Thunderbird Club

[TBird1958]

Almost 22 years in and I finally got my first T-Bird. I was concerned because it got stuck in the FedEx black hole for two extra weeks but eventually arrived flawless and nearly in tune.

Link Removed

I’ve been playing a P-bass exclusively for the past two years so it took a few days to adjust but now I absolutely love this thing. Looks badass and the pickups sound great.

The only issue I could find was slight neck dive, definitely not bad, but enough to bug me. A wide strap would probably be enough to fix it but I’m not a fan of them. I also really like the Wilkinson tuners and don’t want to bother replacing them.

The control cavity on these is in a great spot so I bought some adhesive wheel weights from Harbor Freight ($10) and added 7oz. Totally fixed the balance and the bass still only weighs right at 9lbs overall.

Link Removed
(not pictured is the strip of electrical tape I put on top of the weights for added security)

I’ve got some flats on the way. I know this is typically a rock bass but I’ll be using it in my classic country band for now.

Needless to say I’m a fan!

I love to read posts such as yours!
Enjoy that beautiful Vintage Pro, and be welcome here with us, happy to add you to the club if you wish - just let me know.

 

[WillyW]

Congrats! And welcome to the enlightened. Nothing wrong with a nice P bass, but your new bird can do it and a lot more. Enjoy it.

I gots me one them!

 

[TBird1958]

Black and Orange? A TigerTail Thunderbird.
Purple and Orange would be striking.
Purple sounds familiar...
View attachment 4483328

Ah yes, I know her..............Worst girlfriend in the world.

 

[MCF]

You now have me thinking about a Thunderbird refin - saffron...

 

[RedVee]

I admit I am always amused when reading or seeing what some artists require in in their contracts for shows. There must be a book or class they take to come up with some of that goofy stuff. That or some of them score way beyond whatever is after egomaniac making a nameless former Pres of your choice the poster child for humility.

Supposedly, some of it is to test the promoters out. If they deliver smarties with no red ones then they are confident the other contract clauses have also been met.

Something like that

 

[GBassNorth]

LOL - judging from the audience this performance was given at a Valium convention.

 

[BklynKen]

Supposedly, some of it is to test the promoters out. If they deliver smarties with no red ones then they are confident the other contract clauses have also been met.

Something like that

That's exactly why Van Halen did that with the seemingly-frivolous no-brown M&M thing.

The reason behind Van Halen's brown M&Ms backstage request

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I guess he would be like songs and don't need and explanation! Literal and clear are two different things. Even complex imagery well done paints a picture that is understandable. The problem can be that the imagery is unclear due to the hearer not knowing the inside story or "codes" that underlie any text. Most songs/poems like books hope to tell a story, a value, a truth or a view. If not sufficiently clear, the reader is then somewhat guessing at a meaning if it's not clear, thus no communication of whatever the point was that hoped to be communicated. Maybe I'm too simple or logical, but I just prefer songs that communicate clearly even from word pictures painted well. When finished with the song I just like to be able to say, "I get it," not have to Bing what in the world they were talking about.

There’s your problem - Bing.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I guess he would be like songs and don't need and explanation! Literal and clear are two different things. Even complex imagery well done paints a picture that is understandable. The problem can be that the imagery is unclear due to the hearer not knowing the inside story or "codes" that underlie any text. Most songs/poems like books hope to tell a story, a value, a truth or a view. If not sufficiently clear, the reader is then somewhat guessing at a meaning if it's not clear, thus no communication of whatever the point was that hoped to be communicated. Maybe I'm too simple or logical, but I just prefer songs that communicate clearly even from word pictures painted well. When finished with the song I just like to be able to say, "I get it," not have to Bing what in the world they were talking about.

I dunno. We spent months debating American Pie and loving every minute.

 

[dukeorock]

I keep gassing for a Reverend Wattplower. I’m just afraid it wouldn’t get much play.

I had a chance to play one. Wanted to like it more that I could, but I don’t typically like many short scales

Almost 22 years in and I finally got my first T-Bird. I was concerned because it got stuck in the FedEx black hole for two extra weeks but eventually arrived flawless and nearly in tune.

Link Removed

I’ve been playing a P-bass exclusively for the past two years so it took a few days to adjust but now I absolutely love this thing. Looks badass and the pickups sound great.

The only issue I could find was slight neck dive, definitely not bad, but enough to bug me. A wide strap would probably be enough to fix it but I’m not a fan of them. I also really like the Wilkinson tuners and don’t want to bother replacing them.

The control cavity on these is in a great spot so I bought some adhesive wheel weights from Harbor Freight ($10) and added 7oz. Totally fixed the balance and the bass still only weighs right at 9lbs overall.

