NancyJohnson

I look at a lot of Thunderbirds - it's a curse. This just looks all wrong, despite the 'custom shop' malarkey. Front jack socket, machine heads, finish, the upper bout is wrong, the strap pin on the side of the body, the control knobs don't even seem to look lined up! It just reeks of an Ali-Baba import. P http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gibson-Thunderbird-bass-guitar-/271428347177?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item3f3263e529

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1395011897' post='2397826'] warwick used too.... (in 1984) [/quote] Yummy.

I just thought they looked wrong really. My Streamer had three different necks until The Bass Centre got me a wenge one (which came undrilled). The tech there asked whether I wanted the machine heads on straight and I was tempted. Soooo tempted.

I had a Streamer 5-string for a while, gotta say that while I loved the bass 90%, the 10% I disliked was the machine heads set at an off angle. I'm curious, does anyone actually rotate them to a more traditional angle? Google seems to say no. P

Not working in Firefox or IE at the moment. P

...and in the Effects area about ten days ago! Sheesh.

Jassbass: You'll find that collectively you'll get a better response if you don't post the same topic in different areas of the forum! You've posted virtually the same topic two minutes apart both here and in the Bass Guitars area. P

I looked into this a while back. John East used to make a unit that was based on the Lakland curvy bell plate; I think the part was a straight drop-in replacement. You're going to need to do a degree of work to get the unit installed.

[quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1394107035' post='2387952'] Woolworths special from the early 70s. [/quote] Pretty much what I was thinking when I saw the pictures. Satellite.

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1393674603' post='2383156'] Karen Lawrence? [/quote] 1994/Headpins? Haven't heard that name in yonks. Now must check spotify.

This is great fun and another hour wasted! It does make you wonder why manufacturers don't offer a degree of configuration/customisation even in a limited way...it's 2014 kids. Fender (for instance) must be producing hundreds of bodies/necks globally on a daily basis; this isn't a case of following through an instrument or keeping it in house from start to finish (a la their Custom Shop), it should simply be a case of 'simply' stockpiling parts and screwing them together to satiate the desires of their customers, rather than force feeding them a limited number of standard models plus artist editions.

That's what your Goldfinger EB nneds, Neeph. P

OK, that was quick. Ordered two boxes from an eBay seller. P

I shot an email to Ben at Vein Tap to see if he'd knock one up for me, but he hasn't answered (yet). I guess I could wire one up myself...anyone know where I can get a cheap tin box from? P [quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1393587511' post='2382216'] Would this be any good? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Murder-One-Killswitch-Pedal-for-Guitar-Bass-and-Keyboard-/231156203054?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&var=&hash=item35d1fbbe2e"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item35d1fbbe2e[/url] [/quote]

If I can add something here to the above comment. A few months after the Hartke gear arrived, I had a very heated exchange here with a young guy (so much so the thread was deleted); we were in the middle of a mahoosive amount of snow and the country - as is its want - had ground to a halt. The poster was venting off against Hartke simply due to the fact that he hadn't taken delivery of a combo (or whatever it was) which he'd ordered through a third party. The guy didn't even seem to take into account the country was crippled due to the weather. I was (and still am) fiercely defensive of the Hartke brand and my experiences in 2009. Larry Hartke could just have told me to f-off, but he didn't. He probably dealt with me in the same way he dealt with the guy who wanted to meet him as I was walking out of the store and the guy before me. It's a very true comment that a manufacturer can be painted in a bad light because of the actions of a retailer. P

[quote name='HartkeUK' timestamp='1393436931' post='2380348'] Name one other owner in this trade who would have this level of interaction, so next time any of you are in New York go and see him. The store is full of toys by the way! (-; In my experience when Larry does receive emails he will contact the relevant distributors asap and he puts pressure on them to contact their retailers, messages sent to Samson in the USA regarding overseas issues are treated in the same way. That means that a message to Larry may have to go through numerous people to get a resolution. [/quote] This is what happened to me in 2009; I went to the Bass Lounge in the old Mannys store and had a loooong chat with Larry in the bass department. We talked the gear I was using then (not saying), he suggested Hydrive cabinets as they were so lightweight (and he quipped that as no one is getting any younger, we bassists need all the help we can get)...he watched some stuff I had up You Tube - I was very active musically back then - and we struck a gentlemans agreement there and then. True to his word, he made the necessary arrangements with Korg (I think Gareth was involved somewhere along the line) and I had emails at home on my return. Sadly the head (LH1000) didn't cut it for me, so it went back and forth, but the 4x10 and 1x15 are still gigged once a fortnight and rehearsed weekly over four years later. They are fantastic and reliable units and as cool as feck. Mr Hartke was gracious, humourous and very sweet to my wife (which helped cement the deal). He wasn't about last time I visited and I honestly doubt he would have any recollection of me, but I will probably pop in again later this year, just to say hello and thanks. P

Something like this: [url="http://jcsthemetalshop.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/in-line-kill-switch-for-guitar.html"]http://jcsthemetalshop.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/in-line-kill-switch-for-guitar.html[/url] ...but rather than a manual switch, a jack socket out to a footswitch.

My system chain is bass > Sansamp RBI > (effects return of an) Ashdown EVOIII > cabinet(s). The RBI is also connected to a Korg tuner via one of its other outputs. I'm looking for a smallish switching unit that I can put inside my rack that can break the signal chain between RBI and the amp so I can tune up silently; ideally this needs to be controlled via a long guitar lead plugged into a footswitch. Anyone got any idea? And yes, I know the amp has a mute button on it, but there's no facility to mute the amp via a footswitch! Cheers P

I think we're all guilty to pimping our gear to a degree, but people don't give a toot that the hardware came from the US. At the end of the day it's still just a bolt on Epiphone.

...sorry, I'm assuming from your signature it's an Epiphone. What's the tuners on it? Website still says 'black die cast 17:1 ratio'. P

These EBs need big old clover leaf machine heads like the EB3s. P

OK, here goes. M-Audio BX5s are run in and up and running. I made some stands from some pine 2x2 timber, ply and rubber feet. The stands are solid and lift the speakers around 7" so the tweeters are at ear-level. Of the speakers, they're plenty loud enough...I've tended to find that with headphones the EQ on final mixes is a tad bassy/boomy, the BX5s are more neutral and you lose that boom, so end mixes essentially sound better through other hardware. All in all, I'm pretty pleased and they will be an asset to the recording process. They do run a little hot, so as they're doubling as our PC speakers as well, it's just a case of turning them off when they're not being used.#P P