Thunderbird Club

[Engle]

It's actually what's referred to as a side-winder - a hum-bucker like the Fender Tele pu... sep' dif-rent

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Yeah I’ve got one in my 68 EBO, and another original in an EB3 shaped object I built. I somehow thought the ones in the Bakelite covers were single coils.

 

[Engle]

Had my quota of snow and ice already. Canadian's can keep the rest of it up there where it belongs. I want my global warming back ASAP!

We are back to rain. I think you had more snow than us this winter!

 

[TBird1958]

Thanks, no...it was something very old ('40s?) and very open and sparse for body...
If I find it I'll post it...till then, git a few pages to go through...

Happy to add you to the club's roster if you like - we just want a pic of your Thunderbird.

 

[dasherf17]

Yes, Veleno, so likely chrome vs mirror. The pain didn't care which. The whammy bar was made to look like a gear shifter...great for Bad Motor Scooter.

There was a Theremin antenna attached the lower strap button end, too?

 

[RedVee]

The G&L MFDs are either loved or hated. I love them. Crazy powerful. Humbuckers on steroids and crack. I love the adjustable poles. Every G&L I've owned has been flawless. And...they are as comfortable to play as anything. Leo got that body shape right as well. Why they are not more popular I don't understand.

How about 2015 T’bird with the exposed poles and tapping ?

 

[Stealth57]

There was a Theremin antenna attached the lower strap button end, too?

No idea on that one.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Was it with Sammy Hagar or Bob James on vocals? And Fitz Fitzgerald did have a modified Rickenbacker which had a mirrored scratchplate...

Or maybe it was metal...
View attachment 4576875

Wally Voss used to do the same thing…

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

To some they are - my guitarist friend (now in Madison WI) is a total G&L guy. He owns a number of key vintage G&L guitars and an early '80s L-1000 bass. He just got this late '80s Broadcaster, a somewhat rare and highly sought-after G&L guitar based on Leo Fenders' 1st electric 6-string guitar, which was originally badged the Broadcaster before becoming the Telecaster. The man knew how to create great instruments.

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This is my heavily modded tribute to Leo's legacy - the L2K Mk II - a bass that can do it all.
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every time you post that bass…
ever consider selling?…

 

[JIO]

The last one is stunning. Love the middle as well. The first one looks great and I'm not a earth tones kind of person.

Thanks! The Saundersbird (wht T-bird) is one of my personal basses. It's not uncommon. Browns are a very like-or-not-like colour pallet for people. Yah, it's an "earth tone", but so is green and all of the nuanced versions of brown and green. How about 'leather' (brown) or jade green - pretty cool colours in my book. I think partially if a guitar/bass player (more predominately a bass player in that regard) sees 'brown' - they want to see wood, not a brown finish. (which is organic... an earth tone...) But I get it. I was gifted a very sophisticated colour sense so to me brown is one of a myriad of amazing colours to consider, no lesser or greater than any other colour. I'll go as far to say that I can pick a version of whatever colour looks completely wrong in a situation - that looks better. I think peoples aversion to certain colours is based on bad references from those who create those colour concepts for products. Nature provides every single colour imaginable outside of "sparkle/metal-flake".

(wrong)

 

[PhR75]

There was a Theremin antenna attached the lower strap button end, too?

Seems like there is an antenna indeed. Most likely used on "Space Station No.5".
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/367184175852423135#imgViewer

 

[JIO]

every time you post that bass…
ever consider selling?…

Thanks! I have a few I will part with - but unfortunately, not that one. It goes deep with me. Here's a back story; I had been eyeing ads for the new '06 CIJ Fender Jaguar bass and this one then. Up to that point I only had bought 2 new bass's in my life and only owned one (my '64 II) at the time. It was near Christmas in '06 and I finished a job early and had time kill. Near where I was working (in Marin) I stopped by a local guitar shop. (Banana's at Large - they've moved since - but not far) and played both basses. After that, the CIJ '51 P RI was chosen. I talked them into giving me a Fender gig-bag for it - boy was I stoked! (there's a back story to this also, but to move on...) I liked it for a brief period and then decided to mod it (primarily because of the toxic-mustard colour it came in - not even close to an "aged" '51 P trans-blond finish) It became the T2K (Tele 2000) and I rocked it for years in that configuration. (trans brown over ash with a black pg)


The finish looked cool, but it started falling apart (my early days doing guitar finishes~) so I stripped it and had Marty Bell do a piano-black/trans-brown finish on it. He nailed it. (and he's retiring, unfortunately for anyone wanting an awesome finished bass or guitar) Pat Wilkins is still the man on the left coast.., but he has also been doing his magic since the '80s and eventually he'll be retiring too. I've been very fortunate to work with both of them for years - they hold it down on the west coast.

Anyway - you'll get to play it eventually - and you will love it.

Gen 1 T2K in "downtown brown". (and Pacifica HW1 sticker!) I originally had it with a parchment pearl pg.

