Thunder 1A bass - korean maybe?

The seller says Japanese built but could this be a later Korean made Thunder 1A bass? no traditional Mats neck plate like early models..possibly made in 1989? if so this must have been one of the last Thunder basses made

Link

bowenjaybee wrote:The seller says Japanese built but could this be a later Korean made Thunder 1A bass? no traditional Mats neck plate like early models..possibly made in 1989? if so this must have been one of the last Thunder basses made

Link

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8 Digit serial number on the neck plate. Starts with 89, indicating 1989 as date of manufacture.

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

quote removed, please see the link for info on the 8 digit serial number.

Isn't it wonderful how the internet can make you look like you know what you're talking about. When in reality I looked at the original post here and thought "They made Thunders in Korea? Oh dear, how will I know which were made in Korea?"

whoops!! a slap on the wrist for copying from the Westone site Mr Twit

bowenjaybee wrote:whoops!! a slap on the wrist for copying from the Westone site Mr Twit

Eh? Is that not allowed?

It has been known to be a bit naughty.. so I've read on older posts

Sometimes the owner of the Westone site gets a little concerned that people use his material without permission is all - it is all copywritten - .... you're probably OK as you've posted it in here as information and not on eBay or the like for personal gain, but we generally just link to the appropriate page over there.

From the front page of the site - none of the material on this site may be reproduced in any way without the permission of the site owner

Where it's posted, or what for, doesn't make a difference.

Back on topic - the seller says they were told it was 84 or 86. I've told them it's 89, definitely Korean (Not just by the number - the neck construction is different on the later ones). They've replied saying they were just going off what they'd been told, but don't seem to have altered the title or description.

Thorn wrote:Back on topic - the seller says they were told it was 84 or 86. I've told them it's 89, definitely Korean (Not just by the number - the neck construction is different on the later ones). They've replied saying they were just going off what they'd been told, but don't seem to have altered the title or description.

have you ever come across these Korean thunder basses, how do they compare to the early Jap Thunders

I haven't had any myself - experience with the cheaper Spectrum Series II basses and Clippers put me off trying any more of the Korean (Made for the UK/European market) guitars. An 89 Thunder... I would expect it to be poor quality compared to a Matsumoku one, mostly based on the quality of the later Thunder II 6 string guitars. See the bottom of this page for details on those guitars- the solid paint finish might be covering up very poor quality woods -
http://www.westone.info/thunder2.html

I just had a rummage for an older post that I remember reading about a while ago . DuoFuzz's Korean Thunder II

Link

did you ever finish the guitar DuoFuzz?

Thanks for reminding me!

Yup, I still have it and no it's still not finished, it's sitting collecting dust in my to do pile (and that's a big pile!)

Sadly I've been out of work for over a year now, it seems like I have all the time in the world to work on them but don't have any cash to buy the tools and parts I need to do the damn work

I can't really comment on the quality of other Korean made Westones but all the MIK Thunder II's I've seen appear to have the same problems with the paint flaking off and the bodies cracking open.

The difference in quality really shows in the neck joint. On my older Mats era Thunder I's the gaps around the neck are minimal, you can barely get a piece of paper down them. On the Korean T-II there's about 3mm of side play in the neck pocket!

DAN.

Geez from Thorn's and Dan's descriptions the MIK Westones are really shoddily made!
I just bought an MIK Aria Pro II TA-60 this week, a gorgeous ES335 clone, made (I think) in 1996. And I have to say, the quality is exceptionally good! No Mats to be sure, but head and shoulders above most of its contemporaries.
I have one other Korean guitar (non Mats) and it too is beautifully made.

Bloody shame they couldn't get their act together in time to preserve the quality in the Westone and other Mats lines.

I'm not putting down the Korean made guitars, some of the later one are stunning, like the Corsair GT for instance!

I have a little known MIK Aria Pro II Libra Series Standard model from the late 80's which is a great guitar, nice neck, well built and it plays like a dream. There is just something about these post Matsumoku built guitars and maybe it's just the MIK T-II model, but it all smacks of cost cutting.

It's a shame really, they ended up looking like a poorly made copy of the real thing.

DAN.

