Shaggy

[quote name='fumps' timestamp='1342190405' post='1731258'] That is lovely.......well done that man, that really is a pretty thing to behold ! [/quote] Thanks for the good words fumps - gigged her for the first time last night, and really chuffed; proper "big" Gibson sound, and so comfortable playing a reverse-bodieed bass again after a couple of years of gigging Precisions and my EB-2 styled Steve Smith semi-acoustic....

[quote name='jimijimmi' timestamp='1342178452' post='1730870'] Hi, great looking bass, what are your thoughts on the bridge/saddle piece? [/quote] Thanks jimi Bridge was this one; http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&item=320925343518&si=FjTLAIZmQ69cF2mHSS%252BmrP2WMDE%253D&viewitem=&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc Very solid indeed , and seems to have more sustain than even the previous Schaller 3-D which is one of my favourite units. Limitations are that you can't adjust individual saddle heights, and a rather limited range of intonation length adjust (though not nearly as limited as the original Gibson '60's one) - on this bass those weren't issues at all. I did find the overall unit too high even adjusted down as low as possible, so had to file down the slots a bit - perfect now. Ideally I'd have placed the tailpiece a bit further behind the bridge, as on the pic of the blue Mike Lull TB4 here - mainly for aesthetic reasons - but wanted to cover the old bridge screw holes. If you look at the original '60's T'bird (my '65 TB IV) you'll see they were actually placed quite close (apologies to tonytiger whose Lull pic I've nicked....)

Never had a problem with the BBOT unit myself, and on a vintage Fender anything else looks plain wrong! Ralphe Armstrong is fairly scathing about them here mind; http://www.flyguitars.com/interviews/ralpheArmstrong.php (about 2/3 way down) I've had a couple of basses with Badass's factory-fitted (BC Rich, Martin), but to mind the best "Fender upgrade" bridge ever is....the Schaller 3D

[quote name='steve-soar' timestamp='1341943119' post='1726755'] Look who desinged the pups. http://cataldobasses.com/ [/quote] Not to hijack the thread, but I used the Thunderbucker ranch p/ups on my build, and they are seriously lush..... http://basschat.co.uk/topic/180496-the-welsh-fenderbird-mk-2-a-quest-for-perfection/

Cheers Col mate - I certainly didn't want to make a clone of Entwhistle's bass (f you Google Image "Fenderbird" you'll see hundreds...), but my aims were probably his too; a combination of the reverse body style - which is by far the most ergonomic for me, the '60's Gibson Thunderbird tone - which is just fabulous, and the simple strength and playability of a Fender neck. I was lucky having the starting point of an already lovely bass, thanks to Bob. Being a bolt-on neck opens up other possibilities too..... like fretless!

[quote name='debwilliams' timestamp='1341178744' post='1714897'] Very nice work Shaggy - but I assume you must be gigging out of our local area as Swansea has NO dodgy venues whatsoever . The Welsh Fenderbird is pretty catchy . [/quote] No, no dodgy venues at all......(*cough SIN CITY! cough*) Diolch for the good words Deb!

Oops - left out contact for Thunderbuckers.... http://www.thunderbuckerranch.com/

So the modding began. As far as authentic 60’s-spec pickups go; there are only Mike Lull and Thunderbucker ranch “boutique” ones available. Bass Direct UK do the Lulls, which have an excellent reputation, but they’re not cheap; £200+ each, mounting rings another £30. I went for the somewhat cheaper Thunderbuckers, which are reverse-engineered from original ‘60’s Gibson units, are, totally hand-built in Arizona, and unlike the Lulls available in 3 types; the “’63”, the slightly hotter “’66”, and the overwound even hotter “Max” (I had a matched pair of the ‘66’s) Steve at Thunderbucker ranch was as friendly and as helpful as can be; anyone contemplating a similar custom build / conversion - buy with total confidence. Contact; And yes, they are every bit as good as the originals; beautifully made and sublime sounding, with lovely nickel-alloy covers too. The bridge / tailpiece were sourced from US ebay, nice heavy solid brass chrome plated units. The conversion was fairly straightforward; a matter of removing the P / J p/ups and the Schaller bridge, routing enlarged p/up cavities to take the Thunderbuckers, and drilling out to fit the big bridge posts and the tailpiece. The difficulties really arose from the routing for previous fittings – the neck p/up mounting ring doesn’t quite cover the old P p/up routing, such there is a 2mm gap at the rear – either I’ll have to fit a sliver of cocobolo veneer underneath or an oversized mounting ring. Likewise, lifting the Schaller bridge I was dismayed to find a neat little shallow oval cavity routed for the bridge earthing wire. Luckily the narrow new bridge unit exactly covered it at the correct distance, and the tailpiece covered the old bridge screws. What’s it like? Lovely! Not quite as comfy as my ’63 with that thick slab body (surprisingly light), but not far off, and with an even fatter and growlier tone. And no fear of neck breaks! The Fender P neck is a joy.; as a mainly Gibson player I’ve got to say I’m really sold on the Fenderbird concept as a near ideal one. I’m sure there’s many who preferred the bass in Mk 1 guise, and I fully understand why. No regrets though!!!

