Famous Westone Players - Name and (no) shame them!

Here's a fun idea for a thread - how about trying to name some famous Westone users (past and present) and posting YouTube clips, if available!?

I bring this up because the bassist who inspired me to take up the instrument, back in 1985, was a Westone devotee and it occured to me recently that I couldn't think of any others .

The bassist in question was a guy by the (stage?) name of Stuart Morrow and he was the original bass player for English, Cromwellian rockers, "New Model Army". I loved this band and used to go to see them regularly (in spite of the fact that their hardcore fans followed a fashion for wearing wooden-soled clog shoes, which they used to frantically kick at people in the "Mosh Pit" with . I can see Pollyanna recoiling in horror at the very mention of this kind of behaviour ).

Anyway, Mr. Morrow's "weapon of choice" was the all-black, Westone Thunder Jet Bass (high on my "Wanted List" ). Here's a great video of the band (and the "moshers") in action, in 1985: Link ....

Amongst the things that I love most in that clip are; a.) the fact that the bass guitar is by far the loudest thing in the mix (take note, rock bands everywhere ), b.) the speed and inventiveness of the bass playing, c.) the great close-up shots of that coolest of Westone logos and d.) the evidence of why British dentistry trails the world (except for, maybe, Bangladesh ).

After Stu Morrow left the band, his replacement jumped onto the Matsumoko band wagon, by championing the Spectrum GT Bass (yes, I want a black one of those, too ). Sadly, I can't find any video clips for that one, so you'll just have to take my word for it .

Anyway, what famous (or even, semi-famous) bands do you folks know of, who've used Westone guitars or basses in the past ?

Old Gregg wrote: ... (in spite of the fact that their hardcore fans followed a fashion for wearing wooden-soled clog shoes, which they used to frantically kick at people in the "Mosh Pit" with . I can see Pollyanna recoiling in horror at the very mention of this kind of behaviour.

Oh, you might be surprised Gregory! I'm not that Prim and Proper! I too used to wear those wooden soled clogs, but I must admit that most of my 'Clog Flinging' was aimed at my older sister!

Good idea, but I haven't got a clue! The only ones that I know of were Status Quo, but I think that they only used the Westones for a publicity campaign and not actually on stage - Does that still count?

Pauline :flower: :queen:

I guess that Status Quo would count ... if we could see the publicity photographs to prove it .

Maybe our cousins from accross the pond can supply some input on this one!? There must have been some other well-known bands using Westone/Electra instruments (especially in Japan )!

Will this do???? http://www.westone.info/ads/quo/index.html

There is also another, lesser known one, but I'm having problems uploading pictures at the minute! I'll get it sorted out soon though, hopefully!

Pauline :flower: :queen:

That'll do nicley, thanks Poll !

Can't say that I've ever seen John "Rhino" Edwards using any headless bass other than his red Status, though .

You'd think that a band like Status Quo would sell enough records worldwide, not to need to "prostitute" themselves to a guitar manufacturer whose gear they're not prepared to use, wouldn't you ? Oh well, it gives us some more nice pictures to look at (the Clipper guitars, not the hairy men )!

Old Gregg wrote:That'll do nicley, thanks Poll !
... Oh well, it gives us some more nice pictures to look at (the Clipper guitars, not the hairy men )!

Now that, dear Gregory, is a matter of opinion!

And as promised, here is the other advert!




HEE HEE!
Pauline :flower: :queen:

..you'll be pushing it uphill to find any "major" names; the only ones I can think of would be Mountain's Leslie West, INX's Kirk Pengilly and Hawkwinds Dave Brock! Oh, and Trevor Rabin from Yes. And I don't go near youtube as we're only on dial-up out here in the backblocks of NZ!!

http://www.westone.info/adverts.html

Happy hunting, y'all!!

corsair wrote:...And I don't go near youtube as we're only on dial-up out here in the backblocks of NZ!!

