Thunderbird

[johnallg]

I'm mulling over a black mid-90's Orville T-Bird f/s locally. It is a completely different animal than what I usually play, which I guess is most of the appeal for me really. I got to try this particular one. Though I didn't get to strap it on yet (which I will HAVE to do), from playing it sitting down it seems like it would be a great pick bass, but maybe not a very good fingerstyle bass.

It needs a truss rod tweak, and it has old rounds on it. It sounds dark and mean - I would love to get a set of flats on it though and see if it can REALLY thump.

Obviously it just looks cool as hell (my band needs all the help we can get in THAT department...)

John, can you borrow one to try at a practice first? T-Birds are a love/hate bass.

[sloop_john_b]

Ah, what the hell. I bit the bullet. Had some store credit to burn. Never owned one. Had to satisfy my curiosity. YOLO.

I brought a strap with me to try it out today - a thin, particularly slick one is all I had on hand at the moment, so as you can imagine, the neck dive was quite pronounced. Not unplayable so, but enough to be irksome. The first thing I'm gonna do is drop in a set of Hipshot Ultralites I have on hand, which will certainly make SOME difference. Will it be enough? We shall see...

It sounds great - like a more burly, wooly P, but with a bridge pickup there if I want to go into Jaco territory, albeit with more muscle behind it (not a fan of that tone usually, but its nice having it on hand).

The case is heavy and humongous. If I decide to keep it, I won't be bringing this on every gig, that's for sure. It's just impractical - especially considering I usually just put two seven-pound Precisions in a double gig bag strapped to my back.

Despite the obvious Crue & glam associations, I find something quite classy and refined about it (kinda like me ). More chrome than you can shake a stick at!

[aceonbass]

I brought a strap with me to try it out today - a thin, particularly slick one is all I had on hand at the moment, so as you can imagine, the neck dive was quite pronounced. Not unplayable so, but enough to be irksome. The first thing I'm gonna do is drop in a set of Hipshot Ultralites I have on hand, which will certainly make SOME difference. Will it be enough? We shall see...

The Ultralites won't make a difference John. I know cuz I put a set on mine. The neck dive is always there, but what you gotta remember to do is remember to keep your forearm on the upper rear of the bass when your hands not on the neck. I also have a pretty wide leather strap which helps. Balance issues aside, my Blackbird is my "other" bass most of the time these days. The stock wiring was pretty lame considering what these cost, so I rewired it...of course.

[sloop_john_b]

Dane, did you ever try moving the strap button to the heel? Some have had success doing this (in conjunction with the right strap I'm sure).

[aceonbass]

I had thought about that, but I hate extra strap peg holes in my basses. One thing I hadn't noticed about my bass right away was that the rear strap peg is much higher than on other T-Bird type basses I've seen. This also helps with balance.

[sloop_john_b]

Well, I have to disagree on the Ultralites not helping - I put them on before a gig last night and the bass balances nearly perfectly now!

I am really digging this bass BTW.

[woodyng]

What's that phrase,"YMMV"? Cool,glad you're digging the bass,John! The combination of the mahogoney body/neck,and the humbuckers makes for a really nice tonal variation from a maple Ric,or an Alder Fender for that matter. The closest i came to that combination was an all mahogoney bc rich eagle bass with lawrence pickups,which was my main bass for about 5 years.

[aceonbass]

Well, I have to disagree on the Ultralites not helping - I put them on before a gig last night and the bass balances nearly perfectly now!

Hmmmm...Well mine are powder coated black, so maybe that makes them heavier

[sloop_john_b]

What's that phrase,"YMMV"?

Indeed! I think the T-Bird is second only to Ricks in that department.

Obviously its the honeymoon period so I'm treading lightly here, but I honestly did not expect it to sound so good! The neck pickup soloed is my favorite sound on it so far, in spite of the roundwounds its strung up with. I'll put some flats on it in time for tonight's gig.

I gigged with it last night, intending to use it for our whole first set (out of 2), but it wasn't quite prepared for my aggressive picking - I knocked the low E completely flat a couple of times, so I switched over to my Precision as soon as I could. I'll stretch out the new strings a bit better before tonight to make sure that doesn't happen again.

It's not all coming up roses - the truss rod is quite tight and the neck is a bit bowed. Plus, I have already knocked it around accidentally a couple of times. These things are so big. This headstock is not long for this world.

[aceonbass]

One think about my bass that definitely makes it balance better is that the rear strap peg is higher, mounted about as far above the center line of the neck as the front peg is.

[woodyng]

The only reason i sold my '67 Epiphone Embassy,was i did NOT want to be the guy that broke the headstock off! (It was a rare pristine neck.)

[grenadilla]

What's that phrase,"YMMV"?

Indeed! I think the T-Bird is second only to Ricks in that department.

Obviously its the honeymoon period so I'm treading lightly here, but I honestly did not expect it to sound so good! The neck pickup soloed is my favorite sound on it so far, in spite of the roundwounds its strung up with. I'll put some flats on it in time for tonight's gig.

I gigged with it last night, intending to use it for our whole first set (out of 2), but it wasn't quite prepared for my aggressive picking - I knocked the low E completely flat a couple of times, so I switched over to my Precision as soon as I could. I'll stretch out the new strings a bit better before tonight to make sure that doesn't happen again.

It's not all coming up roses - the truss rod is quite tight and the neck is a bit bowed. Plus, I have already knocked it around accidentally a couple of times. These things are so big. This headstock is not long for this world.

It is nice to see one Thunderbird that is not sunburst. I got the Epi Pro T-Bird and like the active E.Q. I use lighter 100 guage strings to lessen the tension on the neck. The neck stays straighter and the truss rod has an easier job . The price has been reduced to $400, plus case.

[jdogric12]

Prediction: sold in < 2 mo. No, wait, he likes it... 3.

[sloop_john_b]

Prediction: sold in < 2 mo. No, wait, he likes it... 3.

I made no predictions of long-term ownership.

It is cool but weird, so yes, I may tire of it - or I may come to like it more? Really don't know yet.

[cassius987]

Congrats on the T-bird, John. The neck pickup -- AKA the "good" pickup -- on the T-bird pretty much reminds me of a Jazz Bass neck pickup (also the "good" pickup of that bass IMO), but a little woolier and warmer which seems limiting on paper but I actually tend to like it better that way when the bass tone is isolated. In a mix I think they do equally well, with the Fender definitely benefiting from the extra presence. That pickup placement in general is one of the best there is in my opinion, so much so that that's where I stuck the third pickup on my 4001FL! Sure enough it channels that tone real nice. I think that's basically where the 4002 neck pickup rests also.