Epiphone Thunderbird Pro 4 and 5 string

[OutToPlayJazz]

After having ordered a couple of the new Epiphone Thunderbird Pro models for clients, when I came to want a "beater", or a cheaper bass for myself that was appropriate for taking to open mic nights & letting someone else have a go without any worries, I went for one of these bargains straight away. The Thunderbird is a classic shape, but a little out of the norm - [i]Perhaps something a little different, Sir?
[/i]


If you look on the Gibson website these basses are marked as "MSRP $832", which is thankfully a lot more than they're going for over here, especially on internet shopping sites. The average in-store deal here in the UK gets you one of these for around £300-350 or just under. Cheapest at the time of writing is £280 from Thomann.de. Clearly, this is a lot of bass for the money.

Since having bought two of these for students and having subsequently played a few more examples today, I've now experienced all the pros and cons of this particular model. The only real gripe is the much reported (over on TB) pickup faults on 5-string models where the 5th coil set for the B-string is apparently missing. I found one of the 5-string examples I tried had this particular fault, which is easily noticeable via the B-string sounding as if it's seriously low on output volume compared to the other strings. Basically, during production some of the 5-stringers are ending up with 4-string pickups under 5-string covers.



The first T-Bird Pro I played had an amazing sound (back at the start of the year) but was one of the natural ones with a particularly rough, unfinished neck. All of the subsequent models I've played have been either the trans black or the vintage sunburst models, all of which have a rich poly finish & smooth painted neck. Much better.

So, the instrument we have here is a VSB 4-string with a nice new set of Rotosound Nexus black coated alloy strings. I always make a point of changing the strings on any new instrument, as the manufacturer's own strings are often not great - The Epiphone strings are actually quite nice and soft with a well chosen medium gauge, but the A-string was dead on this particular bass straight out of the box, so I changed the whole set in order to get a better impression of the instrument.



[u][b]Design, hardware and construction
[/b][/u]
The T-Bird Pro follows the much copied design of Epiphone's parent company Gibson's Thunderbird model. I actually got the chance to A/B the two together today & the differences are quite interesting. The Gibson original makes the more vintage sound, but the new active Epiphone sounds like a much more modern bass with a much more adaptable tone palette. The Epi seems to have more of a sculpted waist than it's parent & looks a little more elegant to my eye, too.

The new bass is constructed in a similar way to the original, but with a through neck design based on a 7-piece maple & walnut laminated centre section & mahogany wings glued onto the sides. Overall finish is excellent with a thick & lustrous poly gloss varnish which looks like it will stand the test of time. The rosewood fingerboard looks nicely selected & is also glossed at the edges (much like high range Fenders are these days), with a nice buffed finish & mother of pearl dot markers in the usual places. Tuners are small Gotoh-type units & work smoothly with plenty of tuning stability.

One of the most impressive aspects of the T-Bird Pro is the bridge. Gone is the old floating three-point bridge found on most T-Birds (whether Epiphone or Gibson) & in it's place is a top loading Schaller-type bridge which is very substantial in it's look & feel. The other impressive piece of hardware worth mentioning is the painted brass nut. You don't see brass nuts on mass produced instruments very often, but you're never going to have to replace the nut on a T-Bird Pro. Safe as houses!

[b][u]Electronics[/u][/b]
Opening the control panel on the back of the bass reveals a very simple looking cavity where the ultra modern sounding Pro belies it's humble passive roots. Simple pots are abound as you'd see in any passive bass & the preamp is a small black box with a multi-connector, not unlike one of the small Aguilar units. The cavity is neatly organised & well shielded. No problems here.



The pickups are new humbuckers that the company are calling "Pro-buckers" - Basically twin soap bars placed in the middle & bridge positions. Output of the bass is huge and up there with some of the best active basses around, the little black box pre giving huge wads of bass frequency & very nice sparkly treble which never gets too harsh. Top marks again here for the money.

[u][b]Playing impressions
[/b][/u]
The principal thing everyone complains about on a T-Bird is neck dive, usually due to the placement of the front strap retainer coupled with the odd shaped body, featuring no top horn as such. Well, using a good quality wide suede backed leather strap, I can't honestly say I detected any dive at all & at any rate, the design of the bass lends itself to the player resting their forearm on the top body contour, which cancels out any potential balance issues.

The neck is slim, like a rounder Jazz neck & very fast. Interestingly, the same sort of radius is used on the 5-string, making it a bit more of a handful. Had the 5er had a flatter, thinner profile, it would have been a lot nicer to play. 5-string necks don't need to be huge these days, y'know



As mentioned earlier, the little "black box" 2-band preamp is excellent & frequencies are well chosen, giving plenty of clean boost & none of the nasty stuff you find on a lot of cheaper active basses. This bass has a lot of punch per pound, simple as that!

So if you're looking for a budget bass which will suit many styles of music, look no further. I can see this bass furthering the Thunderbird's job description a lot further - The new electronics package means that this instrument can cover almost any style with the huge variety of sounds available & T-Bird no longer means just slung low & rocking. It slaps like a demon too, so perhaps it's going to be the next funk thing?

Best of all is the price. Where else can you get all this for under £300 in one package?

Edited May 28, 2010 by OutToPlayJazz

[gafbass02]

great review bud, and huge GAS!

