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Messages - lowend1

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46
Gibson Basses / Re: Music videos that feature Thunderbirds
« on: May 03, 2023, 04:38:01 PM »
Quote from: BklynKen on May 03, 2023, 10:53:35 AM
Did you run it into the FX Return or the front input? I've never gotten a good sound running my preamp into the input.  I guess because it's one preamp into another.

Yeah, I almost always plug the preamp into the FX return or the "power amp in" jack (preferred). Alternatively, if there is a padded (-15db) input out front, I'll use that. That will not bypass the tone stack, though, so I try to set the power amp flat and go from there.

47
Gibson Basses / Re: Music videos that feature Thunderbirds
« on: May 03, 2023, 09:07:10 AM »
Quote from: Basvarken on May 03, 2023, 08:19:56 AM
The amp was always 50% of my sound.
Really a collaboration of the bass and the amp.
I used a full tube amp to get the desired amount of saturation of the power tubes (in combination with the lo-z Les Paul Bass).
For that reason I always brought my own Shure Beta 52A mic.
To make sure the amp signal went to the sound board.

Later I used the Ext Amp out on the Ampeg V4B as the slave-out to a Markbass SB450 that I used as a slave.
Each amp with its own speaker.
I used the Markbass to get some tight low end (from its assigned speaker) because the V4B would go into overdrive too much when cranked up loud.

And from that Markbass slave I took the Direct Out to send to the sound board. Which would still be the V4B character basically.



But for lots of bass players the amp is just a monitor. They want it to add zero color. In which case a DI is enough.

The V4/V4B is still my favorite amp - the preamp section is just magic. A Bicentennial Thunderbird and one of those heads through a flatback 810 was "my" sound for years. When I had shows that required using someone else's rig, I bought a used Peavey Alpha tube bass preamp that got me in the ballpark. Still looking for a lightweight head that will do the V4 grind, but there is something on the horizon that looks very promising...

48
Gibson Basses / Re: Music videos that feature Thunderbirds
« on: May 02, 2023, 08:51:34 AM »
Quote from: uwe on May 02, 2023, 07:57:56 AM
Oops, my bad, I didn't realize he was (only) playing an Epi (of the regular kind), I thought it was a Gibson with TB Plus soapies for the sublow impact, didn't recognize the telltale Epi pups with the beveled edges. Goes to show that with the right amp, you can pretty much play anything and still have a workable sound.

No question. The amplifier (and speaker cab) is a huge component of one's sound - and often overlooked as such. Some people want the amp to be a mirror image of the instrument's core tone, but I always look for the unique coloration that most great amps have. Never cared much for "direct" bass sounds, either, live or in studio - I always requested a mic in both settings. I even got to the point of carrying an SM57 with me just in case.

49
Gibson Basses / Re: Music videos that feature Thunderbirds
« on: April 30, 2023, 10:05:36 AM »
Quote from: uwe on April 30, 2023, 06:57:24 AM
Epic-Symphonic-Indie-Thrash-Metal with an ethereal voice. And a soapbar TBird. You couldn't be playing this kind of music with a 60ies Bird, much less a Bicentennial.



Frankly, I don't think it matters a whole lot in this case. The garden variety Epi bolt-on he's playing doesn't really have a unique, singular voice.  While one couldn't probably appreciate the nuances of a more traditional Thunderbird in this sonic setting, I don't think the music would be impacted to any great degree. With the right amp, I think even a Bicentennial would hold its own. Given the, um, physical nature of the material, probably best to use something with a neck that is held on by screws, though.

50
Gibson Basses / Re: Are 2001 Gibson Thunderbird pickups different?
« on: April 23, 2023, 09:52:17 AM »
Quote from: Basvarken on April 21, 2023, 05:53:27 AM
These pickups were first available through an Ebay seller in HongKong.
We therefor called them HongKong buckers over here at the Outpost.

But they were always from EY Parts / EY Guitarmusic.
And at a certain point they were moved to another part of their site called Eric Custom.

51
Gibson Basses / Re: Not a Gibson, but it sorta belongs here ...
« on: April 20, 2023, 08:50:11 AM »
Quote from: uwe on April 20, 2023, 08:03:02 AM
You didn't miss much. They were landfill LA rock (though stemming from initially San Francisco).

Landfill - how appropriate. There was tons of landfill around during that era. The few bands that weren't unfortunately got lumped in with the offal.

52
Gibson Basses / Re: Epi bolt-on 'bird
« on: April 20, 2023, 08:45:43 AM »
Quote from: BklynKen on April 20, 2023, 07:32:50 AM
Agreed.  I see people rushing to replace the TB+, but I am a big fan of them.  I think I get a great tone through my rig.

The TB+ is a great pickup - they seem to save everything I put them in. One of the few pickups that doesn't lose its oomph when the bridge pickup is solo'd. I love them in a PJ setup in place of the J.

53
Gibson Basses / Re: Epi bolt-on 'bird
« on: April 19, 2023, 07:29:36 AM »
Quote from: uwe on April 14, 2023, 04:29:25 PM
If you don't have the bucks to waste and are a kid, Epi is never less than value for money.