Happy hunting, y'all!!

Dial up? Wassat, Sport!?

Pollyanna wrote:

Old Gregg wrote:That'll do nicley, thanks Poll !
... Oh well, it gives us some more nice pictures to look at (the Clipper guitars, not the hairy men )!

Now that, dear Gregory, is a matter of opinion!

And as promised, here is the other advert!




HEE HEE!
Pauline :flower: :queen:

Polly, if we had a "Westone calendar" every month, I'd prefer to see you on it than Francis Rossi , any day !

Is that a tatoo of a Spectrum SX on your arm, BTW, or shouldn't one ask!?

Old Gregg wrote:Is that a tattoo of a Spectrum SX on your arm, BTW, or shouldn't one ask!?

..yes, do tell us!!

Old Gregg wrote:Dial up? Wassat, Sport!?s

...Ooh, that's considered a vile insult down here, to call a Kiwi an Aussie!! ...but I forgive you!! Dial-up, my friend is what you get when you choose to live miles out inthe scrub - hell, we're lucky to have 'phone and power!!

Hey, wish me luck on that blue Spectrum GT on the 'bay at the moment...

corsair wrote:

Old Gregg wrote:Dial up? Wassat, Sport!?s

...Ooh, that's considered a vile insult down here, to call a Kiwi an Aussie!! ...but I forgive you!! Dial-up, my friend is what you get when you choose to live miles out inthe scrub - hell, we're lucky to have 'phone and power!!

Hey, wish me luck on that blue Spectrum GT on the 'bay at the moment...

My bad, sorry! I really couldn't think of a stereotypical NZ image to post . All I know about the country (from friends who've visited) is that it's the most beautiful place on Earth and that Lord of the Rings was filmed there ... not much to work with, really .

Anyway,

Old Gregg wrote:

Polly, if we had a "Westone calendar" every month, I'd prefer to see you on it than Francis Rossi , any day !

Is that a tatoo of a Spectrum SX on your arm, BTW, or shouldn't one ask!?

Shucks Gregory! You've got me blushing again!

The tattoo in question is just one of about nine that I've got, (all my own designs) and that particular one is of a Pheonix rising with a rose in its beak!

Oh, and before you all ask, No, I'm not going to show you them, so there!

John mate, Good luck with the GT!

Pauline :flower: :queen:

So all of these great guitars were never really played by the guitar greats? That's unfortunate...

After reading the first post I actually tried to find a famous person who did play one and well, no luck...

Someone here needs to get famous and promote the brand!

Sfalj wrote: Someone here needs to get famous and promote the brand!

I did!
Pauline :flower: :queen:

Pollyanna wrote:

I did!
Pauline :flower: :queen:

Umm, OK then - I'll just be standing over here....

Old Gregg wrote:My bad, sorry! I really couldn't think of a stereotypical NZ image to post . All I know about the country (from friends who've visited) is that it's the most beautiful place on Earth and that Lord of the Rings was filmed there ... not much to work with, really .

Yes, very true; it was but I've never seen it - World's fastest Indian was more my style, and that was filmed in my old home town of Invercargill!! As for icons, I guess the kiwi, or the fern leaf or the Air New Zealand koru are all that come to mind readily, so you're forgiven, man!! We are at the bottom of the world, living quietly, not being a burden to anyone...

So, thank you Gandalf - (?) - for the best wishes!!

corsair wrote:....

So, thank you Gandalf - (?) - for the best wishes!!

Gandalf is one of the key characters from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Still, if you've never seen it (or read the books), then that won't mean a lot to you.

I guess I should have just posted a picture of the All Blacks, instead .

Pollyanna wrote:

Sfalj wrote: Someone here needs to get famous and promote the brand!

I did!
Pauline :flower: :queen:

PROOF! Proof is what I demand!

Old Gregg wrote:I guess I should have just posted a picture of the All Blacks, instead

...nah, wouldn't help; I don't follow what over-priced prima donnas do on a big paddock with a little ball....