Link Removed
(not pictured is the strip of electrical tape I put on top of the weights for added security)

I’ve got some flats on the way. I know this is typically a rock bass but I’ll be using it in my classic country band for now.

Needless to say I’m a fan!

Congrats! I do a ton of country gigs with TBirds, usually with flats.

(L-R) the Cataldo NR41 always gets rounds, 2021 Gibson NR currently has flats and they sound real good on that bass. ‘02 Gibson reverse sounds great with rounds or flats, but lately I’m keeping rounds on it. ‘89 Greco always gets rounds.
Then there’s this…

Fano JM4 Jagbird. Cannot overstate how awesome this bass is. The day I got it, it had Rotos on it, which I didn’t care for. Been running flats on it from the first day and it’s just a terrific bass.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Not a lot of options for direct replacement of that bridge without drilling holes and pulling threaded inserts. Hipshot might have a two piece bridge that fits, Philadelphia Luthier has one that might fit and @godofthunder59 has one that might fit but you’d need to confirm all dimensions. Out of curiosity, what is it that you don’t like about the VP two piece? Most here consider it an improvement over the standard three point. Probably the biggest drawback is lack of individual saddle height adjustment, but that’s easily dealt with.

That and it needs more range of intonation.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I replace 3-point bridges with Babicz bridges because I like the way they look better. I'm shallow. Plus, they feel really good when you are palm muting the strings and playing with a pick.

I like the Supertone for adjustability and looks. I’m glad we have choices!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Leon.

Leon, with Ox hot on his heels. Literally.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Happy Thanksgiving to you as well. One of these days I’m going to try a deep fried turkey, sounds great. Just be safe while cooking that bird, the fire can get out of hand very fast. One of my workmates burned his house to the ground that way.

Looks like I’ll be fixing Prime Rib and Alaskan King Crab this year. Yummmm

We picked up brisket, pulled pork, and ribs from Pok-e Jo’s BBQ. The sides and desserts are from scratch by Sharon and Josiah.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Adele is a very talented singer. But I keep hearing a snippet of one of the songs from the new album and I can't get past the fact that it sounds like she is yodeling. I am not a fan of her music but I think she is very talented.

I both agree and disagree. She's the artist, she gets to express a preference. If she truly believes that the songs need to be delivered in the order o the album, then I expect that when she performs live, she will do the new songs in teh album order, else it diminishes the argument that the song order is important.

However, I am the consumer and I get to listen how I want. If I want to skip tracks or play them in a different order, that is my privilege.

In reality, I wonder how much of the song order thing is just diva behaviour for the sake of it (or to steal the spotlight from Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga/Madonna/<insert your favourite diva> (ahem)).

It’s my understanding she just got them to change the default from shuffle to as delivered. You can still do whatever you like.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Almost 22 years in and I finally got my first T-Bird. I was concerned because it got stuck in the FedEx black hole for two extra weeks but eventually arrived flawless and nearly in tune.

Link Removed

I’ve been playing a P-bass exclusively for the past two years so it took a few days to adjust but now I absolutely love this thing. Looks badass and the pickups sound great.

The only issue I could find was slight neck dive, definitely not bad, but enough to bug me. A wide strap would probably be enough to fix it but I’m not a fan of them. I also really like the Wilkinson tuners and don’t want to bother replacing them.

The control cavity on these is in a great spot so I bought some adhesive wheel weights from Harbor Freight ($10) and added 7oz. Totally fixed the balance and the bass still only weighs right at 9lbs overall.

Link Removed
(not pictured is the strip of electrical tape I put on top of the weights for added security)

I’ve got some flats on the way. I know this is typically a rock bass but I’ll be using it in my classic country band for now.

Needless to say I’m a fan!

It’s a versatile bass, is what it is. Rock, country, punk, soul, R&B, metal, jazz, funk, bebop, emo, whatever genre the original “Stand By Me" is…

 

[JIO]

I just took a look at some metallic ocher paint colors. Bronze-gold with a bit of green. I am sold. It has to happen. The Flamingo took me a couple years to get around to, and this probably will, too. But it has to happen. What a great color! And I had not thought of it before.

Getting the poly finish off will probably cause it to lose a pound of weight as well.

You could be a candidate for those crazy humming-bird chest flip-flop/colour shift finishes. (some cars have them) I bet that there's one that does a bronze-green flip-flop. (like the one I found?) Not a DIY finish though, and the paint itself is pricey - but guys like Pat Wilkins (SoCal) or possibly MJT (Midwest) could make it happen. It's a pretty cool look.

 

[KaraQ]

I’m probably in the minority In this club at what sparked me to play the bass and thunderbirds in particular.

I was drawn to the bass lines in most songs at an early age (possibly because my dad played the upright in a swing band when I was a young kid in grade school). However, I was never actually drawn to the thunderbird as an instrument at all when I started playing bass, that happened by pure chance much later.

