reverse pointy headstock??

i've been told that the pointy headstock sas only used on the korean models...not the mij. the only marking on the guitar are on the back of the headstock...33039 it is a reverse, pointy headstock with W WESTONE can anyone help? it has 3 knobs and a 5-way switch. kind of a blueish fade

Hi,
There are a couple of reverse headstock Spectrum III's in the 1988 Westone Limited Editions catalogue which would put it firmly into Korean SLM territory.

thanks, i hope to get a pic up to identify this guitar. its got 3 knobs, a 5 - switch, its blue burst. no neckplate, h-s-s, bendmaster deluxe i believe. and the reverse pointy headstock. the body looks very much like the genesis 2. any ideas?

We'll look forward to the pictures, which will probably get to the bottom of it, but in the meantime...

Does the body have the same distictive cutaway 'step' section just below the pickups like a Genesis series?

no, the body does not have that cutaway "step". i'm new to all this , how do i upload my pics? lol this guitar is being sold for $100 and i'm hoping its a matsumoku model!! thanks again

Hi,
When you write a new post, look at the top for the little icon that looks like a photo and a disk together - it's 12 icons in from the right, and if you hover over it it will pop up a message saying "host an image" Follow the instructions from there.

here are a few pics. thanks

Or perhaps not! :-)

i uploaded 5 pics onto here. nothing now? lol

Yup, looks like you have a Spectrum III. Take a look here: http://www.westone.info/xa1330.html

Westone.info states that this was made by Matsumoku for SLM, but the dates don't seem right to me as it first appeared in the 1987 catalogues which was the year that production switched to Korea. Perhaps someone else knows for definite. Either way, it's very unusual with the reverse headstock, which only appeared in Yellow and Pink originally. Humbucker is not original though which is a shame. US list price was $399 in 1987. Nice axe.

thanks so much for getting these posted. i was curious as to why there is no neck plate. the former owner/boy switched out the knobs and humbucker and now cant find either for me to bring it back to its original state. lol thanks again

Don't know about the neck plate - although I would have to say that Westone was in a state of flux around that period, and it's entirely possible that they were transitioning joint styles - or perhaps using up parts or paint or anything else during that transition year. In theory they could have had a Limited Edition body blank, but no more yellow or pink paint! As there are currently no pictures of the rear of the Limited edition version we don't know how the neck was joined to the body.

But either way.... damn, get some new knobs for that guitar!!

hahahaha thanks. and i will get something more appropriate! lol my only concern was matsumoku or korea. thanks for answering my questions, with a smile no doubt! any idea what the ballpark value of this is? thanks again

Well, I would go with Matsumoku. Price-wise, it depends where you are in the World and who wants to buy one that week! Certainly the non standard pickups(s), missing trem bits, and knobs will affect the value, but then the reverse headstock makes it more interesting. There is a near mint Spectrum III on ebay US for $349 but that has the anniversary logos on the rear covers etc. If you picked it up for $100 then you got a very good deal. Anywhere from $100 to $300 I guess, depending on who is looking. That probably doesn't help much!

no problem!! $100 for any good instrument is a great value to me. i enjoy the history more than anything, thats why i wanted the mij versus mik. thanks again for all your help and especially with the pic!! lol i hope others out there have a comment or two about this particular model they can add. the reverse neck my always remain a mystery!

For $100 you had better grab it! Beautiful burst finish and it looks like it has that neck!
You can always look around on eBay and the like, and, of course, grovel here to get an original pup.

But in the meantime, buy it...and replace those f&*^%$g knobs!!

While the Bendmaster points at Matt, the neck bolts to me say Korean, but as Neil says, who the hell knows!!? What is for sure, 100 bux for that is a steal - run to the seller and buy ...NOW!! There's absolutely nothing wrong with the early Koreans; their build quality was second to none; in short they are a very very good guitar!!

Knobs gotta go....

Hey, I have one of the Chrome Yellow 1988 XA1330 Spectrum III guitars. They made them in the other-than-yellow or pink-colors in 1987 and 1988. As far as I can tell, and i feel confident, they were made in Japan. There were guitars being made in both Japan, and Korea...these were the last of the japanese-made?

I LOVE THE NECK!!! on this guitar.

i have seen a few like mine this week on cl, musicgoaround,etc. i'm hoping japan but the way the neck joint and plate looks leads me and others to think korea. i wish there was a way to determine for sure but i guess it was that in between period. and by the way, yellow ooks awesome! there's one on ebay i believe.

rjimu56 wrote: yellow looks awesome!

Yeah; I like it too; I particularly like the Metallic Pink that Westone had!! In a Corsair 1440, no less!!