Sorry Antoine,

That was just a bit of good old fashioned 'Geordie' humour!

I was in actual fact, referring to the contrived Status Quo poster! So there you have it, all the proof you need!

Oh, and 'Geordie' is a nickname for someone who comes from near the River Tyne in the North East of England! YAY!

Pauline :flower: :queen:

I guess I better whip out an encyclopedia and figure out the geography lesson you're giving me.

Try an Atlas, you might find me in there!

Pauline :flower: :queen:

Trevor Rabin, the whole reason I discovered Westone.

TR with a Spectrum FX:



TR with the 1986 Westone Pantera X-390CB remarked as 'Alvarez':



And again, same guitar:


TR with a custom Pantera that you'll never see anywhere else:

...wasn't he the guitarist on "Owner of a broken heart"? What's the 4th knob for on that custom Pantera? Sure is pretty, eh!

colt933 wrote:Trevor Rabin, the whole reason I discovered Westone.

TR with a custom Pantera that you'll never see anywhere else:

:bball: Hey, we have points on the scoreboard!!!!

I've no idea who Trevor Rabin is (nothing that a quick Google won't fix ), but it's great to see someone actually posing on their album sleeve with a Westone guitar (even if it is one that nobody else can buy ).

Good find there, colt933 .

corsair wrote:...wasn't he the guitarist on "Owner of a broken heart"? What's the 4th knob for on that custom Pantera? Sure is pretty, eh!

I think you mean Owner of a lonely heart. And yes, he was the guitarist for 90125.

...ta, bud - that's exactly what I meant!

Sfalj wrote:And yes, he was the guitarist for 90125.

I thought he was the guitarist in the band 'YES' and the album was called 90124, not 90125!

Pauline :flower: :queen:

Oops! My mistake, he did make an album called 90125 as well! I'd forgotten about that! Never get old, it does funny things to your memory!!!

corsair wrote:...wasn't he the guitarist on "Owner of a broken heart"? What's the 4th knob for on that custom Pantera? Sure is pretty, eh!

He wrote "Owner of a Lonely Heart" and all of the other songs on 90125, Big Generator, and Talk, and 3 songs on Union. He graciously shared writing credit on all of these songs, but it's pretty obvious he wrote them all.

The custom light blue Pantera has a single coil in the middle, between the two humbuckers. I bet the 4th knob is a volume knob for the middle pickup. Panteras have a 3-way selector and the combination of 3 pickups with a 3-way switch doesn't give you many options.

On the Spectrum FX guitars, one of the push-pull knobs turns on the middle pickup because it only has a 3-way.

Search youtube for Trevor Rabin. You'll find LOTS of video of him
playing the Pantera X-390CB. Check out his video for 'Something To
Hold On To' from his 1989 solo album. There are a couple of hundred
Westone and SLM guitars on the set, including the light blue Pantera.

TR burning up the X-390CB:

colt933 wrote:The custom light blue Pantera has a single coil in the middle, between the two humbuckers. I bet the 4th knob is a volume knob for the middle pickup. Panteras have a 3-way selector and the combination of 3 pickups with a 3-way switch doesn't give you many options.

On the Spectrum FX guitars, one of the push-pull knobs turns on the middle pickup because it only has a 3-way.

Yes, I think we should keep in mind there were one or two issues with Westones, eh! In addition to the above, how about there being no string height adjustment on Bendmaster Deluxe bridges; my Genesis has no coil split for the h/b and only a 3 way switch!? I'm sure on eor two of the longterm Westone owners have more irksome things as well - so they're NOT perfect, just very close to it!!

corsair wrote:Yes, I think we should keep in mind there were one or two issues with Westones, eh! In addition to the above, how about there being no string height adjustment on Bendmaster Deluxe bridges; my Genesis has no coil split for the h/b and only a 3 way switch!? I'm sure on eor two of the longterm Westone owners have more irksome things as well - so they're NOT perfect, just very close to it!!

