Gibson thunderbird bass players free#

The electronics are very good, with two potted Gibson ceramic magnet humbuckers. Thankfully they went with iconic pickguard shape, complete with the bird outline on it. The truss rod cover has the Epiphone logo, and it would probably not be hard to find one that says Gibson if you want to fool your audience. The black hardware bugs me a bit, but it is not a deal-breaker. The bridge seems solid enough and is adjustable in every possible axis, allowing a multitude of set-up possibilities. Moving down to the body you will find that the three-point flush-mount bridge has the same finish. This is a departure from the original shiny open-geared tuners of the originals, but the current Gibson T-birds use black hardware too. Hidden on top of the headstock are the sealed gear tuners, which are finished in black. There is no binding on the neck (or the body, for that matter). They sunk some cute pearloid dot markers into that fretboard, and pressed 20 medium jumbo nickel/silver frets into it. It has a 60’s profile on the back and a 12-inch radius across the fretboard. That seven-ply neck has a 34-inch scale (rare for a Gibson bass) and it is a skinny 1.5-inches wide at the nut. Alpine White is also available, but I will make fun of you if you buy one. This one is finished in Vintage Sunburst, which is the only color I like on this body style. Rosewood is used for the fretboard which is unremarkable until you consider that if you buy a new Gibson Les Paul you will get a maple fretboard that is dyed to look like rosewood. It retains the original thin body wings that step up to the width of the neck, which is a clever weight-cutting feature. Epiphone went all the way with the wood, going for mahogany wings on either side of the seven-ply mahogany and walnut thru-neck. The Classic IV-Pro is a completely different animal, and could be a bass worth buying if you can hang with the eccentricities of owning a T-bird bass.įrom the first glance you have to agree that they did a very good job of following the original visual theme. Well, Epiphone still sells that chunk, but they have since introduced a $400 Pro-IV and the $500 Classic IV-pro I am reviewing here. However, it was really cheap, coming in at around $300 (about a fifth the price of the American-made Gibson model). It had a bolt-on neck, was festooned with cheap-ass hardware, and it played and sounded like crap. It caught on with a few band over the years, most notably, the Who, Cheap Trick, Lynyrd Skynyrd, not to mention its most ardent ambassador, Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue.įast forward four decades, and you will find that Epiphone introduced their own imported version of the Thunderbird, and it was immediately panned, and for good reason. It also got a super-solid neck-thru construction and a tone that Fender could not offer. It had a bizarre reverse body profile and the headstock turned the wrong way at the end, courtesy of automobile designer Ray Dietrich. The original Gibson Thunderbird was a refreshing change of pace when it was introduced in 1963. Today we are looking at a very good substitute that is sold by Epiphone, the Thunderbird Classic-IV Pro. Not to mention their big gun, the Thunderbird. You will need to include your Daily Guitar Draw ID and state which guitar it is for.Bass players often joke around about Gibson not making basses, and though I am certainly not fond of their Les Paul or SG basses, I think their old Ripper and Grabber basses are pretty cool.

Gibson thunderbird bass players free#

If you would like to claim your free entry via our Free postal entry route then please send us a postcard answering the question relating to the prize draw you would like to win. Control Knobs: Black Tophats w/ Silver Inserts.These additional prizes will be drawn live on the livestream accessible via the Crimson Guitars Extras YouTube channel. The instrument carries presence and punch thanks to its T-Bird pickups while also holding sustain exceptionally well. This particular example is no exception and is a sensation to the senses while playing. Today the Thunderbird with its huge, “thunderous sound” is still a benchmark of innovation, functionality, and style, and continues to symbolise Gibson’ drive to achieve creative excellence. The Thunderbird’ unique reversed zig-zag body design and equally distinct headstock was the brainchild of legendary automotive designer and visionary Ray Dietrich, enlisted by Gibson to bolster the guitar lines of the early 60s and help solidify the company’ eminent rank among solid-body electric guitar manufacturers.

The Gibson Thunderbird IV bass joined Gibson’s distinguished lineup shortly after its introduction in 1963.