I got this info off of the Talkbass site…
Epiphone
- The basic IV, a reverse model with bolt-on (BO) neck, three-point bridge, and Y tuners, was produced from 1999 to 2021. It sold primarily in tobacco burst, but a black version was available during part of this model’s lifetime. It was resurrected in 2023 or 2024 as the Thunderbird E2, which is available in stores but not on the Epiphone web site. The pickups are longer and slightly narrower than any other Thunderbird pickups. This was the least expensive Thunderbird made by Gibson or Epiphone.
- Epiphone made 4 and 5 string Non-Reverse models sometime in the 1990s. They had a PJ pickup arrangement. -@TBird1958
- The Pro IV and V models featured a 7 ply walnut and mahogany neck through body, T Pro pickups and a preamp, and a bridge along the lines of a Hipshot A style bridge. These were produced for a few years starting 2009 (?) They came in transparent black and a natural, oil-rubbed finish. They’re gorgeous but the V has a massive neck and the headstock dives hard if given a chance.
- The Goth Thunderbird was a black, standard BO IV with a Celtic Cross logo on the pickguard and a Roman numeral XII as the sole fret marker, at the 12th fret (where else?)
- The Nikki Six Thunderbird Was similar to the Goth except:
- pickguard logo is a Thunderbird overlaying an iron cross
- iron cross fret inlays (two of these at 12th fret)
- p/u on/off switch is the only control
- OptiGrab pinkie rest below the bridge
- output jack moved from face to end of bass
- The Classic Pro was available from 2012 to 2020. The first year or two had the neck pickup fairly close to the bride like early Gibsons, bu they then moved up toward the neck like modern Gibsons. These use modern-sounding ceramic pickups and a three-point bridge. These came in black, white, and burst.
- The Vintage Pro is nearly a reproduction of the earliest Thunderbirds, complete with 9-ply through neck construction, vintage-sounding pickups, and a Tune-o-matic bridge with stop bar. Some people wish for a bit more bottom end from the Probucker 760 pickups. The VP has the largest headstock of any production Thunderbird. It debuted in 2017, was rebranded in 2021 as the 60s Thunderbird, and was again rebranded (with minor changes such as more neck pitch) in 2024 as the 64 Thunderbird. It does the Angry Piano sound quite well, but doesn’t have quite the low end of many Thunderbirds.These were initially available in black, white, and brust. With the name change to 60s Thunderbird, white was dropped. Key retailers have blue sparkle and purple sparkle Thunderbird 64s. In mid-late 2024, the mass market colors were switched to ember red, silver mist, and Inverness green.
- There have also been six Epiphone Custom Shop Limited Editions. *(I have heard there were 400 of each, but cannot find where I saw that. - @Miles_ONeal .)*These are standard Epi bolt-ons (BO) other than color (and in three cases, pickups). Except as noted, these have 1.73" nuts. These are excellent quality basses. Thanks to @MCF for the info on these and for the photos, except the CS LE logo photo (posted in 2009 by @Johnny Crab ).
- 2007 Sparkling Pelham Blue (standard Epi bolt-on pickups)
- 2006 Sparkling Candy Apple Red (standard Epi bolt-on pickups)
- ??? Ebony (standard Epi bolt-on pickups)[1]
- 2009 Silverburst (Epi guitar humbuckers)
- 2014 TV Silver (Epi guitar humbuckers) 1.5" nut
- 2010 Alpine White (Epi guitar humbuckers)
I have owned a Silverburst bolt on Bird, people like to use the body on these, add a Fender style neck and create a Fender-Bird like what John Entwistle played in the 60’s.
I have a Classic Pro. It’s a nice bass, plays and sounds great. I played it out for several years. Mine’s white, it looks great. It is very comparible to the the recent Gibson models. I currently have it apart, I routed it for a third (middle) pickup. I’m trying to decide what color to finish it in, I’m leaning towards sea foam green, but that could change.
I’ve never owned a Pro before, I did some mods on a Pro V for a customer. Originally, I was going to replace the preamp for a better unit, but on a whim I wired it passive. Both the customer and I were blown away at how great that bass sounded.
I scored a great deal on a black Vintage Pro Bird, it was a new return that had cracks at both sides of the nut. This bass kills. It has that classic Tbird growl/clank/whatever. Lol.
This bass is so much fun to play with a pick through a nice tube amp (in my case, a Ashdown LB 30 head with a ABM 6x10 cab). I installed a set of DR Hi Def Neon yellow strings (just because I had them sitting around). On a side note, I have never repaired the bass, as I planned to refinish it with a metalflake finish. It plays fine as it is (for now). Until this came up…
When the 64 TBird came out in purple flake, that was it. I rarely purchase a new instrument, but I pre-ordered this one. The first arrived with the bridge uncomfortably high and tilting, in addition the were minor cracks on both sides of the nut. It looked cool, but even the finish was weird, it’s kind of an opaque lavender base coat, but the purple flakes weren’t evenly applied. kind of blotchy. I returned it and came close to just getting a refund, but I tried again. I was glad I did, because the next one was perfect. Maybe the first one was pre-production?
This is the one I kept.
haha