Tom Petersson's new Thunderbird

[jumbodbassman]

 "Even a 3 point has plenty of travel, it's disiked by many but personally I love it, a versetile design. "


I agree with Mark  It is a bit of a pain to adjust/change string guages etc but it works ok.  IMHO better than the old 2 points on the ebo's from the first half of the 60's.  This one can only get close..... not that anyone could actually ever hear the small imperfection....
some story with old hofners and danos....



don't love these either but they work better

[jumbodbassman]

It's no different than mine except for the gold color.

who's bridge is on the left???  I might want to put that one in my bachbird so i can tweak the string width a little.  Sorry -  been a fender guy since 1972 when i bought my first " real" bass   -  New SB p bass w ith rosewood neck  for $171 plus $43 for the case.  I still have it though i stupidily scrapped off the SB and added a j pup. i still have the tort which i need to put back on one of these days...

[dadagoboi]

That's Scott's Badbird bridge...very clean solution IMHO

[jumbodbassman]

does he still sell them???

[dadagoboi]

Don't know but I'd be happy to put one on your JAEbird if he does.

[Dave W]

I don't think we should confine criticism to Import basses or shnooks selling what we consider inferior crap for inflated prices on Ebay or Craigslist.

Is discussing the merits of boutique basses in a civil manner OK or are we supposed to assume everything sold at a high price is flawless?

Sure it's okay. In the past I've been a harsh critic of those hideously ugly mutant singlecut boutique monstrosities (is that civil enough?  ). I'm only quiet about it because there are so few of them on this forum. But show me a piece of butt-ugly buckeye burl top and I might go crazy. 

Seriously, it's all a matter of taste. If the aesthetics of the Lull strike you the wrong way, you can certainly say so.

[rockinrayduke]

Is discussing the merits of boutique basses in a civil manner OK or are we supposed to assume everything sold at a high price is flawless?

Please post some photos of some basses you're proud of. I'll be civil, I promise.

[dadagoboi]

Couldn't insert Rockin's quote but here it is:
No, we don't assume that but I think your response could have shown a little more respect. I make it a rule never to diss a brother's instrument online no matter how I feel about it.


Here's my first comment which referred to the Petersen bass:
Is it just me or is that bridge way bigger than it needs to be?  Otherwise Cool Bass!

my second:
No offense Mark but it seems that with the bridge located properly, ala JAE's Fenderbirds, the amount of adjustment on the originals was enough.

The Lull bridge looks clunky to me with the unnecessary acorn nuts and its excess width.  Also, notice how much room there is behind the E saddle.  It's lined up with the centerline of the post and the G saddle is slammed against the front rail.  That's sloppy for a $4k bass IMHO.

Mark's reply:
Ummmm.....
We're all entitled to an opinion so no problem.
The G string saddle doesn't touch the front of the bridge tho, Hipshot designed the part and it fully intonates unlike the original, and it's pretty much the same size as Scott's part too, that's not my opinion, it's fact..........
Calling it sloppy work is your own uninformed opinion tho, I don't happen to share it, because I own what is in question and know it works and that it's good quality. The bass plays better than any of my others, stays in tune, intones properly, and hasn't needed any adjustment in the year and a half that I've owned it, so the part in question functions well. As it's a very well made bass that quite a few famous players use presently (Tom Petersson's will be a sig model, and Jeff Ahment will have one next year as well, if it's good enough for pro's it'll FOR work me.) I'll keep my opinion and trust Mike's well established credentials as both a luthier, and repairman, you might want to actually own what it is that you claim to have an opinion about. Oh yeah, one other thing, if you're going price my bass, get it right - $5400.00

Emphasis mine.  If we followed that logic around here we could express very few opinions.

My response which I thought was fairly even handed after I was basically told to shut up and keep my opinions to my unpriveleged self since the pro's (sic) had spoken.  I think it was fairly measured.

