NancyJohnson

Searching through a box of old guitar bits earlier today, I came across a new Wilkinson strat pickup that went unused from an old project and thought I'd give it a punt...it couldn't be any worse than the stock pickup. Took the old pickup out - a [i]very [/i]basic looking six pole job - and soldered the Wilkinson in. Boom. It sounds ridiculously good now; the rawness on the G string has dissipated and tonally it's pretty smooth across all notes. Lovely. I'll be using this a lot, I think. P

A couple of years ago I acquired a Squier Bronco 'Badtz Maru' bass through here. Within a day or two it suffered major headstock damage while I was reaming new holes for better machines. Bought a vintage neck/machines from the US, but it had a front bow and the truss rod was maxxed out, so that wasn't a keeper. Since then, the body has just been under a bed in the spare room. Around Christmas, I ordered a Squier Mustang neck (from ebay seller, The Stratosphere), which cost more than I paid for the bass initially - it arrived a few days ago, bolted it on, Straploks screwed in and this is the result. It didn't even need a set up. I have plenty of other go to basses, but I'm really, really in love with this. It weighs nothing, it's fun, plays like a dream and sounds good/decent (if not a little raw; the output is very high), so I'm on the market for a replacement 51P pickup when I find one. No rush! P

I play the Thunderbirds quite low, but my P-bass a bit higher. Bass height has actually gone down with age, but I also now play over the bridge pickup position rather than right on the bridge. The only real issue comes with having to play parts closer to the bridge, at which point I raise my shoulders a bit (the [i]Frankenstein's monster technique[/i] as someone I know called it). P

A Columbus JB was my second bass. £65, late seventies. I have nothing but fond memories of it. No idea what it was made of or who made it, but it weighed a lot on my teenage shoulders and sounded more that OK at the time (I have patchy cassette recordings to support this!). It was just a stepping point bass. Served it's purpose. P

I gigged in Reading about a month ago and took an old Aria ProII Primary (Precision) - I didn't know that venue and really didn't like the idea of taking one of my Thunderbirds. If it got nicked, I'd claim for it through my insuarnce, but it wouldn't have pissed me off as much as if one of the Gibsons got pinched. Reassuringly, it does have great tone. I have a neck coming for an old Squire Bronco (Badtz Maru Mustang thing)...I might give that an outing once it's bolted on! P

I've used a Boss BR600 extensively. The on board microphones are fine so long as you have a decent mix in the room itself and control the recording levels. You can also plug in a couple of mics to get a wider separation. Battery life is decent (get rechargeables!). I also used this machine to track all the guitars and bass for the first collection we did (see link below). It's a great machine. You can pick these up on eBay for £90-ish. Let's face it, you are never going to get studio quality from any portable machine either; they are what they are. P

The doc did my NR scratchplate a couple of months back. I can trace the original Gibson plate and send it to him in a day or two. I have address somewhere. P

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1384554616' post='2278251'] [/quote] You know, I saw this exact spec bass at an auction in Reading maybe 20 years ago. They had a matching Stratocaster up as well. I always wondered what it sold for. It did look awesome and that my friend looks lovely. P

Thanks for the input!

[quote name='Dandelion' timestamp='1387361429' post='2311006'] Has anyone tried a T-Bird with flats? What was it like? [/quote] I usually gig in heels. P

Going back to post #1, I've voiced this previously. Over in the porn section it's pretty much all club-level threads postings albeit without the narcissic need for numbers. I'd sooner see members gear on an individual thread merit basis - much like Gary's plethora of Spectors - rather than trawling through 75 pages of individual Fender Precision and Jazz basses (which, come on, all look pretty much identical). P

Anyone here running a stock Stingray as a [u]passive[/u] bass? I've never owned one, but the idea of grabbing a cheapish one (and not a SUB or OLP) as a live back up option is growing on me somewhat, although I do have issues with active instruments (I've owned a Bongo 5HH, a Warwick Streamer and a John East loaded Jazz). Switching between a passive (Thunderbird) and an active (Stingray) mid-gig doesn't appeal so much, citing possible battery failure/drain (I do tend to leave basses plugged in when I'm not using them) and disparity between tonal set ups etc. So what's the options? This is a bit of a grey area for me...is it possible to use the MM pickup, pull out the pre-amp and just stick in regular pots? Or just remove the battery? Alternatively, which passive replacement pickup unit would give a similar Stingray tone? Or should I just consider another Thunderbird (heh). Cheers Paul

[quote name='gillento' timestamp='1386683552' post='2303030'] Late thanks for the advice. I went with Dave Wilson! [/quote] In the back of this, I've contacted Dave with a view of refinishing one of my old/tired Thunderbirds. I'm eager to see what the results will be here!! P

I saw him at Fleet. Very entertaining evening. No idea what year it was.

