Tacoma Thunderchiefs- 4 of 'em - LOL !

jibreel

jibreel

Apr 12, 2005
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#1
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Bet there are not too many folks with four of these basses around !! Oh well, I love em.
Including these, I have had at least eight pass through my hands in the last few decades.

My main player is a five string hanging on the wall. The other five string is a backup.

The four string back in the corner is the one I have had the longest. This one came without electronics. They made a few of them without electronics and I think that they hand-picked the louder ones for obvious reasons. This one is at least 25% louder than all other Thunder chiefs I have had so it is definitely a keeper.

The other four string was purchased for a very good price so I couldn’t resist. It had previously had its headstock broken off but it was professionally repaired and plays just as good as any of the other Tacoma’s. The neck is totally sturdy. This one will probably get sold fairly soon. The other three will not be going anywhere.

I prefer LaBella black nylon flat strings. I have certainly tried everything else. Obviously, a very personal preference for each of us.

Unless you get one with in a Fishman preamp, upgrading of the electronics is pretty much a necessity. I have been putting in the latest Fishman Presys preamps/Piezos. I think I may bite the bullet [ $$ ] and put RMC pickups in one of the five strings.

Also added a pic of their cousins…
Godin 5A SA [currently for sale in the classifieds]
Rob Allen with dual pickup/preamp systems: Original Fishman preamp for the piezo pickup. Bartolini pickup/3 band preamp.
Fender Precision Lyte Deluxe: Dimarzio p-pickup with Seymour Duncan to band preamp. Soap bar is a blank.

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#4
I have two Thunderchiefs-- a 4 string, and a 5-string strung E-C with low tension Tomastik strings such that the higher strings sound kind of like a baritone classical guitar. They are both good-sounding instruments.

There is a Thunderchief for sale on ebay that just came up, for $599. That's a steal.

This is a really good price on this, $599. Check the TB classifieds, they tend to sell $800-$900. I already have one, which I paid considerably more than $599 for, but I thought I'd point it out to the TB brother/sisterhood in case someone is looking for one of these. They sound great, project good volume for an acoustic bass, and are rare since they are not made any more.

EDIT: to clarify, I have no connection to this listing or the seller at all.

Tacoma Thunderchief CB10C Guitar
 
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#6
jibreel said:
yes, definitely a great deal. However it looks like there may not be a case included which could be part of the lower-price
Click to expand...

It says "comes with a hardcase" but it looked a little ambiguous because of wording. So I think it does come with a case. It's an LR Baggs preamp, some people prefer them but most probably prefer the ones with the Fishman so maybe that has something to do with it. Still, I haven't notices the LR Baggs models selling for any less than the Fishmans, but maybe I'm wrong.
 
#8
#9
I assume so but I have not converted one of the older Fishman pre's. My first Tacoma had the Fishman and I regrettably sold it. I have been converting out the oval and rectangular LR Baggs. Some additional cut out is needed but easy to do.
 
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#10
Nice collection!! I took my son to GC today for a strap and found a Thunderchief in the bass department for a great price. It is the CB10C model WITHOUT any electronics. It looked great and I loved the way it played and sounded, I have played a bunch of ABG's and was not impressed by any of them. Until today. I couldn't bring it home yet due to FL's waiting period but did buy it.

I have read about the K&K pickup. Any other suggestions for amplification? I will need to add electronics to this one.

Thanks.
 
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#14
#18
If you haven't got any electronics in it now, I'd go with an offboard system. No real reason to cut a hole in a bass like that and then swapping preamps is as easy as unplugging a cable.

Oh, and I'm really jealous of all of your Thunderchiefs. I personally don't have a use for an ABG, but if I bought one it would definiltely be the thunderchief. No other production ABG comes close to its' volume at anywhere near it's price.
 
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