Don't forget that Floyd Rose tremolos and all tune-o-matic style bridges have no individual string height adjustment.

This is not necessarily a flaw...Mr. Rose and the Gibson brand have made LOTS of money without individual string height adjustment.

The Pantera X-390 guitars typically have Kahler Pro tremolos which DO have individual string height adjustment.

Also, the extra knob on the light blue Pantera is a great way of controlling the extra pickup, and the push-pull on the Spectrum FX is another great way of controlling the extra pickup.

More TR burning the X-390CB with good close-ups. Note that his guitar does not have the panther head logo on the body.



Check out my two Pantera X-390CB's. The one on the left has the panther head logo and the one on the right has the 'Westone Pantera' logo like Rabin's. Both have Kahler Pros. The X-390DB prototype has a Bendmaster Deluxe.

colt933 wrote:TR burning up the X-390CB:

Enlightening !

Steve Howe has better cheek bones than Kate Moss, don't you think !?

Sorry , back on topic ....

:bball: Hey, we have points on the scoreboard!!!!

I've no idea who Trevor Rabin is (nothing that a quick Google won't fix ), but it's great to see someone actually posing on their album sleeve with a Westone guitar (even if it is one that nobody else can buy ).

Good find there, colt933 .

Check out his Live in LA release on VoicePrint. That's the X-390CB on the cover (although the cover of the version of the CD that I bought a couple of years ago is a little different) and also heard on I believe 100% of the songs on the album (that's what it sounds like).

He is definitely the most famous Westone endorsee. He also endorsed Alvarez-Yairi guitars ( DY-88 ) and Ampeg amps (VT-100 tube heads), both SLM products with Westone. Chris Squire, the Yes founder and bassist/vocalist has endorsed Ampeg amps for decades and obviously hooked Rabin up with SLM.

Check out Trevor Rabin on Ebay. There are LOTS of magazine advertisements for sale that picture Rabin endorsing Westone, Alvarez, Alvarez-Yairi, and Ampeg products. One of his Westone advertisement photos is from set of the "Something To Hold On To" music video that I posted earlier in this thread. You can also purchase all 5 of his solo CD releases on Ebay, along with his Master Licks/Star Sessions guitar instructional video (featuring his famous strat, the Pantera X-390CB, and the Alvarez-Yairi DY-88, his Yes releases, and the 9012Live video (no Westones there...before his relationship with SLM).

In the instructional video, he discusses Tom Presley at SLM (designer of the Westone Panteras and first Spectrum guitars along with the Bendmaster FT and Bendmaster Deluxe tremolos and the Magnaflux UBC pickups) making the guitar for him and presenting him with it.

There are a few really good bootleg videos from the Union and Talk tours and one or two really rare ones from Big Generator that feature the Pantera X-390CB and and the Alvarez/Yairi DY-88. Most of the live videos of him on Youtube are from these bootlegs.

There was a Trevor Rabin Signature model from Westone around 1989-1990 and then these were re-branded as Alvarez after the Westone brand name disappeared in 1990-91. These guitars occasionally appear on Ebay, but mostly the Alvarez versions...I have only seen one Westone Trevor Rabin Signature model for sale on Ebay and it went for like $900 and wasn't in good condition. Occasionally you will find necks from Westone or Alvarez Trevor Rabin Signature models on Ebay as well (from the cheaper bolt-on neck model).

It surprises me that the Westone forum guys aren't familiar with Trevor Rabin or his work. He's in my top 5 favorite guitarists with Van Halen, Dave Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, and Eric Johnson. He and Van Halen are friends and Van Halen covered one of Rabin's songs on the last VH album with Sammy. Also, Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" riff and beat from 1984 sound a whole lot like a song from Trevor Rabin's Wolf album from 1980. Obviously Van Halen knew who Rabin was about 30 years ago, before he was in Yes.

