Gibson Thunderbird IV Electric Bass Guitar (1966)
LOADING IMAGES
This item has been sold.
Item # 11850
Prices subject to change without notice.
Gibson Thunderbird IV Model Electric Bass Guitar (1966), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Cardinal Red lacquer finish, mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, original black tolex hard shell case.
This stunning bass is a 1966 "Non-Reverse" Thunderbird IV in Cardinal Red, an extreme Custom Color rarity and one of Gibson's greatest but less heralded 4-string classics. The Thunderbird was Gibson's first long-scale bass, specifically designed to woo customers accustomed to the feel of a Fender bass. Earlier Gibson basses were short scale affairs noted for their very dark sound; the Thunderbirds have a much more wide-range tone and put a unique Gibson twist on the 34" scale Fender concept.
This instrument is a second-try "non-reverse" Thunderbird, a lower-priced, simplified descendant of the earlier "reverse" body line that had been launched in mid-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 all fairly rare and the vast majority were finished in the standard sunburst making this custom color example an exceptionally rare find.
This Cardinal Red livery was one of 10 special finishes advertised for the line but in practice not often ordered. Gibson lore holds that most dealers ignored the special Firebird color chart brochure Gibson helpfully provided, as they were more interested in selling stock models off the wall. "If you've got a red one, they want a blue one" was the complaint, and whatever the truth, the solid color 'Birds are exponentially rarer than standard sunburst models.
In this bright red-and-chrome livery this is a supremely striking bass with generous proportions all around and a slim long-scale neck that seems to go on forever. The huge ax-like headstock mounts four large Kluson bass machines, the first time Gibson had used them. The large, thin-rimmed contoured body is made of mahogany with a one-piece glued-in mahogany neck, far simpler to build than the earlier laminate neck-through-body Thunderbird design. The neck is similar in feel to a Jazz Bass, narrower at the nut but with a noticeable taper as the strings near the body. The rosewood fingerboard is unbound and dot inlaid like all Gibson basses.
The body carries a central white laminated pickguard with a majestic bird logo, Tune-O-Matic style adjustable bass bridge with a separate tailpiece. The large Thunderbird bass pickup are mounted in the same positions as the Fender Jazz Bass, not down by the fingerboard as Gibson had previously done. All these second series 'birds were built to the same design; the less expensive Thunderbird II simply lacked the second pickup closer to the bridge and additional volume knob.
Typical for 1966 this bass has a mix of chrome and nickel-plated hardware; all fittings except the bridge are chrome. The pot codes are not legible but the serial number and features indicate 1966, one of all of 131 shipped out that year only a small fraction of which would have been finished in a custom color.
This is a great playing and sounding bass, with a powerful midrange punch that slides into overdriven growl when played hard or cranked. Gibson poetically called it a "throaty bass tone". While all "non-reverse" 'birds have often been discounted in Gibson history, they are absolutely distinctive instruments in look, feel and especially sound. Light for its size, slim-bodied, fast-playing and incredibly stylish, this all-original Thunderbird IV is 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 (briefly) Kenny Rogers 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 is the only original Custom-Color Thunderbird IV 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.).
This bass shows minor wear overall with some well-done typical repair but remains all original. The original Cardinal Red lacquer finish retains vibrant color with some fairly minor checking, and small dings, scratches and dents. Some finish is flaking by the sides of the fingerboard over the body, over the soft wood shims Gibson set under the fingerboard ends. There is an ancient and extremely well done headstock repair, almost invisible. A large proportion of surviving Thunderbirds have suffered broken headstocks and/or body cracks. There are small repaired splits at the nut end under the fingerboard, typical of the truss rod being over-cranked long ago.
All hardware is original and complete; the pickguard shows some typical minor shrinkage. The bridge was moved forward on the body long ago, leaving filled stud holes where it used to be; we would move back but it actually intonates better where it is. The long thin neck is perfectly straight and the angle to the body good. The original frets show hardly any wear. This is not only one of the cleaner T-birds we have seen, it is absolutely the best looking, complete in the original yellow-lined HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.
