omikin Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 In Dawson's in Leeds they have the tobacco burst and the white. They look v nice. Going to play one on Thursday or Friday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omikin Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 I've just spent 20 minutes with this bass, and I have to say I was very impressed. It hadn't been set up, but out of the box it was certainly okay - I would stick flats on it and lower the action slightly (and I'm not sure where it was on intonation) but by and large it was very nice. Playability was great, nice feel to the neck which has the narrower nut than the original bolt-on t-bird, and even thought I generally play a P-bass and a 4001, I did like the neck. I didn't put it on a strap but the position of the strap buttons suggests neck dive would be minimised. I did like the sound from it, and I could achieve the sort of tones I'd be after by rolling off the bridge pickup volume and the tone slightly. Verdict: as soon as I can get approval from my line manager, I'm getting one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr M Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Out of interest, where are they making these? China or Korea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Alsatian Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 (edited) These are made in Indonesia. Mine arrived today - I bought the last one online from RichTone Music for £349. My only Thunderbird experience to date has been with the Epiphone Thunderbird Pro V, which I had two years ago and I wanted to love it, but just couldn't get on with it for the following reasons: - the newer bridge design wouldn't fit certain gauge B strings. Perhaps this was rectified on later models. - I had to send the first one back due to the 'four-string pickups' problem they had with earlier models. - the electronics were quite noisy and I wasn't satisfied with sound after a month or so and a couple of gigs with it. - severe neck dive (although they did move the straplocks eventually), although I did the forearm resting trick to negate it. - the neck didn't seem uncomfortable for a fiver and I have big hands - didn't like the string spacing. Anyway, waffling aside, I loved the shape and the finish on it was excellent so when I read up on these newer neck-through models with Gibson USA pickups, I thought I'd try again. I'm glad I did! Out of the box, there was a minor flaw in the finish where the wing joins the central raised bit. I'm not bothered about things like this if the bass plays and sounds good, so I set about changing the stock strings for a set of Fender Nickel rounds (100-40). The action was a little high, so I lowered the bridge a little and it was spot-on for me. Intonation at the 12th fret sorted too with just a little tweak of the saddles on the D and G strings. I put on a strap and was relieved to find no neck dive, something that the Pro-V was plagued with. My initial thoughts then (and I'm always wary of the 'honeymoon' period with a new toy!) - apart from the slight blemish, the sunburst on this is very rich and I like the thin walnut stripes that run the length of the mahogany body. I believe this is something that the Gibson models have. - All hardware feels solid, the tuners and knobs (more authentic Thunderbird style) operate smoothly. I know many don't like the 3-point bridge, but I don't mind them if I'm able to set my action and intonation to taste, which I've been able to do on this Thunderbird, and on the Epiphone EB-0 I had some time ago. - the neck is very comfortable indeed and I've got the action quite low on it. Quite narrow and Jazz-like at the nut but perhaps a little chunkier in depth, which sits in the hand nicely. I don't know if the lower cutaway has changed from the Pro-V, but access doesn't seem as bad on the higher frets. Probably because this is a four-string and this a narrower neck. - I haven't weighed the bass yet, but it feels a touch lighter than my Yamaha BB414. - The pickups are very good indeed - no noise whatsoever. I was sort of expecting boomy and a bit murky, but there's a definite clarity in there, even on the neck pickup when soloed. They're quite a hot output and both pickups give you the traditional clanky Thunderbird sound, especially if you dig in with fingers or a pick. This is the sound I've come to associate with them, from the demos I've watched on YouTube. The neck pickup is suitably burly and deep sounding - rather different from a P-bass, less middy. The bridge pickup is great for staccato finger funk and when bringing in a bit of neck pickup, it thickens it up a tad. Rolling off the tone, mellows out the clank very nicely and I've already found the 'reggae' sound with the neck pickup favoured and the tone rolled off a bit. I imagine this would also sound pretty great with flats on it, but I've already got that covered with the black tapewound D'Addarios on my Yamaha BB414. In summary, I think it's well worth the £350 asking price. At £150 more than the standard model, I feel that the narrower neck, neck-through design with its attractive mahogany/walnut stripes and Gibson pickups make it worth it (especially as some folk tended to change the pickups in the standard model). Although the Thunderbird's looks say 'rock', I feel you could use this for anything, as I've ran through most of my band's tunes (a variety of styles) with it this evening and it's covered them all well. Approved for action! I'll add some pictures, when I've taken some, but if anyone has any questions about the bass, I'll be happy to answer them! Edited December 22, 2012 by Green Alsatian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 [quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1338735712' post='1678610'] My Gibson has the jack at the side. That said, when it arrived (Ishibashi), the previous owner had wired it with two volume controls and used the tone hole for the input jack! P [/quote] Output Jack !!