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Thunderbird Club

Sometimes we and the general public trash drummers..I’ve been blessed for the last ten years to have a solid,funny,intelligent and 100% good guy as the other half of our rhythm section.
I’ve done little things for him in the past like electronic /electric repairs,advise ect...no big deal.
We rehearse at my house and his second rig stays permanently set up in the basement so he doesn’t have to load in and out when we get together.
View attachment 4571799
I’ve paid him the highest compliment that I could think of when I told him that I don’t look back at him during a gig most times because I know exactly where he is going to be during the song.

Last night after rehearsal he hung around after everyone else had left.

He gave me this and said thanks for everything that you do for me.

It great to be in a band with people that you enjoy being around..Cheers.
That is Awesome!
 
I struggle with exactly the same problem. I play only with fingers, and I play too hard. My 4003 requiers me to (try to) play light, otherwise a I get that nasty ”string touching the polepiece” sound. I know, I should work on my technique…

I set the bridge pickup lower than the neck and not only for that reason, I like the sound better, less mids out of that pickup, except for my 4001, the cap's still in it, sounds really good as is.
 
Gotta be honest.
The 2 Epi Bird necks are pretty solid. they move a little but not twisted, like me.
They could both use a little fret filing.

As far as 4 bolts go.
Seems like my luck was with all my old Fenders.
Those necks did not budge.

This statement will be complete heresy.
I love Birds.

But I’m a Fender guy.
I’m sure that’s grounds for banishment.
I’m a Fender guy too. But I’ve become more of a Thunderbird guy. I’ll always have both.
 
Sorry for the tome that follows :laugh::
I've had the NR Thunderbird in my possession now for at least two or three months straight, and this thing has become my first choice among the six I have out here which includes three Fenders, a Ric and another Gibson which I also really like (EB4-L). It's got just about everything I could want in a bass and I could easily see this being my only bass, IF (heaven forbid) I absolutely could only have one. I LOVE the neck, I have reg Rotosound Swing Bass on it, 105s, and have the action pretty low and virtually no buzzes and I like to dig in. It sounds great acoustically, nice and loud. The neck invites high register playing, the neck is really fast. There are no dead spots and it's got a nice fundamental all the way up the neck right from the low E. It also sounds great through both amps I have out here, an SVT and a SS Ampeg, both through one or two Ampeg 15's.
I'm even thinking of buying another one and having a luthier take the fretboard off and putting an ebony fretless board on it, I dislike plastic feeling coated fretlesses and urethane isn't hard enough IMHO. I super glued one and it works and sounds good and is hard as nails but WHAT a PITA that was.
I also have played it with my Pat Pending :laugh: flannel mute(s) and it can do just about anything a flat wound P bass can do. It sounds great with both fingers and a pick. It also has a nice loud punchy E which is also a must for me, it's light and balances well.
This is the second brand new Gibson I have bought, the first was a 2018 LE Thunderbird and both were just about perfect. I have 5 or 6 Gibson's now, many of them older and they are all very well made and constructed.
I did bring this to a jam in Mass a while ago and thought it sounded great in a band situation too, that was with the stock strings, I like the Rotos better.
 
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Sorry for the tome that follows :laugh::
I've had the NR Thunderbird in my possession now for at least two or three months straight, and this thing has become my first choice among the six I have out here which includes three Fenders, a Ric and another Gibson which I also really like (EB4-L). It's got just about everything I could want in a bass and I could easily see this being my only bass, IF (heaven forbid) I absolutely could only have one. I LOVE the neck, I have reg Rotosound Swing Bass on it, 105s, and have the action pretty low and virtually no buzzes and I like to dig in. It sounds great acoustically, nice and loud. The neck invites high register playing, the neck is really fast. It also sounds great through both amps I have out here, an SVT and a SS Ampeg, both through one or two Ampeg 15's.
I'm even thinking of buying another one and having a luthier take the fretboard off and putting an ebony fretless board on it, I dislike plastic feeling coated fretlesses and urethane isn't hard enough IMHO. I super glued one and it works and sounds good and is hard as nails but WHAT a PITA that was.
I also have played it with my Pat Pending :laugh: flannel mute(s) and it can do just about anything a flat wound P bass can do. It sounds great with both fingers and a pick. It also has a nice loud punchy E which is also a must for me, it's light and balances well.
This is the second brand new Gibson I have bought, the first was a 2018 LE Thunderbird and both were just about perfect. I have 5 or 6 Gibson's now, many of them older and they are all very well made and constructed.
I did bring this to a jam in Mass a while ago and thought it sounded great in a band situation too, that was with the stock strings, I like the Rotos better.
No need to be Sorry! My new NR is incredible too. Not a single flaw. And I love the way the Alnico pickups sound. Gibson makes nice basses.
 
If there’s any chance for a meetup, I’m in. It would have to be a Saturday or Sunday though. @GBassNorth, @D.M.N., maybe @Nocturnal could make the drive over from Chandler, @Chucky Stiletti, @JIO, @Stealth57 could come down in the AMX… I can volunteer my place in Pine Mountain Club, 13 miles west off the 5, Frazier Park exit at the top on the Grapevine. BYOT and BYOB. I can bring the Mesa rig up.
like it! could be this we drive down in…. :rolleyes:..

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It’s interesting that a lot of us Thunderbird folks are/were Rick players.
White 73 and a black 75 Fretless. Both purchased brand new.I had a red 68 that I traded for a Boston Whaler.View attachment 4573054View attachment 4573055View attachment 4573056View attachment 4573057
Still have the white one.
didn’t know you could get them fretless from the factory…I turned mine (74, exactly like your white one) into a naturally finished fretless..I also installed two J bass pups on an angle (Roger Glover) wired up as a humbucker….. the silly things we used to do, wish I still had it in stock condition…..:banghead:
 
If there’s any chance for a meetup, I’m in. It would have to be a Saturday or Sunday though. @GBassNorth, @D.M.N., maybe @Nocturnal could make the drive over from Chandler, @Chucky Stiletti, @JIO, @Stealth57 could come down in the AMX… I can volunteer my place in Pine Mountain Club, 13 miles west off the 5, Frazier Park exit at the top on the Grapevine. BYOT and BYOB. I can bring the Mesa rig up.

We could have T-shirts made that read "The Great Thunderbird Migration - Pine Mountain Club CA - 2022! :laugh:


yah - I can dig it :thumbsup:
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