[Low End Bee]

Nice review. I've been thinking very hard about one of these as an alternative to my usual precision. You may just have put Mastercard on alert.

[Happy Jack]

Thanks for the review, but along with the neck-dive issue the most frequent comment about T-birds is how damned heavy they are.

What does this beastie weigh?

As a general rule, I don't believe that ANY review of ANY bass is complete if it fails to give the weight.

[Clarky]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='882821' date='Jul 1 2010, 11:17 AM']Thanks for the review, but along with the neck-dive issue the most frequent comment about T-birds is how damned heavy they are.

What does this beastie weigh?

As a general rule, I don't believe that ANY review of ANY bass is complete if it fails to give the weight.[/quote]
I know its a Gibson, not an Epiphone, but the T'bird I just sold (to BC'er Norris) only weighed 9lbs. It junked the prejudice I had that these are monstrously weighty beasts

[Balcro]

I had this on my shortlist a few months ago. It has terrific showroom appeal and the finish is very very good.

Unfortunately I tried the 'pro after playing a CV60's Jazz and a Schecter of some description. I'd never thought about measuring a bass for length before, but when I put it on (using my own strap) I could barely reach the 1st fret and the headstock was above my head! No amount of adjustment or repositioning would make it work. Shame.

Balcro.

[Supertim]

The basic version of this is available in Guitar Guitar for £200. the only difference I can see is that it is a bolt on

[hookys6stringbass]

Really good review that, and spot on tooo! The pros are fantastic basses black and sunburst look fantastic!

[ogrimark]

[quote name='Supertim' post='893752' date='Jul 13 2010, 02:19 PM']The basic version of this is available in Guitar Guitar for £200. the only difference I can see is that it is a bolt on[/quote]

the Tbird IV is also passive and has the 3 point bridge (as playjazz stated) i have one. i bought it a few years ago and really love it.

cheers for the brill review. as i just said i have had the basic IV for a few years and when i bought it the PRO was a fair bit more than £350 and out of my price range. Now they have come down in price, and after reading your review, i am def gonna keep my eye out for one. i really like the look of the natural ones but i think it will have to be Black. as black is the new Black.

cheeers.

[chipmunk_jr]

Fair play you hit the nail on the head. I have played many a bass and this has to be the best for the price. I bought one myself and wouldn't change it for the world.

[cycrowave]

what a bargain. shame they ignore us left handers

[bassmachine2112]

I have a black one and have to agree that the bridge upgrade is long overdue on all the t-bird models.
Weight -it is quiet light feeling-good.
It is a long bass but once you adjust to the length
I have to agree about the slap monster lurking underneath the rock monster face.
My main reasons for buying a pro 4 were
maple neck without the glue join at the headstock
through body construction
improved bridge
active circuit
price
black finish is georgeous
very happy for the price and a nice bass to play and sounds very good

[dc2009]

[quote name='Supertim' post='893752' date='Jul 13 2010, 02:19 PM']The basic version of this is available in Guitar Guitar for £200. the only difference I can see is that it is a bolt on[/quote]

New versions of this have the correctly located strap button.
This is active, the basic is passive.
This has upgraded pickups.
This has a better bridge.
This isn't just not bolt on, but is notably a solid neck through construction, different woods too!

Anything else I've forgotten?

Great review, I would recommend these basses to anyone. I had a pro-IV for a while, but sold it to ahpook on here to fund a pro-V, which is more my sort of thing, I would say though that the neck on the V is definitely a different kettle of fish or whatever the phrase is. I quite like the neck width though, as it remains thin and easy to play, it's in stark contrast to the non-reverse body 5er TB I have where it seems they squuezed an extra string onto a 4 string neck! My warwick is a happy medium, so I wouldn't change them for the world.

If you want a TB buy this one, not a standard. If you want a [i]new[/i] bass for this kind of price, buy one of these. If you are more content with mainstream looks and a flatter sound (IMO), then go get a basic yamaha or peavey (and I mean basic, you won't get neck through for this kind of money!).

[Donnyboy]

I also had one - great bass and excellent value for money - trans black was the colour - very cool. Only reason I sold was that I didn't use it much , and decided that I didn't "need" so many basses . It did look vey good on a stand . One of the very few basses I got a compliment on( from an not unattractive young lady) at a gig!! Maybe it looks rerally good on a short , ahem stocky, middle-aged man!

I didn't find any dive problems, controls giave a good range of sounds - I liked the growly one , easy neck to play & it could take a right good thumping . I've got wee arms but could reach the first fret, I would say it's a bass that should be low-slung.

[bassmachine2112]

Time for an update on my pro iv.
It has settled down now and plays like a dream.
Soundwise it is great.Very versatile active circuit.
No issues at all.
I have moved the strap button and fitted a hipshot d-tuner.
For the price it was a steal.
Finish is standing up well,still like new.Nice weight as well,not heavy ,not too light.
If you fancy a T-Bird then give one a try,I,m glad I did.I went to buy a Gibson and ended up with an Epi.

[grenadilla]

I got the natural one. It had sharp fret ends that I filed . I was getting used to higher action so it doesn't have fret buzz.. I got value for about $600 with a case. The active circuit is fine but overall the sound is tame .

Edited May 23, 2018 by grenadilla