NancyJohnson

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

[quote name='jonthebass' post='717294' date='Jan 18 2010, 10:52 PM']My P bass with a SD Qtr. Pounder pickup and SD Jazz Hot Stack bridge unit sounds great through my Sadowsky pre amp pedal and does it for me (at the mo!)[/quote] I always found the SD to be too whumpy when I had my old '79. I put a Wizard in and it was much more controllable. Presently the combination of a Geddy Lee signature (so I guess stock Fender units) and the Sansamp BDDI is kind of lovely...dirt by the sackload and very controllable. Couldn't recommend the pedal more. P

The Thumb SC has to be one of the ugliest basses I've seen in a while. P

I posted a photoshopped mock up of the JO 3TB/blocks both here and direct to Lakland about a year ago and then again on the LOG quite recently and hey presto! there it is. I'm not a fan of sunbursts, but it looks very nice. Anyone want to buy my Bongo 5HH? P