Music videos that feature Thunderbirds

[uwe]

"Was floored by how average the bass sounded."

What was wrong with Martin Turner's bass sound with his Bird? 



Granted, it doesn't jump at your throat like Squire's or Entwistle's, but then WA's whole aural landscape was less abrasive than The Who's or Yes'. I think he had a nice bony, yet natural sound, that  went well with his melodic playing without detracting from the twin guitar harmonies. Couldn't imagine a better fitting one really.

Martin Turner got his TBird only post-Argus (that was still recorded with his beloved Ric - which was stolen shortly after - and he would even re-record it with a Ric - on loan from John Wetton I believe - when he did another version of Argus decades later, in 2009) from Overend Watts of Mott the Hoople - he first used it on a US tour of WA (the pictures on the back cover of Argus are from that tour - after the recording).

[4stringer77]

That bass sounds perfectly adequate and probably much more practical than any EB-0 could sound in the same setting. Nothing wrong with T-birds but nothing wrong with being a mud lover either.

Lets see Martin Turner do this with a T-bird

[westen44]

If you love that kind of tone, which I do, then it's beyond great.  I also like very much the way Leslie West sounds on guitar on that. 

[uwe]

Ok, I get what your point was. 

Mud has its place, but Turner's whole approach to bass playing was always that of a down-tuned guitar, hence the lack of woof (it would only have cluttered things and make his lines less audible). WA could rock, but they were never bludgeonly heavy, they always had something airy and feathery to their sound.

In fact the other members of WA have joked that they only realized "what a real bassist sounds like" when John Wetton and Trevor Bolder joined them after Turner's departure - both were much more lower range oriented than Turner (though the latter would regularly tune his E string down to D because WA used D and related keys often).

[uwe]

Not a vid, but a cute mistake, Leon Wilkeson of Lynyrd Skynyrd fame believed to be playing a "Firebird Bass" as of their second album (Second Helping), I only noticed this now as I leafed through the booklet of the CD ...



Ok, now we do need a vid with that "Firebird Bass"!

[gearHed289]

Ok, now we do need a vid with that "Firebird Bass"!

How about a Fenderbird bass?

[uwe]

Yeah, I saw that too, but it didn't fit as well. He probably broke his TBird's neck - with the amount of touring LS did back then ... Or he saw it with JAE when they opened for The Who on a lengthy US tour where Pete Townshend made that legendary "Aren't they rather good?" quote during an interview when LS where already playing on stage.

[doombass]

The Fenderbird was actually a gift from Entwistle. Here's a gear list for those interested in what Leon used through the years:https://www.scribd.com/document/23991128/Lynyrd-Skynyrd-Leon-Wilkeson-Equipment-History

[ilan]

[Dave W]

^^^

Good one, somehow I missed seeing that one before.

[ilan]

Great sound BTW, not just killer looks.

[Alanko]

This was posted on here before in another thread, because the amps were a mystery. They were German 'Blackfield' amps, from memory!

That Chuck Berry footage is quite cool, but there is a bit of a fascist vibe coming from him. He clearly ran a tight ship!

[ilan]

Did T-birds come with rubber mutes under the bridge cover, like Fenders?

[Dave W]

Great sound BTW, not just killer looks.

Yes, you can hear the bass, which you often can't with Chuck Berry live videos. This one looks live in studio, so better sound.

This was posted on here before in another thread, because the amps were a mystery. They were German 'Blackfield' amps, from memory!

That Chuck Berry footage is quite cool, but there is a bit of a fascist vibe coming from him. He clearly ran a tight ship!

Chuck was known to be brutal to his backup bands. He ran the show and you did everything his way, or else.

[uwe]

He was horrible to play with. He wouldn't rehearse with his tour bands - so they had to be on edge/on their toes all of the time as he ad libbed his way through. Not a pleasant man.