[quote name='DaytonaRik' timestamp='1386586378' post='2301684'] As I play out and out rock I guess that's a good indication of what I'm after...something that's going to drive a band along with plenty of punch. It doesn't need to be subtle or to be a jack of all trades. My sound has always been similar to Duffs classic G n R tones...quite trebly sitting prominently in the mix. [/quote] I've tended to use a Sansamp BDDI (and more recently a RBI) as my front end. I find the tone quite agreeable in general; I was looking for a Geddy/Foxton/Burnel clanky-dirt sound and I'm reasonably happy with what I get. It's probably more about owning your frequency than anything else...our guitarist is pretty filthy, so you do lose the dirt when we're both playing. This kind of demonstrates: [url="http://www.chevril.com/nancyjohnson/_Wedgie%20(Mastered)/Suitcase%20Pimp%20(PA%20vocal%20demo%20mix).mp3"]http://www.chevril.com/nancyjohnson/_Wedgie%20(Mastered)/Suitcase%20Pimp%20(PA%20vocal%20demo%20mix).mp3[/url] excuse my vocals! P

I fecking love Dean Cabbies. P

I'm presently running a few Gibson Thunderbirds (see Gibson porn thread elsewhere). I'd concur with an a earlier poster and say that if you go for a Gibson or an Epiphone, seriously consider upgrading the bridge to a Hipshot Supertone from the outset. The Gibson three-pointer is just awful. When buying, look for headstock breaks; the neck profile at the nut is barely the size of a small tangerine. I've tried a couple of the new Epiphone models; I didn't particularly like the colours...the white was too bright (the Gibson white is more creamy/offwhite) and the sunburst is too orangey. Don't be swayed by the image on the Epiphone website either; it's just a doctored version of the one that's been on the Gibson website for years. If you went with a new Epiphone, be prepared for some tweaking too; the store setups I tried were horrendous. The Epiphone neck was a bit fatter and the bottom cutaway is different to the Gibson...it just has a different scoop on it. Setups aside, it sounded OK, but I was just pushing it through a little amp at a local branch of Dawsons, rather than my regular setup. One thing I would definitely say is to consider the price of a new Epiphone against that of a used Gibson. I recently picked up a 2008 Gibson in vintage sunburst for £700.00 including the case. It had a tiny ding on the end of the headstock, but otherwise it was minty fresh. A new Epiphone is around half that and it's likely the Gibson will hold that price if you decide to sell it. Aside from the reverse model, you could look at non-reverse models. I will admit mine was a dog and I've had too do a ton of work to it to get it up to speed, but it's fine now. If you've got any other questions, post here or shoot me a PM. No idea where you're at, but if you're local (Reading), feel free to pop over and have a noodle. P

Here's mine. They have names (and why not?) in order of purchase - L-R; Alan, Tin-Tin, Scott, Gordon, Virgil (the interloper) & John. P

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1385764475' post='2292102'] AFAIK all non reverse T Birds are a set neck and no center block? [/quote] You are correct, sir. Just for perspective, the current Gibson NRs have no forearm chamfer and the tiniest/shallowest of belly-cut...maybe 5cm at its widest point. P

Any updates? I bought another Thunderbird and have done the usual upgrades - I was thinking about this project when I was swapping out the strap lugs. P

Individual Cheese Portions. It's a winner. P

Take them off the strap, small blob of Vaseline between the rear washer and front fixing, reassemble. I find the leather on Levy's straps to be a little thick for the Straploks, so a little bit of greasy stuff stops them rubbing togther. Otherwise, try a mousetrap P

I concur that they're my choice of string now...a bit staggered that I got a set on Amazon UK last month for £27.00 and now they're £36.00. Ten words or less? 'Amazed how good they are; six months in, still zingy.' P