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Background and IntroductionThe 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.
Design and ConstructionThe 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
Further to this, 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. Non-reverse Thunderbirds are highly sought after amongst collectors today, in part because they are rare. They did not sell well. 1976-79 ReissueThe 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 modelsThe 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:
All four 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. The Gibson Thunderbird Studio models have mahogany necks set into mahogany bodies. The Epiphone Thunderbird IV, a budget alternative to the Gibson models, has a maple neck bolted onto an alder body. Comparison with Fender bassesThe main points why Thunderbird basses are not as popular as Fender basses are:
Gibson BlackbirdThe 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:
Shavo Odadjian of System of a Down also used a Blackbird bass Notable Thunderbird playersArtists who use this bass guitar include:
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