Thunderbird Club

[WillyW]

What is the neck made of? I have a Warmoth Bloodwood on Wenge neck. It’s great, but very heavy! It needs a really heavy body to balance.

It’s Goncala Alves, it’s not the lightest neck I have ever had. But all my other necks have homes I’m happy with. I have a fretted padouk and sapelle on my jazz that already has res o lite tunas on, I may try it just to see how it balances. It’s probably the lightest neck I have.

 

[Engle]

It’s Goncala Alves, it’s not the lightest neck I have ever had. But all my other necks have homes I’m happy with. I have a fretted padouk and sapelle on my jazz that already has res o lite tunas on, I may try it just to see how it balances. It’s probably the lightest neck I have.

Nice! I have a dinkyP body that’s got a Goncola Alves top on Mahogany.

 

[TBird1958]

So true. I like mine. Sounds great with Roto 66s. To me, they sound kind of like a tamer/softer version of the 60s or a VP. They are pretty low output. Given some of the comments, I was wondering if the new NRs sounded a little similar.

Not really, the new NR pickups are nice, I like them a lot - better than the Epi 760's (thus my trade with Scott) but neither are like a '76 pickup - Which I think need a big amp (with headroom as Chucky says) and some volume to really bloom. low volume and a small amp do them no good.

 

[WillyW]

Just the birds

 

[Nocturnal]

I thought it was interesting that his "expert" said he had actually never seen a Thunderbird bass before. It wasn't in perfect shape either, extra unplugged hole in the body end for a strap pin and no bridge or pickup covers. Further, just seeing that bass laying on the counter with no block under the neck to keep the headstock from supporting weight made me cringe. I know it's rare but I would not have paid so much for that bass.

Completely agree with all points. That bass was a road warrior that was not lovingly maintained and should never have gotten the price paid. Their expert was far from an actual expert. He claimed it was all original and never checked the pots or pickups. He did give the tuners a look but that's not good enough, IMO.

not sure where they pull most of their prices from, that was pretty beat, don’t care if it’s one of 20 that year.

I’d rather have a new one for cheaper.

$9K for a '79? Well, OK then.

I call BS on that entire segment for the following reasons:

1: The bass was not near mint from what I could tell. Every time they turned it, the light showed player wear. Including the "almost no buckle rash" that was obvious to me. It wasn't as bad as on my 77, but I would never describe mine as clean or very good condition. Also as V mentioned, the obvious extra strap button hole on the ass end.

2: The "expert" had never even seen a Thunderbird in his entire career? I find that difficult to believe.

3: He didn't even look for the obligatory headstock repair. Even if he has never seen a Thunderbird in his life, surely an "expert" knows the exploding headstock theory.

4: The expert declared it all original without looking in the control cavity.

5: The $9,000 value was based on what?? Clean, unbroken, 76's are half that price and not necessarily flying off the shelves. There was no evidence they even checked online for other models for sale or sold to see if the asking price was reasonable.

6: They offered to pay the guy his asking price plus "a little extra". When have they ever paid someone their asking price on that show?

7: My cousin used to be on 2 "reality" shows and he said almost everything on their shows were staged. I doubt this show is much different.

Of course I am a cynical a$$hole so take my "theories" with a grain of salt.

 

[GonePlaid]

I call BS on that entire segment for the following reasons:

1: The bass was not near mint from what I could tell. Every time they turned it, the light showed player wear. Including the "almost no buckle rash" that was obvious to me. It wasn't as bad as on my 77, but I would never describe mine as clean or very good condition. Also as V mentioned, the obvious extra strap button hole on the ass end.

2: The "expert" had never even seen a Thunderbird in his entire career? I find that difficult to believe.

3: He didn't even look for the obligatory headstock repair. Even if he has never seen a Thunderbird in his life, surely an "expert" knows the exploding headstock theory.

4: The expert declared it all original without looking in the control cavity.

5: The $9,000 value was based on what?? Clean, unbroken, 76's are half that price and not necessarily flying off the shelves. There was no evidence they even checked online for other models for sale or sold to see if the asking price was reasonable.

6: They offered to pay the guy his asking price plus "a little extra". When have they ever paid someone their asking price on that show?

7: My cousin used to be on 2 "reality" shows and he said almost everything on their shows were staged. I doubt this show is much different.

Of course I am a cynical a$$hole so take my "theories" with a grain of salt.

