Gibson Thunderbird

The Gibson Thunderbird was first introduced in 1963 . In those days, Fender had been leaders in the production and marketing of bass guitars since the release of their Precision Bass twelve years earlier.

Thunderbird was designed by American Raymond H. Dietrich (Chrysler, Lincoln, Checker) in conjunction with the Firebird guitar, with which it subsequently received similarities in design and name.

The Thunderbird bass, like the Rickenbacker 4000 series , and the Firebird guitar, had a through-neck design, where the fingerboard passed along the entire length of the body, while the remaining fragments of the body were glued in the appropriate places. While previous bassists who used Gibson instruments had a short scale (the distance of the string from the nut to the string holder) 30½ "long, the bass players playing the Thunderbird received a 34" length equal to that of the Fender bass guitars.

There were two Thunderbird models in the original: Thunderbird II (one pickup) and Thunderbird IV (two pickups).

Non-Reverse Thunderbirds

In 1966 , Gibson changed the design and appearance of Thunderbird. Originally, Thunderbird, like the Firebird guitar, had a “reversible” body with a smaller upper horn and an enlarged lower one. In connection with the lawsuit from Fender , due to its similarity with the Fender Jazzmaster , the case was changed and called non-reversible. ^[1] . Also, the sturdy but expensive construction with a through neck was replaced with a traditional one for Gibson glued. Irreversible Thunderbird was released until 1969, until the tool was discontinued. Despite the fact that only a small number of non-reversible Thunderbird have been released, the original reversible case retains high value for collectors.

Thunderbird IV was reissued in 1976 as a bicentennial edition. This release included an original body shape and a through-neck design. After a bicentennial publication, Thunderbird continued to be released in its familiar form until 1979, when it was discontinued.

The Thunderbird IV was reintroduced to the Gibson line in 1987 and continues to be produced today.

Gibson's current official Thunderbird views are:

• Thunderbird iv
• Thunderbird iv goth
• Thunderbird studio

All models have two pickups and reversible housings.

The current Gibson Thunderbird IV is a through vulture of 9 pieces of mahogany and walnut with mahogany “wings” attached to it.

Gibson Thunderbird Studio models have glued-in vultures and are made entirely of mahogany. The release of this model was completed in 2007.

The Epiphone Thunderbird IV , a budget alternative to Gibson models, features a bolted maple neck and alder body.

Epiphone Goth Thunderbird - similar to the Epiphone Thunderbird IV, however, it has a mahogany case, black matte finish and a Celtic cross depicted on the case.

Epiphone Thunderbird IV Ltd Edition , a budget alternative to Gibson models, has a maple neck bolted to an alder case.

Thunderbird ' basses have very powerful pickups that, although passive, produce a stronger signal than many active basses, such as the Fender Deluxe Jazz Bass . Gibson also does not sell replaceable pickups for Thunderbird, as Gibson claims to be indestructible.

Some artists who played Thunderbird guitars found flaws in them:

• Poor weight distribution. The atypical, unbalanced shape of the body, the location of the upper belt mount and the Kluson heavy original pegs make the bar “dive” down if not supported. This makes the guitar uncomfortable for beginner bassists, and you need to get used to holding it constantly (unless perhaps sitting). Diving can be eliminated by moving the belt attachment point.

• Limited tonal diversity: passive humbuckers give a deep rich sound with a rise in the lower middle. The bass sounds great in rock music, but not very suitable for other styles - the bass sound is not universal
• Poor access to upper frets: playing in high positions is very difficult

John Entwistle, The Who bassist switched to Thunderbird IV bass from 1971-1974, but was unsatisfied with the fretboard. He bought a few Thunderbird basses after the model was discontinued and disassembled. Having several cases, he brought them to the form of the original, attached to them the vultures from the Fender Telecaster Bass, and installed the surviving details.

Gibson Blackbird was a crafted Thunderbird model made specifically for Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx . Originally called Sixxbird, Blackbird was produced from 2000 to 2003. It differed from Thunderbird IV in the following details:

• The overlay was made of ebony and had marks on frets in the form of iron crosses .
• The opti grab grip has been added to the regular Thunderbird grip.
• The only electronic control was a single switch for two humbuckers .
• The overlay on the body was created specifically for Blackbird
• All the hardware on Blackbird was black and chrome.
• Blackbird has a flat black finish.
• Pickups have been renamed 'Deep Sixx' pickups.

Shavo Odajyan from System of a Down also used Blackbird bass.

• Shavo Odajyan from System of a Down
• Nikki Sixx from Mötley Crüe
• Gene Simmons of Kiss 1974-1977
• Tom Hamilton from Aerosmith
• Simon Gallup from The Cure
• Krist Novoselic of Nirvana at the end of the band's story
• Adam Clayton of U2
• Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth
• Jared Followill of Kings of Leon
• John Entwistle of The Who
• Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick
• Tim Foreman of Switchfoot
• Grutle Kjellson of Enslaved
• Sandy Beales from One Direction
• Twiggy Ramirez from Marilyn Manson

• Gibson Thunderbird - Information, sound clips, catalog appearance and pictures of the Gibson Thunderbird.
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