I have been playing bass for the last 35 years and i am also a guitar tech and my review is unbiased, I do not work for Epiphone/Gibson.
I have been playing mainly jazz basses, also owned a rick 4003, jaguar bass, precisions, a warwick thumb 5 in the 90s and few others.
During all these years I crossed few times with thunderbirds, epi and gibsons ( @ music shops or friends) I disliked all the ones I have tried, they were all with the 3 anchors bridge and small headstock. They sounded too dark compared to what I am used to and i hated the 3 point bridge look and harmonic response, finally I had discarded the idea of owning one despite the fact i loved the thunderbird look/concept.
Surfing Thomann website a few months ago (Thanks Thomann for the great customer service you are providing steadly through the years) I discovered the Vintage Pro with this solid 2 pieces bridge, probuckers, big vintage headstock, neck thru..., I said to myself "man, thats John Entwistle's bass!" but i was still skeptical due to the past experiences until I went browsing for videos and reviews, it seemed that these probuckers were quite bright despite being humbuckers so I gave it a shot!
When I opened the box I was astonished by the look and finishes, a really beautiful bass guitar! I will cut short on the bass itself. After a restring/setup (not because the bass needed a setup really, but to adjust it to my playing style) this bass can sound bright as a good jazz bass if not even brighter but with a more focused and tight low end (never boomy). It also has that carachteristic "click" that makes thunderbirds sound different if not unique.
I played it live for the first time in a hard rock setting and immediately I realised I had bought a GREAT instrument. By knowing what it is now, I would buy one even with a higher price tag. For the price you cannot really go wrong with this bass. It also has a good jazzy sound with the bridge pickup and the tone rolled off a bit, very versatile. The neck dive issue was worrying me at first as it does tend to neck dive but I can tell you it is all down to the strap you use, tried a few with no luck until I tried an old neoprene strap (wide 11cm, slightly elastic) badabing, no more neck dive. My only complaint is that they could have used flat screws on the pickups as these are protruding quite a bit sometimes interfering with my playing but they will be replaced as soon as I find the right ones! Good luck!
