The Good: Attractive design, great build quality, active electronics, seven piece neck.
The Bad: Electronics may produce a hiss in certain scenarios, you will probably have to set up the guitar after purchase.
The Verdict: Epiphone Thunderbird PRO-IV is the jack of all trades in a very competitive price range. It has its flaws, but they are largely overshadowed by its performance.
Epiphone Thunderbird PRO-IV is a whole new package delivered in a design we are all too familiar with. The Thunderbird series have been enriched with new electronics that makes it more versatile than ever. If you are a fan of this line of Epiphone bass guitars, you will instantly fall in love with Epiphone Thunderbird PRO-IV.
Epiphone Thunderbird PRO-IV sports the same Wings body shape like its predecessors, which is made of mahogany and comes in two variants. First one is classic 'vintage sunburst', and the second one is 'natural oil'. The neck consists of seven layers of walnut and maple, while the fretboard is standard rosewood. Finish found on this bass is incredible, and deserves a praise. Hardware is all painted black, which is a nice contrast especially on the 'natural oil' version.
The electronics that come with Epiphone Thunderbird PRO-IV are Epiphone's all new T-Pro active humbuckers that come with an EQ. You get 4 controls, just like you would on a Gibson, which gives you a lot of room to experiment with the tone. The whole setup is very versatile, and you can pretty much get any kind of sound you want. T-Pro humbuckers deliver a surprisingly good performance, although they seem to have a background hiss if you increase the treble past a certain point.
The neck is fast and easy to play for a standard rosewood design. It's slim compared to some, and quite comfortable. One thing that you need to look out for with this guitar is the way it is set up from the factory. Chances are you will have to play with the truss rod a bit in order to achieve that perfect playability. If you're unsure whether your Epiphone Thunderbird PRO-IV is set-up properly, safest way to get this issue out of the way is to take it to a shop and have them take care of it. It can really improve the way this bass performs.
Epiphone Thunderbird PRO-IV is a gem that may need some polishing, but it will definitely give you the performance to make up for it. Its versatility and new electronics make it great for just about any genre of music. If you are looking for a classic design that never gets old in a bass guitar that has modern electronics, Epiphone Thunderbird PRO-IV is your best shot.