After years of reading every imaginable review and forum about the Gretsch Thunder Jet I finally pulled the trigger and got one. All I can say is holy crap, I can't believe this isn't a more popular bass, maybe people are afraid to gig with it because it is as much a piece of art as it is an instrument. The build quality is exceptional, and it is the sharpest looking bass I've ever played. And it sounds every bit as good as it looks. A few observations on it are below:
-It weighs 8.2 pounds and balances nicely on a strap. It is very comfortable on the shoulder.
-The neck is a fast "C" shape. It is slightly bigger than my 50th Anniversary Fender Jazz neck and slightly smaller than my 2015 Fender American Precision neck. My T-Bird neck is tiny in comparison, and a '58 Reissue Precision I once owned was much larger in comparison.
-It came with the stock Fender NPS 45-105 strings. I had planned to put TI Jazz Flats on it but the Fender rounds sound really, really good. I'm almost afraid to change them, but probably will in the near future even if just to see how it does with flats.
-When I first played it it sounded ok but certainly wasn't awe-inspiring in any way. It was also farting out a bit when I dug in. Then I remembered a thread that mentioned the TV Jones Thundertron pickups as being very sensitive to height adjustment. After checking the TV Jones site for recommendations I ended up lowering both pickups a good amount and now the sound absolutely kills. I was shocked, quite honestly, it has an excellent balance of bass, midrange and treble across the fingerboard. If anyone happens to get one and the sound does not blow you away, adjust the pickups and it will!
-The neck and bridge pickups each sound great by themselves. I have always felt Jazz basses sound great with both pickups on but not as great with either pickup soloed. This is not the case with the Thunder Jet, It sounds thick with both pickups on, barky as hell on the bridge and sort of P bassy on the neck. It is also easy to get equal volume on each pickup.
-I have read threads that claim the odd volume controls (master volume as well as individual pickup volumes) are not useful, but I am not experiencing this at all. If anything I am amazed at how many tonal options are available between the multiple volume options. I experienced no "tone suck" when adjusting individual volumes or the master volume.
-The tone control is also very functional. Jazz and P basses sound dead IMO with the tone turned down any significant amount, but I think the Thunder Jet sounds great even with the tone all the way off.
-The floating roller bridge is fine. I have read complaints about that as well, but I think it works as it should. People also tend to complain about the Gibson Thunderbird bridge, but I like that one as well so maybe I am just easy to please as far as bridges go lol.
-It has 24 frets, which is nice. It is listed as having 22 frets, but there are definitely 24 unless I do not understand how to properly count frets! Access to every fret is easy and effortless.
-It sounds amazing with a pick. I mostly play fingerstyle (which sounds good as well), but it is a killer pick-style bass. Think Paul McCartney, Phil Lesh, Mike Gordon, etc. Deep, punchy and clear.
-The list price is steep, but if you look long enough you can find them under $1400 which is what I paid for mine. I got it from Street Sounds in Brooklyn, and it was basically a brand new bass at a used price. I highly recommend Street Sounds for any Gretsch bass or guitar, they were excellent.
-One of the reasons I waited so long to buy one is the complete lack of sound samples online. I have yet to find a single video or sound clip of anyone demonstrating the Thunder Jet, but I plan to post one on YouTube in the near future. I will post it on Talkbass when I get it done.
Hope this helps anyone considering the Gretsch Thunder Jet, and of course the mandatory pic is below!
Gyver
-It weighs 8.2 pounds and balances nicely on a strap. It is very comfortable on the shoulder.
-The neck is a fast "C" shape. It is slightly bigger than my 50th Anniversary Fender Jazz neck and slightly smaller than my 2015 Fender American Precision neck. My T-Bird neck is tiny in comparison, and a '58 Reissue Precision I once owned was much larger in comparison.
-It came with the stock Fender NPS 45-105 strings. I had planned to put TI Jazz Flats on it but the Fender rounds sound really, really good. I'm almost afraid to change them, but probably will in the near future even if just to see how it does with flats.
-When I first played it it sounded ok but certainly wasn't awe-inspiring in any way. It was also farting out a bit when I dug in. Then I remembered a thread that mentioned the TV Jones Thundertron pickups as being very sensitive to height adjustment. After checking the TV Jones site for recommendations I ended up lowering both pickups a good amount and now the sound absolutely kills. I was shocked, quite honestly, it has an excellent balance of bass, midrange and treble across the fingerboard. If anyone happens to get one and the sound does not blow you away, adjust the pickups and it will!
-The neck and bridge pickups each sound great by themselves. I have always felt Jazz basses sound great with both pickups on but not as great with either pickup soloed. This is not the case with the Thunder Jet, It sounds thick with both pickups on, barky as hell on the bridge and sort of P bassy on the neck. It is also easy to get equal volume on each pickup.
-I have read threads that claim the odd volume controls (master volume as well as individual pickup volumes) are not useful, but I am not experiencing this at all. If anything I am amazed at how many tonal options are available between the multiple volume options. I experienced no "tone suck" when adjusting individual volumes or the master volume.
-The tone control is also very functional. Jazz and P basses sound dead IMO with the tone turned down any significant amount, but I think the Thunder Jet sounds great even with the tone all the way off.
-The floating roller bridge is fine. I have read complaints about that as well, but I think it works as it should. People also tend to complain about the Gibson Thunderbird bridge, but I like that one as well so maybe I am just easy to please as far as bridges go lol.
-It has 24 frets, which is nice. It is listed as having 22 frets, but there are definitely 24 unless I do not understand how to properly count frets! Access to every fret is easy and effortless.
-It sounds amazing with a pick. I mostly play fingerstyle (which sounds good as well), but it is a killer pick-style bass. Think Paul McCartney, Phil Lesh, Mike Gordon, etc. Deep, punchy and clear.
-The list price is steep, but if you look long enough you can find them under $1400 which is what I paid for mine. I got it from Street Sounds in Brooklyn, and it was basically a brand new bass at a used price. I highly recommend Street Sounds for any Gretsch bass or guitar, they were excellent.
-One of the reasons I waited so long to buy one is the complete lack of sound samples online. I have yet to find a single video or sound clip of anyone demonstrating the Thunder Jet, but I plan to post one on YouTube in the near future. I will post it on Talkbass when I get it done.
Hope this helps anyone considering the Gretsch Thunder Jet, and of course the mandatory pic is below!
Gyver
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