Say hello...

many thanks for the welcome ill do some pics over the weekend and yes prepared to be amazed i hope i can post them straight on the forum rather than mess about with photobucket etc i have not had a chance to check out the forum yet to see what you can and cannot do keep em peeled folks  just to add the guitar is very very mint with not a mark on it as i hardly used it again shame on me  when i bought it new i was looking for a yamaha sg2000 and saw the westone and it bowled me over if i remember right the yammy was twice the price but not twice the quality , but seeing what the yams fetch now maybe i should have bought both

pics are on the members guitars page finally sussed how to work the forum enjoy

Hello to you all...

I have been registered since 2012 but I have been only lurking around here since then.
My first guitar was a Spectrum III, bought when I started playing guitar in 1984 and remains in my guitar arsenals to this day.
The lutherie is amazing, I always loved her, even if later on I changed the two MMK45 pups for some DiMarzios.
I recently bought a red Spectrum MX and I really dig those Magnaflux pups, I only play this one nowadays.
Studying Richie Blackmore's style right now, this MX do the job...
I have also a Thunder I and have my eyes on a Prestige 150 & 227 and a Concord I...

Voilà my Uncle Mats story...

And a good story it is too...except for the bit about waiting for 4 years to say "Hello"!
About bloody time, and welcome.

Thx Barry !

I was still forum shy at the time...

Well, don't be a stranger now, mon ami!! Welcome here!!

Holy moly, I can't believe there is now a web page and forum for these guitars.  The first guitar I ever bought in the mid-90s is a Dimension IV.  I tried to find information about it years ago, but could never find one exactly like mine, the reason being that mine is a blue model (which I now see listed on the web page).  Its painted all over (including the fretboard), and the finish almost looks like marble (black "streaks" throughout).

I paid a whole $320 CAD for it back then, including the case (not sure if it's original, it's a humongous case, obviously, which looks like it had some padding cut out of the back corner), strap, and a real crappy practice amp I've since parted ways with. Needless to say, I still have the guitar.  It's presently stored at my house which is being renovated (in the garage), so I'll have to get pictures of it next time I'm there!

Hi Phil and welcome to the house of nuts, or as some Canucks would say, "la maison de noix"! Looking forward to seeing your DimIV

Hi Phil, and welcome.
Please, DO post pics

Welcome to the forum PhilB.

Did you say Dimension-IV!!!???

PICS, PICS, PICS, PICS....

Welcome to the forums. Always nice to see another pointy model fan. Hope to see photos of that Blue Dim IV if you still have it.

Here we go.  I tried to get it in different light, to try to see the finish a little better.  Also note the case with the matching interior colour.  I also tried zooming in to see the finish nuances (the "marbling" effect, I call it)

Full resolution pictures:

philb.ca/DimensionIV

(apparently, I can't post links yet.  Go go the above URL.)

Nice .

Those translucent colors are hard to catch on pic...

You got a great Westy. Congrats.

Yeah, it's really hard to photograph the pearlescence of the firemaple with the blue overcoat.
They're a visual treat in 'person' for sure, but very hard to convey via photo.
Congrats fellow Canuck, very nice model indeed!
And in good shape too.
The coated fretboard takes some getting used to as well.
Very easy to overbend =)

DimensionIV-addict wrote:Yeah, it's really hard to photograph the pearlescence of the firemaple with the blue overcoat.
They're a visual treat in 'person' for sure, but very hard to convey via photo.
Congrats fellow Canuck, very nice model indeed!
And in good shape too.
The coated fretboard takes some getting used to as well.
Very easy to overbend =)

Yeah, very hard to capture the nuances of the marbling in pictures.

It's in decent shape, obviously has scratches and dings, and there is one small dent in the neck (in the blue coating, boo!), but it doesn't really affect playing much.

Hello,

Just picked up one of these (bottom photo).  Unfortunately, the pickup gives a very weak signal...any ideas?  

I also ran across an electra/westone so I bought it too.  I will receive it monday and it looks like it has a p/j pickup config.

cheers

Hi 

long time owner (30yrs) of westone - only got around to learning over the last 2 years, thanks to rocksmith 2014 inspiration (an inspite of various mates that promised to teach me but never actually got around to it).


currently playing
non moded westone thunder jet guiatr
modded washburn HB35 (seymour duncan slash pickups and wilkson roller saddle)
non modde Ibanez AEG24II
non moded tanglewood super nashville

as you can see from above i've definitely got the 'bug'

Hi Red and welcome!
Never too late to get the bug and RAWK it owt!