Started out on Jazz basses, then P basses, then I switched to active basses and locked in on Stingray and G&L. When I could afford more expensive gear I started buying Alembic, Warwick and Spector basses. By this time I had almost completely gravitated away from passive single coils and focused almost exclusively on active humbuckers.

I really liked my Spector Rex5 Pro look, sound, feel and shape. Since it was thunderbird inspired I joined the club here and more or less lurked for the first year or so. Then I stumbled across a rare Gibby SG Supreme bass on eBay at a good price. Bought it more for investment than anything else. After all, everything I had read and heard about Gibson basses here on talkbass as well as band buddies was that they sucked big time. One trick, muddy, neck diving, horrible QA, overpriced and the CEO of the company was a complete jerk.

After getting the SG I found every one of those attributes to be completely false (with exception of the CEO). I really was enjoying my SG but just assumed I got lucky and it wasn’t very representative of the Gibby “norm”. Then along came a Gold Anniversary bird at a great price, so again I figured what the heck it’s a good investment. And once again I was completely set back by the fantastic quality, craftsmanship, design complexity, attention to detail, sound, feel and balance.

At that point the light bulb went off. There’s something to this brand and model that isn’t reflected accurately in its reputation among the bass playing community. That turning point for me was around 2015. Since then every bass I’ve purchased has been a Gibby or Eppi or Thunderbird. No regrets. I hardly pick up my FSOs anymore, and don’t even spend that much time with my other high end basses. The thunderbird really does meet all my needs and then some and does so at a decent price. I’m a happy camper!
View attachment 4483153

I came into Thunderbirds kind of randomly, I guess.

I liked the look, and the size, so I'd been looking for one at a semi-reasonable price, local-ish.
Guy in Davis had the tobacco burst Epiphone I now have - as soon as I got it home & spent some time with it, that was all it took. Fell in love with them

The only non-Thunderbird basses I have now are acoustics.

Bridge replacement is realistically, generally speaking, a waste of intent and energy. The three point is not an issue really. When you change strings, do it one at a time. No problems.

Or just don't flip it over with the strings off.....




(that's how I found out they fall out.... )

 

[dukeorock]

Update on the 2021 Gibson NR. I’ve only played it twice live. The first gig I had to use a little MarkBass combo backline thing. That amp was pure misery for me. I probably just don’t know those amps very well, but it sounded awful and we had to go on with no soundcheck. Couldn’t even play the upright through it. None of that was the NR’s fault, but I didn’t touch it for a few weeks after such a bad experience. Finally took it to a gig last night. Played with an Americana artist named Derek Hoke. He’s amazing.

Again had to use a backline rig, but it was a perfectly acceptable rig. GK700rb through an Ampeg 410. Not a dream rig, but not bad and I’ve used it many times in that room.
I love the way the NR looks and plays. It records nicely too, but I was on the fence about it’s live sound. It growls really nicely and doesn't sound quite like any of my other ‘Birds. Overall, it’s just a bit thinner sounding. Not as much low end as I’d prefer. I liked it, but didn’t love it. Two friends I trust were there. One (a mastering engineer) was sitting up front and said he loved the growl but thought it was too low end shy (exactly what I thought). Another friend (guitar player I play with a lot) was in the back and said that through the PA, it might be his favorite TBird I own. So now I’m really on the fence! Flip flopping on whether to put a Lollar in the neck, keep the bass just for recording sessions or pass it on.

 

[JIO]

Adele is a very talented singer. But I keep hearing a snippet of one of the songs from the new album and I can't get past the fact that it sounds like she is yodeling. I am not a fan of her music but I think she is very talented.

I both agree and disagree. She's the artist, she gets to express a preference. If she truly believes that the songs need to be delivered in the order o the album, then I expect that when she performs live, she will do the new songs in teh album order, else it diminishes the argument that the song order is important.

However, I am the consumer and I get to listen how I want. If I want to skip tracks or play them in a different order, that is my privilege.

In reality, I wonder how much of the song order thing is just diva behaviour for the sake of it (or to steal the spotlight from Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga/Madonna/<insert your favourite diva> (ahem)).

To start with, I don't think Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, etc wouldn't have liked living in the digital 'choose your personal music order' world today. LP's (admittedly of a past generation but currently enjoying renewed interest/enjoyment) introduced us to a deliberately ordered product. Most followed an oft repeated commercial formula of material/song order based on a number of tried-and-true reasons. But (again, as you know) there were also many 'concept albums' where song order was imperative to the story/flow/development. So if Adele or any other recording artist wants their audience to listen to their work in a specific order - I don't think that's 'diva behavior' - I think it's artist behavior. Being an artist myself, I have no problem with that. And having said this - If you want to skip tracks or play them in a different order, that is your privilege.