Thunderbirds by Mike Lull

[Barklessdog]

Supposedly an excellent modern bolt on neck should be as good/sustain as a set neck, or, gasp, a neck through, or so I am told.

[PWV]

Very cool.  Mark, do you know if Mike's pickguard stays white or is a logo coming too?

[godofthunder]

Well if Mikes are not white with the bird I know someone who can help 

[Chris P.]

Supposedly an excellent modern bolt on neck should be as good/sustain as a set neck, or, gasp, a neck through, or so I am told.

It's not sustain. Bolt on neck have it. It's also decay and overall tone,

[Barklessdog]

It's also decay and overall tone,

I guess one can argue that tone woods are equally important

[TBird1958]

FWIW,

The idea really is more along the lines (soundwise) of a Fenderbird, making neck thru instuments is not something Mike could easily do, so these basses will likely have some characteristics of bolt on neck instruments. Mine is going to be metallic orange you can see a small bottle of paint in the pup cavity........that's my paint sample, much like the color John suggested in the hot rod truck pic he posted. If you look carefully at the pic of the two basses together ( under bad fluorescent lighting - there's my job coming thru!) you'll notice the pickguards are different colors, one White, one Parchment for a bit more vintage look. As for a logo design I actually suggested they contact John (Barkless Dog) I really  hope they do!
My bass will have Scott's bridge on it!, 
while Mike had actually gone ahead and done his own thru Hipshot before I knew of the project, I'll be using Scott's, and buyers can specify the bridge of their choice - I'm proud to use Scott's.   

As an aside the black bass actually has a pre amp and battery cavity on the back side, so you can even have an "active" 'Bird if you want to order it that way.

[Dave W]

That's what I thought. He's making a Lull-style Fenderbird, not Thunderbird. Nothing wrong with that.

As for sound, the whole neck joint sustain argument is an old wives tale. But as Uwe and Chris pointed out, there's still a difference in tone.

[Barklessdog]

[barend]

Why would anybody buy an expensive copy (or lookalike) if they can buy the original Thunderbird for the same price? (I guess).

Obviously these instruments are wll made but I don't know if there is any market for this.

[Chris P.]

Before Entwistle died Lakland was also busy with developing a Fenderbird kinda bass. Maybe some people just want the sound of it?


Metallic orange... If I win the lottery I want to order a Warwick Stryker Entwistle sig (with beak headstock) in metallic orange. Shall we start a two bass band than, Mark? Playing Big Bottom all the time?

[drbassman]

To be honest, the hardware is the main feature.  The headstock doesn't do anything for me as well as the bolt-on neck is a less desirable feature.

[gweimer]

Why would anybody buy an expensive copy (or lookalike) if they can buy the original Thunderbird for the same price? (I guess).

Obviously these instruments are wll made but I don't know if there is any market for this.

For the same reasons that people buy a Sadowsky or a Lull Fender copy.  For the money, you get a solid instrument, and generally don't have to worry about whether you got a parts piece being passed off as all original.  As much as I love the look and sound of vintage stuff,  not all of it was great to start with, and a lot of pieces haven't survived.  In the case of the Thunderbird, I'd think that the Lull would be of similar quality to a vintage T-bird at a much more affordable price.

It's kind of like asking why someone would buy a Sadowsky or Lull when you could get a MIM Fender for a lot less.

[Dave W]

For the same reasons that people buy a Sadowsky or a Lull Fender copy.  For the money, you get a solid instrument, and generally don't have to worry about whether you got a parts piece being passed off as all original.  As much as I love the look and sound of vintage stuff,  not all of it was great to start with, and a lot of pieces haven't survived.  In the case of the Thunderbird, I'd think that the Lull would be of similar quality to a vintage T-bird at a much more affordable price.

It's kind of like asking why someone would buy a Sadowsky or Lull when you could get a MIM Fender for a lot less.

Exactly. It will have its own appeal. Some people will prefer it to a new Gibson in the same price range, some won't. People who like Lulls and Sadowskys will like the concept and the bass. Others will prefer a much cheaper neck-through Epi to a bolt-on Lull. Nothing wrong with that, either.

[TBird1958]

 I don't think there's going to be a huge market for these basses..........They are expensive.
They are more likely the outgrowth of Mike's longtime love for vintage Thunderbirds and his own regrets about selling his! For me its a once in a lifetime thing to do, kind of like when Scott ( Godofthunder) had his Jimmy Lea bass made. Who gets to order a custom bass from a great builder? Not an everyday thing for me! Mine is #1, I'm pretty excited about that and I know already that it'll be a rare, fine instrument that will play really well because Mike takes great care in what he puts his name on.

[Bionic-Joe]

WHAT ARE THE PICKUP COVERS MADE FROM AND CAN YOU GET ANY MORE??? I'D LOVE TO GET A SET OF THEM AND HAVE THEM NICKEL PLATED!!