Thorn wrote:Back on topic - the seller says they were told it was 84 or 86. I've told them it's 89, definitely Korean (Not just by the number - the neck construction is different on the later ones). They've replied saying they were just going off what they'd been told, but don't seem to have altered the title or description.

They've added this:

On 09-Sep-10 at 23:23:03 BST, seller added the following information:

it seems i made a mistake saying this bass is japanese i can only apologies as i bought it as a japanese bass but it isa fine bass apologies again

On 09-Sep-10 at 23:23:25 BST, seller added the following information:

it seems i made a mistake saying this bass is japanese i can only apologies as i bought it as a japanese bass but it isa fine bass apologies again

That's not very clear. They're saying that they made a mistake saying this bass is japanese, and don't say that it's Korean. And they haven't changed the title.

Barry wrote:Geez from Thorn's and Dan's descriptions the MIK Westones are really shoddily made!

Whoa, there.. Nellie... my Clippers MAY have been made in Korea and they're just fine! Very nicely put together indeed, but the p'ups are perhaps a little less ...full than the Spectrums I have...

Therein lies a common thread methinks. Fit and finish are OK but electronics maybe lacking some. Then again, we're comparing against the best damn commercial guitars ever made. Ultimately, nothing is gonna measure up to Mats.

corsair wrote:

Barry wrote:Geez from Thorn's and Dan's descriptions the MIK Westones are really shoddily made!

Whoa, there.. Nellie... my Clippers MAY have been made in Korea and they're just fine! Very nicely put together indeed, but the p'ups are perhaps a little less ...full than the Spectrums I have...

Not may have been MIK, they were, except for the Clipper six. If I remember rightly, you have the CL4112 - if you check the Spectrum Series II/Clipper catalogue, that is the only one of the Clippers that specifies that the body is 'solid wood'. Doesn't say what sort, but it's solid. All the lower models are plywood. Same with the Spectrum Series II guitars and basses, only the top of the range models say body - solid wood, the lower spec ones are plywood. Even the top end ones aren't always what they seem - the review of the top of the range spectrum Series II mentions that the flame Maple top is actually Maple faced 3 ply, 3mm thick.

They may be fine guitars, but their lesser siblings are definitely victims of cost cutting.

I think it's a bit of a problem referring to guitars as MIJ or MIK, since there were two Korean production lines, for the USA and UK/European markets. Personally, I would split the Westones into Matsumoku, SLM and FCN. As I understand it (Though I've never played one) the SLm guitars are fine instruments if you like that sort of thing, the FCN ones (Apart from the top of the range models) were produced on the cheap and in my experience it shows.

I couldn't actually care less where a guitar was made, as long as it's well made. Lots of people wouldn't touch a Chinese instrument, but I've no problems at all with my Chinese made FCN electro-acoustics and electro-classical.

I bought a Spectrum Series II bass out of my MIJ vs. MIK curiosity. Although It’s the high end SPB311 model and is nice to play it just doesn’t feel as quality as a ’82 Thunder 1 Bass
as for the electrics the pickups are great but it has those awful mini pots the same as you find on most cheapo guitars and the active circuit board is just floating around amongst the wiring attached to what looks like two rather shabby pieces of cork.. cost cutting even on high end models.
I hate the flat fretboard and dislike the pointy headstock even more but I suppose that is just personal preference.

Do you find the same thing that I found on the two Spectrum Series II basses I've had - the lower cutout is nowhere near deep enough, and actively hinders access to the top frets?

Thorn wrote:Not may have been MIK, they were, except for the Clipper six. If I remember rightly, you have the CL4112 - if you check the Spectrum Series II/Clipper catalogue, that is the only one of the Clippers that specifies that the body is 'solid wood'. Doesn't say what sort, but it's solid.

Yes, quite right; both mine have the Deluxe bridge, not the TRS101 so may have been assembled from leftover Jap parts.. is that right?? Solid wood, eh...



... but they turned out alright!!

Thorn wrote:Do you find the same thing that I found on the two Spectrum Series II basses I've had - the lower cutout is nowhere near deep enough, and actively hinders access to the top frets?

to be honest I haven't noticed I've hardly played the bass since restoring it and don't usually go past the 12th fret on bass anyway

I'm thinking of sticking my bass on ebay to fund another Mats Westone so I better stop bitching about these Korean Westones it or I'll be lucky to get £5 for it