Music videos that feature Thunderbirds

[Alanko]

If you look at the pic that shows the underside of the bridge pickup, you'll se the word "Dawk" engraved on it. That would be the late John "Dawk" Stillwell, who worked for Deep Purple and Rainbow as a tech. He was responsible for Roger's modded Rickenbacker, as well as Blackmore's initial scalloped fingerboard Strat and his modded Marshall Major heads. I believe Dawk did the Thunderbird as well.

I remember that Dawk guy. Had his own forum for a while where he generally embellished of otherwise played up his significance in keeping rockstar guitars working, out on the road. I think he used to sell an epoxy cube containing a small transformer with a single wire running into the primary or something, as a magic instant Blackmore tonal device. A general shitehawk.

[lowend1]

I remember that Dawk guy. Had his own forum for a while where he generally embellished of otherwise played up his significance in keeping rockstar guitars working, out on the road. I think he used to sell an epoxy cube containing a small transformer with a single wire running into the primary or something, as a magic instant Blackmore tonal device. A general shitehawk.

By all accounts, Dawk was a pretty decent guy that had a TON of knowledge, and was valued by the bands he worked with. If he was a bit of an opportunist, it's because EVERYBODY in that field is a bit of an opportunist (how many Tube Screamer knockoffs are there?). The box you are referring to was Dawk's take on Bill Lawrence's Q-Filter, which IIRC he developed for the Gibson L6S as a way of cleaning up a guitar pickup's sound without reverting to a coil tap. Kent Armstrong also makes one, as does Lawrence's legacy company, Wilde.

[gearHed289]

It came in the same Oxo box whith the all the other parts. As stated above; it has "Dawk" scribbled on the back. That would be too much of a coincidence not to make part of the configuration that Glover had in this bass (at some point).

All I know is it's definitely a toaster on the bass in those Rainbow vids. Maybe there was further experimentation after that?

[TBird1958]

For Bi-amping, what else?

By the way, Roger must have owned more than one TBird, these days he still owns a natural fin Bicentennial, apparently unmodified.



But he also had a natural fin Bicentennial already with Rainbow, so maybe he got that fixed and it's not the 60ies one with the 60ies bridge and the Ric pup on facebook:



Even more confounding, a sunburst fin Bicentennial seemed to also still exist in 1981 when Joe Lynn Turner was the singer of the band (and not Graham Bonnet). I always assumed he broke the headstock at a gig with the previous line-up in 1979/80.





But that modified 60ies one from Facebook existed too, it can be seen here at 01.13 and 01:57 (clearly with a Ric toaster pup in the bridge position) in the 1979 vid to Rainbow's most cringeworthy song lyricwise:



Here is Roger's depiction (from an interview in 1991, Slaves & Masters era) on how he turned his TBird into a Steinberger (which he was playing at the time):

Bearing in mind that you used a Precision for a long time, did you ever
get backache from wearing that big old thing?

I get backache, but I thought that was just old age! But funnily enough,
I was given a '62 reissue Precision by Fender Japan, which was really nice,
but I couldn't believe the weight of it! By the time I'd put it on and tuned
it, I'd had enough! Actually this Steinberger is pretty heavy, but it's a
lovely guitar to play...

Did you have any trouble adjusting to the headless style?

Yeah, it was a bit strange at first. I kept thinking I'd fall off the end
of the fretboard! Mind you, that wasn't my first experience with headless
basses... When I was playing with Rainbow, I had a Gibson Thunderbird bass,
a lovely bass to play - I wish I'd been in Purple when I had that. Anyway,
we were playing one night and it was virtually the last chord of the last
song in the encore. I was playing away, and I suddenly became aware that I
couldn't feel any strings, so I looked down and the strings were just
hanging down off the bass. I looked up at the fretboard and the head had
disappeared! The T-birds were very weak, construction-wise, directly behind
the nut, and I must have accidentally touched my mike stand with the head of
the guitar and - WHACK! - instant headless bass..!

Requisite headstock repair- No doubt it flew off at great speed.

[Dave W]

Pete Birrell with a TBird

[westen44]

One of their best songs, too, although I could never get used to their absurd moves on stage.  I realize it was their schtick, but it still looked ridiculous. 

[uwe]

Progging out with a clanky Bicentennial.

[Dave W]

One of their best songs, too, although I could never get used to their absurd moves on stage.  I realize it was their schtick, but it still looked ridiculous.

Freddie Garrity had an excellent voice for pop, and I'm Telling You Now was a great pop love song... as long as you could hear it on the radio and not have to look at his antics on stage.

[gearHed289]

Progging out with a clanky Bicentennial.

Thanks.  Eloy is one of several bands that the "older dudes down the street" turned me on to in high school.

[Alanko]

Progging out with a clanky Bicentennial.

That tone makes me pretty convinced it is a T-bird on Argus, and not a Rickenbacker as Martin Turner has stated. There is a ringing 'dirty spring' sound in bright Thunderbirds that I hear on Argus.

[uwe]

This is the sound of a Bicentennial, Argus would have been a 60ies Bird, but Martin didn't have it yet.



Even when he rerecorded Argus some years back, he went out of his way to use a Ric for it. Since his had been stolen long ago, he loaned one from John Wetton.

I know Martin is arch-identified with TBirds (and Hamer Explorers with TBird pups), but they are mainly his live basses, he feels comfortable on stage with them. In the studio, he says, he plays anything that sounds good, Fender Ps - gasp, shok, horror! - among them ...

[uwe]

Thanks.  Eloy is one of several bands that the "older dudes down the street" turned me on to in high school.

I'm amazed that you guys could stand Frank Bornemann's häffi Tshörmenn äkzennt and really non-singer's voice. Eloy had healthy sales in Germany too, but they were forever ridiculed for Bornemann's singing by the German music press. German music critics wanted German bands to sound like so you wouldn't notice, Lake was their darling band.



To which you would have probably replied: "But we already have The Doobie Brothers here, we don't need two!" 

The Lilac Angels were another German band that found grace with German music critics for the same reason (sounding "un-German"), even though they were really only like a glorified Mott the Hoople.

[TBird1958]

Some daft Bird going on about something....Who even plays these things?!

[uwe]

But Mark, you're turning all Pop!

The red dress and the green don't match. Christmas is over.

[TBird1958]

But Mark, you're turning all Pop!

The red dress and the green don't match. Christmas is over.

I'll keep the dresses short and black in future!