The Last Bass Outpost

I'm too old (and lazy) to lug 5 amps in and out for a gig.

Quote from: Basvarken on July 30, 2020, 02:43:01 PM
Welcome back!

Thanks! Good to be back. I'll try to stick around.

$3000 for that?!?!?!? Wow. My '76 in excellent condition must be worth a fortune then......


And hello to everyone. I used to post here (and at the Dudepit) years ago but haven't been around for a long time. Good to be back. I'm on TB as Showdown, you've probably seen me there in the Thunderbird Club.

Quote from: westen44 on December 14, 2014, 10:51:57 AM
I think one thing that has always bothered me the most about it is that famous musicians tend to put an instrument through more use than might be considered typical.  If it's one of their favorite instruments, it has been through a lot.  Some of these people are on the road almost the whole year.  I'd prefer a new musical instrument or one that has barely been played.

On the other hand while they may be worn and even beat up looking they are kept in top playing shape by professional techs.

Quote from: Chris P. on August 24, 2014, 06:08:18 AM
Opa en oma is normal in Dutch for grandfather and grandmother. Haven't heard it in another language yet.

In Korean oma means mother. Odd that the same word in two very different, unrelated languages would have such similar meaning.

Quote from: godofthunder on May 25, 2014, 02:16:02 PM
Thanks! I was with my last band for 13 years. After the liberating euphoria of quitting I suffered through  a severe three month depression, I lost a big part of my identity. To be back on stage is like coming home.

I know exactly how you felt. Last year I was without a band for most of the year for the first time in nearly 20 years (not the same band the whole time though). I had the same reaction. Now I'm back in two bands and it really feels good.

Playing seems to be an addiction that is hard to get over. I guess we all needed a support group.

Quote from: uwe on November 27, 2013, 12:47:56 PM
Anybody ever tried playing a Bicentennial and competing with a double-bass drum attack?

Actually I have, in a very loud heavy metal band. It cut through like a hot knife through butter. Both my Bicentennials are like that. It amazes me when I hear some of you guys say they don't.

One of mine is a '77 and has a sticker:



The other is a '76 also with a sticker. The '77 Has a big, deep (through the finish) stamp at the neck heel that says BGN, which apparently was for factory seconds and stood for "bargain". At this point in time 36 years later it is impossible to tell what was wrong with it, since there are lots of dings, etc.

That is awesome.

Quote from: uwe on March 15, 2013, 02:52:20 PM
  "neckdives like Stuka over Poland"

That dead spot elimination thing always struck me as vodoo acoustics. Any scientific defenders?

I don't have science, but I used to have a Fender with a really bad dead spot, and I put one of the Fat Finger devices on it and it made a huge difference.

That said, my back can't take neck heavy basses any more, so I want a smaller, lighter headstock whenever possible. I've even gone to using a weighted strap on my '76 bird because of the neck dive, so weights on the headstock are out.

I always stand on the high hat side, because it is easier to make eye contact with the drummer when necessary. If I am on the floor tom side they are usually looking the other way. I have played with a lot of drummers over the years, and there have been a couple of lefties, so I have stood on both sides, but usually that means on the drummer's left.

Quote from: TBird1958 on September 13, 2012, 09:46:17 AM

It's finally light enough here on the West Coast for a first shot of Uwe's new G-3.

I will write this up, but so far I think this is one killer bass!

Sweet!

Quote from: Dave W on August 17, 2012, 04:49:42 PM
Maybe it's there as a place for tooling which holds it for CNC operations.

I believe, due to having installed pickups in one of mine, that it was intended to make it it easier to get the wire through to the control cavity. To make that sharp turn you have to pull the wire all the way out that rout and then thread it through to the hole to the control cavity. That long horizontal rout makes it easy to loop the wire as you pull it through that second hole. Imagine pulling the wire through the hole from the pickup cavity to that rout. Then you start the end through the hole to the control cavity. At this point there is a loop of wire outside the bass that gets smaller as you pull the wire through to the control cavity. The long rout gives a place for that loop to go as it gets smaller. Hard to explain, but easy to do.

Quote from: gweimer on August 09, 2012, 06:46:19 AM
Looks vaguely familiar...

I was thinking that too.

Quote from: uwe on August 02, 2012, 06:38:04 PM


The TBird never had mass appeal to bassists, too outlandish, not slap-inviting at a time when slapping began to become all the rage and with an inhibiting upper register (lack of) access. No bassist I knew wanted one in 1976,

Hell, I bought one in 1976, so I guess there was one bass player that wanted one. I will admit it was on sale for half price ($400!) because it wasn't selling. I still have that one, the one in my avatar.


Back to the G3 reissue, I love the honey burst one. If I hadn't just bought a SS Thunderbird a few months ago I might be tempted to get one.