Epiphone Thunderbird IV

My T-Bird is a factory 2nd, as stamped on the back of its medieval horse-eviscerating headstock. Aside from lots of finger grease and a loose strap pin, a jewel in the rough. 22 frets, at least 3-4 years old, bolt on neck, dark sunburst finish (like some mad barons' supper table!).All black hardware, real low action with no buzz, 2 soapbar pickups, of the passive variety. Separate volume knobs for each pickup, one tone.

I play blues and occassionally like to do crazy string-bending, 6 string flashback horseshit when no one else is around! This bass has TONS of bottom and growls like a 600 pound lion. Sounds very dark, almost muddy through my Fender Bassman 100, but some judicious EQ tweaking remedies any flaws in tone. The pickups aren't overly powerful, but by turning up my amps gain to about one o'clock, this beast roars with a voice unique unto itself. I've grown to love it!

I don't know what made this a factory 2nd. The finish and action were nearly perfect, frets just right, and electronics, though spartan in options, flawless with no unusual buzzes, rattles, etc. Needed much cleaning and some new strings. The originals appeared to have been on the bass since day one....DEAD!! A set of GHS 40-100's seemed to be a close proximity of what the bass started with, and helped a lot. One thing that sucks: take off the strings, turn the bass face down, and the bridge falls in your lap in 5 pieces. Good luck putting your saddles back in where they started without them spinning out of position! The neck joint is much tighter than even many of Fenders' high-end instruments, and the finish is sweet.

Not only do I feel this warhorse could withstand wear and tear, travel, etc., it looks like it could also be used to defend a small village from a cavalry charge in a pinch! Just wish it had a set neck, or a neck-thru like it's Gibson namesake.

No experience thus far

I've been playing more off than on over the last 20 years and recently switched from guitar do to hand dysfunction.(I can pluck, but can't use a pick anymore) I love this bass, but as others have pointed out, you need LONG arms to play it for more than 20 minutes at a clip. Also it is VERY neck-heavy. I love it's look, the uniqueness of its tone, and for what I paid, I'd compare it to basses costing 3-4 times as much.

Instrument is made in Korea. Pickup and machine heads look as though they are made of black plastic, but they blend beautifully with the dark brown varnished body. Two pickups with their own volume control and a general volume control. The varnished finish gives the impression you are playing a piece of furniture rather than an electric bass. White scratchplate with the Thunderbird logo. Onstage it looks superb.

I am very fussy about how my basses sound, so when out of curiosity I tried this one out in the shop, I knew I had to have it. Sounds better than some expensive basses I have tried. Highly versatile. It plays tinny slap sounds quite happily. Add some more bass and you can get an angry growl making it ideal for punk, grunge or hard rock. But it seems to be in its element when playing that heavy, brain-busting Jet Harris-type sound. A lot of other basses just can't get this latter sound. They don't call it a Thunderbird for nothing.

The action was low. I like low action; but with a lot of basses, I have to raise the action because of buzzing; not so with the Thunderbird. Holds tune well. I have not had to adjust anything. The edges of the fingerboard were a bit sharp when I started out, which rubbed my left hand a bit raw, but constant playing seems to have diminished this problem.

Because of the "dining room table" finish, it does not look as durable as a Fender. It probably is, but I look after my instruments! I have had no problems with it whatever. I do use backup at gigs, but that is just in case I break a string.

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I've been giggin on bass in various bands for 3 years. I am currently in an American-style punk band. I play a heavier sound than most other punk players. After all the instrument is a BASS, and only the heavy sound blows peoples heads off ? and the Thunderbird will have more severed heads hitting the wall at the back of the hall than any other bass I have come across. My backup bass is a Fender Jazz. That's a good bass too; but for looks, feel and sound, the Thunderbird wins hands down. It is a good idea to find a washer to reinforce the jackplug socket, and you will have to look for an expensive guitar stand to hold the bass without it toppling over. Its odd shape comes into its own when playing in a sitting position. If it were lost, I would look for it till I found it, and anyone who tries to steal it will be flayed alive! I cannot believe there is really #1,000 worth of difference between the Epiphone and Gibson Thunderbirds. If there is, then the Gibson Thunderbird IV must be one hell of an instrument!

My Thunderbird IV is made in Korea, has two passive pick-ups of soap bar style. The controls are volume for the two pickups and a tone control. The output is on the front, below the controls. The body I believe is made of maple, and the fingerboard is rosewood. Compared to the original Gibson model, this does not have the neck-through-body style, but a bolted on neck. It feels very solid and well built. The finish is very dark flametop, beautifully executed, and the shape is very cool - it just oozes rock. It looks virtually indistinguishable from a Gibson Thunderbird. It came with nice strings, and I got a free cord with it as well.