Hi all,

The first guitar I ever owned was a Thunder Jet back in 1990. Unfortunately, it's been in my dad's shed for the last ten years or so. Next time I visit my folks I intend to dig it out and start restoring it, but I have no idea what sort of state it will be in. 

I expect the wood will be fine, but the electrics might be shot. We'll see.

I've been thinking about that guitar a lot lately, and thought I'd google around to see if there were others with fond memories of Westone guitars - and what do ya know, I found a whole forum full of us

cheers from Melbourne, Australia

Hi Red Lum, and welcome. I hope the Thunder has survived its neglect, it's solidly built.

G'day there from another resident in Australia!!

Nice to have you on board and I'm sure you'll find your Thunder Jet in good order, eh; they are pretty much built to survive any kind of holocaust!! The pots may, indeed, need a squirt of contact cleaner and the strings replaced but I'm prepared to bet you'll be good to go!

Hey, guys. I'm Bucky and my mom bought me my first electric Guitar in mid 1985 and it was the blue Spectrum MX. It's the guitar I learned how to play and I have to say that after 30 years, this guitar is holding up really well. I've had my ups and downs with it but I'll die with this guitar in my possession. So quickly, I just want to give my ups-

ups- quality instrument. Will stay in tune, even when sitting in the closet for a few years at a time. It refuses to go out of tune. And the tuning keys have always held up. They are not loose or wobbly. Also, the Spectrum's body shape is still rad to look at, even after several decades. And I know this guitar so well, I learned how to play by feel and gauge and with out depending much on seeing the fret board markers. And of course, it sits well in your lap and is comfortable to play. And it just feels good in your hands. And everyone who plays guitar who see it always have good things to say about it and they tripout on its appearance. Oh, and moms got it for me, so you know that makes it rad to begin with!

the downs- the pickups are cheap. They work and sound decent, but they are low quality pickups. You guys know what I mean. Also, the fret board is not a wood. I don't know how good or bad that is. And I never understood the tremolo system bridge. It's all out of whack. Maybe I will find info here to straighten it out. And maybe that's it? And the same color of the fret board and neck as the body has at times bothered me. 

Anyway, I'm looking to FINALLY change out the pickups soon (perhaps old school DiMarzio's?) and possibly replacing the neck. Also, i would like to have all the guts replaced with all new electronics. Mine are getting old.

Ok, see you around, and unless you've had your own Westone, you really can't explain their specialness.

(will ad photos as soon as I figure how to add them)

Hi Bucky and welcome.
I can assure you that your fret board is indeed made of wood! It is hard Maple, the same as the rest of the neck.

Unlike a Telecaster or Strat with a maple fret board for example, what is different about these translucent models is that the body finish (coloured polyethylene) was continued to completely cover the neck...back and front! Very unusual.

What you're no doubt responding to is the glossy finish "feel" under your fingers. It took me awhile to get used to my Spectrum SX too. It's kind of like playing on glass, and I find you need to be diligent in wiping the sweat off.

The necks on the Spectrum line are among the best there is. I would think twice before removing it and I would not recommend removing the fret board finish unless you plan to completely strip the neck too. I don't think you'd be able to make a neat transition at the fret edge and it would likely not feel comfortable. And I think you'd also ruin the look of the guitar, but it's yours to do with as you like eh?

Lots of info on the internet about how to properly set up a tremolo bridge. It ain't rocket science, more of a balancing act between the string tension and the springs.

Finally, yes the "UBC" humbucker pickups are known to be thin sounding. If you can find an MMK45 it would make a huge difference. Otherwise any good quality pup would give better results. Up to you if you wish to also change out the single coil pups too.

Ok, Barry. Thanks for the welcome. And I'll be checking in from time to time. Meanwhile, I'll be scouting all the posts and getting info on any work I plan to do with my Spectrum.

And as far as changing the neck- maybe I won't replace it. Like I said, it holds its tune like I've never seen a guitar do and it does make the Westone stand out as far as being one entire color. The fret board does feel like paying on glass (good point) but it's not really a big deal. Mainly, I just want to get back to using it more and having better pickups will be the reason why. We'll see ya around and thx for the welcome-

It's an odd feature, the coloured neck, but it's not a bad thing at all! I have the red one and whilst it's not on the rack at the moment, it was last month! I find it as easy to play as any guitar I have; the coloured fretboard makes not a whit of difference, as far I'm concerned.

