A Peter Cook Custom Thunderbird...?

[Highlander]

Well people out there in the LBO, here goes...

This is a story of an instrument that I have mistreated over the years and is only an honourary T'bird, though I will await reaction to this point and will happily shift or delete this post if there is a strong negative reaction, which is possible, once you see her...

First off, I'm new to this sort of thing, although I hit the big five-ohh later this year...

The names Ken (oh really...? I thought that was just a pseudonym, like "Klinikly Eb-Norml Sukka" or sum sutch fing) I live to the south-west of London, though I would prefer to be living on the West-Coast of Scotland, but that's off topic... These days I'm married with a lovely super-smart teenage daughter (not proud-dad-syndrome, just the truth) and all the usual bills to pay, do the day-job thing and strive towards the first book publication (Military History, re Chindits and Burma WW2 - family links; and also Sci-Fi styled after Robert Scheckley meets Douglas Adams with a twist of Mr PKD and... slightly left-(star)field), so keeping the day-job will be a requirement, anyway (unless I can do a Iain (M) Banks, if you-know-what-I-mean)...

... and... I've recently come out of retirement after the guitarist from a band I'd played in 21 years ago, err, last one I played with, actually... err, truth be known, kinda-ish... give or take a month or so-ish, calls up out of the blue with a late mid-life crisis, and now 4 rehearsals down the line and 2 more to go until our reunion gig (a genuine Surrey Village Hall thing - no one of note... no head-lines here...) for the drummers 50th, here I am...

Now, everything has had to be done on a budget (ie. skint, and if that means bugger all to you people over the pond read gawd-damned broked down an' busted here) and my instruments were mostly mothballed (read rotting in the loft/attic here) so a bit of rush work was required...

I have been a bass player (electric since mid '75) since standing on a stool at school in 1969 to get up to the neck of an upright - now I am aware of some reticence out there to fretless players, but I do play both, dubiously... Now to qualify my insert here, I am a Gibson owner  - and have been for over 30 years now- a 1978 RD Artist, de-mooged and fretless and modified and quickly put back together, owned from new (£750 including HP - OHH YOU SEE AITCH spells OUCH...! when bought in '79 - work that out by todays prices when you earn less than £40 p/w +ot and I payed her off in 9 months!)  I'll possibly post about that if this generates interest as it has had some mods, to say the least... and (off topic?) a '73 SG Special with a pair of mini hums and a Bigsby (2 settings - off or KILL... ) - I know it has six strings, but I've heard this vicious rumour that bass guitars come in more than four-string flavours and are not Hagstrom's these days, kinda out-of-the-loop here...

Now back to the subject matter... I had a post on the Vintage Amps BB site (I am lucky to be the owner of a non standard 1970 DR103 called a "SWITCH" and wanted to know more, so it was a nice surprise to discover she was something out of the ordinary) from Chris P (CC of the NBPC - he knows who he is...) enquiring about a reference to my T'bird, and invited me over, so here I am, and here lies the BEAST...


The case hides the contents... err, don't ask about the cab, or why she "sloshed" when taken out of "mothballs"... ohh, and ignore the bird feeders, and the several tons/tonnes of sunflower husks, as that's off topic...


Now then, now then, first off, Mr Peter Cook is still very much in the business (has a shop on the outskirts of London) but I do not think he does much construction work on a major scale, though I may be wrong, and I believe he was a bass tech for Mr Entwistle including some bass lutherianism - go look up the cover of The Who By Numbers and then do your research - the instrument was real - he made a number of Precision hybrids with Gibson hardware for him, amongst other stuff, and one of his works for Mr Entwistle was auctioned off for in-excess of $30,000 a few years back - If you want to know I can provide the links... he used to be the set-up specialist for all UK Gibsons during the '80's, which is another (very tenative) link... - mine will not reach those lofty heights, and is unlikely to ever be offered up...

I bought her 3rd hand in '78 and I believe that she was born in '72 - originally she had all gold-plated hardware and a beautiful cherry red finish which this picture does not do justice... Gibson bridge and tail, Schallers and 2 Peter Cook Custom pickups that mirrored T'birds...


Here she is, mostly in original condition, (seen with the RDA) and a very nasty DiMarzio Mud replacement...


