Gibson Thunderbird (1st issue)

The reverse body Thunderbird

The Gibson Thunderbird was launched in 1963 as a response to the long-scale solid-bodied Fender basses that were doing so well at the time (Fender Jazz and Precision). This was a high end instrument, and retailed at slightly more than Fenders offerings. In Gibsons July 1963 pricelist the Thunderbird II was $260 and the IV was $335, compared to $229.50 for a Fender Precision and $279.50 for the Jazz.

New Features

Aswell as being Gibsons first long scale bass, it had their first fully-adjustable bass bridge, and was the first Gibson bass to utilize neck-through construction. This idea had first been used on an electric bass six years earlier by Rickenbacker (the 4000 bass), and consisted of one central piece of wood spanning the entire lenth of the instrument, and 'wings' glued to the sides to make the body. This contrasted the seperate neck and body approach of most guitar makers who normally glued (Gibson) or bolted (Fender) the neck to the body.

The central wood was raised slightly and accomodated tuners, pickups, bridge and the tailpiece. Having the entire length of the strings vibrating on one peice of wood increases sustain, and has added strength for long necks. It is a technique still widely used today on higher end guitars and basses; most notably Rickenbacker and B.C. Rich (and many more besides). The mahogany wings were glued on using a V-shaped notch and groove arangement. This construction method is unchanged in todays Thunderbird IVs (though slightly different woods are now used).

	from the Gibson 1963 catalogue		Thunderbird/Firebird colour chart		Type 1 Thunderbirds in action		Thunderbird gallery