I just got the thunder 1 from the 1981 catalog

Im blown away I have been looking for a thunder 1 for 3 years get one off Kijiji for 200 and it turns out to be the one they used in the photo shoot for the catalog! wow wee what a find ! a few things have been changed the bridge and knobs ill fix that lol Cheers!

http://www.westone.info/cats/81/03.html
Catalog pic from http://www.westone.info



same serial number same guitar!

Nice one spidey.
That must have come as a bit of a suprise.

Barry on here has the original type bridge. He's been trying to get shot of it for ages.

Westbone wrote:Nice one spidey.
That must have come as a bit of a suprise.

Barry on here has the original type bridge. He's been trying to get shot of it for ages.

hey thanks!! just sent him a email pm wont work

spidey2 wrote:...hey thanks!! just sent him a email pm wont work

Messages received and bridge is on it's way! Good luck.

Those natural grain finishes really do act sorta as fingerprints almost. Those catalog instruments have to end up somewhere so it's nice to see them here.

Better than that. Compare the serial numbers!

Wow... amazing find Spidey..... Very weird that the catalogue model would end up in Canada..... I would of imagined somewhere in the states....

Also, with the amount of wear on the top of the body, is it possible it was used as a lefty ....

Congrats and good luck with the restore...

P.

Frenchy wrote:Wow... amazing find Spidey..... Very weird that the catalogue model would end up in Canada..... I would of imagined somewhere in the states....

Also, with the amount of wear on the top of the body, is it possible it was used as a lefty ....

Congrats and good luck with the restore...

P.

yea a lefty never thought of that! I just ordered 3 knobs from www.armadilloguitar.com
now i need to replaced the bridge pickup someone put a Seymour Duncan TB4J if anyone wants to trade for the org westone bridge pickup
im game

You know what you gotta do now Spidey, you need to find and buy one of the original catalogs, open it to your guitar, and frame the thing! That's what I would do.

How cool is that to have the actual guitar from the catalog?! Great find!!!

Frenchy wrote:...Also, with the amount of wear on the top of the body, is it possible it was used as a lefty...

If that is in fact the case, best you double check the nut to make sure it hasn't been damaged. It's possible that the wear is from something else, but I can't think of what, unless the player scraped his pick across the wood before hitting the strings.

Barry wrote:

Frenchy wrote:...Also, with the amount of wear on the top of the body, is it possible it was used as a lefty...

If that is in fact the case, best you double check the nut to make sure it hasn't been damaged. It's possible that the wear is from something else, but I can't think of what, unless the player scraped his pick across the wood before hitting the strings.

Brass nut looks fine must be showing its age like the rest of us unless he was a lefty and played the guitar upside down?

The Chad wrote:You know what you gotta do now Spidey, you need to find and buy one of the original catalogs, open it to your guitar, and frame the thing! That's what I would do.

How cool is that to have the actual guitar from the catalog?! Great find!!!

Been looking dang if I can find one for sale but hey I just got a line on a mmk 45 humbucker for it!
she will be back in photo shape soon

This pair on e(vil)bay are out of an Aria...... the one and the same??

http://cgi.ebay.com/Matsumoku-MMK-45-Pickup-Set-Aria-Electra-Lawsuit-LP-MIJ-/140497108513?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item20b647be21

They've been on sale for bloody ages??
Way overpriced

Could buy yourself a decent set at that price, Ice

Quite correct. I was speaking only to the fitment of those pups. Obviously spidey you can do better pricewise.

Iceman wrote:Quite correct. I was speaking only to the fitment of those pups. Obviously spidey you can do better pricewise.

yea sir I got one for 25 bucks and not from him heheheh

just got the old bridge Barry sent me on still have set the intonation that might be the ice breaker Barry lol but so far so good

Looks like you've got it lined up OK Gary...that is, off-centre!

Given the ridiculously long adjustment screws on these things, intonation should not be a problem. But be aware that the screws can also "swing" wildly side to side under the right (wrong?) circumstances. Let us know how you make out.

Barry's absolutely positively favourite bridge... you love 'em, don't you!?

At least you got rid of one, how many to go?

I've decided to keep the original bridge from my Thunder, just in case the "next owner" wanted to reverse my modification.
But I don't plan to die, and that's the only way the Thunder will leave my arthritic little hands!

The one I sent to Gary came from an '81 Vantage Avenger AV310, and I have a third one on yet another Avenger AV325 that's still waiting for me to move me arse and get her done!

All said, I did not care much for the look of the black bridge that was on your Thunder Gary. Brass is the "right" material on these guitars...but not the barrel saddles!

Looking scarily similar!
Hey Gary did you by chance keep a copy of the whole ad? If so, we're gonna need it!

Better!!