My MX has an OEM MMK45 at the bridge and sounds epic; and given that the received wisdom is that the Matsumoku pickups closely resemble the early DiMarzio pickups so they would be a good fit, eh!

The only caveat I have regarding swapping out pickups is that I'd be putting in premium grade ones like Duncans, Bareknuckles or the like. Otherwise, go nuts!

Hi Everyone!

My name is Javier, and I´m from Madrid, Spain. I´m the proud new owner of a red finished 1983 Westone Thunder 1A. The instrument´s surprised me so much, it´s a great quality one, with a fine finish and an impressive tone.

I´d like to do some good friends, to help as I can and be helped.

I apologize in advance about my english, that for sure could be better; I promise I´ll do my best. 

See you Here!

Hola Javier! Welcome.
Start a new thread and post some pictures of your Thunder. We'd love to see it.

Hi all,

My name is Guido near Piacenza Italy, i'm 50

Recently i bought an used FX spectrum (candy red) for 100 €  

remember reading a review on an old italian guitar magazine past in the '80 

i'm very happy with the sound and look of this Guitar 

Ciao

Ciao Guido. Welcome to the Westone Forums.
A lot of us here have Spectrums and really like them. You will have to wait 7 days before you can post but we love pictures here and would like to see your red FX!

Please make a new post in the Member's Westones forum when you can.

Yeah, welcome here, Guido!!

Spectrum FXs are swanky and I'd like one very much indeed but alas; the opportunity has only arisen once, a long time ago in New Zealand but the dealer wouldn't haggle so he kept it!!

...yep, like to see yours when you're able to post pix!

Morning folks,

I've been trying to get back here for ages, and was just unable to login, despite the repeated password resets!  Anyhow, having pulled out what little hair I have left, I decided to log in using steam-powered "Internet Explorer" rather than Chrome, and it worked  - and hey presto I'm back!!!!!!!!

Nice to see a few familiar faces from the past (Hi Corsair!)

So for those who don't know me (and it's been so long, it'll probably be most):

Name - Guy

Age - ancient

Location - Surbiton (Good Life territory)

First guitar - Satellite strat

First Westone: 1982 Paduak 1 (Only because Dave Brock had one)

Later Westones - Spectrums DX, LX, Thunder-1, Concorde II, Thunder 1 bass, Thunder 1a bass, Spectrum ST bass.

Musical style/favourite bands: Hawkwind, Motorhead, Hawkwind, Motorhead and Hawkwind

Current Westones: 81 Paduak, 83 Concord, 83 black ash Thunder 1a bass

Other instruments: Fender Tele, Riccy 1988 Jetglo 4003 bass, Riccy 2015 4003s Midnight blue bass, Epiphone explorer.

Favourite instrument: My imperial vernier callipers!

For the record, I painted my first Paddy with the cover of Hawkwind's Warrior LP, and then painted Dave Brock's for him too. Mine got todged, snapping a neck screw, and I ended up having to round off the neck pocket corner. Anyhow - it got the paint job removed, got converted to a 12 string, but the neck was never stable, so it was then converted to a Thunder/Paduak bass, using a Thunder 1 neck! It acquired a new Hawkwind paint job, (from the DoReMi LP) and was then promptly flogged!!   Hence my moniker: Thunduak-1!!!!!!!!

Reason for returning? Well - I used to be a regular contributor to David's forum page on the old site, but kind of drifted away, having gone steadfast down the Rickenbacker road, but I just bought a rather nice black ash 1983 Thunder-1a bass, and that has inspired me to get back!  Picked that bass up for 50 quid at the antiques fair at Kempon Park, on Tuesday.  alas - It needs a new PCB and 3 brass knobs - still - a good bargain!! 

Enough said!

Guy

PS, Is Polly here?

Great to be here and thanks for the membership, sadly I only have one Westone an ST bass by Matsumoku, I do have some other Matsumoku basses (great instruments).
My others are :
Aria Pro II Cardinal 300
Aria Pro II Cardinal 450
Aria Pro II Laser Electric Classic
Hondo II Professional (H1015)
and of course the Westone ST

I have a few others mostly Epiphones but they dont get played as often as the above.

eggore wrote:Great to be here and thanks for the membership, sadly I only have one Westone an ST bass by Matsumoku, I do have some other Matsumoku basses (great instruments).
My others are :
Aria Pro II Cardinal 300
Aria Pro II Cardinal 450
Aria Pro II Laser Electric Classic
Hondo II Professional (H1015)
and of course the Westone ST

I have a few others mostly Epiphones but they dont get played as often as the above.

