Gibson Thunderbird IV Electric Bass Guitar (1967)
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Gibson Thunderbird IV Model Electric Bass Guitar (1967), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 000839, sunburst top, natural back and sides finish, mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, black hard shell case.
This seriously imposing bass is a 1967 "Non-Reverse" Thunderbird IV, one of Gibson's greatest if less heralded 1960s 4-strings. This one has a fairly discreet old headstock repair (extremely common on these 'birds) and old overspray to the neck but apart from that is a nicely clean and original example, and still a superb player.
The Thunderbird was Gibson's first long-scale bass, designed to woo customers accustomed to the feel of a Fender. Earlier Gibson basses had been short scale affairs noted for their dark sound; Thunderbirds have a much more wide-range tone and put a unique Gibson twist on the 34" scale bass concept Fender pioneered. The Thunderbird IV was the upscale model adding a second pickup to the mix making it a direct competitor to Fender's Jazz Bass.
This instrument is a second-try "non-reverse" Thunderbird IV, a lower-priced, simplified descendant of the earlier "reverse" body line that had been launched in late 1963. The new models were introduced in summer 1965, available for only a few years into the late 1960s in ever-dwindling quantities and never considered a sales success. All Thunderbird basses are fairly rare and a large percentage have had their long thin necks damaged over the years
Like most this Thunderbird IV is finished in the standard 2-tone sunburst. Even in this fairly conservative livery it is a supremely striking bass with generous proportions all around, especially the long-scale neck that seems to go on forever. The huge ax-like headstock mounts four large Fender-style Kluson bass machines. The large, thin-rimmed contoured body is made of mahogany with a one-piece glued-in mahogany neck, making this bass far simpler to build than the earlier laminate neck-through-body Thunderbird design.
The neck is similar in feel to a Jazz Bass, narrow at the nut but chunkier than some we have had with a noticeable taper nearer the body. The rosewood fingerboard is unbound and dot inlaid. The body carries a central white laminated pickguard with a bird logo; it has shrunken a bit but has no cracked corners. The Tune-O-Matic style adjustable bass bridge with a separate tailpiece was a new feature exclusive to Thunderbirds. The special humbucking bass pickup is mounted in the same center body position as the Fender Precision's, not by the fingerboard as Gibson had previously preferred. The Thunderbird IV's second pickup is closer to the bridge and the Vol-Vol-Tone wiring emulates the Jazz Bass. The knobs are the earlier capped style, not the "witch hat" type phased in during 1967.
The visible pots on this bass date to the thirty-something week of 1965, the serial number beginning in "00" indicates manufacture in 1967. Like most non-reverse Thunderbirds this bass has a mix of nickel and chrome-plated hardware; only the bridge is nickel. In this period older nickel stock was intermixed with newer chrome parts installed with no consistency. The copper mute mounting plate is still attached to the bridge; the felt mute pads are in the case.
The Thunderbird IVs is one of the rarer Gibson basses; only 120 were shipped 1967 and the total run of non-reverse Thunderbird IVs is not much over 300 instruments. The "new model" Thunderbird IV was first listed in June 1965 at $289.50 plus $56.50 for the case. This was way down from the original $370 price of the reverse model, and more competitive with the Fender Jazz Bass. Still, sales remained a tiny fraction of the Fender's and the T-Bird never really caught on.
In retrospect is it hard to see why; this is a great playing and sounding bass, offering a powerful midrange punch with a Jazz-like tonal scoop when both pickups are engaged and a sound that slides into overdriven growl when played hard or cranked. Gibson poetically called it a "throaty bass tone". While the "non-reverse" 'birds have often been discounted in Gibson history, they are absolutely distinctive instruments in look, feel and especially sound. At a hair under 9 Lbs. light for its size, slim-bodied, fast-playing and incredibly stylish, this Thunderbird IV is a superb player's example of this often underappreciated Gibson model, not for the player who wants to stand discreetly in the background but a bass that demands its own spotlight! Glenn Cornick, John Entwistle, Mike Watt and (lately) Geddy Lee are noted as users of this unique bass, ignored for decades but recently attracting enough attention to merit re-issues from Gibson. This bass has a very solid old repair that is comparatively minor and discreet, still one of the best playing original TB's we have had.