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmachine2112 Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Tried one yesterday-Dawsons Liverpool. White one and sunburst. Feels the same as my pro 4 but lighter not by much though. Neck feels identical,set up not bad out the box,makes a change Sound-not bad at all,no mud,might be better with good strings. I,ll stick with my pro4,better bridge,love the black.Sunburst was nice for a sunburst but I don,t like sunburst. If they made a black one I could be tempted. For the price it,s pretty good but for me the pro4 shades it. Getting scarily close to the real thing and at a gig I don,t think anyone could tell the difference apart from the name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share Posted December 23, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1356135618' post='1907418'] Output Jack !!!!!!! [/quote] Hmmm. All three of my Thunderbirds have side mounted [i]output[/i]-jacks. (Some new arrivals since the original faux pas.) P Edited December 23, 2012 by NancyJohnson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoker Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 If I admit to not liking T-Birds am I gonna get shot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 [quote name='stoker' timestamp='1356540963' post='1910939'] If I admit to not liking T-Birds am I gonna get shot? [/quote] I doubt it. Dislike away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andysleigh Posted December 27, 2012 Share Posted December 27, 2012 (edited) Just bought one of these. in sunburst. for 320. very nice compared to the normal epi t bird. lighter, thinner neck. would looks great with chrome hardware. the sound seems to be quite muddy. maybe its jsut my amp? Edited December 27, 2012 by andysleigh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omikin Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Andy - where did you get it from for 320? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 One of the new TBird Classics for 320? Wow! And how does it balance? None of that mythical neck dive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andysleigh Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 (edited) GAK has them listed for 320 at the mo. sale price i presume but got it price matched at andertons. no neck dive at all! the position of the strap button comes on the back which helps. the neck seems thinner on this than the normal thunderbird iv, so less weight one thing im not overjoyed with is the headstock colouring. i wanted the recessed bit around the edge to be a definite brown, but its very black. other than that its a proper job Edited December 29, 2012 by andysleigh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmachine2112 Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Same neck as pro 4,same as gibson near enough as to make no difference. Almost jazz like with less taper,great neck. Not neck divey at all with decent strap and not as heavy as you would think. ity they don,t do one in black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markorbit Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 (edited) MIne arrived today from Dv247. Echo the comments about the slim neck, it seems slimmer than the last Epis I picked up. MIght take a little getting used too, I wish it wasn't quite as slim. Again the recessed trim around the headstock is quite dark which is a shame as it's one of the 'features' of the T-Bird headstock. The Sunburst is quite gorgeous though and it plays well, perhaps a little buzzy on the 1st few frets but now it's tuned to pitch I'll wait and see what happens, It's lighter than all my Ps including the Pino. Knobs are black top hats not the amber ones. I'm between amps at the moment but will give it a shot before too long. There's something about these 50s/60s designs that have appeal akin to an automobile (yes the guy who designed the 'Bird was an auto designer). Especially the solid colours with chrome hardware - the burst/black less so but it's still totally classy. I can't put it down, that's a good early sign. Edited January 2, 2013 by markorbit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 (edited) I`going to see about getting one of these tomorrow. Going for the sunburst colour. I took my old T bird down to the studio the last coupie of visits and seem to be getting on with the shape and how it hangs (ooer missus) on me. This looks like a right decent bit of kit for the money. Put it this way, I`m gonna get on with it this time!! Well she who must be obeyed has put the kybosh on this purchase for the moment Edited January 4, 2013 by jezzaboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr M Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 Hate to spoil the rave reviews, but I tried one of these today, and I was pretty disappointed. I tried it out in Andertons, and to be fair to the guys there, when I asked to try it out, the member of staff took it off the wall, took one look at it and told me it was in desperate need of a set-up. He all but told me he'd never let me leave the shop with it in that condition! Unfortunately, it was in [i]desperate[/i] need of a set-up. The action was literally about 1/4 inch at 12th fret, and the neck was hideously bowed. Nothing tweaking the bridge and truss-rod can't fix, I know, but I'm of the firm opinion it should never have left the factory in that state. More worryingly, the bridge seemed to be off-centre. The strings were definitely skewed a mm or so towards the right hand side of the fingerboard. Again, this might be solved by a set-up, but it didn't inspire confidence. The fingerboard itself seemed quite odd, too. The rosewood was incredibly dark - almost no grain visible. It looked to me as if it had been stained, which immediately makes me wonder what the factory was trying to hide. I was particularly disappointed with the build because the sound was absolutely immense. Those Gibson humbuckers are fantastic - fat, growly, but without being muddy at all. I'm not gonna lie, I have massive GAS for a Thunderbird, but I've never played one that seemed right to me (and an actual Gibby is a bit outside my price range!) I was hoping these new Classics with the skinny neck and Gibson p'ups would be 'the one', but it seems like Epiphone are still having real problems with their quality control, even at the Indonesian plant. I appreciate this is still a budget instrument, but I would still expect any guitar or bass at the £350 mark to be free of these little niggles. Certainly plenty of other companies put out instruments in this price bracket that are completely faultless. Oh, and final good word for Andertons - the moment I finished with it, they whisked it away for that much needed set-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Alsatian Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 (edited) Sounds like the 'Friday Afternoon' bass! I remember the early T-Bird Pro V basses being plagued with problems and taking my first one (natural) back due to very low output on the B-string (an early batch had 4-string pickups in the 5-string models). The second one I had was better, but the electronics were pretty noisy. I believe these teething problems were resolved and the current ones are much better, including the strap button being placed behind the neck to alleviate neck dive, unlike mine, which was on the top of the body. Back to my Classic IV - aside from the