A quick “modding” project this one….. Having a silly number of vintage basses, my undoubted favourite is my ’65 Gibson Thunderbird IV. However – the usual issue with nice vintage instruments; it’s a worry playing dodgy venues……..especially with an old T’bird as the neck / headstock area really is a fragile one. So I’d been on the lookout for something I can gig; either an affordable ‘70’s T’bird (ie; probably one already with a neck repair), or a cheapish modern one suitable for “vintage” modding. Anyway; around May this year BigBassBob – a very pleasant BC-er from West Wales, advertised his custom Fenderbird here, that he’d put together last year ( http://basschat.co.uk/topic/173719-fenderwarmoth-fenderbird-price-drop-l500/page__p__1656844__hl__fenderbird__fromsearch__1#entry1656844 )Basic specs - Fender CIJ ’62RI Precision neck, circa 1998, with slab rosewood board. Hipshot chrome tuners. US Warmoth Thunderbird body; 1-piece mahogany with cocobolo top, ebony pinstripe between. Cocobolo control knobs (passive V/V/T) Nordstrand P / J pickups Schaller 3-D chrome bridge It immediately caught my eye as a very tasty looking bass; and the more I thought about it the more I imagined it with a nice pair of chrome ‘buckers and vintage Gibson-style bridge/tailpiece….. So I had this off Bob around early June, together with the active EMG P / J p/ups he’d previously fitted. And what an absolute peach of a bass it was; really beautifully put together with obvious attention to detail, and sounding very nice indeed – very vintage P. So much so I was very, very tempted just to leave as is. But…….it was just too “Fender-y”. It had to change….

Had a load of used DR 5-string sets off John via his post in the "Recycled" forum - I'd been expecting 1 or 2 sets, but what arrived will probably last me the rest of my life! (with the limited amount I play 5-string....) Great, friendly, helpful guy, one of the top BC-ers - many thanks mate!

[quote name='convair' timestamp='1339896547' post='1696093'] [font="Times New Roman"][b][color=black][size=3]Thank you Shaggy! as you know they are rather special & great fun to play, my IV is really a II that someone way back when turned into a IV for some reason I like the II better in fact I’ve found myself turning down the bridge pup on the IV because I like the sound of that one pup in the sweet spot, [/size][/color][/b][/font] [font="Times New Roman"][b][color=black][size=3]Cheers[/size][/color][/b][/font] [/quote] I thought the control knob spacing on the '64 IV didn't seem quite right! Looks lovely though - what amp do you play them through? Agreed about the "sweet spot" - I've been quite intrigued by the Lull Tom Petersson sig model - http://mikelull.com/site/instruments/signature/signature-petersson.html - it looks wrong, but I bet it sounds massive

[quote name='bigsmokebass' timestamp='1339547210' post='1690499'] Your looking about £800-1100 UK RRP for the basic Gibson KN RD sig, where as on ebay for the classic Gibson RD is £1700-2250 with different finishes, vintage appeal and all the other bells and whistles . . . . all depends on your wallet if your truly after a RD for this sort of money. admittedly, id own both if i could as they both seem real nice basses. The classic is delicious as a collector item and 'Only at home' instrument and the KN would make an excellent work horse for me BSB [/quote] Prices for RD's seem to have bucked the trend for Gibson basses and rocketed recently; there was an all-original blond RD Artist in my local music shop for £500 only a few years ago, hung around for ages.

[quote name='convair' timestamp='1339377943' post='1687728'] [IMG]http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i353/rick4005/393324_211341608955033_100002375860669_427982_268367199_n.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i353/rick4005/383133_211341655621695_100002375860669_427983_683021223_n.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i353/rick4005/77.jpg[/IMG] My Birds two '64s & a '68 & a '77 [/quote] Those are just utterly lovely, especially the '64 II and IV!!! Sexiest pics on this or any other porn thread.... My '65 T'bird IV (top of page 3 I think) is my all-time favourite bass, but there's something so classy about the single p/up II model. I'm currently modding the Fender / Warmoth Fenderbird I had off BigBassBob with dual Thunderbucker ranch p/ups and '60's type bridge & tailpiece to use as a gigging workhorse - I'll post in the build diary forum (as it ain't a Gibson....) Some real drool-worthy Gibbos here, keep 'em coming......

PM sent

I bought David's EBS ValveDrive - couldn't have been easier; the pedal arrived well packed within days. A top guy; both to talk to and do business with - highly recommended. Like many BC-ers (I suspect) I have a strong aversion to getting involved with deals abroad - was greatly reassured by this feedback thread, which just shows how useful they are, and all of the postive comments of course borne out. Thanks David!

Pete bought my P/J Nordstrand pickups - easy deal, fast payment, great comms, thanks mate! Looking forwards to seeing the finished bass.....

For the price I reckon that's not a bad effort - IMHO pickups on this and the originals should have been big chrome 'buckers (as they were on the guitar version) but that's just my chrome fetish - Gibson should have kept it on the T'birds too. And the 2 + 2 paddle headstock is just plain wrong. As much as I love ny RD Artist ('77 fireburst / ebony) an authentic re-issue would have been pointless as it was so much "of its time", from the sheer weight of the bloody thing to the wacky Moog electrics. The FA Delogada is tasty, but if Mike Lull made a version that would really be something - plus you know there'd be a 5-er version.....

Awesome - looks in reasonable nick, I'd def have it if it were closer. Wasn't someone here selling the 8 x 10 version recently?