NancyJohnson

I've been dipping into this thread on an off over the last ten months and have watched with horror how you've [i]butchered [/i]this once beautiful Cruise bass and then have to front to compare the end product with a Westone...in hindsight all it probably needed a nice cuddle, a nice cup of tea and a small makeover. Sorry, does nothing for me. Shame. P

Some of you may know I was an early champion of Waterstone basses over here and tried my darndest to get some kind of distribution going. My first edition Tom Petersson 12-string gets regular trips out and after six years of bashing is holding up incredibly well and has never needed a single tweak...it's a huuuge bass. I just got an e-mail from Rob in their artist endorsement department saying that [b]any [/b]bass in the TP range (that's a 4/8/12 folks) are now available for $899, or a spit under £550. No reason why the $500 price drop...maybe they're overstocked, or maybe there's new version coming out...I just don't know, but what I do know it the current batch weigh about half that of mine, have some very funky finishes and also have pearl blocks on the board. It's never been a better time to get a 12. P [url="http://waterstoneguitars.com/index3.shtml"]LINK[/url]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1346264' date='Aug 20 2011, 12:23 PM']So in summary, if you're a nickel fan the Powerwounds probably won't feel any different?[/quote] I guess we could go round in circles here! I wouldn't say I'm a fan of either nickel or stainless steels, BUT it's just that what I buy seems mainly to be nickel, but in all honesty I doubt I have preference for either; so long as they're roundwound and not flat or tape-coated I'm generally a happy bunny. Just try a set - nickel or steels - they sound great (on my 12) and they seem to last for ages. A question for Alan - have you got a Powerwound 4095L set in Stainless or Nickel? I'll put them on my Thunderbird and report back! P

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1346208' date='Aug 20 2011, 11:38 AM']Yep cheers Alan. Interesting. Would you say they feel as sticky/gritty as steels or are your fingertips (as mine probably are) just particularly sensitive to the difference.[/quote] It's a weird thing (and bear in mind the 12 has a pair of octave along with each fundamental string, so the playing surface is maybe double that of a regular four string), but after I play it for any length of time my fingertips just seem over-dry and skin-dusty (ugh!). Does this make sense? I guess the octave strings are kind of contributory to this. It's not so much of a problem, the strings aren't uncomfortable, just a little rough/coarse! I tend to use nickels on everything I have, but it's not a conscious choice; after playing for so long, string choice ebbs and flows...I went years on Rotosounds, then moved to Elites, now its generally D'Addarios on seven or eight basses. Ernie Balls on the Bongo 5, Hellborgs on the Thunderbird, SITs on the 12 (currently) and D'Addarios on everything else. I don't an nickel allergy or anything. I'd definitely be up for trying some SITs (4095 set...I'm such a pussy) on the Thunderbird...I'm due a change. Steels or nickels. P

I'll tell you what is so genius about this bass. It's the little fret-markers on the side of the bass (not the dots; they look like little brass infills). They're barely visible on the pictures. Very subtle touch. Great job. P

Ou7shined They're actually Powerwound nickels. I got them through Alan/Skelf a while back...I had a couple of sets of D'Addarios to work through before I put the SITs on. P

I tried a load of different manufacturers on my Waterstone 12 string until eventually settling on SITs. Tension is great on this instrument, they sound very bright and last forever. The only downside is that I find them a tad coarse under the fingers, but as the Waterstone isn't my main bass it's not so much of a problem. P

Hi Nick Had one for a while - I think it was in Creative Control when I met you when you did the Lakland trade with Carl about a year/eighteen months ago. I found it nice, lightweight, super-fast neck, nice balance, responsive and ultimately great sound (albeit touching the shrill at times). The only thing I didn't like was the white scatchplate, which I changed for a single ply black one. I'm a little disapponited that Fender did a sunburst version...I think a red one Geddy Lee uses looks hotter. I moved it on to finance a Thunderbird, but I think, funds permitting, I might try and pick up another one at some stage. Best Paul

A mate of mine had a pair and he used to feed them on cat food. They just got bigger and bigger...they were about the size of a CD, with veracious appetites. He put them in a small pond near his house and allegedly they ate everything in it. Fish, ducklings , small children etc. When the pond was drained they found the terrapins, alive and well, and about a foot long. P [quote name='waynepunkdude' post='1340462' date='Aug 15 2011, 11:16 AM']Someone thought it's be a good idea to have them in the office but the poor bastards need a home, I think they are about 2-3 years old and they are lovely but a work place is not right for them.[/quote]

I'm familiar with the interview with the JEW bassist...interesting concept. Can I throw something in here? I'm drawn to the shot earlier in this thread where you have the neck on the bass. When the strings pass over the nut, will they actually line up with machines or splay downwards slightly (ie like you get on a hockey-stick headstock)? P

