Classic Thunderbird Pro IV Review

[Johnny Crab]

YAY!!!!!
I guess that does it then, SHRINK bank account!
Done.
Ordered from an "In Stock" place + a case.

EDIT: They didn't let me flexpay = no sale. Greco pickups go into a headless TBird project(bolt neck, relax folks).

About the Greco pickups:
Doing some mods on two 3 pickup Greco LP's(NOT the 2 good ones) leaving me a couple of "spare" pickups to use. Mods are most likely a Ric pickup in one(neck position), possibly a Kahler and Sustainiac bass unit in the other.

Originally Posted by TBird1958

I usually think of a big angry piano

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
LOVE this description.

[xray]

I played one of these on Sat. and am about ready to sell the old Gibson bird and buy one of these new Epi's and a new amp with the extra coin I'd have left. I couldn't tell any difference in tone or feel (but I'm not a trained expert). Actually, maybe because it was new it felt sweeter than my original. It was goooood!!

When I started tracking the progress of this endeavor I new Gibson and Epi had partnered on something great. It give the middle market a great rock n roll bass at a very affordable price. Based on my latest Squier to Fender comparison the Epi to Gibson comparison is much tighter, not much difference in quality and tone.

Glad I'll be in the states for the Holidays - definitely going hunt'n.

[xray]

...oh, and yes, GREAT review 58.

[wilfred]

Wow! !! Looks killer!

[darren1970]

"Its all about the clank"

LOL.....but true

[kjpollo]

Mark,

Thanks for a GREAT review. Looks like I'll be ordering one soon myself.

Also might have to look for a screaming good closeout deal on the active one as well. I played one several months ago at GC and was pretty impressed at the tone.

Lets see....current GAS- This bass, Fender MP Jazz, Revsound 210 cab...good lord- gotta see what can be sold around here!!!

[Tender Prey]

Originally Posted by Johnny Crab

YAY!!!!!
I guess that does it then, SHRINK bank account!
Done.
Ordered from an "In Stock" place + a case.

About the Greco pickups:
Doing some mods on two 3 pickup Greco LP's(NOT the 2 good ones) leaving me a couple of "spare" pickups to use. Mods are most likely a Ric pickup in one(neck position), possibly a Kahler and Sustainiac bass unit in the other.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
LOVE this description.

So you have 4 of the Greco LP style basses? Those are pretty cool!!

[PBnJBassist]

Guess the only thing Gibson can do now is keep the Non-Reverse a Gibson exclusive

Other than that, I have waited so long my GAS for these things seems to have completely died, even after reading that review (fantastic review, by the way). Man... I with my GAS would kick in. This must be the first time someone asked for GAS!

[wrench45us]

Is there any talk of a Classic Pro V for a passive 5 string with those pickups?
Another thread has already indicated that there aren't alot of choices in passive 5 string basses and this would seem an obvious move (at least to me who's always had a thing for Thunderbird)

[Webtroll]

Not a lacquer finish I presume, still beautiful and I'd love one in black

[TBird1958]

Originally Posted by Webtroll

Not a lacquer finish I presume, still beautiful and I'd love one in black

Yeah, it's Poly, very nicely done too - It's really a nicely crafted bass, no little issues to cause regrets. The poly won't age like nitro, OTOH it likely isn't going to sweatstain either. At this price point the bass in quite impressive, I'm a big Gibson fan (why, I don't honestly know because they can really disappoint at times) but for QC the Epi really seems a better buy. This really is the working man's Thunderbird.
Bravo, Epiphone!

[hillerup]

Mark;

Thanks for a great review and the comparisons to the Gibson - Sounds like getting the new Epi would be a safe buy...

Must have a 4th Thunderbird...

