martthebass Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Just quickie.....what would be a sensible price for a good condition early eighties Thunder 3? Cheers, Mart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Hardly describe Westone as Japcrap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martthebass Posted August 30, 2009 Author Share Posted August 30, 2009 [quote name='Beedster' post='585131' date='Aug 30 2009, 02:38 PM']Hardly describe Westone as Japcrap [/quote] Hmmm, slip of the tongue. Had one of these many moons ago (bought new - old git that I am). Suddenly had a hankering for one, trying to decide whether to spend £600 on a Fretless Jazz or considerably less on a fretless T3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 [quote name='martthebass' post='585139' date='Aug 30 2009, 02:56 PM']Hmmm, slip of the tongue. Had one of these many moons ago (bought new - old git that I am). Suddenly had a hankering for one, trying to decide whether to spend £600 on a Fretless Jazz or considerably less on a fretless T3[/quote] Jazz is probably your best bet but if you can play both you gotta find which works best for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leftbass Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 I got one of these back in the early 80's (Old git too) a model 1 and as an entry level bass they were well built and had good tone. I think I paid about £150 then new. I wouldn't describe them as crap. Don't know what the Jazz is but if its Fender I think its a safe bet that it will be worth it. Always best to try if you can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martthebass Posted August 30, 2009 Author Share Posted August 30, 2009 I've played and owned both in my time. If I'm honest I do prefer the Jazz fretless, but I'm only an occasional doodler on F'less and for fretted the Status and Ray are more than adequate for my needs. Just toying with the idea of spending less on a T3 but don't want to 'overspend' just in case I decide to move it on at some point in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 [quote name='Beedster' post='585131' date='Aug 30 2009, 02:38 PM']Hardly describe Westone as Japcrap [/quote] I would - t'ain't a value judgement! Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 A friend of mine has a Thunder 3 - very good bass, but there is one issue that I've noticed. Because the battery box sits at the back of the bass the bridge is positioned slightly more to the neck than normal, which makes it feel a bit top heavy/out of balance? its not a heavy bass so its not a big problem, but if you're used to a fender its a bit odd. I wouldn't pay more than £200 for a nice one...look out for worn fingerboards on the fretless models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 [quote name='geoffbyrne' post='585637' date='Aug 31 2009, 10:12 AM']Mine's totally original and pretty pristine. G.[/quote] That looks superb, the build quality looks top drawer on that one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 [quote name='BassBod' post='585592' date='Aug 31 2009, 08:56 AM']A friend of mine has a Thunder 3 - very good bass, but there is one issue that I've noticed. Because the battery box sits at the back of the bass the bridge is positioned slightly more to the neck than normal, which makes it feel a bit top heavy/out of balance? its not a heavy bass so its not a big problem, but if you're used to a fender its a bit odd.[/quote] Surely the bridge positioning & balance are to do with the body dimensions. Move the bridge back & the neck would have to be set further back to keep the scale the same. It has a short top horn which makes it neck-heavy, so if the body style & proportions stayed the same, so would the balance point, regardless of bridge position. I think... I'm presently adapting to my new-to-me Westbury Track 2 (from the same factory as this) which has a symmetrical body with very short horns. I've mostly been playing J, P & Rick derivatives lately so it feels proper weird - a broad suede-backed strap helps compensate for neck weight, but it feels like miles to reach for the low notes! Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Tut Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 I have to echo the comments about the angle of the dangle! The early ones were worse because the strap peg was on the top side of the top horn. Shifting it to the bottom face of the top horn helps - I do find them uncomfortable though compared to a fender - which is a shame cos otherwise they're crackers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martthebass Posted August 31, 2009 Author Share Posted August 31, 2009 (edited) [quote name='King Tut' post='586074' date='Aug 31 2009, 09:11 PM']I have to echo the comments about the angle of the dangle! The early ones were worse because the strap peg was on the top side of the top horn. Shifting it to the bottom face of the top horn helps - I do find them uncomfortable though compared to a fender - which is a shame cos otherwise they're crackers![/quote] That's about how I remember it with my 1982 T3. It wasn't heavy as such but being neck heavy it wasn't comfortable to play stood up for any length of time. I've been looking at the T2 v2 Fretless on the bay, it looks pretty much like my old T3 (except for the colour of the pup and TR covers being cream instead of black) but based on what's been said above £300 seems a bit on the steep side. Having said that, IIRC I paid £270 new for mine back in the day. Edited August 31, 2009 by martthebass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 Sorry if I was being a bit vague about the dangle - yes, its mostly about the top horn being very short..but my thoughts were they could've moved the whole "scale length" an inch further south..if the battery box was put somewhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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