Gibson Thunderbird
The Gibson Thunderbird is a first time in 1963 imagined E -Bass model of the U.S. musical instrument manufacturer Gibson Guitar Corporation.
History
The Thunderbird was designed in 1963 together with the electric guitar model Gibson Firebird of the U.S. car designer Raymond H. Dietrich for Gibson. Dietrich had worked already for major car brands like Chrysler and Lincoln. The Lininenführung and dimensions of the Thunderbird body as well as the Firebird electric guitar vaguely reminiscent of the design of the American road cruiser of the 1950s, with tail fins.
The first two models of 1963, the Thunderbird II with an electromagnetic pickup and the Thunderbird IV with two pickups that appeared parallel to the Firebird. In both models, the body was in today as "reverse -body " shaped ( German " side-inverted " body) designated variant. Special features were the continuous neck and the long scale length of 34 inches (English: Long Scale ). Gibson had previously only had Basses with a short short scale - scale length of 30 ½ inches in the product range and had therefore not against the former leader, US- instrument makers can say Fender. Due to poor sales, the production of the first two Gibson Thunderbird models has already been set in 1965 again.
In 1966, revised versions of the Thunderbird II and IV under the same name published. The main differences were the " upside-down " body whose shape is referred to as "non- reverse" ( " the right way " ), and the set neck. This model did not achieve the desired success and was reinstated in 1969.
In 1976, the bass appeared in the third generation, known as Thunderbird '76. It was largely a reprint of the original Thunderbird IV from 1963 with a different bridge structure. The imprinted on the pickguard symbol was designed on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of American independence in the style of the American flag. Only in 1976 was in addition to the specially designed bird on the pickguard still a stylized 76, in the following years was including printed no more year. In 1979, the model was discontinued because it was left again behind the commercial expectations of the company.
In 1987, the Thunderbird was finally in the form available to date, republished under the name Thunderbird IV.
In the 2000s, Gibson offered the Thunderbird briefly also in a studio version. Studio models are traditionally at Gibson cheaper versions of a popular model with reduced equipment. The Thunderbird Studio has a set neck and was available as a four-string as well as five-string.
Today, the Thunderbird Bass is considered the most successful model of Gibson and is an established E -Bass classic.
Design and specifications
The corpus is made available as in the 1963-1965 and 1976-1979 models, in the "reversed " form. The through neck is laminated from strips of mahogany and walnut, the body wings are made of mahogany and rosewood fingerboard. The bass has two humbucker pickups, black tuners and a black jumper. Widespread finishes are " Vintage Sunburst ", " Ebony " (black) and "Classic White" (white).
The very characteristic sound is often described as " grumpy ". The Gibson Thunderbird IV is only available as a four string.
Epiphone Thunderbird
Gibson subsidiary Epiphone offers an affordable replica of the Thunderbird IV. Visually and sonically they are modeled on the lines. However, there are differences in the materials used. The body is made of alder, the neck made of maple wood is bolted to the body. In addition, other pickups are installed. Since 2009 is offered by Epiphone Thunderbird Pro also equipped with active electronics, and is available with four and five strings is. The Pro series is even closer to the model of the original. This is evident not only in sound but also at the thinner body and the continuous neck.
Famous Thunderbird player
The Thunderbird is played by many bassists. The most popular are Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana, where already several signature models from Gibson and Epiphone were dedicated, Jeordie White in his time as " Twiggy Ramirez " in Marilyn Manson and Shavo Odadjian of System of a Down. John Entwistle of The Who played in the 1970s, also Gibson Thunderbirds and later used parts of it for DIY projects.