Hi eggore, and welcome. The ST line is a terrific and versatile one, so you are well into the Westone family with it. Please start a new thread in the Member's Westones Forum and let's see it. We love pictures here!

The APII's are great instruments too. Just love the Cardinal line. Heck, let's see those too!

Will do that Barry.

Welcome, eggore and welcome back, Guy!!

No, mate - Polly is long gone; well, from the forum anyway! Like most, I guess, she moved on and her interests changed. I still count her amomgst my friends, though, and correspond with her in Consett, where she now lives. She is sorely missed from this board. That said, nice to see you back - all of the Matt boards have become very, very quiet with little traffic, so a new/old face is most welcome!!

corsair wrote:Welcome, eggore and welcome back, Guy!!

No, mate - Polly is long gone; well, from the forum anyway! Like most, I guess, she moved on and her interests changed. I still count her amomgst my friends, though, and correspond with her in Consett, where she now lives. She is sorely missed from this board. That said, nice to see you back - all of the Matt boards have become very, very quiet with little traffic, so a new/old face is most welcome!!

Give her my VERY best wishes, when you next get in touch!

I still have (and use) the fabulous Westone guitar strap that she created!!!!!!!

Name - Jim

Age - 38

Location - London

First guitar - Phantom Rhythm Master (yeah, me neither)

First (only, current, and favourite!) Westone - 1983 Thunder IA (v2)

Musical style/favourite bands - Punk mostly, but also Jazz, Country, Industrial, Metal, Synthpop.

Other instruments - Yamaha acoustic 6 string, a Yamaha CS1X keyboard and a Stagg electric upright

Long time bassist, picked up my Thunder IA (v2) in 2010 when I was subbing for my (now) wife in her dad's covers band, and was playing his Thunder IA (v1). Fell in love with it and picked up my own, and have since sold my Spector, Hofner and Fender Jazz, but the Westone remains. Not playing at the moment, but it's ready to go as soon as I get off my arse and start something up!

Hello fellow Westies!!!

I am Dean and currently reside in Dublin County, Ireland. Hey, time to get an Irish flag in that profile gismo .

I bought my x70 in late Summer 1986. Everything on the axe is still stock, and it's still in pretty good shape considering the usage it has seen. I would describe it as being closest in sound to a Telecaster, but more versatile. I have always especially liked the Magnaflux III in the neck position. That has a unique sound unlike any other neck pickup I have ever heard or owned, warm and fat. The Magnaflux I UBC in the bridge position gets a hard rap but is hard and wiry, and can be split to round out the tonal possibilities. It has served me well. In short, the x70 is a swiss army knife, assuming you can live without the tremolo.

As I got older, I got GAS and amassed a collection of guitars but I always come back to the x70. When I bought it, the guy told me that Westone had not made many units of this particular guitar, and this has been borne out by how rarely I see them anywhere. So, I was lucky to pick up a second one on eBay a few years ago.

And finally, I was a teenager in the 80's and so I love the music of that time and earlier - Peter Gabriel, Toto, The Police, Steely Dan, Prefab Sprout, Depeche Mode, Paul Simon, The Blue Nile, Dire Straits, Fleetwood Mac. The list goes on, and I've gone on enough already!!!

Dean

Welcome, Dean! Great back story, and similar to my own, though it was a Vantage VA900 for me and I never once played for A&R men....

Matsumoku made gear has never had the cachet that, say, Ibanez has gathered and so fly under the radar a bit, but they are every bit as good as anything I've ever played!

Hi, I've been looking for info on the site and forum quite often and I figured it is time to contribute a bit.

I am from the Netherlands, semi-professional building and repairing guitar electronics and playing bass and guitar for fun. I have always loved the Matsumoku guitars and own 7 now :-)
One of them is the pre-81 neck-through bass like the one on the info site on the "unknown models" page. 

I will post pictures and maybe even electronic schematics as soon as I can make some time (and if you are interested of course).

