Epiphone Thunderbird Classic-IV Pro Review

The Thunderbird Classic-IV Pro is a 4-string rock classic that has returned with the Gibson TB-Plus Humbuckers, incorporating ceramic magnets.

As everyone knows… well, I think at least everyone… the Thunderbird bass is a monumental rock classic. The Thunderbird has been used by famous bassists such as Nikki Sixx, Pet Way from UFO, Krist Novoselic, Roger Glover, John Entwistle, Leon Wilkeson, Martin Turner, Chris Squire, and many others.

I was looking forward to doing the review of the Thunderbird Classic-IV Pro and believe me, it didn’t disappoint.

Truly a great bass that is fun to play and puts forth the tone for rock-n-roll that it is known for.

Now, don’t get me wrong with that last statement, I see no reason why the Thunderbird Classic-IV Pro couldn’t be used for any genre of music. Honestly though, the body  shape of the Thunderbird bass emulates rock-n-roll, which speaks for itself. While the body shape makes the neck appear longer than it really is, it is still a 34” scale neck. I’m not a big guy and this bass posed no issues for me when performing with it. The sound was big and the neck-through construction provides just the right amount of sustain. All of this and it only weighs in at 8.7 pounds!

The Thunderbird Classic-IV Pro 34” scale, 20 fret, through-neck construction is a seven piece mahogany and walnut ply, with the body wings made of mahogany, with the neck having the 1960’s rounded profile.

The medium jumbo frets are silver and nickel alloy. The bridge and neck pickups are the Gibson TB-Plus Humbuckers, with each pickup having its own separate volume control and a master tone control for the two pickups combined. The volume and tone knobs add to the classic look, consisting of black tophats with metal chrome inserts. The bridge is fully adjustable with a classic style 3-point adjustable flush mount.

The Thunderbird Classic-IV Pro is available in alpine white and vintage sunburst. There is also an optional hard shell case specifically made to fit this bass.

Check out the Thunderbird Classic-IV Pro online or at a Gibson/Epiphone music retailer near you!