They made them in the other-than-yellow or pink-colors in 1987 and
1988. As far as I can tell, and i feel confident, they were made in
Japan

Maybe, but not by Matsumoku; the factory burned down in '88, after it had been taken over by the Singer Sewing machine Company which had ceased guitar manufacturing in late 1987... and the trouble is, no-one knows for sure about the last of the Westones, particularly the 'transition' ones; the likes of Vantage and Westbury went belly up almost immediately, but Westone made the move to Korea, albeit briefly, as did Aria Pro II. There were initial QC problems with the production which is often reflected in the prices of MIK guitars at auction, compared to the MIJ ones.

Now, this is exactly why I joined this forum...Sir, I bow to your expertise. The quality of the XA1330 that I have is very good.

corsair wrote:Maybe, but not by Matsumoku; the factory burned down in '88, after it had been taken over by the Singer Sewing machine Company which had ceased guitar manufacturing in late 1987... and the trouble is, no-one knows for sure about the last of the Westones, particularly the 'transition' ones; the likes of Vantage and Westbury went belly up almost immediately, but Westone made the move to Korea, albeit briefly, as did Aria Pro II. There were initial QC problems with the production which is often reflected in the prices of MIK guitars at auction, compared to the MIJ ones.

Where does everyone get this information? Singer owned Matsumoku for a long time, and they made sewing machines alongside the guitars until 1987, when Singer was having financial trouble and sold off the factory. Where does this silly fire story come from? I've never seen anything official that says the place burned down, just that Singer owned them and was at risk of going under.

Warrn wrote:Where does this silly fire story come from? I've never seen anything official that says the place burned down, just that Singer owned them and was at risk of going under.

Hi Kevin,

I wouldn't go so far as to say this is a 'silly' story because I don't think anybody really knows the true story. I personally have read a few conflicting stories on the web about the demise of Westone and Singer and the whole Matsumoku thing! I recall reading up about Washburns once and it was stated that a lot of their records were destroyed, (I can't remember whether it was in a fire or not) so, based upon this information, some of the details of early Washburns are quite sketchy.

Who knows, and does it really matter? The important thing is that these guitars have withstood the test of time and will be going strong for many years to come!

Polly

I suppose it doesn't matter, but I've only ever seen the fire story on eBay auctions. When I was originally trying to figure out what Westones were when my Spectrum bass appeared on craigslist, I just found that Singer had sold the factory. Maybe it did burn after they sold it, I don't know, but that was the end of whatever article I was reading.

I've put it together from what I've found out from much more knowledgeable chaps than me at the Matt forums, and from an interview I read with Shiro Arai, and whilst some of the details may be incorrect, I believe that the basic bones are right; Singer owned the factory and shut down the guitar making side of things in '87, the fire which may or may not have completely destroyed the building, occurred in '88 and Singer probably just pulled the plug then.

Yay; Polly's back!!

corsair wrote:...the fire which may or may not have completely destroyed the building...

Yeah, it's a tragic if not confusing as hell history, no matter how you slice it. I've even seen an account which says the Mats plant was levelled by earthquake!
And of course, if in doubt, they always say, "It was made by Ibanez"!?

Yay; Polly's back!!

About bloomin' time too!

Barry wrote:. I've even seen an account which says the Mats plant was levelled by earthquake!

That may also be true; the Kobe shake springs to mind...

[quote="Barry"]

corsair wrote:

Yay; Polly's back!!

About bloomin' time too!

Aw thanks guys!

You have no idea what it has been like not to have my laptop for two weeks... the term 'stir crazy' springs to mind and I was driven to reading all my old James Herriot books again! I was able to use my husbands' mac now and then, just to check my emails etc., Yeegads, but I was boggled eyed... the screen is soooo tiny! I think if I'd had to use that for any length of time, I would have ended up with a permanent squint!

Anyhow, it's good to be back in the driving seat again!

Polly

Great guitar! I got its brother. Bought new sometime around 1989....I think.

Nice! You're a bit of a dark horse - didn't know you liked Ovations!!

corsair wrote:Nice! You're a bit of a dark horse - didn't know you liked Ovations!!

The man's got class!

...I couldn't get shot of the one I had quick enough!!! Takes all kinds, eh!!

Lots of mileage on the 1983 Collector's (black one), and still sounds great!
The Elite's also a great player, if not a tad neck heavy from the 5 piece maple/walnut (sound familiar?). I "Christened" her on my recent house gig so it's now officially road tested.

corsair wrote:Nice! You're a bit of a dark horse - didn't know you liked Ovations!!

Who me? lol Yeah I like 'em.....I have a Legend 1767 as well that is one of the best acoustics I have ever played. I also have a Alvarez PD90S that is sweet. The Ibanez in the pic is nice as well though not my favorite. And I had a Godin A6 that I have regretted selling for the last 4 years!