thunderbird for fingerstyle?

works great.

 

Like most basses

 

hmmmm.... my experience is a bit different.

The two TBirds I've owned were tough to play fingerstyle, as the pickups were too low to anchor my thumb on, which meant i had to anchor on the center body strip when playing the E string. NOT comfortable. YMMV, but that's my $.02.

But the Tbird is a rock bass, so play that bad boy pickstyle!

 

funny...i prefer my thunderbird fingerstyle but if you play with a pick it's good too.

 

I'm 90% fingers and my Tbird sounds great.

 

lots of thump, gonna be great for rock/hard rock

 

why did the bassist of darkness said that he haven't heard a tbird that doesn't sound terrible. hmmm

 

i use my fingers when i play my thunderbird. very thumpy

 

When I started out playing bass, I was 100% pickstyle. Then I kinda started working up my finger technique, and now I'm almost 100% fingestyle. Therefore, just like all my other basses, my T-Bird gets played almost exclusively fingerstyle.

I think it sounds great. It's very full, very rich, very very dark. It's sludgier than my fenders, no doubt. But I don't think I'd call it muddy. The best way I've ever heard the sound of a T-Bird described (and I wish I could take credit for this) was by a guy posting a review for it on musiciansfriend who said it sounds like the low keys on a piano. That's about right! I may try to work my pick style back up on the T-Bird, just for kicks, but that baby rocks with my fingers just fine.

With the thing being so neck heavy, it is decidedly less comfortable to play than my Fenders, but it also fills the room with sound unlike anything else...that and it just plain looks cool!

Would I say I like it better than my Fenders, or not as well? Jury's still out on that one, but I'm leaning pro-Fender. Nevertheless, I love my T-Bird. Love it!

 

Any bass that can't be played fingerstyle isn't worth owning. Play it!! You can always anchor your thumb on the side of the neck if needed - but you'll find a way to work with it regardless.

 

Whether a bass sounds good to you is subjective. Don't listen to what other people say.
I think my $400 Ibanez sounds like a million bucks. Other people probably thing I'm crazy for saying that.

 

So raise the pickups then.
It can work both fingerstyle and pickstyle, it's a good sounding bass. The main concern really is just keeping the thing balanced...

 

They aren't hard to balance at all - no worse/ no better than anything else....

Roll off the neck pickup for a classic jazz style, roll off the bridge for a vintage-y P style, or crank em both for rocking the house.

The best sounding bass for pick use too.

 

Works for me.
With how I set my tones(Line 6 BODXTLive), I actually get asked by some if I'm playing with a pic when my "treble tone" and "Ric clone" patches are used.

One can also imitate F-basses and old-school thump as mentioned previously.

 

i sold it instead. my Acoustic Black Widow does everything the T'Bird did, plus balances well and sounds and plays even better.