I'd like to dispute yer points-but I can't. That show is so full of --it, it's dericulous.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Ouch! I was hoping a RC was the finial solution. Bad wording.... I had to have one through a crown a few years ago. Sure hope it stays fine. Don't blame you for not wanting a front row seat. I needed my wisdom teeth out years ago. Two of the four were basically horizontal and had to be cracked up and destroyed to get out. I know because I was awake.... The doc was going so fast with the shots to numb things he was like a machine gun. I stopped counting after 17 and he wasn't anywhere near done. That was one of my certified stupid decisions. My tonsils were so big he wouldn't put me to sleep anyware but a hospital because he was afraid I wouldn't be able to breath. So my options were hospital and sleep or awake in his office. I chose the office. Did I mention that was a stupid decision?

Hope you do well and it heals up with no issues.

Yikes! Thanks. So far, so good! Alternating tramadol and industrial grade ibuprofen, and this oral surgeon is top notch.

My wisdom teeth experience was a disaster. Those teeth were were so impacted[1] that the pain was debilitating (and I have a pretty high pain tolerance). Having had bad experiences with a dentist as a child, I insisted on being put to sleep. But I woke up twice - at one point with the doctor's knee on my chest while he wrenched my head back and forth by pliers on a recalcitrant tooth. I ended up with pretty much all the bad complications you can have, *and* the doc kept prescribing useless painkillers. Sharon finally got hold of our dentist, who prescribed something that worked as well as antibiotics over the phone and told me to show up first thing Monday morning. His office practices were horrid as well, but that's another story.[2]

Needless to say, we never went back to that oral surgeon.

Anyway, this experience was at the other end of the spectrum. Including the fact I don't recall anything once the anesthesia took hold until the tech had walked me to the car.

1. Two were just super crowded but two were growing horizontally into the teeth in front of them.
2. Far beyond the horror that he had no THUNDERBIRDS in evidence!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

New dress dayView attachment 4455331

That's breath-taking.

 

[GBassNorth]

New dress dayView attachment 4455331

Now that’s a dress! Doesn’t cover up much more than the body of your Tbird would, perfect.

 

[Larry V]

And, he had never seen a Thunderbird before. That disqualifies him. Each of us has seen a bunch of Thunderbirds.

Exactly... he has no idea how dumb he sounded.

 

[Mvf]

First indoor gig in some time tonight. The gear of the day is my Gibson Thunderbird 1990 -> Rumble 500 combo. Plan to take my 67 EB3 as a spare. Soon heading for setup and soundcheck.

…and no, the possible sudden change of scale, if I have to use the EB3, would not bother me, I’m quite used to change between different necks…

 

[dagrev]

Just the birds

View attachment 4455496

I had an old Pbass around '82 and installed another set of P PUs in Jazz bridge position, roughly. I think I might have done this before Fender did it for a few years. I did it because I wasn't all that crazy about Js and loved Ps--so I thought why not. It was all passive unlike the elites. Anyway, I was kind of unimpressed and eventually traded it for something--and I thought it was going to sound fantastic. In no way did it sound bad, just not a definite improvement guess.

 

[dagrev]

Not really, the new NR pickups are nice, I like them a lot - better than the Epi 760's (thus my trade with Scott) but neither are like a '76 pickup - Which I think need a big amp (with headroom as Chucky says) and some volume to really bloom. low volume and a small amp do them no good.

Thanks!

 

[dagrev]

I call BS on that entire segment for the following reasons:

1: The bass was not near mint from what I could tell. Every time they turned it, the light showed player wear. Including the "almost no buckle rash" that was obvious to me. It wasn't as bad as on my 77, but I would never describe mine as clean or very good condition. Also as V mentioned, the obvious extra strap button hole on the ass end.

2: The "expert" had never even seen a Thunderbird in his entire career? I find that difficult to believe.

3: He didn't even look for the obligatory headstock repair. Even if he has never seen a Thunderbird in his life, surely an "expert" knows the exploding headstock theory.

4: The expert declared it all original without looking in the control cavity.

5: The $9,000 value was based on what?? Clean, unbroken, 76's are half that price and not necessarily flying off the shelves. There was no evidence they even checked online for other models for sale or sold to see if the asking price was reasonable.

6: They offered to pay the guy his asking price plus "a little extra". When have they ever paid someone their asking price on that show?

7: My cousin used to be on 2 "reality" shows and he said almost everything on their shows were staged. I doubt this show is much different.

Of course I am a cynical a$$hole so take my "theories" with a grain of salt.

I seriously doubt you being a lower sphincter, but do agree with everything you said. Normally they get the cat from Cow Town Guitars and he seems to know his stuff.