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Thanks! I have a few I will part with - but unfortunately, not that one. It goes deep with me. Here's a back story; I had been eyeing ads for the new '06 CIJ Fender Jaguar bass and this one then. Up to that point I only had bought 2 new bass's in my life and only owned one (my '64 II) at the time. It was near Christmas in '06 and I finished a job early and had time kill. Near where I was working (in Marin) I stopped by a local guitar shop. (Banana's at Large - they've moved since - but not far) and played both basses. After that, the CIJ '51 P RI was chosen. I talked them into giving me a Fender gig-bag for it - boy was I stoked! (there's a back story to this also, but to move on...) I liked it for a brief period and then decided to mod it (primarily because of the toxic-mustard colour it came in - not even close to an "aged" '51 P trans-blond finish) It became the T2K (Tele 2000) and I rocked it for years in that configuration. (trans brown over ash with a black pg)


The finish looked cool, but it started falling apart (my early days doing guitar finishes~) so I stripped it and had Marty Bell do a piano-black/trans-brown finish on it. He nailed it. (and he's retiring, unfortunately for anyone wanting an awesome finished bass or guitar) Pat Wilkins is still the man on the left coast.., but he has also been doing his magic since the '80s and eventually he'll be retiring too. I've been very fortunate to work with both of them for years - they hold it down on the west coast.

Anyway - you'll get to play it eventually - and you will love it.

View attachment 4576985
Gen 1 T2K in "downtown brown". (and HW1 sticker!) I originally had it with a parchment pearl pg.
View attachment 4576993

 

[JIO]

The one on the left (fretless Tele-style) went through a second iteration also. (since sold) The one in the middle is my '66 P - the "magic" bass.

 

[PhR75]

Thanks! I have a few I will part with - but unfortunately, not that one. It goes deep with me. Here's a back story; I had been eyeing ads for the new '06 CIJ Fender Jaguar bass and this one then. Up to that point I only had bought 2 new bass's in my life and only owned one (my '64 II) at the time. It was near Christmas in '06 and I finished a job early and had time kill. Near where I was working (in Marin) I stopped by a local guitar shop. (Banana's at Large - they've moved since - but not far) and played both basses. After that, the CIJ '51 P RI was chosen. I talked them into giving me a Fender gig-bag for it - boy was I stoked! (there's a back story to this also, but to move on...) I liked it for a brief period and then decided to mod it (primarily because of the toxic-mustard colour it came in - not even close to an "aged" '51 P trans-blond finish) It became the T2K (Tele 2000) and I rocked it for years in that configuration. (trans brown over ash with a black pg)


The finish looked cool, but it started falling apart (my early days doing guitar finishes~) so I stripped it and had Marty Bell do a piano-black/trans-brown finish on it. He nailed it. (and he's retiring, unfortunately for anyone wanting an awesome finished bass or guitar) Pat Wilkins is still the man on the left coast.., but he has also been doing his magic since the '80s and eventually he'll be retiring too. I've been very fortunate to work with both of them for years - they hold it down on the west coast.

Anyway - you'll get to play it eventually - and you will love it.

View attachment 4576985
Gen 1 T2K in "downtown brown". (and Pacifica HW1 sticker!) I originally had it with a parchment pearl pg.
View attachment 4576993

That bass looks great. There's something with the '51/Tele -style basses and two humbuckers in Jazz/T-Bird area. Ever since I saw this pic in a "Heavy Rock" book (a collection of articles from 70's Finnish music magazine) I was hooked even if I wasn't quite sure what bass it was, never mind the player. (It's John Sauter playing with Ted Nugent, still don't know what the pickups are...).

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I've seen a couple of her solo band videos and she's the real deal, great sound besides being a very accomplished player. To me your sound and how tasteful you play is more important than how fast you are or how acrobatic you can play.

Anyone who can hang with Jeff Beck is a beast.

 

[JIO]

That bass looks great. There's something with the '51/Tele -style basses and two humbuckers in Jazz/T-Bird area. Ever since I saw this pic in a "Heavy Rock" book (a collection of articles from 70's Finnish music magazine) I was hooked even if I wasn't quite sure what bass it was, never mind the player. (It's John Sauter playing with Ted Nugent, still don't know what the pickups are...).
View attachment 4577015

Great pic - an epic wall-of-amps live bass-player shot! (with bell-bottoms!)

 

[JIO]

Anyone who can hang with Jeff Beck is a beast.

And in the grand scheme of things - it makes Jeff Beck even cooler that he picked a young talented female to support his music/him. David Bowie also comes to mind...

 

[PhR75]

Great pic - an epic wall-of-amps live bass-player shot! (with bell-bottoms!)

Indeed. It's part of a bigger pic, but Sauter is still the coolest looking guy in it. Sorry Ted!

 

[GBassNorth]

The G&L MFDs are either loved or hated. I love them. Crazy powerful. Humbuckers on steroids and crack. I love the adjustable poles. Every G&L I've owned has been flawless. And...they are as comfortable to play as anything. Leo got that body shape right as well. Why they are not more popular I don't understand.

I’m sure I’m in the minority on this, but one of the very few basses I ever let go was a beautifully made G&L L2500 (Asian model, called Tribute IIRC). The control layout and dual humbuckers truly offered a staggering level of tone options along with a passive switch that by itself was worth the price of admission.

I ended up offing it because the output was so hot it just unmercifully slammed the preamp section of every amp I owned into full clip mode. In passive mode it was one of the best I’ve ever played, but I flat out couldn’t use any other setting on it without completely adjusting my rig. Not a problem if it had been my only bass or if I had another like it, but I was actively gigging then and needed a useable backup. For me, at the time, it just didn’t fit the bill, so off it went with no regrets.

 

[GBassNorth]

How about 2015 T’bird with the exposed poles and tapping ?

It’s been at least 15 years ago that I got rid of my G&L, but to my recollection it had a broader tone palette than my current 2015 Tbird and the G&L pickups were every bit as hot if not hotter. However, the Tbird pup magnets are much much stronger. I never had any set up challenges with the G&L like I had with my 2015 and I’ve never had any clipping issues with my 2015 like I had with my G&L.