high stock action (I simply lowered the bridge), I haven't had any quality issues with mine. What I thought was a blemish in the finish was just a thin line of dust where the wings are attached and this cleaned off with a damp cotton wool bud. The fingerboard on mine is also dark - could well be stained but I can see the grain on mine. I haven't had any residue coming off though - I remember a cheap fretless I owned (might have been a Stagg) in which my fingers were black after playing a little. The finish throughout is high quality and even, with the exception of the the control cavity lip - there was a white residue which I wiped away prior to the 'guts shot' below. This is something I've seen on other basses in this price range and I've come to expect imperfections such as this. It's just a pity that the colour of the rim on the headstock wasn't lighter, for better contrast with the black raised section - a missed opportunity. I'm still very pleased with it - very comfortable to play, pleasant neck and I think it sounds excellent with the Gibson pickups. Here are some pics of mine: [url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/560/epithunderbird001.jpg/"][/url] [url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/10/epithunderbird002.jpg/"][/url] [url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/46/epithunderbird003.jpg/"][/url] [url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/845/epithunderbird004.jpg/"][/url] [url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/33/epithunderbird005.jpg/"][/url] [url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/248/epithunderbird006.jpg/"][/url] [url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/547/epithunderbird007.jpg/"][/url] Edited January 19, 2013 by Green Alsatian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomWIC Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Paid off the remaining owed on my white Thunderbird with Wembley Guitar Centre today so hopefully it'll be with me tomorrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomWIC Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Got it today, my manager at work very kindly let me stay home today to wait for the delivery I love it, it looks absolutely beautiful, lighter than my custom shop silverburst Thunderbird. Love the side-mounted jack, especially after replacing the nut on my other Thunderbird after it corroded terribly. Still can't decide whether I'd prefer it with chrome hardware or not, but the only change I'll be making for now is putting some decent strings on it. What a bargain for £350! [IMG]http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y526/WalkInTom/81E7F1EC-F63D-49B6-A91E-2350FEE31AF8-2002-0000013C34029944_zps3756a342.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y526/WalkInTom/F722471E-45AF-4D37-ADD3-0D1B0E1A8066-2002-0000013C3D52234E_zps1211a8aa.jpg[/IMG] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green_ram Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Hi. I'm hoping someone can shed some light on the physical appearance / difference between the current Thunderbird IVs available. I'm specifically confused about the difference between theThunderbird IV vintage sunburst and the Classic Pro IV in vintage sunburst. I've only seen a photograph and the lead plugs into the top, near the controls, not the edge of the guitar but I don't know if this is just an indication of the year of production. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 [quote name='green_ram' timestamp='1366061475' post='2047999'] Hi. I'm hoping someone can shed some light on the physical appearance / difference between the current Thunderbird IVs available. I'm specifically confused about the difference between theThunderbird IV vintage sunburst and the Classic Pro IV in vintage sunburst. I've only seen a photograph and the lead plugs into the top, near the controls, not the edge of the guitar but I don't know if this is just an indication of the year of production. Thanks in advance. [/quote] Just about everything is different. So much so that it's easier for me to ask you to open the following web pages and compare for yourself. [url="http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Bass/Thunderbird-IV.aspx"]http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Bass/Thunderbird-IV.aspx[/url] [url="http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Bass/Thunderbird-Classic-IV-PRO.aspx"]http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Bass/Thunderbird-Classic-IV-PRO.aspx[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassManGraham Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 I originally had an Epiphone T'bird with bolt-on neck, which was a great bass for the money at the time, but no comparison to the Gibson T'birds I acquired since. Main difference was American pickups and thru-neck. So if these have Thru neck, American pick-ups, they only need to reintroduce much classier chrome pick-ups and hardware, I would just have to buy one---or two! It is worth changing the strap button position to reduce neck dive. I also added HIPSHOT SUPERTONE bridges to my T'bird & EB3. They far better than original Gibson/Epiphone bridges, and can be retrofitted without any mods to original instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomWIC Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 [quote name='BassManGraham' timestamp='1366101844' post='2048219'] It is worth changing the strap button position to reduce neck dive. I also added HIPSHOT SUPERTONE bridges to my T'bird & EB3. They far better than original Gibson/Epiphone bridges, and can be retrofitted without any mods to original instrument. [/quote] With the classic IV models, the strap button is already fixed to the heel of the neck - no modification required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted April 27, 2013 Author Share Posted April 27, 2013 [quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1366100609' post='2048204'] Just about everything is different. So much so that it's easier for me to ask you to open the following web pages and compare for yourself. [url="http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Bass/Thunderbird-IV.aspx"]http://www.epiphone....derbird-IV.aspx[/url] [url="http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Bass/Thunderbird-Classic-IV-PRO.aspx"]http://www.epiphone....sic-IV-PRO.aspx[/url] [/quote] Can I just make one thing very clear here. The image on the second link ISN'T the Classic IV Pro bass. That my friends is a Gibson Thunderbird that was Photoshopped with an Epiphone truss rod cover. P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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