I'm a designer, both practical and aesthetic.  I stated my opinion.  It appears to me the G string saddle is adjusted to it's maximum forward position or very close.  If another high priced machine (a Ducati, say, of which I do happen to own two) came from the factory with with a supposed adjustment completely to it's limit it would be considered problematic. Why have a theoretical adjustment that can't be made?  I don't have to own a Subaru to understand the quality and aesthetics of its construction or make an educated guess as to what the shortcomings of its boxer engine might be.  I'm glad your bass intonates well.  That might not be the case with a heavier gauge G string.  I dig Ament's and Petersen's playing but I don't really care that a celebrity will have his name on a bass that he got for free.

The Orville bridge appears to have a similar problem though all in all it's better looking than the Lull.  Again, just my opinion.  I'm a Design and Engineering Fag.


In the future I'll remember that people who own very expensive things get very touchy when you don't hold them in the high esteem they do.

[TBird1958]

What I find funny and a bit sad is that the stated opinions about Mike's bridge come from someone that doesn't even own one to make any sort of comparison (Opinions are fine, they're like that 'other thing" we all have) and since size, (width) are the aesthetic issue, as opposed to a quality one I think it's fair to say...........
 


 

Since I own 5 different two point designs I'll share some dimensions......

1 My Surf Green Orville (previously pictured)  is 5/8th wide, bridge intonates perfectly, Thanks again Curt for selling me a beautiful bass. 
2 My 2 BaCH's are 15/16 wide, the bridges function well and I know I'm not the only one that likes the look of these.......
3 My Lull's bridge is also 15/16ths just like a BaCH, perhaps a surprise for some of you, not for me, since I own the parts in question and don't make baseless statements for others to misconstue as fact.
4 My 8 string Non Reverse ( Lovingly built by Baz Cooper) has (IIRC) a Hamer bridge that is 7/8th's wide, and works very well -Thanks Baz!
5 I have one of Scott's retro fit bridges as well, it's my intent to use it on my Greco Thunderbird II it works perfectly for the job he designed it to do and it measures 1" in width.

There's lots of contradiction in some peoples opinions with regard to width and aesthetic so here are some facts, again I own what is in question here. Baseless statements  with regard to dimension and endorser deals are just that, no one says they can't be stated in a civil manner, but facts to the contrary get equal time.
     

[gearHed289]

 

Tommy's new bird looks kick ass! 

[Dave W]

Obviously my attempt at a little levity didn't work. 

In the future I'll remember that people who own very expensive things get very touchy when you don't hold them in the high esteem they do.

Yes, they do. Why are you surprised at this? You're still entitled to your opinion, just don't be surprised at the response.

You also might keep in mind that you're not just the average forum member expressing an opinion, you're starting to market basses you build. Although you're not in the same price range, you're still knocking a competitor's product. IMHO that's not a good business move.

What I find funny and a bit sad is that the stated opinions about Mike's bridge come from someone that doesn't even own one to make any sort of comparison (Opinions are fine, they're like that 'other thing" we all have) and since size, (width) are the aesthetic issue, as opposed to a quality one I think it's fair to say...........

IMHO your view will carry more weight with most people since you do own one. It does with me. But I have to agree with Carlo, if we can't express a negative opinion unless we own a product, this forum and most other gear forums would be very quiet.
 

Baseless statements with regard to dimension and endorser deals are just that, no one says they can't be stated in a civil manner, but facts to the contrary get equal time.

Agreed. And you did.
     

[Highlander]

The Oregon myrtle burl top on my Thunderbird was a budget-boutique build Dave... I'm happy to post for you to sling some abuse... er, pressure relief...

[rockinrayduke]

So what does that pickup config sound like on TP's Bird?

[dadagoboi]

Obviously my attempt at a little levity didn't work. 

Yes, they do. Why are you surprised at this? You're still entitled to your opinion, just don't be surprised at the response.

You also might keep in mind that you're not just the average forum member expressing an opinion, you're starting to market basses you build. Although you're not in the same price range, you're still knocking a competitor's product. IMHO that's not a good business move.


IMHO your view will carry more weight with most people since you do own one. It does with me. But I have to agree with Carlo, if we can't express a negative opinion unless we own a product, this forum and most other gear forums would be very quiet.
 

Agreed. And you did.

Points well taken Dave, thanks.  I don't consider Lull a competitor in the least.  I'm selling value and all the compromises that entails.

[gweimer]

Tom can have his new Bird.  I'm happy to have his old Embassy.