Checking in to see if anyone's played these Epiphone Thunderbird pro guitars. Neck-thru, active electronics, nice looking, only $400. Seems like a heck of a deal. The local music stores don't carry any, haven't had a chance to play one yet. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/epiphone-thunderbird-pro-iv-bass
I think a lot of have played one of those. They have been discontinued, so that's why they are cheap, as far as I know. I have one and like it a lot, even more now that it is fretless. The bridge is different from the usual Epi/Gibson three point contraption and works very well, too. The sound is a modern scooped sound, so if you are expecting a T-Bird thump out of it, you will be disappointed, and the whole thing goes dead when the battery dies - no passive capability at all. Those are all the bad things I can say about it. You will hear about neck dive, but if you move the strap button to the base of the neck and play it in a more vertical position than you would a Fender shaped guitar, it balances very well. For me, it's one of the most comfortable bass shapes made.
I have one. Good bass. It takes a lot of flak because it is an active Thunderbird, and that is aonething of a contradiction. The active circuit is fine, and completely usable. It does, however, "sound" active, and you may or may not like that.
I,ve got one and it,s good Very underated. Thinking about getting another one and going passive with it. There was a post where someone had done the passive and active soundclips of the pro.
I used to own one and really liked it. Like others have said it does have a more modern sound. The build quality on mine was excellent even had a brass nut. I'd consider one a great buy at the price they are now.
I have the 5 string pro Epi t-bird... I like the sound alot. I was pretty upset that they only had black for the 5 string pros when I bought them. Wanted a white so much more. That's the only complaint I have... sounds good, feels sturdy.
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