Replacement Thunderbird Pups

[Darchyboy]

I have an Epiphone 4 pro. The kind with the thru neck and active pickups and tone knobs. It sounds terrible. I usually play an old Yamaha BB450 with passive electronics. I figure my ideal bass sound is a good ol' P bass.
So, I want to replace the active pickups in the Tbird with passive ones. I found some Epiphone Nikki Sixx "Deep Sixx" pups in eBay which I believe are passive. Has anyone made this switch or had experience with the Epi Nikki Sixx Black Bird? Do these pickups sound good? Other suggestions will help!

 

[Gazonga]

Swap the 4 pro for a classic 4 pro and be all over it.

 

[Darchyboy]

Swap the 4 pro for a classic 4 pro and be all over it.

I would. However, there are none of those in the shops in my town. I do like the look of the pro, just not the sound.

 

[jd56hawk]

The pickups in your Pro IV aren't active…the electronics are.
Also, the Deep Sixx pickups aren't a direct replacement for the Pro IV pickups…they're longer and not quite the same shape.

 

[Gazonga]

I would. However, there are none of those in the shops in my town. I do like the look of the pro, just not the sound.

The Classic 4 Pro is actually better than the Gibson one if you ask me. I've recently gone off about them here: Link
If they don't have it, they can order it, or can't they? Just might take a while, Gibson/Epi is a nightmare to order from.
Or you buy it from an online store with a nice return policy. Perhaps your best option.

 

[Darchyboy]

The pickups in your Pro IV aren't active…the electronics are.
Also, the Deep Sixx pickups aren't a direct replacement for the Pro IV pickups…they're longer and not quite the same shape.

People keep trying to tell me this but if you look at the website it says "active electronics and eq" and that the pick ups are powered by a battery. http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Bass/Thunderbird-Pro-IV.aspx

 

[Darchyboy]

The Classic 4 Pro is actually better than the Gibson one if you ask me. I've recently gone off about them here: Link
If they don't have it, they can order it, or can't they? Just might take a while, Gibson/Epi is a nightmare to order from.
Or you buy it from an online store with a nice return policy. Perhaps your best option.

The classic pro sounds like a great bass, but I am interested in modding this one so it sounds as good as it looks.

 

[jd56hawk]

I believe you can bypass the active electronics. I've seen posts in the Thunderbird club where some people had an active/passive switch installed.
Take a look at the Deep Sixx pups.

And here are some direct fit pups.

Expensive at $200 though.

 

[Gazonga]

The classic pro sounds like a great bass, but I am interested in modding this one so it sounds as good as it looks.

I understand but I am afraid it will never sound like a real Thunderbird, we've seen it many times and it never really worked. Upgrade? Yes, possibly. Match? Very unlikely... That's why I suggested the best option I know.

 

[jd56hawk]

By the way, have you tried new strings? The factory ones on mine didn't sound too good. I changed them out for some flatwounds and now my Pro IV sounds completely different.