All "experts" and techs are not created equal. I bought my '64 Pbass through a friend selling it for Teddy Gentry (Alabama). His friend not mine. When I got the bass and took it apart it had 67 PUs and pots in it. I told him about it and he said that he had had the guitar inspected by a very reputable tech in Nashville and I found that hard to believe. I sent him pics and said, well he might've looked at everything but he didn't look at the pot codes or the back of the PU. I told him, as you can imagine, the electronics are as important as about anything else as far as Valley goes. He finally sent some money back to offset it not having original pick ups. Also asked if he would mind getting something signed by Teddy Gentry proving that it was he was his. (Knew it was because I knew they were friends and worked together on documented projects.) Got the money never got the note from Teddy he said he would be glad to get.

I didn't buy the base because Heady owned it, I just wanted one that here and seem like a decent price and I like the color--mainly because it wasn't a Sunburst. I didn't care for the pick ups at all in it and eventually sewed the pick ups in the wiring harness which more than paid for the new Klein vintage pick ups that do sound fantastic and correct year pots. It's got some Pyramid Gold flats and sounds absolutely fantastic. The 67's were thin sounding and nasally. It went from the worst sounding bass I owned to definitely one in top-tier.

It's actually a crossover year. The neck is a late '63 and the body early '64.

 

[dagrev]

Yikes! Thanks. So far, so good! Alternating tramadol and industrial grade ibuprofen, and this oral surgeon is top notch.

My wisdom teeth experience was a disaster. Those teeth were were so impacted[1] that the pain was debilitating (and I have a pretty high pain tolerance). Having had bad experiences with a dentist as a child, I insisted on being put to sleep. But I woke up twice - at one point with the doctor's knee on my chest while he wrenched my head back and forth by pliers on a recalcitrant tooth. I ended up with pretty much all the bad complications you can have, *and* the doc kept prescribing useless painkillers. Sharon finally got hold of our dentist, who prescribed something that worked as well as antibiotics over the phone and told me to show up first thing Monday morning. His office practices were horrid as well, but that's another story.[2]

Needless to say, we never went back to that oral surgeon.

Anyway, this experience was at the other end of the spectrum. Including the fact I don't recall anything once the anesthesia took hold until the tech had walked me to the car.

1. Two were just super crowded but two were growing horizontally into the teeth in front of them.
2. Far beyond the horror that he had no THUNDERBIRDS in evidence!

Oh man! That story makes me sick at my stomach just thinking about it.

I don't like going to the dentist if there's anything significant that needs to be done. Regular stuff I don't mind and even the cavities fine. I had a bicycle accident when I was a kid and broke off my two front teeth cracked another and scraped the crap out of my face. My mouth was kind of in shreds from the accident. They couldn't even do anything at first until my mouth healed up some. I'm not scared about going to the dentist or anything, but really dislike having anything more than a cavity filled. Fortunately my root canal was painless. I had been hurting for weeks and it was getting worse and worse. But as soon as I got a few shots to numb it, I never felt a thing again from that tooth. In that respect, that root canal was fantastic and enjoyable!

 

[dagrev]

Now that’s a dress! Doesn’t cover up much more than the body of your Tbird would, perfect.

That should be the pic for the dress review!

 

[Gaolee]

First indoor gig in some time tonight. The gear of the day is my Gibson Thunderbird 1990 -> Rumble 500 combo. Plan to take my 67 EB3 as a spare. Soon heading for setup and soundcheck.

…and no, the possible sudden change of scale, if I have to use the EB3, would not bother me, I’m quite used to change between different necks…

Exactly. It takes about a bar to adjust to a different scale length. Maybe less.

 

[MCF]

While working I just listened to Foreigner's, first album for the first time in years. Wow! I forgot how great that album was. No songs are filler or throwaways. Amazon Music has the demo of "Feels Like the First Time." It really shows how you can have the bones of a good song and having a good producer and engineer can take a good song and make it great. Of all the artists in the R&R Hall of Fame, I can't believe they aren't. I don't put much stock in such things, but that's always been something of a head scratcher. But so are some that are in there....

The RRHOF is a total joke. They waited until Chris was in his grave to let YES in. Even the curators kept a display area ready for them for years before it actually happened.

 

[Mvf]

The stage is set

 

[MCF]

I suppose that's a simple thing, yes. I've just been occupied and less is more now. Sounds a little lame, but I need a vacation... I'll probably just do it...

I need a vacation too. I’m taking next week and going to the beach. It’s been a heck of a stressful week with work and buying a house to retire to…got to decide where the Thunderbirds will go.