Overall length is 51 in. (129.5 cm.), 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 34 in. (864 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/2 in. (38 mm.)., 8.99 lbs.
This bass shows some fairly minor wear overall, and the neck repair noted above. The entire neck was oversprayed down to the body joint in lacquer long ago; we must assume there was some sort of headstock break but whatever happened the repair is so clean it is hard to say exactly what occurred. As far as we can see, there appears to have been a lengthwise grain split through the E string tuner, not a lateral break in the usual spot at the throat of the neck. The grain across the neck is consistent and no damage is visible in the truss rod area so the headstock was apparently never badly broken or detached. At any rate playability was not impaired and even the overspray is consistent and fairly discreet; the serial number is partially obscured but legible on close inspection.
Apart from this repair and attendant added finish the bass remains nearly all original. The body finish remains original has only really fairly minor disturbance with broad checking and some very small dings, scratches and dents but no serious play wear. The hardware is original including the bridge, tailpiece, wood finger rest, tuners and the pickups and wiring; the long pickup mounting screws are a matched set but not the correct original style. The original pickguard is in far better shape than most, with no cracked or broken corners and a good strong bird logo. The large chrome bridge cover and handrest are missing, all else is complete. The copper mute mounting plate is still attached to the bridge; the felt mute pads are long gone.
The long thin neck is perfectly straight and the original large wire frets have been crowned down a bit with no subsequent wear. The nut is original. Apart from the neat repair this is one of the cleaner T-Bird IVs we have seen, and also a fine player. If you have been looking for one of these rare and imposing twin-pickup 'birds to play, this is a very nice ready-to-gig example priced considerably lower than an untouched one. It resides in a solid '70s era generic hard shell case, which is a good fit and rather more protective of the bass than Gibson's original. Overall Very Good + Condition.
This seriously imposing bass is a 1967 "Non-Reverse" Thunderbird IV, one of Gibson's greatest if less heralded 1960s 4-strings. This one has a fairly discreet old headstock repair (extremely common on these 'birds) and old overspray to the neck but apart from that is a nicely clean and original example, and still a superb player.
The Thunderbird was Gibson's first long-scale bass, designed to woo customers accustomed to the feel of a Fender. Earlier Gibson basses had been short scale affairs noted for their dark sound; Thunderbirds have a much more wide-range tone and put a unique Gibson twist on the 34" scale bass concept Fender pioneered. The Thunderbird IV was the upscale model adding a second pickup to the mix making it a direct competitor to Fender's Jazz Bass.
This instrument is a second-try "non-reverse" Thunderbird IV, a lower-priced, simplified descendant of the earlier "reverse" body line that had been launched in late 1963. The new models were introduced in summer 1965, available for only a few years into the late 1960s in ever-dwindling quantities and never considered a sales success. All Thunderbird basses are fairly rare and a large percentage have had their long thin necks damaged over the years
Like most this Thunderbird IV is finished in the standard 2-tone sunburst. Even in this fairly conservative livery it is a supremely striking bass with generous proportions all around, especially the long-scale neck that seems to go on forever. The huge ax-like headstock mounts four large Fender-style Kluson bass machines. The large, thin-rimmed contoured body is made of mahogany with a one-piece glued-in mahogany neck, making this bass far simpler to build than the earlier laminate neck-through-body Thunderbird design.