This stunning bass is a 1966 "Non-Reverse" Thunderbird IV in Cardinal Red, an extreme Custom Color rarity and one of Gibson's greatest but less heralded 4-string classics. The Thunderbird was Gibson's first long-scale bass, specifically designed to woo customers accustomed to the feel of a Fender bass. Earlier Gibson basses were short scale affairs noted for their very dark sound; the Thunderbirds have a much more wide-range tone and put a unique Gibson twist on the 34" scale Fender concept.
This instrument is a second-try "non-reverse" Thunderbird, a lower-priced, simplified descendant of the earlier "reverse" body line that had been launched in mid-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 all fairly rare and the vast majority were finished in the standard sunburst making this custom color example an exceptionally rare find.
This Cardinal Red livery was one of 10 special finishes advertised for the line but in practice not often ordered. Gibson lore holds that most dealers ignored the special Firebird color chart brochure Gibson helpfully provided, as they were more interested in selling stock models off the wall. "If you've got a red one, they want a blue one" was the complaint, and whatever the truth, the solid color 'Birds are exponentially rarer than standard sunburst models.
In this bright red-and-chrome livery this is a supremely striking bass with generous proportions all around and a slim long-scale neck that seems to go on forever. The huge ax-like headstock mounts four large Kluson bass machines, the first time Gibson had used them. The large, thin-rimmed contoured body is made of mahogany with a one-piece glued-in mahogany neck, far simpler to build than the earlier laminate neck-through-body Thunderbird design. The neck is similar in feel to a Jazz Bass, narrower at the nut but with a noticeable taper as the strings near the body. The rosewood fingerboard is unbound and dot inlaid like all Gibson basses.
The body carries a central white laminated pickguard with a majestic bird logo, Tune-O-Matic style adjustable bass bridge with a separate tailpiece. The large Thunderbird bass pickup are mounted in the same positions as the Fender Jazz Bass, not down by the fingerboard as Gibson had previously done. All these second series 'birds were built to the same design; the less expensive Thunderbird II simply lacked the second pickup closer to the bridge and additional volume knob.
Typical for 1966 this bass has a mix of chrome and nickel-plated hardware; all fittings except the bridge are chrome. The pot codes are not legible but the serial number and features indicate 1966, one of all of 131 shipped out that year only a small fraction of which would have been finished in a custom color.
This is a great playing and sounding bass, with a powerful midrange punch that slides into overdriven growl when played hard or cranked. Gibson poetically called it a "throaty bass tone". While all "non-reverse" 'birds have often been discounted in Gibson history, they are absolutely distinctive instruments in look, feel and especially sound. Light for its size, slim-bodied, fast-playing and incredibly stylish, this all-original Thunderbird IV is 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 (briefly) Kenny Rogers 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 is the only original Custom-Color Thunderbird IV 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.).
This bass shows minor wear overall with some well-done typical repair but remains all original. The original Cardinal Red lacquer finish retains vibrant color with some fairly minor checking, and small dings, scratches and dents. Some finish is flaking by the sides of the fingerboard over the body, over the soft wood shims Gibson set under the fingerboard ends. There is an ancient and extremely well done headstock repair, almost invisible. A large proportion of surviving Thunderbirds have suffered broken headstocks and/or body cracks. There are small repaired splits at the nut end under the fingerboard, typical of the truss rod being over-cranked long ago.
All hardware is original and complete; the pickguard shows some typical minor shrinkage. The bridge was moved forward on the body long ago, leaving filled stud holes where it used to be; we would move back but it actually intonates better where it is. The long thin neck is perfectly straight and the angle to the body good. The original frets show hardly any wear. This is not only one of the cleaner T-birds we have seen, it is absolutely the best looking, complete in the original yellow-lined HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.