Epiphone Thunderbird Pro-IV Bass  (Used)

Comments about Epiphone Thunderbird Pro-IV Bass:

i ordered my thunderbird online which i hate to do!! mine came with a perfect black finnish! its a great bass if you leave it as is. i already own a thunderbird goth bass which has great tone and is a heavy hitter! but as with all my basses i rework to my own specs. so true to me as soon as i received the tb pro IV iI installed a kahler 4210 whammy bar,rotosound .035 to .085 strings and a new nut!! this sucker has the wow factor now! its the only bass that i could find that really has enough body stock on it to put the kahler, and the bridge on the pro IV is ideal to replace with the kahler. it is no longer just a cool bass guitar, its a four string lead!! i play through 5 amps set up as three seperate channels. the kustom amps are two hv100thd with 4 4x12 cabs, one kg100 and 4x12 cab, vintage kustom 200 bass amp and vintage kustom 250a lead amp! so it rocks with 20x12, 3x15 and a horn at 750 watts with effects pedals! but you do have to buy the the case for it. it will not fit in case for the goth! this sucker is bigger! weight distribution is better on this model since they moved the strap buttons! i do get a hum once in a while as most have complained, but thats the nest project to do this!!

Comments about Epiphone Thunderbird Pro-IV Bass:

Received this bass last week, ordered the Vintage Sunset, and it is beautiful. Love the neck thru construction. When the blend knob is set toward the neck position, I get a lot of noise through the in-ear monitor we use at church, but it does not seem to come through the house. I look forward to learning what this bass can do. My hope is that one day my playing will make it sound as good as it looks.
My previous experience is learning to play on an older entry level long scale Peavy and then moving to a short scale bass that I bought for my daugther. I prefer flatwound strings on my bass for the smooth feel and no string noise. I just like the sound. While I have played for about 7 years, I don't practice so my skills are pretty elementary.

Comments about Epiphone Thunderbird Pro-IV Bass:

I have played some of the best basses out there; Rickenbacker, Fender Jazz (American), Warwick $$ Corvette, B.C. Rich and Musicman. This bass easily compares to them in tone/quality while having a sound totally its own. I was at first embarassed to be seen playing such a cheap instrument - especially with the Epiphone logo on it being so visible, but I got over it soon after owning it. I really like the way it plays, sounds and looks. For the price, you will not get a better neck-thru, active bass.

Comments about Epiphone Thunderbird Pro-IV Bass:

I'll start by saying I ordered the trans black, which was lighter (in color) in person, which definitely did not disappoint me.

I've been playing for a little over 10 years. Nothing professional, just the occasional jam session with friends. I recently wanted to buy a "real" bass after years of buying second hand instruments that weren't horrible, but nothing to write home about. I had been wanting a Thunderbird for as long as I have been playing, and finally bit the bullet. All I can say now is "Why did I wait so long"? The play-ability is amazing. It has a wonderful sound to it. I've seen some people complain that it's not a good slap bass, but I was quite pleased at the sound while popping a few strings here and there. I'm by no means a funk or jazz bassist, but it did the job when needed.

Comments about Epiphone Thunderbird Pro-IV Bass:

I really wanted to love this bass. I've been playing for only about 3 months, but I play every day and I'm really getting into it. I bought a used Thunderbird IV off [@], and I finally upgraded to the Pro.Unfortunately, there were a few problems with my model. First, I thought the finish of the guitar was substantially lighter than in the picture. I ordered the Vintage Sunburst finish, and it just didn't look right when I got it. Second, the active pickups produced and constant, though quiet, constant hum. If I touched the bridge with my fingers, it would pop a little bit. Hopefully this was an isolated incident. Thank you to Musician's Friend for the easy return! Perhaps I will try it again someday.On a better note, the guitar seemed to have excellent construction, and I thought it was really playable (especially compared to the regular Thunderbird IV).

Comments about Epiphone Thunderbird Pro-IV Bass:

It is tough as nails with the laminated neck, maybe even tougher than a P-Bass. My joke was that you don't hit a P with a hammer because you might hurt the hammer. The joke might have to be revised. This 'Bird is tough. It sounds different from the P, and it sits in a mix a bit different from the P, but it's great for certain kinds of music. It is not quite the same slap and pop instrument, because the sound turns to mush if you do that, but it's perfect for being thunderous.
If a Thunderbird chooses you, you play it. I had a T'bird IV. I liked it a whole lot but gave it to my son. He likes it. I have been playing a P-Bass and EB-2dc, both of which I have had for a long time. But, somehow, the shape of the 'Bird fits my body, and once you figure out the balance point, the shape is perfect. The sound, through a vintage Acoustic Control amp is fantastic. So, I was thinking about buying one and bid the minimum on eBay for one. Nobody else bid. Go figure. I'm very happy. It sounds good, although I'll probably eventually modify it to be a passive instrument. I hate batteries. For the time being, it will get played plenty enough. If you are a 'Bird person, you play 'em. If you aren't a 'Bird kind of player, you won't like it at all. Lesson learned. After all this time, I found out I'm a 'Bird kind of player.
No opinion because I got an accidental screaming deal on a used one.
Hey, get one used. You like 'em or you don't. People who are stuck on the Fender thing won't be competing with you.