The neck is similar in feel to a Jazz Bass, narrow at the nut but chunkier than some we have had with a noticeable taper nearer the body. The rosewood fingerboard is unbound and dot inlaid. The body carries a central white laminated pickguard with a bird logo; it has shrunken a bit but has no cracked corners. The Tune-O-Matic style adjustable bass bridge with a separate tailpiece was a new feature exclusive to Thunderbirds. The special humbucking bass pickup is mounted in the same center body position as the Fender Precision's, not by the fingerboard as Gibson had previously preferred. The Thunderbird IV's second pickup is closer to the bridge and the Vol-Vol-Tone wiring emulates the Jazz Bass. The knobs are the earlier capped style, not the "witch hat" type phased in during 1967.
The visible pots on this bass date to the thirty-something week of 1965, the serial number beginning in "00" indicates manufacture in 1967. Like most non-reverse Thunderbirds this bass has a mix of nickel and chrome-plated hardware; only the bridge is nickel. In this period older nickel stock was intermixed with newer chrome parts installed with no consistency. The copper mute mounting plate is still attached to the bridge; the felt mute pads are in the case.
The Thunderbird IVs is one of the rarer Gibson basses; only 120 were shipped 1967 and the total run of non-reverse Thunderbird IVs is not much over 300 instruments. The "new model" Thunderbird IV was first listed in June 1965 at $289.50 plus $56.50 for the case. This was way down from the original $370 price of the reverse model, and more competitive with the Fender Jazz Bass. Still, sales remained a tiny fraction of the Fender's and the T-Bird never really caught on.
In retrospect is it hard to see why; this is a great playing and sounding bass, offering a powerful midrange punch with a Jazz-like tonal scoop when both pickups are engaged and a sound that slides into overdriven growl when played hard or cranked. Gibson poetically called it a "throaty bass tone". While the "non-reverse" 'birds have often been discounted in Gibson history, they are absolutely distinctive instruments in look, feel and especially sound. At a hair under 9 Lbs. light for its size, slim-bodied, fast-playing and incredibly stylish, this Thunderbird IV is a superb player's example of this often underappreciated Gibson model, not for the player who wants to stand discreetly in the background but a bass that demands its own spotlight! Glenn Cornick, John Entwistle, Mike Watt and (lately) Geddy Lee are noted as users of this unique bass, ignored for decades but recently attracting enough attention to merit re-issues from Gibson. This bass has a very solid old repair that is comparatively minor and discreet, still one of the best playing original TB's we have had.
Overall length is 51 in. (129.5 cm.), 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 34 in. (864 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/2 in. (38 mm.)., 8.99 lbs.
This bass shows some fairly minor wear overall, and the neck repair noted above. The entire neck was oversprayed down to the body joint in lacquer long ago; we must assume there was some sort of headstock break but whatever happened the repair is so clean it is hard to say exactly what occurred. As far as we can see, there appears to have been a lengthwise grain split through the E string tuner, not a lateral break in the usual spot at the throat of the neck. The grain across the neck is consistent and no damage is visible in the truss rod area so the headstock was apparently never badly broken or detached. At any rate playability was not impaired and even the overspray is consistent and fairly discreet; the serial number is partially obscured but legible on close inspection.
Apart from this repair and attendant added finish the bass remains nearly all original. The body finish remains original has only really fairly minor disturbance with broad checking and some very small dings, scratches and dents but no serious play wear. The hardware is original including the bridge, tailpiece, wood finger rest, tuners and the pickups and wiring; the long pickup mounting screws are a matched set but not the correct original style. The original pickguard is in far better shape than most, with no cracked or broken corners and a good strong bird logo. The large chrome bridge cover and handrest are missing, all else is complete. The copper mute mounting plate is still attached to the bridge; the felt mute pads are long gone.
The long thin neck is perfectly straight and the original large wire frets have been crowned down a bit with no subsequent wear. The nut is original. Apart from the neat repair this is one of the cleaner T-Bird IVs we have seen, and also a fine player. If you have been looking for one of these rare and imposing twin-pickup 'birds to play, this is a very nice ready-to-gig example priced considerably lower than an untouched one. It resides in a solid '70s era generic hard shell case, which is a good fit and rather more protective of the bass than Gibson's original. Overall Very Good + Condition.