Shaggy Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 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…. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 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!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 Oops - left out contact for Thunderbuckers.... http://www.thunderbuckerranch.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debwilliams Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 (edited) [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! Edited July 2, 2012 by Shaggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debwilliams Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Sin City ..... you Lord of Darkness !!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPBass Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 I saw this with Bigbassbob and was half tempted. I'm impressed with what you've done, it's certainly put the bass into the Entwistle Fenderbird realm visually. I'm going to have to hear it at some point. Da iawn Shaggy, it looks the mutts nuts amigo. Col Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimijimmi Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Hi, great looking bass, what are your thoughts on the bridge/saddle piece? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fumps Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 That is lovely.......well done that man, that really is a pretty thing to behold ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 [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....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 [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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Looks lovely, chief Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Lovely mate, you'll need a Who tribute act to go with that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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