Comments about Epiphone Thunderbird Pro-IV Bass:

i was impressed with sound coming right out of the box, and played with my friend who custom made his, with a nikki sixx neck and batalini pick ups and overall it the thunderbird pro IV keeps up with the best! this is my Go -To bass, not disapointed at all
The 3 Band EQ was a big thing for me, whether i was running it through a small practice amp, to the peavey mark IV head/cab i gig with. the neck is really smooth to work with, seemed alot easier to do runs with and the neck-thru build really gave it that extra punch was looking for. i like they put the knob for the strap on the back of the neck so there are no Neck-Dives
The quality was great! in lamenence terms "it came perfect". i didn't have to to do anything, had a great sound right away, i didnt need to set-it up or anything. I don't know what people were saying about the "weight issue", i own a pevery somthing, and Ltd ... and a 1970's dan electro and still the thunderbird is one f the lightest basses i've ever played on.
i ordered it when they had the "spring cleaning sale", so i got the bass and the molded hardshell case for a great price! and still im pleased!

Comments about Epiphone Thunderbird Pro-IV Bass:

If it would not have been for the hiccup of a substandard bass received in the first attempt my overall experience would have been better, thankfully I purchased at Musicians Friend, where you can depend on good customer service should something go wrong.
I ordered the T-Bird Pro Bass in natural finish for its appeal, and I have to say I am generally pleased with my purchase, even though it took two attempts to get me a bass that would be (almost) flawless. The first one I got had a wavy finish on the headstock logo plate, had rough, unfinished spots on the wood of the body, and a loose screw on the neck guitar strap hook that snapped the moment I sensibly tightened it. While I could have possibly lived with all those minor flaws on that T-Bird I received first it also had a severe ground hum, and I was not about to open up the bass to fix what they missed to attend during production and quality control. That first T-Bird bass that was sent to me was in worse condition than my "2nd" marked T-Bird IV that I already own. So back it went for an exchange. Bass #2 arrived, and was better in all regards, except for one small visible nick in the wood that I will live with. Bass came detuned, action set slightly high for my taste, after adjustments to my liking I am very pleased with my purchase, but do know now that while the natural finish is off stunning appearance the wood is open and raw, not sealed with any type of flat or satin clear finish, so there will be marks visible over time, if you do not take care of this bass and keep it in a case. Is it worse in quality than a GIBSON? Well, I did not order a GIBSON T-Bird, as I don't have the dough available to me to afford one, but frankly, after reading reviews on Gibson's T-Birds I felt confident I would get the better deal with an Epihone unit. That it took 2 attempts to get me a bass that was right shows me though that there is fluctuation in quality with Epiphones too.
General quality of the basses I received is good, but not excellent. The fully checked off check tag from quality control on the guitar showed everything was peachy even for the first flaw studded T-Bird I received. Makes you wonder what they check and how ...
What can you expect in the sub price category of bass guitars, I think the T-Bird Pro by Epiphone represents an apropriate and very playable value for the money paid.

Comments about Epiphone Thunderbird Pro-IV Bass:

This is a very nice instrument. Since I haven't used the a Gibson Thunderbird, I can't compare, but I think that its really nice and worth the money.
I like the little notches in the bass, treble, and tone knobs, so you can tell when you are boosting and cutting tone, and so you can tell what pickup(s) you are using. With the bass and treble boost and cut, you can dial a wide range of tones ranging from a low growl, to a bright snap.
Overall it is nice, but on the E and A strings, when I play them, the strings are hitting something and I can hear a rattling noise coming from the guitar, even over my amp. I can't figure out what it is, but this could just be a problem with mine though, I don't know.
A little expensive for an Epiphone, but the quality pretty much makes up for the price.

Comments about Epiphone Thunderbird Pro-IV Bass:

When I was a kid in the 60's, I saw the Rolling Stones in sacramento CA - Brian Jones was playing a Thunderbird Guitar. I thought it was cool. Who would have known that 100 years later, I'd still be drawn to the shape of a Thunderbird.I didn't really NEED a new bass, but I had some Christmas Cash and a coupon to Musician's Friend and now I own one. I really, really like it. I don't make a living with this bass - in fact - I play it about an hour every Sunday at church. Maybe I'm not the best critic of this instrument musically because I've only been playing a year, but believe me, something has been soothed in my music soul by acquiring this bass.Oh yeah, "Incredible sustain, awesome tone control, massive sound output" and all that other drivel that EVERY bass claims in it's advertising.In fact it DOES have some very nice sustain and the active controls can produce a lot of nice tones. How 'bout the "hum" that you've read about on all the Bass boards? Well, it does hum a little but when you jack the treble up, so I don't jack the treble up. I have to admit that I was a little freaked out when I first plugged it in - it DID hum. I called Musicians Friend and demanded a new one - they very graciously gave me an RMA number and sent me a UPS prepaid shipping label to ship it back to them. (Thanks for the comforting good service, Musician's Friend)I got to thinking - I'm just gonna get another humming bass -- so I slept on it and decided that I liked what I had and kept it. I'm glad I did. (I just would have gotten another bass that performed the same,,,maybe not as pretty)How about the "neck dive"? Epiphone has moved the strap connect point so it doesn't dive - a good non-slippery guitar strap will help too.Did I mention how BIG this thing is? Physically large - and IMPOSING. This is NOT the typical Fender shape of most other guitars...It says "LOOK AT ME"! The color and finish (I got a Vintage Starburst) is very nice. Nice Dark Cherry brown color, VERY nice clear finish with no flaws. I bought the dedicated case too - good idea. It fits perfectly and looks to be good quality construction.If you want to be SEEN as well as heard, get this bass. Or maybe don't get this bass and I'll be one of the FEW with a truly BIG, BAD, BEAUTIFUL Bass Guitar.