Thunderbird Manufacturers and Models

NOTE: Thumbnails get squashed by the forum software. I've filed a bug report. In the meantime, click on a thumbnail to see a larger, properly proportioned photo.
NOTE: For the most part, II refers to a single pickup Thunderbird and IV refers to a two pickup Thunderbird. (The exception is the PRO model, where IV and V are often (unofficially) used to refer to the number of strings.) These numbers dovetail into the numbers used for Firebirds: I, III, V, and VII (see this Firebird page for details).

Abbreviations: BO = bolt-on; CP = Classic pro; CS = Custom Shop; FB = fretboard; LE = Limited Edition; NR = non-reverse (the original shape); PG = pickguard; P/U = pickup; R = reverse; TRC = truss-rod cover; VP = Vintage Pro.

This is a list of Gibson-style Thunderbird bass manufacturers, some major, some minor. It does not include clones or fakes pretending to be Gibson or something else they are not. It does not include custom builders who build to order or who just produce one now and then (if someone wants to add and maintain a separate list of these at the end of this FAQ or as a separate page, go for it!) It does not include Gretsch Thunderbirds, which were entirely different beasts.
Gibson, of course, originated the Thunderbird. They have been known to send cease and desist orders based on their (I believe) design trademarks, but they also own other brands (notably Epiphone) that produce or have produced Thunderbirds as well.

Bach
These NRs were a design collaboration between several Thunderbird enthusiasts on a long defunct forum (The Dude Pit), eventually involving Rob van den Broek ( @Basvarken ), who worked with someone at the Czech company, Bach, to bring the basses to fruition.
There were at least 5 batches made of these BaCHbirds. Each of them a little different. Per Rob:

• The first Series were all white. They had quite a Thick body that was veneered on the top and bottom. One humbucker.
• The second Series where finished in White, Baby Blue and Black. These had considerably thinner bodies. Quite accurate copies of the original Gibson ones in fact. One humbucker.
• The third series were finished Transparent wine red. This was the first series that offered the choice for two humbuckers.
• The fourth series were available in Transparent Red, Black, Honeyburst. Available with one or two humbuckers.
• The fifth series featured an arm Cut on the body and a volute on the neck.

According to @MCF there were only 90 Bach Thunderbird NR models made before Gibson issued their cease and desist order (even though Gibson had not made NR Thunderbirds for several decades).

B. C. Rich

Cataldo

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)
    
    All Limited Edition Custom Shop basses should include the CS LE logo:
    
    
    1. There may have been two runs of the ebony, with the second run having guitar humbuckers.

ESP

Gibson
Per @TBird1958 , briefly:

• From '63-mid '65 The original "Reverse" shape, multi laminated neck and the original, highly sought after pickup design.
• Late '65-'69 The "Non Reverse" design, single piece body, set-neck and original design pickups.
• 1976-'79 Gibson re-issues the "Reverse" shape from the '60s with a slight change in the body shape, a new "3 Point" bridge and a
• new pickup design. It was based on the G-3 pickup designed by Bill Lawrence, these varied wildly in terms of Output and sound quality.
• Gibson did retain the original multi laminate construction for these basses, production ceased after 1979 and other than a small number of Custom Shop
• Birds in 1986, none were produced again until 1988 when they were reissued by Henry J.
• 1988 saw Thunderbirds reissued and redesigned, the "Reverse" body shape and multi laminate construction of the original were retained, the headstock was made much smaller. Black hardware was used, and a multiplicity of pickup designs ( at least 6!) were used through the '90s and into the '00 with no clear cutoff dates. Sometime after 2000 another running change was added neck pitch. (Note: these have been discontinued as of mid-late 2024. - @Miles_ONeal )
• 2006 saw the release of the "Studio" Thunderbird, this is a slab body, set neck bass with a contemporary bridge replacing the 3 Point, a smaller headstock and no raised center block or multi laminate. These were only made for about 3 years.
• Gibson reissued the Non Reverse in 2013, like the '60s version they are set neck but these feature the 3 Point bridge, contemporary pickups and the neck has a volute.
• 2015 The "Reverse" is issued with a factory installed Babciz bridge, De Cola pickups, extra switching and coil tapping options, only produced for one year, these are highly regarded modern Thunderbirds.
• In 2021 Gibson again reissued the "Non reverse" Thunderbird, new "Reissue" pickups, Hipshot tuners, chrome hardware no neck volute, slab body, set neck.

Additional items by @MCF (with assists on the Gothic by @TBird1958) :

• In the Spring of 2022, Gibson released the reverse Gene Simmons G2 Thunderbird. It had a 1.6 nut width set neck, black chrome hardware, a Hipshot bridge, Hipshot tuners, and “modern” ceramic Tbird pickups
• A few months later in 2022, Gibson released the Rex Brown Signature Thunderbird. This reverse had a slightly slimmer set neck, “Rexbucker” pickups (which are said to be untapped Alnico DeColas), a push pull active/passive circuit, gold hardware, Hipshot bridge and tuners with a drop D extender.
• The iconic neck through reverse Thunderbird is currently unavailable. It reverted back to the ceramic TBird plus pickups for 2016, but the Babicz bridge continued until around 2018. The most recent of the through neck reverses had the three point. It isn’t clear when Gibson did the most recent run, but they began to show as discontinued on Gibson’s website around 2021-2022. It will hopefully be back soon. And come in a variety of colors with 1960’s style bridges. At least one can dream.
• Other Gibson Thunderbirds have come and gone through the years, including a Studio model that was available in IV and V string versions in the mid 00’s. They had “skinny” headstocks and set necks on a contoured slab body and standard style high mass bridges.
• There was a short Scale model in 2011 (a run of 400) with a studio style “skinny” headstock, flat body top like the Studio, and the three point bridge.
• The Gothic was a limited run of a black TBird with black PG and hardware, normal dot inlays and logo.
• The Gibson Nikki Sixx Signature Blackbird was available beginning around 2000 until about 2003. It was notable for the cross inlays, the cross with Thunderbird logo, the absence of volume and tone circuits, a single kill switch, and the “Opti-Grab”. It was reissued in a limited run around 2009, 2010 in a beautiful satin red.

GMP

Greco
According to Frankie Benedittini's Greco serial number decoder , Greco reverse Thunderbirds were made from 1975 to 1999. These all had mahogany bodies and maple set necks. The necks were larger than the early Gibsons, with a 1 9/16" nut and more of a Precision-shaped neck. They mainly came in tobacco burst although a small number of both white and red examples exist. The pickups were made by Maxon until 1982, after which they were made in-house. Grecos were manufactured by FujiGen.

Models:

• a II and a IV, both of which were very close to the earliest Gibsons:
  • Grecos had a slightly shorter scale length (33.5" vs Gibson's 34");
  • Grecos had no belly, etc. relief;
  • Grecos used a three point bridge with a stopbar tailpiece;
  • Grecos had hotter pickups.
• a 1975-1977 SB-850 (Suze Quatro) custom bass:
  • 2x2 tuners rather than 4 inline;
  • a three position p/u selector switch;
  • P&J pickups;
  • VVTT controls in a squarish configuration rather than inline VVT
  • complex curly-q FB markers.

Hamer

Jackson

Lull

Orville

Samick
Samick made mini Tbird 30” scale reverse Tbirds in the 1980s. -@GBassNorth

Savannah
At some point, Savannah made Thunderbird-shaped ukeleles. -@GBassNorth (As these had a batter compartment, I assume they used active electronics. - @Miles_ONeal)


Sessions

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Spector

Tokai