The damage laid a toll to her bodywork and hardware... get used to that, I am a trifle clumsy...

First, I managed to kill the neck pup and thought a nice DiMarzio EB replacement pup would be just the thing, which turned the instrument into a microphone, but controlably so; tried a Badass bridge (only removed during recent rebuild), broke a Schaller (when it passed gracefully through one of my 1969 Celestion Rola 30w's in my Marshall 412, which to this day has remained a 312, but that is another story), which I rebuilt with standard chromes utilising the goldwings, then I killed the bridge pup and fitted an EMG Select (same as the pup's in my Hohner Jack; not a Gibson, nice player, a very nice player, especially at the price), which was far too trebly, in the bridge slot and junked the DiMarzio - Now, whilst between bands in '84 I decided to re-spray her and give her back to some form of respect, very minimalistic - one pup and one volume control...

Looked kinda cool in the case... did I forget to mention the (mock) fur lined case...?

... PUBLIC INDECENCY ANOUNCEMENT ...
Any of you of a nervous disposition, please go no further...
You have been warned......

... then the jack socket played up and I converted to DI type, whatever they're called, things, but not wired in a standard fashion, so I can't buy standard leads (why not make life hard for myself...?) and then when February 2009 rolled round I needed to give her an urgent overhaul - Out came the EMG and in went the bridge pup from the RD, which had been broken in an accident (that word again...) that broke the pick-guard and the supports, so I had to rout-out the body to make a friction-fit for the pup, and finally restored her old T'bird hardware, and here she is, as of last Friday...



I warned you... don't blame me if you've just blurted your coffee/tea/beer/schnapps/bourbon/19 year old supadedoopa rare malt all over your keyboard and screen...



..and from another angle... is there a posting for the most offensive instrument on this site...?



a close-up of her hybrid Schallers with her new T'bird symbol... err, a pair of pewter ducks, actually, truth be known...



the view from the back... -  the red/white sticker is off a transit case for a Boeing 747-100/200 autopilot system - "Ah luv the smell of Aviation Kerosin in the mornin'..." sorry, did I wander off there...?



basking in the garden on a glorious London slightly grey day...




T'bird and Firebird body profiles looks good from this angle, regardless of their origins... I may upset a few people but I just don't get NR bodies, they just look wrong... just a personal opinion, but if someone out there wants to put me right and let me have one to try, for maybe a decade or two, mid sixties wiould be nice...



Now for playability... I was told that the neck profile is much like a pre CBS precision, now I know that may be a dirty word here, but... and chords quite beautifully (did he say "chords...?" fretless, and chords, on the same post...? utter heathen...) which I can-not use to full extent in the present line-up - used to play a lot of quite loud stuff and liked to fill-in as I mostly played in 3 piece or 3+vocals, I distinctly remember being thrashed by Lemmy at the Cambridge Corn Exchange in '78, I also vaguely remember someone describing one outfit as "jazz-metal" once... err, did I wander off there...? Ohh, and she does not suffer T'bird Droop as significantly as the Real-Thing, but I would be hard pressed to want to trade, no matter how good or rare...

Gibson instruments...? I was an Alice Cooper fan (bought Schools-Out from new) and a big Dennis Dunaway fan, and although he ended up playing Jazz bass I was hooked by his EB3L on "LITD", and loved the Gibson BIG FAT VISCERAL Sound that Jack Bruce and Felix Pappalardi had. My first electric bass was a nasty thing called a Grenn (bolt on neck with an EB2 style body and a floating bridge, which did not last long (broke it... oops - RIP Grenn - I only have the name plate and one pic for a memory - great for "Guitar-On-Amp"), the day I bought her there was this all gold and cherry red in the setting sunlight moment, but as the Peter Cook T'bird was £200 she was beyond my available readies... a year later I was in the market for a new instrument and the same shop (in Hounslow, near Heathrow, London, long gone... the owner used to play in a Who tribute band, may still do, but would be as old as the originals now... a great guy, most helpful when I started out...) had a white EB2 for sale for £250... I enquired, but as my limit was £200... I went home to grovel to my dad for the extra £50 but when I went back a chap by the name of Bruce Foxton (played for some beat combo or other) had nipped in and bought it, and was on Top-Of-The-Pops with it about a week later... oh well, I would have probably wrecked it anyway... but in the mean-time, the Peter Cook Custom had come back in at £180 - ES-OHH-ELL-DEE - 3rd hand and with a wait till they getta load of this case...
T'birds...? well, the RDA was a 2nd/3rd choice at the time as I could not find a new T'bird or EB3 (couldn't buy 2nd hand on the "never-never" in those days), but when I played her... well, that's another story...

