NBD - a kool Korean Epiphone Thunderbird IV

check it (finally) off the bucket list! a recent Epi Thunderbird IV in minty condition for waaaaay less than the one I fell in lust with at GC a few months ago @ $400 just feeling it up. I can't believe this sat a week on marketplace until I got out of fb jail when these are so awesome and ultra affordable. it has exactly the deeper focused tone I was hoping it would and plays great like the other one, but not muddy, even the G string is dark and thumpy. can't wait to get these icky sticky rounds off for flats, still, drop the E to D and it's perfect. now if I can replicate this fortune with an Epi Korina Explorer I'll be even happier knowing these 'birds are lightweight, not divey, the 1st fret is a comfy reach, 0 fret issues, and it will have a different tone cos of PU placement. the neck is fabulous, consistent, as the one I tried.
stock photo. I lost the screen grab I had of mine but this has similar finish shading that blends better than some others I've seen. lots of sex appeal IMO, it won't be just hanging on the wall looking good.

 

raised the PUs and now there's nothing but clear glorious tone with extra power from all positions on the dials, add a pick attack and I don't know as there's ever been a better selections of bass sounds. took some steel wool to the neck finish and will never look back, a most awesome feel with perfect fret ends, very even in all tonal and playing aspects, with 0 dead spots. simply delightful, managed to even play away the string's stickiness to my eternal joy. Entwistle would likely cringe at such a lo fi sound but can get a killer Ox thing going with these rounds, I'm tempted to leave'm on... definitely saving them. I shudder to think how close I came to missing this sweetheart.
Epi 'bird IVs seem to have gotten overlooked, my gut hunch has paid off in spades with a new #1

 

take it greasy! I come from the Joe Osborne school of aged string retention.
hoping to up the fun factor while losing string / finger noise I finally ventured into the flatlands thinking my closest dealer was being truthful regarding their plentiful selection ...of course I was disappointed and protested by choosing merely 1 instead of multiples I'd planned, Ernie Ball cobalt flats. naturally I invested in likely the least suitable combination for my tonal tastes and went to bed unhappy with the overabundance of stainless zing and inherent brashness I desperately wish to be rid of from rounds.
but!
before that I deftly soaked them in the evening's bacon burger pan drippings...
wouldn't you know, the negatives were virtually vanquished overnite! they retain much of the good I crave from whatever wounds came on it but devoid of most noise, not yet sure if I lost anything cos now I'm able to focus more intently on any possible deeper flaws that might come with the brighter flats available. now future flats have a cure for faster thud control, putting the grime on them may be the secret, can't claim it, but I can claim to be happy this morning. that's a big plus.
bonus points for running into the guy who sold me the 'bird while reclaiming basses he had on recent consignment, recognized me by my Hendrix mask. got to thank him for a great deal on a great bass.

 

I could live forever with either one ...if perfected ie noiseless & w/flats (like my TB) etc.
they're all different animals and the other two will morph with flats in their own ways like the 'Bird did even if I replicate the flats, but the Lotus especially has it's own unique diverse thing going beyond being a good P and just want to tame the roundwound din down, but want another just for heavy dull flats. the LB11 is essentially a vintage P, hard to beat, but I have an old mudbucker wanting to invade the neck position that might beat the pants off everything.
any of my quiver could possibly surpass the Epi with the right new strings but finding that perfect matchup is expensive and I hate changing strings. the T-Bird with EB Cobalts is the first step back into flatland and I expect it's all going to get better if I go down that rabbit hole investment for more flatwound brands, but even with the limited fretting on the Bird's neck I'm just as happy if I stay where I'm at. bottom line, the Lotus and LB11 are super cheap sleeper keepers, as is the T-Bird.