Since he left Yes in 1994, he has scored over 30 motion pictures including some Jerry Bruckheimer blockbusters like Armageddon and more recently the two National Treasure movies.

He is a bit of a guitar God. Check out this cool picture of TR with Satriani, Vai, Lukather, Morello, and Jordan (these guys are all legends and he was invited to play a virtuoso show with them):

1980's Geordie black metal band venom standardised on Westones, vocalist/bassist played both Concords and Panteras but more often than not super headless models. In most footage the guitarist is usally playing a black Dimension iv.

In Tina Turners music video for 'one of the living' from the Mad Max beyond thunderdome film she can be seen playing what looks like a red Dimension iv though on the quick flashes of it you see I couldnt be sure, however, the fretboard is painted red to match the body which I believe was the case with the Dimension iv models in red. Also it only has 2 humbuckers rather than H/S/H setup so maybe a custom?

There is also a local busker who plays a pristine cherry red concord 1 !!

Hi there David, good to see another fellow Geordie joining the troops!

Right, back to the subject!

There was also Dave Brock out of Hawkwind, (I'm not sure if Guy has already mentioned him) but he had a Paduak that he played on stage and it was hand painted with a picture from one of his album covers by our one and only Guy (Thunduak-1). It sold recently on eBay to a bloke in Germany called 'Ginger Baker' for £3,600!

There, that's my two-penny'th worth! You'll have to 'Google' it for yourselves though because I'm in the middle of cooking!

Pauline :flower: :queen:

Hey Colt! That is some extensive info you have on Trevor Rabin. I guess you are a fan after all. I haven't seen the videos you posted yet because I'm at home on dial up, but I'll be sure to check them out later this week.

I personally know absolutely nothing about him but you make him sound pretty good. I'll post later and tell you what I thought of it.

Another good clip of New Model Army in action , c/w Westone Thunder Jet Bass being slapped, plucked, dug at and even a few tasteful harmonics too. What more could you ask ?

Link ...

I know that most of you will hate this band , but the Westone bass footage is unrivaled .

Not exactly a household name fame-wise, but The Blues Band's bassist, Gary Fletcher, still plays a left-handed Thunder 1A, natural finish.

Going back to the 80's, I'm pretty sure Spandau Ballets' bassist, Martin Kemp "played" a white Westone semi-acoustic in the video for "True". (sorry, I don't know the model name, because I'm a bassist and not too well up on guitars with more than 4-strings).

Finally, when Simply Red performed "Money's too tight to mention" on BBC TV's "Top of the Pops", I'm almost certain their bassist was playing a Thunder III.

The search for similarly enlightened musicians continues......

Krysbass wrote:
Going back to the 80's, I'm pretty sure Spandau Ballets' bassist, Martin Kemp "played" a white Westone semi-acoustic in the video for "True". (sorry, I don't know the model name, because I'm a bassist and not too well up on guitars with more than 4-strings).

You're not wrong! I spotted this a little while back while watching The Hits channel one day. The guitar is a Rainbow but I'm not sure if it was a I or a II. Was white ever a standard colour for the rainbows?

David

A "the Rail" with the bassplayer of Wire on US television... must have been 1983'ish?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6eAOmz-Aag&feature=related

By the way, I saw them (Wire) perform 2 months ago at Hedon, the local venue in Zwolle. Old&bold, but very powerfull en tight.

http://www.hedon-zwolle.nl/index.php?option=com_zoom&Itemid=81&catid=131

Seeing those clips of Wire reminded me of another UK Indie band who had a few Matsumokos in their arsenal - The Fall.

Some people here (I'm looking at you again Polly ) are going to hate this band and won't make it far enough into the clip to even see the left-handed, blue, Westone Thunder 1A guitar, being weilded by the guitarist on the left of the screen, but that's their loss . Personally, I've always had a soft spot for this band, as Mark E. Smith has the most amazing announciation in the world of popular music and I've had many happy hours impersontaing him with my friends, whilst talking gibberish over a beer (or ten ).

