Grahambythesea

It’s very hard to see the piccy in your profile, look forward to seeing something more clearly. Couple of questions, 1lb lighter that a T’bird? Which makes it what weight? Neck width and presumably long scale unlike some of the earlier incarnations of the Embassy.

On 16/09/2018 at 20:07, silverfoxnik said:

I bought a 2004 Gibson Thunderbird last year and absolutely love it!

It's light, incredibly easy to play, and sounds incredible whatever style of music I've played with it so far.

Having said that, it sounds particularly good within the context of the rock covers  band I play in..

There's plenty of definition and articulation from the bridge pick up and the neck pick up gives as much low end as you could ever need. 

The single biggest surprise for me though was how the T-Bird shape is so clever in its design which allows for such ease of playing, especially in the higher registers.. It's a joy to play!

As it happens, mine has the 3 point bridge on it, but that's not been a problem for me so far.

Until I got this, I'd never played a Thunderbird but now I completely understand why they are so highly rated by many bassists on here, and elsewhere.

Just my 2p worth of course..

You amaze me that you say it’s light. I’ve never played one but always thought they must weigh a ton, there seems to be a lot of wood there. I was offered one in a trade once but turned it down, was that a mistake!

Can’t wait to see what you get for £30! I’ve been looking and looking for a good project but not found one. Where was it advertised if I may ask?

Fun colour!

Does Spector’s Amberbirst count as orange?

People speak highly of the Sire one, reputedly better than Squier.

5 hours ago, TheGreek said:

I have a Spectorcore fretless - I need to keep it in a case to stop it floating away. Around 6lb I believe.

 

 

Me too, but  a 5 string version which I think is about 7.5lb Mark. Great bass perfectly set up straight out the box, just needed some La Bella flats!

Well done for taking the leap. Try not to use the B as a thumb rest 🤣 Can I give you a tip, when playing in E or F try not to use the open E or 1st fret but instead start on the 5 & 6th on the B and go from there. You will soon get the hang of it and of course the advantage is the fret spacing is much more comfortable there.  

I know Jackson an Charvel are the same stable, but is the Fernandes too? The headstocks and truss rod covers seem identical.

13 hours ago, CameronJ said:

Check out the new Stingray thread...😅

I had seen that they are finally doing a lighter weight bass, good to see a company thinking about the players and not just churning out the same old same old. Be interesting to try one when they arrive in the U.K. As it happens my daughter lives just outside SanLuis Obispo and I visit regularly, however sadly MM don’t do factory visits, unlike Taylor that lay on the most fantastic and informative tour, well worth the drive down the Coast to San Diego (although we were in fact taking the grand kids on holiday there,  but  I managed an afternoon off! )

Fender quality is an age old problem and a bit of a lottery. I bought a new Jazz 5 in 1996, when they first came out. It arrived with the neck set too low into the body cavity needing a shim and the pickups hummed under lights. Not great in a bass costing over a grand even back then. I also had a ‘95 fretless Precision that was superb, should never have sold it. So you pays your money and takes your chance!

second hand from someone reliable is probably a good idea as they hopefully will have had it set up, but the worry is always are they trying to dump a dog!

I’ve never had a Stingray, too heavy for my taste but I’ve never heard of one with poor QC.

Rob Allen makes a short scale 5 string and I think Ibanez have too. I believe they can work.

You ask what can you play on. T’bird. The answer is probably anything, although it might look a little out of place in a folk band. When you consider the range of artists who used them, Entwhistle in the Who, even if he did change the necks to Fenders, surprisingly the Four Seasons back in the sixties, there’s YouTube footage of them, metal bands of course. Don’t recall seeing a country band with them but I bet someone here will prove me wrong!

Actually there are. I too suffer the pains of aging bones, shoulders in my case. Initially I bought the Spector Spectorcore 5 which is partly hollow and about 8lb then I got the Gibson EB5 (2013j which is a remarkably light 7.7lb. I gather the 2017/18 version is also similarly lightweight. Of course in a bit more expensive category Maruszczyk does a light version with internal chambers which would also fil the bill, Elwood L. 

In the end health and welfare is paramount if we are to continue to play and not too would be the end of life as we know it!

I think these basses are probably like marmite!

Interesting that they’ve given it a bound neck. I don’t remember any Precision having one in the 70’s only Jazzes. Looks nice though.

Looks way more complicated than the Squier versions. Very Ventures 😆

On 29/08/2018 at 22:07, TransistorBassMan said:

It weighs 8.4lbs.(My Precision Lyte weighs 7.4lbs, my Jazz weighs 9.2lbs)

Thanks. Not too bad as there appears to be a lot of wood there.

NO! That head just looks wrong on a P. shape body. Sorry not for me.

Thanks.pine body, that’s unusual. A forest of pine would be lighter than a 78 Precision. I sometimes wonder if they were made of lead rather than wood. I used to have a 75 P. & that was dead heavy too.

So tempted it’s almost aYOB (or the original was). Slab bodies frighten me just how heavy is it?

I keep looking and have to keep reminding myself that I traded mine because it was too heavy. Not having a 4 string anymore also makes keep considering either a J or P, but why? 5 strings are so much more versatile. 

Good job you did the exchange before Brexit, otherwise you’d be paying duty in both directions and the Status would have to have spent 6 months in quarantine!  😂

Great looking bass. I remember seeing a video of Elvis which included rehearsals for a Las Vegas show when he introduced the band and even though the King said “on the Fender bass” the guy was in fact playing an Ibanez. I also remember trying one in Chappells, but was surprised how expensive it was! 

Didnt some of the production end up with Cimar on the headstock?

Spector Coda, as well as the two you’ve mentioned already.