I haven't played many different basses, but this certainly is one good sounding bass. It has a crisp, clear sound - especially if you use a pick, which is perfect for fast rock. If you play with your fingers the sound is deeper and more full. With a bit of tweaking with the controls you can get a fair bit of different sounds. I play it mainly through a Line6 POD, and it sounds good.
I played it through an Orange and a Marshall amp in the shop, and it really took out the best sound from the axe. It has a little bit of noise when you remove your hands from the strings, but not more than of my SG electric guitar. In general I feel the bass is best for rock/pop music and for crisp and clear basslines.
It is a long bass, so if you're a shorthanded person or have short fingers you might consider an arm-extension operation or getting a different bass.

The action is a little low, but it doesn't cause any fret buzz or unwanted noise. The whole bass looks very well put together, and the finish is almost flawless. Only a little bump in the finish near the neck keeps it from being perfect. The hardware looks good, but I'm no expert on bass mechanics.
The output screw might be a bit loose, I wouldn't want to touch it a lot if playing live, it might create som cracking sounds.

I haven't tested the bass extensively, but it feels good and solid. I wouldn't mind rocking it out on a stage with this baby. The only disadvantage or fault I could find was that the left strap button is a bit too far to the right, making the weight balance a little out. You can either compensate and hold the neck a little upright, or consider moving the strap button towards the neck to equal out the weight. I think I will do this when I start using it on stage, as my left shoulder started to feel the strain of the weight of the neck pushing down. It is not as bad as the epiphone firebird guitar though, which is like a small roadie hanging on to the headstock.

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I haven't played this bass for long, but it feels and plays beautifully. If you're thinking of buying it, test it out with a strap and see how it feels over your shoulder. Maybe the staff can move the strap button for you so the balance is better.
Compared to the two basses I've played before, a Hagstrom semi-acoustic and an Ibanez 4-string, this is the best bass both playwise, lookwise (it's so sexy!) and soundwise. I wish I could afford a real Gibson, but for the money I think this is one of the better basses you can buy. And it will turn you into a rock god on stage.

I purchased this '97 model brand spanking new in Nov. 97. It comes with a massive 20 fret 36 inch scale, overlooking an orange to red starburst alder body and rosewood fretboard. Along with it's P/J pickup configuration it has 2 volume controls (one for each pickup) and a tone control filtering both. The shape of the body is somewhat original. Comes with allen keys for bridge and truss rod (which you will use shortly after), and a cheap cord which you might as well tie the dog up with. The factory strings though are to kill for, and I've gone through about 10 changes since and haven't found any that sound as good. Though D'Addario XL's aren't bad.

The sound from this beast is great on the low end, and of a little lesser quality on the middle and high end. You'll find that you'll need a GOOD amp to release all of it's potential. You'll quickly find that it is quite a versitile guitar though and that you can customize the sound quite a bit with it's 3 knobs, but it's J pickup is quite weak in comparison to it's P, and can produce a little unwanted noise, but that's nothing in comparison with the other crap out there. You will find that this is a great bass for fingers too.

The action was a bit low on initial set up, but that can be adjusted in no time. I also had to adjust the truss rod a little bit to prevent ringing on the 5th and 6th fret, but both of those were solved on my own within a week of purchase. The one thing that pissed me off completely was the output jack. The nut under the plate was stripped and allowed it to rotate - eventually severing the wires which were quite short in the first place and difficult to fix. I eventually had to replace the whole thing which is less than $5 in products but is a difficult and in my opinion an unecessary fix for beginners. I do play at least 3 hours a day though, and these mistakes may go unnoticed to someone who isn't as agressive or picky as I am.

I've played this bass live on many occasions. I've also thrown it around on many occasions, and when it came down to the headstock vs the bedpost, lets just say it got a good peice of the bedpost. It stays intune for very long durations of time, and there are no problems with extreme changes in temperatures(Ice storm 98). This thing is build like a rock, and would make a good weapon in a street fight, or could be used incase you javelin has been stolen, Just make sure the output jack has not problems first.

I've never dealt with customer support, I altered the guitar and did personal repairs, voiding the 1 year warranty.

I've been playing guitar for 4 years, bass ever since I purchased my Thunderbird. I sometimes put it through a wah pedal, and it sounds fine. It goes great with my Peavy TKO 115s amp (15 inch, 75 Watts) If it were stolen or lost, I'd beat the idiot who stole (or lost it) to a bloody pulp. It is by far the best sounding bass I've ever played, or heard. Since purchase I've had the money, but no desire to buy another. However, I have played the newer Thunderbird V, and I must say it doesn't nearly match-up. I wouldn't suggest this bass for people with small hands though, it's frets are few and far between. Nothing has ever rusted or chipped on it (aside from strings) and if I didn't want such an original looking bass all to myself, I'd advise others that it's exponentially worth the little extra money paid compared to the cheaper models. The only problem I've had is that it wasn't set up properly, and if you don't feel confident doing simple fix-ups you'll suffer.