Westone Jazz Bass copy

Hey everyone. 
I’m new here so I hope i’m doing it right. 

I just got myself a Westone jazz bass copy, supposedly made in the 70’s at the Matsu factory. Anyone has any info? 

Hello Carlos and welcome.
What makes you think that this is a Westone instrument?
Or even a Matsumoku made instrument?

This is a Fender clone, not a design that Westone would have produced in the 80's. It's difficult to tell from one picture what it looked like originally, it does appear to have been modified.

I don't have a deep knowledge of the 70's Mats made products but my gut feeling is that this not one of them.

If it plays well and sounds good, enjoy it!

Well, the westone logo on the headstock, the neck plate with the serial number etc, i can upload better photos.
I understood reading around that Westone made some jazz bass copies in the Matsumoku factory before launching their own models. I am a 5 string player and use custom made basses of the finest quality and I gotta say this bass is better than any 70’s fender i’ve ever tried, i tune it BEAD and have super low action, the relief of the neck is outstanding so either way i’m keeping it, just very curious to know how much of the stuff one reads is actually true.

Here is a couple of photos of what could potentially be evidence. I don’t picture a scenario in which anyone would bother putting a Westone logo on an instrument that isn’t so.

https://i.servimg.com/u/f16/20/52/66/10/img_4615.jpg

https://servimg.com/view/20526610/9

Ahh, OK. Thanks.
It helps when you can see the logo on the head stock eh?

Yes, it's true that Matsumoku, like pretty well all the Japanese builders in the 70's was making clones of American instruments until the threat of lawsuits put an end to it all.

After organizational, licensing and marketing changes in the late 70's early 80's the Westone brand became the "House" logo for Matsumoku and they went to market with their own unique designs.

If our interpretation of serial numbers is correct your bass appears to be an early 1980 (possibly late 1979) build which would be just before the big changes occurred.

Our focus here is primarily on the MIJ '81 to '87 and to some extent the late 80's to early 90's MIK instruments, with some other tangential builders included.

Unfortunately we do not have much info on instruments such as yours from the late 70's but from all accounts, including yours now, they are well made as we would expect from our "Uncle Mats".

Thanks Barry, thanks for pointing out the serial number, I wasn’t sure i had done it right. I’m so happy to have come across this beautiful bass, i paid approximately 150$ for it, it was all covered in black spray paint, hardware and fretboard included haha but it was so worth the scraping!

Carlos Saul wrote:...it was all covered in black spray paint, hardware and fretboard included haha but it was so worth the scraping!

Many of us have restored (rescued) our Westones and other Mats made labels from similar and worse conditions.

It's a testament to the quality of the materials and the workmanship that they recover so well and continue to be instruments of outstanding calibre.

It's always worth the effort!