23 March, 2009 |

Opinions on the Epiphone Thunderbird bass guitar?

Been playing guitar for a while now and I might switch to bass for a bit. The Epiphone Thunderbird looked interesting as I saw the bassist for Chevelle playing one. Just wondering what people's thought of it may be. I like playing metalcore, hardcore, and hard rock. I'm a tall, slim but sturdy person with a strong fretting hand and somewhat long fingers. Based on that info, do you think that this bass would be good for me? Any opinion would be great.

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2 comments to “Opinions on the Epiphone Thunderbird bass guitar?”

baxterville, March 23rd, 2009 at 8:36 am:

• It does sound like a good fit for you, since the Thunderbird has kind of a chunky neck that's much easier to play if you've got long, strong fingers. It weighs a ton, so it could prove cumbersome for live shows if you're not really strong. I've known a few bassists who played Epiphone, Gibson and Music Man basses and had back pain as a result. I'm a 5'5" female with girly hands and I love playing around with big ol' basses, but when I'm recording or playing live, I have to embrace my physical limitations and play a medium-scale, light bass.

  The Thunderbird has kind of a thudding tone, rather than a punchy one, so it's better suited to hard rock and related genres than pop and jazz. It's not quite as versatile, sound-wise, as many basses, but it's worth a trip to the guitar store to see if you like the tone.

  Good luck!

Matt D, March 23rd, 2009 at 8:36 am:

• I have one. I've played several. I've had the gibson bird. I have a bunch of basses ranging from $3000+ to 100$ cheapo's. I'm no snob about high end stuff.

  The epiphone Thunderbird is truely great sounding bass. The necks can be a bit touchy sometimes bending and truss rod issue's like not being able to adjust the necks properly are common. Many times the body joint cracks where the "wings" meet the main part of the body. The firebirds neck is not very wide but pretty thick. I have big hands and it's still comfortable.

  Because of the above problems that commonly occur in the thunderbird the action is usually on the high side. But that's where the Epi thunderbirds sound best anyway.

  Thunderbirds sound very good with a pick. They sound good fingered too. Becuase of the neck shape, It's not considered a "fast" bass like an Ibanez or even a Fender.

  You can play anything with a Thunderbird. I actually prefer the thunderbird for rock and ol school funk over fender basses. It's a rock and funk machine.

  Many people say it's not versatile, it's only made for genre's of rock. That's BS it's just not a fast bass. Thunderbird's have a truely great old school R&B tone that you can really feel. It's awesome at everything.
  The people that talk crap about the epi birds are the same people who annoy the hell out of you with crappy high treble slap pop slappa poppa tone. If you like BASS then you'll like a thunderbird.

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