Greco Thunderbird Bass ‘77

This Greco "lawsuit era" made in Japan Thunderbird bass had us all fooled when it came into the shop. It really looks and plays like a genuine "name-brand" instrument, down to the most minute details like the font on the headstock. Although it says "Greco," upon first glance it could easily be mistaken for another brand that starts with G. The "thunderbird" decal on the pickguard seems to be a perfect 1:1 recreation.

This particular specimen is modeled on the 1-pickup Thunderbird II, and has the nice set-neck construction originally found on Thunderbirds, which transitioned to SG-style glued in construction in 66. This first run of Thunderbirds was legendary for its tone and sustain but had a myriad of intonation issues related to the bridge mounting position. The 70's models brought back the neck-through design but the pickups had less oomph than the originals.

That is all to say, you're never going to find a vintage Thunderbird bass that is "perfect," with no compromises in tone or playability. That is, unless you look at the lawsuit brands. This Greco Thunderbird has an absolutely massive sounding humbucker pickup that sounds amazing through any kind of amp, modern or vintage. It just has a booming bottom end that is powerful and perfectly round, quite unlike the bite of a J bass. You just have to plug it in to believe it.

In terms of playability, this Thunderbird also delivers with a quite chunky P-style neck that is surprisingly easy to get around. Being a continuous piece of wood from head to tail, it just feels very solid in the hands, and you'll really feel the vibration of the strings all the way down to your fretting hand. A bass that truly begs to be played!