that happens when I play there. Not all of it. The angry piano lives!

Position is big, I agree... I need a thumb rest between the end of the neck and the neck pup. I usually end up carving one out of some scrap hardwood. Got a nice piece of Ebony from an old bass bridge here somewhere. That's where my favorite position lies. I get near the middle of the string but there's still a nice bit of tension there, and the bottom end speaks nicely without lots of bass from the amp. I can pull up the mids on the amp, gets a pleasant balance of tones without taxing the amplifier.

 

[kat888]

If I'm sitting down I tend to play near the neck, standing up between the two pickups - so another reason to play standing up.

Apart from anything else I can't get on with the way flats (or half rounds) feel. Rounds help me know whereabouts on the neck I am .... bumpbumpbumpbump 5th fret!

 

[Korladis]

Position is big, I agree... I need a thumb rest between the end of the neck and the neck pup. I usually end up carving one out of some scrap hardwood. Got a nice piece of Ebony from an old bass bridge here somewhere. That's where my favorite position lies. I get near the middle of the string but there's still a nice bit of tension there, and the bottom end speaks nicely without lots of bass from the amp. I can pull up the mids on the amp, gets a pleasant balance of tones without taxing the amplifier.

On my Rickenbackers I usually rest my thumb on the edge of the pickguard or edge of the body itself when playing finger style. On my T-bird usually on the edge of the neck pickup.

If I'm sitting down I tend to play near the neck, standing up between the two pickups - so another reason to play standing up.

Apart from anything else I can't get on with the way flats (or half rounds) feel. Rounds help me know whereabouts on the neck I am .... bumpbumpbumpbump 5th fret!

I usually put the bass on my left leg, similar to classical guitar position, so that it's positioned about the same sitting as standing.

 

[D.M.N.]

RS66 for ever and always.

Rotosound army.

I use D'Addario XLs on all my basses except my acoustic fretless, which has the stock bronze strings on it.

The only set of strings on any of my basses right now that aren't Swing 66s are a set of XLs on the EB-3, mostly because I couldn't get the RS66s in the gauge I wanted in short scale. I have to say, the D'Addarios are quite nice.

 

[Gaolee]

I have all different kinds of strings on all of 'em. The '91 has Cobalt flats. The '15 has Sadowsky flats. The '01 has rounds, but I don't know what they are. The fretless has Chromes. The bolt-on has DR Hi-Beams or Sun Beams. I don't remember which. The Ric had TI Jazz flats on it, but I sold it. Those worked pretty well on it, but rounds probably would have been better. Each bass has it's own thing. It takes a while to figure out what that thing is and what strings work for it.

As far as thumb anchoring, I used to do it, but now it just floats around. A guitarist commented on it recently. It must look weird because he suggested I anchor. I use it to mute sometimes, too. My technique won't ever get mentioned in any textbooks.

 

[kat888]

Rotosound army.

The only set of strings on any of my basses right now that aren't Swing 66s are a set of XLs on the EB-3, mostly because I couldn't get the RS66s in the gauge I wanted in short scale. I have to say, the D'Addarios are quite nice.

The only variation is necessitated by the angled tailpiece on the Maranello, which needs RS66ELs on the bottom 3 strings, so I swap the G strings between sets of standard length and ELs.

I'm out there livin' on the edge!

 

[Stevis]

I am with you folks on the car analogies, with regards to T-bird design and colors (makes sense given the designer). Rather than a muscle car, the bird reminds of the concept cars of the 60s era. I tend to think the so-called offset guitars of the 60s (such as the Jaguar), which I find similar to the TB. They were part of that 60s sense of modernity and the future. Cars had fins and angles, like a rocket or jet. And when I think of that stuff, I think of the color silver (this is the 59 Cadillac Cyclone concept car).

The Lakeland below (not mine) is done in a color called Inca Silver, which was a 60s color used by a rival guitar/bass manufacturer of the day. I think it has a metallic feel.

I think the Inca Silver is cooler than this version of silver.

 

[Christine]

Honestly, people on talkbass seem to love flats, but I've never been able to get into them. Maybe I just don't have an ear for the tonal subtleties, but to me they just sounded like the dead rounds I'd just taken off when I tried them.

All my birds have Roto Sounds. My Hofner, Kliras and fretless Precisions get flats.

Have either of you tried the Ernie Ball cobalt flats? I've just put them on my new bird, first time I've tried flats (always used Rotosound 66s) apparently brighter tan stainless flats. I'm not convinced the sound is for me, they could well be coming off soon

 

[hillerup]

Michael, they're Korats from Northeastern Thailand. Until recently they only came in blue, now there's a lilac variant. They are very active and vocal.

Korat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Love the Korats and considered one way back, but there are not many Korat breeders in Denmark (maybe one or two) and they are way expensive...

Never seen them in lilac before...

 

[kat888]

Love the Korats and considered one way back, but there are not many Korat breeders in Denmark (maybe one or two) and they are way expensive...

Never seen them in lilac before...

Think there are only 5 breeders in Aus, one of them is a 20 minute train ride away. They are half siblings, and their father was half Danish as it happens. The lilac colour is very new and even if you could find one it would be even more expensive than the blue kittens.

 

[hillerup]

I think any of those colors would be a weener!

Weener?! Didn't you mean a winner?

 

[shandou]

Hooo boy. Took the newly acquired Epi Bird Pro V to a guitar tech (fret polishing and to fix the noisy electronics). He then told me he couldnt fix the hum problem, the nut fell out when he removed the strings and that the bridge-tailpiece is warped, because there is a very small gap between the body and the metal. He basically told me the bass is sh*t and I shouldnt bother. Freaked the flip outta me. Then I took it back to the store because it is warranty covered even though I bought it as old stock for dirt cheap.
Told the guys in the store what the tech told me and suggested to call uncle Gibby for the limited lifetime warranty. They got real mad at me (in my country instrument stores generally treat their customers like crap, offtopic1: is it just my country or everywhere?) and said it aint gonna happen because Gibson doesnt care about Europe plus the 5string Epi 'bird is not manufactured since 2013 or so (offtopic2: does anyone living in the Old World have any experience with Gibson warranties?). Anyway they basically glued the nut back and sent me home.
At home turns out that the horrible hum problem went away (the guitar tech did some good after all and he only asked for $7), well there is still hum, but that is quite normal and only when I crank the treble. I put on new strings, set it up and now my bird sings and plays beautifully

Although now I kinda understand some of the prejudices to thunderbirds, though the tech was biased to begin with :/

 

[Mike.C.]

What color is that bass?

This is the TV Tube Silver I bought from Larry V.

 

[Klondike]

Weener?! Didn't you mean a winner?

Yes, but I typed it that way.

 

[hillerup]

View attachment 951313 New addition to the flock! I like my Artic White one so much I bought a Tobacco Sunburst from Sweetwater. Really nice grain on this one, it's nice you can pick from a number of basses at SW. It will get the chrome treatment of course.

Nice one... Are you going to put Chinabuckers on this one as well?