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The non reverse thunderbird from the new modern series gibson usa. What a cool looking bass to say first. The craftsmanship and materials used are what you would expect from a u.s.a. made product. I got the faded Pelham blue color. It is a very beautiful color and I know after some time it will come to a green hue from the aging process of the nitro which will look so awesome. The feel is great and reasuring in longevity. Very resonate high grade mahogany with thin nitro finish. Couple that with premium hardware and you get the bones of pure greatness. The pickups sound amazing also. I do not care for active electronics. They are all good until you need to change a battery or forget about a battery. I will go to passive basses first and a thunderbird will always be a prime contender against actives in power. You can get any tone you want with how you set up your bass to your playing preferences and use your pots not just go 10 10 10. I like more neck with a little of bridge and tone around 8. Great sounding bass clean and with distortion. The neck shape is what I was hoping for, a nice round comfy in the hand shape. It isn't a whimpy jazz bass shape(i love my jazz basses).Feels full comfy and awesome with no fatigue. The original 60s design has the knobs inline so I swapped the tone and jack. The case is nice and should keep the bass protected.Glad I was able to get this sweet usa made bass because of zZounds and the awesome payment options and they even gave me a discount!

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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

I own a lot of different basses including Fenders, Rickenbackers and Gibsons and have been playing for over 50 years, mostly semi-pro but have done my professional stints also. This is fast becoming my favorite bass, it's got a lot of bottom and is very clear with a nice top end and has a lot of presence. The neck is VERY comfortable, not too thin nor too thick, the neck radius is 12" which means it's fairly flat which makes it easy to play and there are no dead spots and the fretwork was done very well, I can lower the action very low without buzzes or noise. I believe it could work in just about any situation a P bass would which is a compliment as they fit just about anywhere with any music, I believe this could too. It's very resonant with a lot of sustain, mine is very light and comfortable. The fit and finish is excellent. It's got a good strong low E which I always like in a bass, comes with a very good case. It's resonant all the way up the neck with a strong fundamental. The pickups are easy to adjust and cover the spectrum well. When I bought it I wasn't sure what to expect and was very pleasantly surprised, Gibson has a winner here. This could easily be a player's only bass.