[quote name='billyapple' post='1247719' date='May 27 2011, 11:22 PM']Yes, I do have some criticisms... The bridge pup alone sounds bobbins. The neck had to be dialled in. The covers on the pup's are plasticky looking, and a high end bass deserves better. The bridge is on 3 stilts sitting above the body, how can the bridge be resonating thru the body? As Paul said, unleash the tone with a Hipshot and I can believe how.[/quote] I've not really noticed too much of a disparity with the pickups; I always play with everything to the max and (if necessary) will adjust the pickup heights rather than bother with the volume/tone controls in a live context. I'm soooo old school. If a song calls for a different tone, I'll play closer to the bridge or up by the neck, if there's a quieter passage, I'll play softer.. I'd concur that the pickups look a tad carp, but then they're almost identical to the generic design of the EMG, Bartolinis derivatives that are on Spectors and other high end guitars (my Bongo is the only bass I have that show any flair in the exterior design of the pickups). If the hardware is all black, then they kind of blend in; what's important is how they make the guitar sound, eh? Again, two thumbs up for the Hipshot. I'll say it again...if you're considering a Thunderbird, do yourself a favour and get one of these on order a week before you visit the dealer and install it as soon as you get home. It's a great £60 upgrade. Finally, in closing, I've played a plethora of basses in the past, Fenders, Gibsons, Musicman, Lakland, Warwick; lots of others and beyond doubt, the Thunderbird has been the most fun of the lot. I would class myself as decent enough and a no-frills type of player (I always wanted to be a sound engineer rather than treading the boards, but that's another story), but the Thunderbird [i]elevates [/i]you somehow. I don't know, I can't quite put my finger on why...it just makes you [i]feel [/i]like a better player, so much more so than if I was playing a Jazz or a Precision. Like I said previously, it's like magic. Best Paul

Now then. Following on from my original post, hello Wayne, it's good to be back in a limited capacity at least. I should like to offer up for your deliberation a photo of my [i]other [/i]Thunderbird a pant wettingly stunning Hamer FBIV, as follows: ...I landed this about three weeks after the Gibson arrived. It's mega-mega-rare, maybe less than 20 worldwide and I scored it for a ridiculously low price (and have been offered an equally stupidly high price from a Hamer collector in the US for it). Other than it looks similar, the Gibson and Hamer just don't compare. The Hamer is very well balanced, [i]zero [/i]neckdive and man, the sound is epic in a different way and the sustain just rings. The neck is similar to my old Precision (whereas the Gibson neck is thinner than my sadly departed Geddy Jazz). It's very heavy. Amazingly, the magic also works with this one as well, transforming me from a desk-bound blob of an office-worker into 50% of the most lithe rhythm section east of Reading. Much love Paul x

A rare post from me. I've owned a Gibson Thunderbird for about a year, during which time it has become my main bass. It's a '94 in classic white and I imported it through Ishibashi. For no good reason other than I can, here's what it looks like: Now then the pro's and con's. The stock bridge is awful, very Heath Robinson and before the bass arrived I already had a Hipshot replacement on order. The strap lugs were awful as well, so I changed them for Dunlop Straploks. Moving along, neck-dive. Yes, it's slightly neck heavy (yawn)...the added ounces from the new bridge perhaps subliminally go some way to resolving the issue, but to be honest I only played the bass on the strap once before I swapped over the bridge, so don't feel qualified to argue one way or another. To be honest, I'm a little tired of the whole neck-dive argument; sure if you're going to assume a JC pose every time you play it, then yes, the bass will rotate head first towards the ground, but very slowly. Jeesh. Get over it, it's not life threatening. Buy yourself a wide strap. Insofar as the neck goes, it's super thin and very fast. The bass plays well sitting down, the body is pretty thin; the centre core is around the same depth as your regular bass (45mm), the wings 28mm deep. It weighs under 8lbs. Audibly, it sounds the nuts. Honestly. Through a Sansamp, it sounds immense. Finally, it looks so uber-cool. How could anyone say these basses are ugly? Look at my avatar. I'm a slightly overweight guy in my forties. It doesn't get any worse than that, but thankfully, I have all my hair. When I play this bass, I feel like a skinny guy in my twenties. Go figure. It sounds great [i]and [/i]makes me look good. It's like magic. P

Here you go. P

I can't lay claim to owning a Roscoe, but I love the 3005s. OK, if it's Roscoe porn you're after, this was up for sale on Ishibashi a couple of years ago. P

Crack Converters. [url="http://tinyurl.com/63cpmqe"]http://tinyurl.com/63cpmqe[/url] Currently at £80.00. Looks a bit grubby. P

US Hamer Chapparal project here. White/cream. No hardware. £170 BIN plus £75 shipping. Seller is based in Ohio, USA. Wife has instigated a strict one in one out bass policy otherwise I think it would be winging its way here...should cost more than another £100 to get it up and running. Link: [url="http://tinyurl.com/6x2hm8t"]http://tinyurl.com/6x2hm8t[/url] Best P