'77 Thunderbird re fin is a go!

TBird1958 · August 17, 2012, 02:39:38 PM

Away she goes to Marty Bell on Tuesday.
For all our newbies, I originally bought this bass through the good offices '69Vette (OldmanC of late) it's been a great bass, love it's tone - the pups have a great warm growl to them. I have the feeling there are many stories inside this bass, it's headstock has a music store sticker from Arkansas, at one point it was refretted with large frets, much bigger than stock, and of course it has the requisite busted headstock, which over time has developed a slight lateral twist.
Anyway it's had it's share of knocks and dings, time for for a fresh coat of paint, it won't be black!
And yes we can have a poly vs. Nitro debate when it gets back. Meantme I'll be cleaning the parts up, any body have suggestions for Nickel tuners?

In pretty much the shape I got it from our good George.

The bridge, right down on the body, note the reversed saddle on the E string.

And buck naked, see the indent of the bridge in the second photo

Highlander · August 17, 2012, 03:40:45 PM

You'll get no specific arguments from me re nitro, as I'm concerned how fragile my refin on the PC has been, whereas the "car" paint lasted almost untouched (excluding "hard" knocks) for two decades...

I'm surprised that I'm surprised by the rebate on the lower wing... is there a reason they do that rather than run through the centre... must be cost reasons...?

uwe · August 17, 2012, 03:46:50 PM

That routing was initially even on the post-87 reissues but has fallen away over time. Better routing machines I guess.

Highlander · August 17, 2012, 04:11:36 PM

The routing on the Peter Cook runs along the edge of the "wing" - nothing could have been simpler - why do something that makes a build more complex...?

TBird1958 · August 17, 2012, 04:32:21 PM

Quote from: uwe on August 17, 2012, 03:46:50 PM
That routing was initially even on the post-87 reissues but has fallen away over time. Better routing machines I guess.

Errrrrrmmmmm. No, My '09 Nikki Sixx has that rout.

Dave W · August 17, 2012, 04:49:42 PM

Maybe it's there as a place for tooling which holds it for CNC operations.

Highlander · August 17, 2012, 05:16:58 PM

I was wondering that about the pair of holes in the pup routs...

uwe · August 17, 2012, 06:03:43 PM

Quote from: TBird1958 on August 17, 2012, 04:32:21 PM

Errrrrrmmmmm. No, My '09 Nikki Sixx has that rout.

Huh? Don't have mine near, but your Blackbird certainly didn't (you'd have ssen it under the see-through pg) nor has the short scale. And I have a couple of newer other Birds that don't have it either. IIRC, even the Epis don't have it, but I might be mistaken there ... Again the Epi Blackbird certainly doesn't have it.

TBird1958 · August 17, 2012, 06:26:50 PM

here you go.....

chromium · August 17, 2012, 06:40:53 PM

I think my old Epi Elitist Thunderbird might have had that route...

(EDIT: nevermind... I think I'm thinking of the 76 which definitely has that route. The Elitist just had a big knot in the wood under the guard... I just remembered something unsightly lurking there...)

Nocturnal · August 17, 2012, 06:47:40 PM

The Epi Goth's don't have it either.

Dave W · August 17, 2012, 09:46:06 PM

A wiring channel for neck-throughs? Wouldn't have to be there, though.

JZumbro · August 18, 2012, 01:10:46 AM

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.

uwe · August 18, 2012, 02:11:23 AM

It's certain unsightly and has always bothered/disappointed me. Mark's pic of hus, uhum, chrome-trashed NikSixSig certainly gives an impression how good a TBird sans pickguard (where no one in his right mind would ever scratch anything with his pic) can look.

exiledarchangel · August 18, 2012, 03:37:27 AM

Quote from: uwe on August 17, 2012, 06:03:43 PM
Huh? Don't have mine near, but your Blackbird certainly didn't (you'd have ssen it under the see-through pg) nor has the short scale. And I have a couple of newer other Birds that don't have it either. IIRC, even the Epis don't have it, but I might be mistaken there ... Again the Epi Blackbird certainly doesn't have it.

Bolt-on Epis don't have it, they got a looong (and for some unknown reason wide enough to fit at least 6 pickup wires) route from the neck plate area to the control cavity.