[thunderbird66]

Great review. I have been an epiphone guy for a long time ( basically
cause i can't or won't afford Gibson ) and the build quality is excellent.
As with alot of posts i've read on this website, cheaper bass's with a few mod
is an excellent way to go. Currently have 2 epiphone tbirds hot rodded with active emg's.
Hb's in the neck position & jazz in the bridge. Best sounding bass's I've ever had.
incredibly stable too. It's a good way to go especially if you like to customize and mod
your bass's without depreciating the value of higher end guitars but this
bass appears to be ready to rock on all levels. I love the band by the way. Very cool

[grenadilla]

Originally Posted by TBird1958

Thanks

The Fivers are already disco'd, the fours aren't likely too far behind - Too bad, they're very nice basses as well.

Nice review with good pictures! I have the active T-Bird Pro and the frets were a little sharp on the edges but the bridge is adjustable heighth for each string and the nut is brass [mine was way too high]. The active bass and treble controls work good. Gibson should get active! Mine is more polite and smooth than my much=missed 1976 Thunderbird. Now I want a Epi like yours!

[hillerup]

I have a question for those of you, who purchased the classic t-bird in sunburst:

Can you tell through the laquer whether these basses actually are 7 ply neck-through and not 9 ply?

Judging from the close-up pictures of a sunburst T-bird on the Sweetwater site, the neck-through laminate looks pretty similar to the neck-through laminate of a Gibson T-bird:

Sweetwater:



Gibson:



One things for certain the Classic looks nowhere near the 7 ply laminate of the T-bird pro's, which is totally different...

[E.J. T.N.T.]

Thanks a lot for your great review TBird1958. I was really looking forward to it and coming from such a respectable TBer and T-bird player such as you says a lot.

I still want to try one of them myself though, but to this day I am not aware of any dealers having them available in Germany(or in the rest of Europe for that matter) yet.

To be honest I was kind of disappointed when I tried the active counterpart, it was ok but the magic just wasn't there for me. I said before that I let an late 70's/early 80's gibson get away(pretty much like your own white one), but it has been so long ago that I think I remember it to be a lot better than what it actually was.

I find it to be very attractively priced and I think I would be able to utilize it very well in my current band. I am curious though, what would you guys modify on the bass? I know a lot of you don't like the bridge, but just like TBird1958 I think it work well enough if set properly. My first thing to do would be to add a hipshot X-tender. I would also perhaps change the nut to a graph-tech one, but not necessarily.

Moreover even though the white one is my favourite t-bird color(and also probably favourite bass colour in general) having an option in black would be kick-ass. I am sure a lot of the metal kids would like it.

[Peepaleep]

Originally Posted by E.J. T.N.T.

I am curious though, what would you guys modify on the bass? I know a lot of you don't like the bridge, but just like TBird1958 I think it work well enough if set properly.

Yes, the bridge. The biggest problem I have found with it is that the front screw goes down only so far, but not far enough to lower the action to where I want it. I've had to lower the back of the bridge but the bridge now slopes downward from front to back. The action is still a little high for my taste, but not so high that I can't get used to it.

[TBird1958]

Well, 3 Point Bridges are NOT all created equal.
One might think that the Epi's would be identical to Gibson's but it's not. One crucial, often overlooked part is the threaded bridge mounting ferrule, as I mentioned Epi's has a 1/8" lip as you can see in the photo. Gibson's are countersunk for a far better range and lower action.


Epiphone..........




And my '89. Quite a bit better, as you can see no lip around the ferrule gets the bridge lower.

[rockinrayduke]

I'm on a white bass kick right now and that one looks great, Mark. Sure thinking about it now. Thanks.

[Peepaleep]

Originally Posted by TBird1958

Well, 3 Point Bridges are NOT all created equal.
One might think that the Epi's would be identical to Gibson's but it's not. One crucial, often overlooked part is the threaded bridge mounting ferrule, as I mentioned Epi's has a 1/8" lip as you can see in the photo. Gibson's are countersunk for a far better range and lower action.

Bingo. I would think this would be a pretty simple mod, but would there be a problem trying to remove the ferrule in order to drill the hole a touch deeper? It's got teeth that grab into the wood, no?