Rayman

I too paid £350 for my German Corvette, a trans black $$. It was battered and bruised, and dirty, but after some TLC it's a belter, and my youngest daughter will disown me if I ever sell it. In fact I'm thinking over moving the Stingray on to get another Warwick. Buy second hand. Every time.

I've played in every hole, to every kind of audience you can imagine, drunks, punks, Hells Angels etc, with fights going on, spitting, etc (not EVERY gig I hasten to add) over the years, and during that time I've used, Overwaters, Shukers, Musicmans, Laklands etc etc, and never once has anyone ever touched any of my gear. I can understand your worry, but there's really no need. Basses are made to play. get in there and have fun is my advice.

My first gig was Iron Maiden, 1980 (I[i] think[/i]), the original line up with Cliver Burr, Dennis Stratton etc etc I went wearing my school unifom, no idea why. I remember thinking........[i] I wonder what you're supposed to wear[/i]? It was amazing to a young lad to see something like that, and I've been a rocker ever since.

Yeah cheers, I'll bear all that in mind. I've got a Hartke VXL Bass Attack on the way, that might help, and it was cheaper than a Sansamp.

They're just fabulous, I love the look and feel of Thunderbirds, I just have a dilemma with the tone of my Tokai, whether or not to tamper with it's electrics. I want a bit more of a punch to the tone. I've asked John East if he can offer me an EQ to put in it, just to give me some tonal options, but maybe it wouldn't sound like a Thunderbird any more, don't know. If it was a Gibson, it could be worth splashing the cash, but is a Tokai worth the upgrade, not sure, but the Baddass is a vast improvement on the stock bridge for sure............... [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/russjm/P1000632.jpg[/IMG]

Yeah I thought about one of those, but I'm giving the Hartke VXL a try first (it's cheaper). The Sansamp could be the next call though if the Hartke doesn't cut the mustard.

Yep agreed. I've decided to keep it anyway. I like it too much (and so does my daughter). I'll see how the pedal helps, and take it from there.

Well I'm covered in terms of [i]my tone [/i]with the other basses I have. However I like the TB, and I'd like to use it in the set live, I guess I'd just like it to have some more tonal options. Maybe as you say though, it sounds like a Thunderbird, and that's the end of it. We'll see.

I'm currently selling my Tokai Thunderbird in the for sale section, but only because the old school thump sound isn't my bag, I like a more modern, punchy and clean type tone. I really love everything else about the bass, it plays great, looks great etc, but I'd just like it to sound cleaner. If I could get the tone how I want it, I'd like to keep it. I've bought a Hartke VXL bass attack pedal to give me some options, but I wonder if anyone has any other ideas. Pickups could be changed I guess, but I wonder if the EQ could be upgraded, John East maybe? Any ideas?

It's a great place, a mate of mine has bought a couple of Dingwals from there. Again, thank the lord it's a couple of hours away from me.

Glass slides give you a warmer tone, whereas brass (or metal) slides give you a slightly brighter, thinner sound, at least to my ears that is. I ended up with a ceramic one, it's a Joe Perry signature one, trouble is, with my sausage fingers, it's not really large enough for me, and only fits on the top part of my finger. It's all in the ear of the beholder, but I prefer a warmer tone, so glass would be my first choice, and the neck of a beer bottle seems to have the edge, can't think why.