Gibson Thunderbird

The Gibson Thunderbird is an electric bass guitar made by Gibson.

Background and introduction

The Gibson Thunderbird was introduced in 1963. At the time, Fender had been the leader in the electric bass market since their introduction of the Precision Bass twelve years earlier.

The Thunderbird was designed by U.S. auto designer Raymond H. Dietrich (Chrysler, Lincoln, Checker) along with the Firebird guitar, which it resembles in design, construction, and name.

Design and construction

Josh Reedy of DecembeRadio playing a custom Epiphone Thunderbird onstage.

The Thunderbird bass, like the Rickenbacker 4000 series, and like the Firebird guitar it was designed concurrently with, had neck-through construction, where the neck wood went through the entire length of the body, with the rest of the body being glued into place.

While previous Gibson bass guitars had a short scale of 30½", the Thunderbird had a 34" scale equal to that of the 34" scale of Fender's bass guitars.

There were originally two Thunderbird models, the Thunderbird II (one pickup) and Thunderbird IV (two pickups)

Non-Reverse Thunderbirds

In 1966, Gibson changed the Thunderbird's design and construction. The original Thunderbirds (and Firebirds) had a "reverse" body, with the treble horn extended and the bass horn recessed. Due to a lawsuit brought by Fender because of the resemblance to the Fender Jazzmaster, the body styles were modified, with the result being called the "non-reverse" body.^[1]. Also, the sturdy but expensive neck-through construction was replaced by traditional Gibson set-neck construction. The non-reverse Thunderbird was continued until 1969, when the Thunderbird was discontinued. Though fewer non-reverse Thunderbirds were shipped, the original reverse-body instruments retain a higher collector's value.

1976-79 Reissue

The Thunderbird IV was reissued in 1976 as a bicentennial edition. This reissue featured the original body shape and neck-through construction. After the bicentennial, the Thunderbird was continued as a regular production model until 1979, when it was discontinued again.

Current Thunderbird models

The Thunderbird IV was re-introduced to the Gibson line in 1987 and has been in production up to the present.

The current official Thunderbirds produced by Gibson Guitar Corporation are:

• Gibson USA Thunderbird IV
• Gibson USA Nikki Sixx Thunderbird Bass
• Epiphone Thunderbird-IV
• Epiphone Nikki Sixx Blackbird
• Epiphone Goth Thunderbird-IV
• Epiphone Special Run Thunderbird-IV Limited Edition Silverburst

All 6 currently produced models have two pickups and reverse-style bodies.

The current Gibson Thunderbird-IV is made with a nine-ply mahogany/walnut through-neck with mahogany wings attached to form the body, and is finished in Vintage Sunburst.

The Nixxi Sixx Thunderbird Bass is made with a mahogany/walnut through-neck with Flame Maple body wings attached to form the body, finished in transparent Black Cherry. The fretboard is inlayed with red acrylic "X"s at the third, fifth, seventh and 12th frets.

The Gibson Thunderbird Studio models (which were also available as five-string versions) have mahogany necks set into mahogany bodies. This model was discontinued in 2007.

The Epiphone Thunderbird IV, a budget alternative to the Gibson models, has a maple neck bolted onto an alder body, and is finished in Vintage Sunburst, Ebony, Metallic Red & Pelham Blue.

The Epiphone Goth Thunderbird is similar to the Epiphone Thunderbird IV. However, it has a mahogany body, a Celtic Cross symbol on the pickguard, and is finished in a 'Pitch Black' non-gloss flat finish.

The Epiphone Thunderbird IV Limited Edition, a budget alternative to the Gibson models, has a maple neck bolted onto an alder body. Alpine White finish with black hardware and assembled at the Epiphone Custom Shop in Korea. This model is currently no longer produced.

The Epiphone Special Run Thunderbird-IV Limited Edition Silverburst is also an Epiphone alternative to the Gibson model with a Maple neck and Rosewood fretboard bolted onto a Mahogany body (as opposed to the standard Epiphone Alder body) which gives it a much closer tonality to the Gibson Thunderbirds, which use Mahogany as a major wood in the construction of the bass. Chrome hardware is used (tuners, pickup covers, bridge, and screws) as opposed to the standard Epiphone black hardware, differently-shaped pickups compared to the Epiphone and Gibson Thunderbirds (much closer to the "classic" pickups of the 1960s and '70s) and a special "Silverburst" finish.

The Thunderbird bass has a very high output pickups, which despite being passive produce a stronger signal than many active basses such as the Fender Deluxe Jazz Bass. Gibson does not sell replacement pickups for the Thunderbird, as they are said to be indestructible.^{[citation needed]}

Criticisms of the Thunderbird bass

Some players^[who?] have found several disadvantages:

• Poor weight distribution. The irregular, unbalanced body shape, placement of the strap button, and the original heavy Kluson tuning machines gave a neck-heavy weight distribution, causing the neck to "dive" down if the fretting hand does not hold it. This makes it awkward for new bassists, and one has to get used to holding it constantly (unless sitting). The dive can be corrected by moving the strap buttons and using an appropriate strap. The Thunderbird Studio four-string model has a narrower headstock, similar to the Gibson Victory basses of the Eighties, and is thus less prone to neck dive.

• Limited tonal variety: The passive humbucking pickups give a deep, rich tone, which is very heavy on the mid range frequencies. While this tone is suited to rock music, it is not typically desired for most other musical styles. The electronics thus cause the Thunderbird to lack some versatility.

• Poor Fret Access: The Thunderbird's body shape makes it difficult for players to reach the upper frets.

• Easily destructable: John Entwistle of The Who said^{[citation needed]} that if one dropped a Thunderbird, the neck would break at the nut (causing the headstock to fall off, too). Entwistle's own experience with this was in July 1971, when he leaned a Thunderbird against his amp. A fully adrenalised Keith Moon knocked the Thunderbird over, causing an enraged Entwistle to smash it to smithereens.

• Narrow necks: Entwistle also found the Thunderbird neck to be too narrow (especially at the nut), and added Fender Precision Bass necks (which were much wider), thus creating the Fenderbird (see next section).

Fenderbird

The Who's John Entwistle switched to Thunderbird IV basses from 1971-1974, but was dissatisfied with the neck. He bought several Thunderbird basses after the model was discontinued and gutted them. He then had several bodies cut to the original shape, attached Fender P-bass necks to them, and installed the salvaged hardware.

Gibson Blackbird

The Gibson Blackbird was a custom Thunderbird model made to specifications requested by Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx. Originally to be named the "Sixxbird", the Blackbird was manufactured from 2000 to 2003. It differed from the Thunderbird IV in the following details:

• The fingerboard was made from ebony and had iron cross inlays.
• An "opti grab" handle was added to the normal Thunderbird bridge,
• The only electronic control was a single on/off switch for the two humbucker pickups.
• The pickguard was designed specifically for the Blackbird
• All hardware on the Blackbird were finished in black chrome.
• The Blackbird had a flat-black finish.
• The pickups were renamed as 'Deep Sixx' pickups.

Notable Thunderbird players

References

1. ^ "1966 Gibson Thunderbird bass". Gibsonbass.com. 1965-06-22. http://www.gibsonbass.com/thunderbird66.php. Retrieved 2009-11-09. 

External links

• Gibson Thunderbird– Information, sound clips, catalogue appearance and pictures of the Gibson Thunderbird.
• Gibson Blackbird– Information, and pictures of the Gibson Blackbird.