bink Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Hey everyone i'm Bink and i could use some advice about changing out the tuners on my 2015 Thunderbird which are Grover "y" shape, black. The tuners i want to install are Hipshot ultra lite "clover, nickel finish type. i want these because they look like proper Thunderbird tuners and in fact are. There are two; the KB6C 3/8 and the HB6C 3/8 both the same except one is made in Europe and is metric and the other in USA. After speaking with one of the guys at Hipshot i learned that there may be a problem with the clover shape tuners touching each other slightly. Obviously this is a huge problem; does anyone know if this is a real issue or can i swap them out?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassilisk Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 My initial response would have been to speak with someone at Hipshot - they are very much on top of which of their models works for various instruments. I was just looking for a set of black tuners to match the Supertone bridge I installed on my Jack Casady bass. Their recommendation for HB6C Clover 1/2" Ultralites was spot on for the look, and close enough on the fit (vs the metric holes which were a smidge larger than 1/2"). I would trust their assessment. The tuner spacing on your TBird was specific to this Grover model/style. I think you'll be hard pressed finding clovers to fit into that envelope. I had a 2000 TBird. I went through this very exercise and quickly decided I could live with the Grovers. The 2015 model looks pretty amazing. I thought my TBird was an excellent bass and it was the standard fare. All of these improvements are stoking up some GAS...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bink Posted July 26, 2015 Author Share Posted July 26, 2015 My initial response would have been to speak with someone at Hipshot - they are very much on top of which of their models works for various instruments. I was just looking for a set of black tuners to match the Supertone bridge I installed on my Jack Casady bass. Their recommendation for HB6C Clover 1/2" Ultralites was spot on for the look, and close enough on the fit (vs the metric holes which were a smidge larger than 1/2"). I would trust their assessment. The tuner spacing on your TBird was specific to this Grover model/style. I think you'll be hard pressed finding clovers to fit into that envelope. I had a 2000 TBird. I went through this very exercise and quickly decided I could live with the Grovers. The 2015 model looks pretty amazing. I thought my TBird was an excellent bass and it was the standard fare. All of these improvements are stoking up some GAS...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bink Posted July 26, 2015 Author Share Posted July 26, 2015 Thanks for the advice man, i'm thinking the best plan is to live with the grovers and at some later date buy a Mike Lull T4. This Thunderbird issue is a very nice piece of work except for the weak job on the finish which i can also live with cuz the pups are wicked, the neck is amazing and everything else is about perfect. Enjoy your Cassidy, it's a fine bass no doubt!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassilisk Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Thanks for the advice man, i'm thinking the best plan is to live with the grovers and at some later date buy a Mike Lull T4. This Thunderbird issue is a very nice piece of work except for the weak job on the finish which i can also live with cuz the pups are wicked, the neck is amazing and everything else is about perfect. Enjoy your Cassidy, it's a fine bass no doubt!! That's the way to go. Funny you mention a weak finish. Mine was white and it had some visible flaws in it too, as well as one or two other little things I wouldn't expect from their flagship instrument. Nothing major, but enough to get under your skin for that kind of price point. Like you, I felt the overall package was smoking, so I overlooked them. I know the Lulls are pretty outstanding. A bit rich for me at the moment, but definitely on my future GAS list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bink Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 That's the way to go. Funny you mention a weak finish. Mine was white and it had some visible flaws in it too, as well as one or two other little things I wouldn't expect from their flagship instrument. Nothing major, but enough to get under your skin for that kind of price point. Like you, I felt the overall package was smoking, so I overlooked them. I know the Lulls are pretty outstanding. A bit rich for me at the moment, but definitely on my future GAS list. Exactly, nothing major but not something you would not expect from a "flagship" instrument and for the price point. The idea of trading it out for another seems like a bit of crapshoot ( Gibson's solution to the problem). Once i had it strapped on and plugged in it wasn't going anywhere "smoking" is the word. What an excellent feel it has as well.. i can wait for the Lull, it's gonna take awhile to put the $$ together for it but a 5 string Lull is on the list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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