And that Epi Explorer sounded indeed dull, but came to life with real Gibson TB Plus pups - the wood (limba) on that bass was actually great and very resonant (if so soft you could dent it with your fingernail). The original pups let the poor thing down beyond recognition. With proper pups, it creamed the 80ies medium scale Gibbie Exes into the ground.

FYI... EY Guitar Parts - they of the Chinabucker T-Bird pickups - now offers a drop-in replacement for the black Epi pickups with Gibson-style internals.
https://www.eyguitarmusic.com/Thunderbird-Bass-for-Original-EpiphoneWith-Gibson-Thunderbird-inner-coilsNeck-and-Bridge-Set_p_2807.html

54
Gibson Basses / Re: Epi bolt-on 'bird
« on: April 19, 2023, 07:25:35 AM »
Quote from: gearHed289 on April 14, 2023, 07:11:25 AM
A co-worker recently acquired an Epiphone Thunderbird from a guy he jams with. Typical Epi bolt-on with tobacco sunburst finish. He gave it to me to do a little setup work yesterday. I was really surprised by how nice this bass feels. The neck is much slimmer than the ones I've picked up in the past. I've played a Goth and a regular white one, and they both had fairly chunky necks. It's also very light weight. And to top it off, it actually SOUNDS like a Thunderbird. It has personality. I briefly had an Epi Explorer with those same (physically at least?) pickups, and the sound was dullsville. Very nice gloss finish too. I have no intention of ever buying one, but I wanted to give a big thumbs up to this bass.  :thumbsup:

Yeah, the necks on the bolt-on models slimmed down noticeably in recent years. I have one of the white LE models with the chrome pickups and the neck is quite beefy. It plays very nice, but my left hand gets fatigued a lot quicker than with my other Thunderbirds.

55
Gibson Basses / Re: New Epiphone Newport Bass.
« on: April 19, 2023, 07:15:36 AM »
Quote from: Dave W on April 18, 2023, 08:16:32 PM
Could be, but Epi often increases after an introductory price. Didn't they do that with the Vintage Pro TBird?

They did. Happens with a fair portion of the product line. It seems that there is an obligatory $50-75 jump after the first six months or so.

56
The Outpost Cafe / Re: And I thought they were just gamers, a bit on the nerdy side ...
« on: April 14, 2023, 07:35:01 PM »
Quote from: uwe on April 14, 2023, 06:49:41 PM
True. And he'll go to prison for it, the jackass, and be pardoned in a few years, hopefully not only an older, but also a wiser man.

Call me totally naive, but I wouldn't have considered it fathomable that anyone so young would have legal access to this stuff in an official capacity.

That baffles me as well, but the government is not known for its judgement or common sense either. I just heard a former congressman say the other day that he knows for a fact that there are portions of the Pentagon that are still running on Windows 95. Even if that is an exaggeration, it wouldn't surprise me if they were using an outdated OS.

57
The Outpost Cafe / Re: And I thought they were just gamers, a bit on the nerdy side ...
« on: April 14, 2023, 04:23:04 PM »
Quote from: uwe on April 13, 2023, 03:54:08 PM
The guy looks like a kid they stuck into a uniform.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/13/who-is-jack-teixeira-the-man-arrested-over-pentagon-files-leak

21 year-olds aren't typically known for their judgement and common sense.

58
The Outpost Cafe / Re: Lead Guitarists ...
« on: April 14, 2023, 04:17:44 PM »
Quote from: uwe on April 14, 2023, 08:40:23 AM
I guess they don't qualify for what he defines as a "dinosaur", look here:

https://www.dinosaurrockguitar.com/node/616

I liked Ralph's work with both Mott the Hoople (he was much more musical than Ariel Bender, if not as much of a showman) and Bad Co, but he never struck me as a guitar hero. Both MtH and BC were song-oriented bands and not really improvisational.

Kossoff more so, he had that tone and Free had more improvisational liberty, though Andy Fraser had some beef with him to grind as regards his rhythm playing and the rhythm/riff guitar on the studio version of Alright Now is reputedly played by Fraser because Kossoff just couldn't get it right.

Yeah, I think his list of criteria is somewhat bullshit-ish and inconsistent. He makes a big deal about melody and vibrato, both of which Ralphs had in spades. Koss was the KING of vibrato. Brian May and Leslie West are in there, though, so the logic escapes me.
As I write this, it occurs to me that he also omitted Ted Nugent and Peter Frampton. Both can outplay some of the people on that list... I mean, Frank Hannon is a good player, but he really hasn't done anything legendary or iconic.

59
The Outpost Cafe / Re: Lead Guitarists ...
« on: April 13, 2023, 04:13:32 PM »
How does he manage to omit both Paul Kossoff AND Mick Ralphs?

60
Bass Amps & Effects / Re: New from Ampeg
« on: April 03, 2023, 08:20:00 AM »
That figures. I waited two years before I bought the SCR-DI - after I bought and sold the Classic Preamp pedal. Not sure I can justify $400 on this, though.

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