For some strange reason, Mr Dekker thought this may create an interesting story, hence my posting, and that is probably more than enough posting for a newbie...

For now I will sign off and see what happens... you will either go for this or not, so see if I care...

Regards from a darkened Reevesland Upon Thames in the UK

ps nearly forgot -  a three piece thru neck with an ebony board, MOP inlays and Gibson fat frets... just in case you wanted to know...?

pps Thrashed by Lemmy...!? at pinball...!

[OldManC]

Wow, I'd say dive right in but you already have! You'll fit in well here. That's a damn fine 'bird you have there. The only thing that could make it any better would be a little more chrome, but you'll hear more about that later... (Don't let Uwe tell you otherwise)! 

Welcome to the Outpost. I can't wait to hear how your gig went!

[Freuds_Cat]

Cool first post Ken. Try not to be so bashful in your next one   

Welcome

[EvilLordJuju]

Welcome

wow, you did that bass over good and proper 
And you called it beast - talk about kettles and pots

But worth it, if only for the story - i'm sure your book will fly off the shelves!

Are you going to put another pickup in, or is it done?

[TBird1958]

It may not be colourful enough................But I could probably make it work 

That's quite a bass you have there!

[Chris P.]

Hi Ken! Nice to see you here too! Welcome and I'm glad you followed the advice to join us!

[Chris P.]

BTW: I thought: this Ken guy is witty and maybe the one who can beat Uwe in wittiness. And he was an ex-airplane tech so he belongs here: Nothing know about cross dressing though...

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

Ken S!

Yeah, try not to be so bashful. +1 hahaahaaaaa

[exiledarchangel]

Love that wild animal case.

[godofthunder]

Welcome ! What a cool bass ! I notice the cutaway is extra deep unlike a Gibson Thunderbird, Looks like the 2001 Tbird I modded the snot out of. You wouldn't be a Jimmy Lea fan would you ? 

[Basvarken]

Welcome Ken.
What an enjoyable read.
I do feel sorry for that Bird though...

[Chris P.]

Yep, it needs a proper refin:)

[rockinrayduke]

I'd play that.

[Highlander]

Greetings FM's HM's, SM's and GM's et al...

Gonna keep this one short...?

Thank you all for the kind words people...

I will try to come out of my shell, give me time, I have always been a bit shy around strangers, and it sounds like there may be a few stranger than most around here...

My intention is to resurect her back to the way she looked back in 1984, possibly with a completly new set of colours, but in the same style, that decision is pending...

... Here are some shots of the original works...

oh, and replies to all the posts below them...



A lot of prep work was required... she had suffered a bit of abuse, but she kept coming back for more...



Initially painted Ford Diamond White - all hi spec stuff here...



Masked her back, head and neck, then applied the basic colours... the name moved a few times...



Pre splattering shot - looked too "clean", so that had to change...



Just prior to the hardware and after her lacquer top coat had dried... the wee beasties name was Caileag (pronounced KALAK, a Scottish Gaelic word meaning Lassie) ... yes. it's fuzzy, but time has stopped me from going back to re-take the shot...


All works were done at my luthier's (dad's garage + my butchery) ...

... and now to replies, as they were posted, and again thanks to you all, don't know many names, have done some trawling, not yet been through everything yet...