Regards, Bas Becu, Netherlands

Welcome to the Forums!
We're always happy to receive new information, especially concerning "unknown" models.
Thanks.

Hello everyone! My name is Jorge, I'm from Brazil. I am new to the forum, I found a westone spctrum lx in the used shop, but the body is disfigured this What wood was used in the bass thank you

Hi Jorge and welcome.
Your bass is made of Maple and you can read more about it on our website here: LINK
If you do a search you'll also get some catalogue scans which contain more information.

thank you! Barry, can I post a picture of my neck?

jorge bass wrote:thank you! Barry, can I post a picture of my neck?

Absolutely, yes, but not here. Please start a new thread in the Member's Westones Forum.

But you may have to wait. There is a 1 week waiting period for new users before they can post pictures or hyper links.

Name - Rod

Age - 52

Location - Northern Calif

First guitar - Fender Squier

First Westone - MIJ xa 1230 Anniversary edition

Played a little in my youth but caught the bug again 6 months ago. My friends are all buying motorcycles and boats, but not me, I've decided to purchase every guitar that's for sale. My wife thinks I need a intervention! I explained to her and the rest of our family  "I have no problem with a intervention... My only request is the intervention be held at The Guitar Center". I purchased my first Westone (XA1230) at the local pawn shop in perfect condition (9/10) except being missing the string locks . MIJ so the build quality is top notch... waiting to acquire string locks before commenting on sound.


Btw anyone know where I could purchase the 3 locking bolts and plates for the strings.

My friends are all buying motorcycles and boats, but not me, I've decided to purchase every guitar that's for sale.

That's the spirit Rod, you'll fit right in here!

I don't know why people throw string lock plates away. If you don't know how to use 'em at least keep 'em for the next guy who does!! Unfortunately these are proprietary parts and hard to come by. One of our members did have a supply of them but he's not been active for some time and I don't know if he still has them available.

Why don't you start a thread in the Member's section so we can see your baby, and put out the request again.

Hi,

I have owned a Westone for the best part of my life. I got it either for my 12th or 13th birthday from a music shop ESSE Music in Maidstone, Kent (UK) in the mid 1980's. It is a Thunder III passive, version three. I got it for £99 at the time. Being at school the guitar got well used and probably quite abused (never set up and new strings were a luxury!). Then after spending a around 12 years of this around my neck (it was blooming heavy) I was introduced to the light weight of Fenders and bought a nice 1954 reissue. I continued using both guitars until around 2000 when I stopped gigging.

I have recently taken them out both out of the loft. After a lot of research I decide to set up the Westone myself. The strings were knackered, fret board laiden with mould, lacquer all tarnished, brass fittings pitted and stained. I took the whole lot apart, clean the electrics, checked them, cleaned the hardware, sorted out the fret board, polished the frets, applied large amounts of Window Lean (Windex to US chaps) to the lacquer and restrung with Elixir strings. Then I plugged it in. To my disappointment the bridge pickup was not working. After further testing of the electrics I narrowed the problem to the phase switch not making any contact and these switches looked to be sealed so I could not get in there with any wet and dry. So I used the alcohol instead and after working the switch many times over it cleaned it.

Now I have a great solid sounding guitar. I had forgotten how full bodied sounding these beasts are. The sustain is immense. I am running through a Hughes and Kettner 40 head and Marshal 4 x 10 inch cab. I am constantly surprised how feeble and underpowered the Fender sounds to it. Not a bad thing just a completely different sounding guitar.

My next project was to shield the guitar, but there seems to be very little noise and so many small cavities I might just leave that for the Fender instead.


Rich

Hi Rich, nice to have you with us!

Always love to hear stories about folks rediscovering their Westones. And good on you for tucking in and bringing the Thunder back to life!

Like you, I gigged my ST for years without thinking much about it, and it wasn't until much, much later that I realized just what a beautifully built guitar it was. Now of course I'm addicted!

Start a thread in the Member's forum, when you can post pictures, and let's have a look at yer baby eh?

Hi All!!!

I'm new to the world of Westone guitars but I'm hoping to find some help.  I was given a basket-case Westone that I believe to be a Corsair XA1440, Sept. '87 manufacture.  So if my homework is correct, it's Korean.  I'm a bass player by trade but have been picking around on the guitar for the last few years on the side and have just got the hankering to put this thing back together.  I have access to a great painter and haven't decided on what color to go back with yet.  Look forward to learning a few things from y'all.