The Fall - "Big New Prinz"

The Fall - "Hit the North"

It's really hard to see in these clips, but that Westone has been painted up to look like a globe (I think) and is primarily blue, with little brownish-green "islands" on the body. I've got another video of theirs somehwere (from The Tube TV programme) and I remember noticing that there is definitley some texture to these blobs of brown paint, so it's not simply a case of the blue paint having flaked off to reveal the original colour underneath.

Fascinating, eh!?

Old Gregg wrote:Seeing those clips of Wire reminded me of another UK Indie band who had a few Matsumokos in their arsenal - The Fall.

Some people here (I'm looking at you again Polly ) are going to hate this band and won't make it far enough into the clip to even see the left-handed, blue, Westone Thunder 1A guitar, being weilded by the guitarist on the left of the screen, but that's their loss ....

Gregg, you are dead right there mate!

Sorry, but I think it played for about two seconds before I hit the 'Close' button! Don't forget, I'm just a delicate little flower :flower: and my shell like lugholes weren't designed to listen to that sort of music! Music for me ended somewhere back in the seventies and I've been stuck in a time warp ever since! "With a jump to the left ..."

Pauline :flower: :queen:

Well I'm very fond of the Fall - uh

But they can get a bit unlistenable at times !! - uh

In fact, the fellow playing the fender bass there in Hit The North (thats one of my favourite Fall numbers !) lives about 50 yards away from me (on the other side of the road, mind..). He's called Steve Hanley, in the Fall's turbulent (and ongoing) line up changes I think he was the most consistent and long standing member - uh (apart from Smith of course) doing 20 or more years service.. and he works as a caretaker/groundsman/maintenance at the primary school all our kids went to .

I was a big Yes fan as a youth (before Rabins time) but my all time and ongoing Westone hero is Dr Brock of that there Hawkwind....

You can't see much of it here but isnt that a Spectrum he's playing ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywWlUfaWlS0

Any suggestions on what Huwy is playing the lead on ?

Great-uh, post-tt there Logical-ll Jaaaaaaaahhhn-nn!

Ah, don't you just love cliquey, in-jokes everybody ?

Interesting story about Steve Hanley, too. I bet if some of the parents saw and heard The Fall during some of their more "experimental" phases, there'd be a lot of rumours and suspicion about the creepy old caretaker (like a real life version of Scooby Doo ). Anyway, glad that I'm not the only one out there with "left field" musical taste .

Sorry about the cliquey in jokes there

- uh...

I believe Mr Hanley (as he is now called) is quite popular at the school..

I would imagine many of the parents know his heritage, Hacienda DJ and author Dave Haslam is one of them.. It's the original School of Rock.

Steve played a free gig there the other week with his current band, featuring himself and Tom Hingley out of the Inspiral Carpets. Unfortunately I only heard about it afterwards, since our kids have all left.

A couple of them are at the nearby High School though , the headmaster of which is Gene Simmons out of Kiss. Paul Stanley is the chief dinner lady. Oops 'Lunchtime Supervisor'. And Jack Black is head of sports.



(Some of those comments are cliquey in jokes - others just plain made up.)

Mind you having said all that, I drove past Mr Hanley on the way to work this very morning and he is starting to resemble a Scooby Doo caretaker. Mark E Smith (the singer and driving force of The Fall) has turned into something like a hobbit permanently chewing a wasp , this happened some years back though...

Lift Me Up - Union tour 1991

Hi again,
as i was researching Westones i fell upon a page claiming that Cliff Burton of Metallica played a Westone Bass.....

http://www.bgra.net/2004/review.php?id=1864&type=bass

Not sure how true that is but when i looked at a list of Cliffs instruments the westone wasn't in there, who knows eh?