The Gibson Thunderbird is
the crazy drunk chick you
won’t bring home to meet your
mama. She’s wild, she’s the sexiest
thing ever, she doesn’t do anything
all that great, she’s fragile or
broken, and she’s very expensive.
She’s a one trick pony in a bad,
bad way, and has a nasty attitude
(like showing up at the prom in
a leather jacket). She won’t balance,
won’t intonate, and is big
and clumsy—the bass equivalent
of a blown Chevelle.
All that said, no other bass
has the tone, sexiness, or attitude
of a T-Bird, and that’s why I’ve
played them almost exclusively
for 30 years. Anytime I talk gear
with my bros Tom Petersson or
Baz Cooper, the conversation
usually begins or ends by talking
about a T-Bird. However, not all
Birds are created equal, so let’s
figure out what’s right for you.
Thunderbirds come in two
variants and two shapes, and all
were built during one of four
series of production. The two
variants are the single-pickup
Thunderbird II and the dual-pickup
Thunderbird IV. The two
shapes are the reverse (which looks
rather like a cut-down Explorer)
and the non-reverse, which looks
like a melted boat oar. My rule of
thumb is to collect the IVs and
play the IIs, though I use both. A
cool thing about T-Birds is that
they are one of the few basses that
will sound great through an old-school
amp or a modern rig. I’ve
used them through Ampeg B-15s,
SVTs, and Marshall Majors, as
well as contemporary rack rigs
with high-tech cabinets. Again,
the big consideration is whether
to play or collect. The majority
of these basses have repaired
headstocks, but if it’s a good
bass with a stable and clean
repair, I’ll buy it and use it.
1963-1965
These basses are the blue chip,
crème de la crème of all T-Birds.
They look great and sound heavenly
with a midrange punchiness
that really cuts through the mix.
Keep in mind that trying to coax
a J-bass-like high end will not
happen with any T-Bird. These
basses have balls even at low volume.
The construction technique
is shared with the ’70s basses,
featuring a center plank that
runs from the butt to the headstock,
with glued-in wings. The
neck heel is slightly squared and
is unique to this series.
The bridge has a separate
stop anchor mounted behind
the saddle unit, but the bridge
is mounted from the factory in
the wrong position, and perfect
intonation with the original unit
is nearly impossible. Upgraded
repro units are available, but to be
honest, the intonation issues never
really bugged me. The pickups on
these basses are to die for, and are
encapsulated in either nickel or
chrome covers, though I have seen
a mix of both from the factory on
the same bass. These pickups are
mounted to the body with two
screws and no mounting basket.
1966-1969
The second series of Thunderbirds
are by no means second-class
when comparing them to their
earlier counterparts. The construction
technique and look of this
series is way different, and the
basses sport a solid body with a
glued-in neck—a technique very
similar to an SG. Because the heel
shape is a glue-in, these basses will
not be confused with any other
T-Birds out there.
The hardware and intonation
issues are the same as the ’63-’65
basses. Quite a few 1966 and
some 1967 models have horrible
action. This is the result of a
design flaw from the factory, and
I’m talking “fit-your-pinky-under-the-strings” action. Though the
neck is laser straight, the bridge is
bottomed out—and you cannot
file out the saddle because you
will not have enough break angle.
The issue is simply that the neck
angle is wrong, and Gibson had
a habit of doing this on many
models in the first year of introduction.
The only remedy here
is a neck reset—not a biggie if
you want a player. The tone on
these is a little different than the
reverse-style models. The tone is
still insane with this series, but
these basses sound a little more
open and have some “singiness” to
them. The mids are a little sweeter,
and though these models don’t
have the massive punch of their
forebears, they are still punchy.
1976 & 1979
Think Beatlemania Stage Show
versus the Beatles. Beatlemania
looked like the Beatles, kind of
sounded like the Beatles, they
were enjoyable to listen to like the
Beatles—but at the end of the
day, they were an emulation of
the real thing. The construction
techniques for the 1976 and 1979
basses were identical to the ’63-’65
series. The obvious changes were
a rounded heel and the Gibson
3-Point bridge, which did a fine
job of intonating the bass. The
neck shape is rounded in a typical
’70s fashion and is quite fast. The
tone of the bass is good, but does
not compare to any of the ’60s
basses—the pickups are sonically
“level” and lack the chutzpah of
the earlier models. The pickups
feature three screws connecting to
a mounting basket, and the basket
is held in place to the body. Yes,
these are good basses, but they are
not great basses when compared
to their predecessors.
Modern Birds
I bet you think I’m going to slam
the modern T-Birds because they
are new. You’re wrong! I actually
love them. For the money, these
are a best bet in both the new and
used market. Structurally, they
are almost identical to the ’70s
basses, and the biggest change is
that the headstock is about 35
percent smaller. This keeps the
inertia down if you hit something
and they will fit in a case properly—
something all the previous
basses could not do. The hardware
is similar to the ’70s basses,
except for the change to black
chrome, and the tuners are lightweight,
narrow-shaft units. The
pickups are soapbars and produce
a unique tone that’s modern,
“middy,” ballsy, and cutting. This
is a great rock ’n’ roll bass.
The Low Down
Bottom line is that Muffy and
Timmy wouldn’t be caught dead
playing these basses at the cotillion
party. You also will not be
slapping and popping on them.
These are basses for “shot-and-a-beer players,” but trust me, if
you get one, you will love it!
Kevin Borden has
been playing bass since
1975. He is the principal
and co-owner, with
“Dr.” Ben Sopranzetti, of
Kebo’s Bass Works (visit
them online at
kebosbassworks.com). You can reach Kevin at
kebobass@yahoo.com. Feel free to call
him KeBo.