Thanks all! I'm so happy with the way the bass came out as a whole, and all the good advice from here and from lurking at Reranch helped me avoid some newbie pitfalls - so I really appreciate the help!
I literally slapped it back together without paying any mind to the setup, but after it sat overnight it seemed to have settled right in. This inspired me to finish the electronics last night-
No funny business, just yer basic parallel VVT type of affair - featuring the
world's largest capacitor! (I might be able to sell power back to the utility grid now!!
)
I've only tried it at low volume, and it still sounds undeniably Thunderbird. My 76 is wired in parallel too, and the Bach sounds very much in that ballpark despite the obvious construction differences. I'm sure the subtleties will be more apparent once I get it running at volume. The band is on hiatus for the holidays, but I'm looking forward to putting it through the paces come January.