OMC - Dive right in...? broke my neck doing that once, don't want to try that again, I thought I'd start of gently, then work my self up into a full lather as I go into full meltdown mode... Chrome will never mix well with all that gold even if my Schallers are hybrids, though my RD may need some treats, but I'll post about that wee Lady when I have more time...... I can dig shiny - the top of my head had been christened "Chrome Dome" by one of my close buddies...!
Uwe sounds fascinating, I told Chris that straight out, but I do think he may be hogging too many Gibsons, maybe he could distribute a few to the needy...?
Gig's March 14th but will post - everyone works and no spare time with the short notice so much is from memory - weirdest bit is we all sound much tighter than we were originally; latest is that the guitarist would like to finish off what we started, re recordings and our temporary key's player (returning to NZ) has his own studio, excluding room for a drum set-up, so recording will mean we only shell out for the basic drums (click tracks, bass and rhythm)
oh, and Mr U - I bet you play chess, and well... left or right/black or white...? my preference is the Lewis set, from my family home Island...

FC - I will try my best not to be a wallflower...

ELJ - ... The BEAST that lurks within us all... and she kept coming back for more...
The hole had that nasty DM and she does need a replacement that will suit, but no cash at the mo... the RD's active-now-passive pup sounds great straight through a standard pot though... recommendations welcome... I am still driving a 3x12 Marshall cab that could do with a fourth, so that will probably be a priority If I start regular gigging (ie more than once every 20 years...!)...
The book is a labour of love, about my dad (RIP 2001) and is now in the final research stages, he was lucky enough to have survived a military disaster where the Japanese tore a strip off the Brits - more than 2000 of approx 3000 wiped out in one place when they became more than a thorn in their sides behind the lines... messy stuff... only started to open up about it in '99 - kept it buried for fifty-five years...
Pots and kettles... hmm... now there's a story I could tell...

TB'58 - Mark, I think, if I may use that name (knew a Ver' that ran by the name of Ronnie, but I guess that is too much a 3-60...?), Chris suggested that there were some characters on this site and you definitely fit the bill...! If you have never heard about an Englishman called Quentin Crisp (rip), check him out, a real trail-blazer...
Deal with it...? Admire it - being honest to yourself is the most important thing in life... I am presuming that I may be a just few months your junior and I guess that your "DJ" may be photography or lighting, or were/are you a sparky - just something you said in one of your posts about the nasty yellow cast from neons...
Read most of the posts re your Lull custom - something just so perfect is... and glanced at your band's site... ran away quickly... Definitely out on the edge... I'll check out the YT's and give you an opinion - fascinating - no Arthur Kane influence anywhere in your soul...?
the PC T' - she needs some TLC to bring her back up to spec - I'll probably stick with the pattern, but any color recommendations for the next finish...? I was thinking lower spectrum range this time...
I guess you could make her work, and probably treat her way better than I have...
... and yes, I think so too...

Chris, yes I am working on that reply -  now owe you twice as much...!

CP2nd - I was wrong - over here you would be HMC of the BPC...! don't want to out-wit the bicycle chappie because if he does play chess I may enjoy the game... no mentioning the War of course, after all, THEY did start it, THEY invaded Manchuria first...! not the Germans...
I did work on Concorde occasionally, but never flew on those Ladies (I have a nice pic of me in her pilot seat whilst evading work), mostly fixed busses (B707, B720, B747-100/200, DC10), and not since'81; mostly only the elite worked on Ol' Pointy...
Cross dressing...? only happy dressing, never cross dressing...

RnB - many thanx and will def try

EAA - I have a great script/ short story about an exiled arch-angel, honest, wrote it several years back but unpublished and thats another story...?
The case is totally house trained...

GOT - Scott, I believe, if I may call you that, mostly replied on a new post of yours - Jim Lea -yes, ace-bass
Cutaway is as she was from new no profile changes to her - If I want to use the upper end of the fret board I use my Hohner Jack, which is an excellent instrument for a budget player - double octave and clean right to the top, great sound and great for chord playing too...
The PC is a very low-end player and rumbles along beautifully...
If that's the 2001 'bird she looks fine to me...
Is there a link to your bridge site? if it's modern T'bird then it would suit an RD...? tried Badass...

BV - don't feel sorry for the 'Bird, when she worked she lived life to the full - better to soar like a Thunderbird than to live cosseted in a cage...

CP3rd - agreed, no argument...

RRD - and I do...

thirteen... now that is a number...

Moving on and back soon with more debris... gotta sort a suitable avatar sorta thing...

[pbrocker56]

You know? I'm totally diggin' the Caribbean vibe I get from looking at this bass. I likey.