Westone Spectrum AX1130RD

Howdy everyone. I just recently came into possession of an 88 Westone Spectrum I AX1130RD. I love this guitar, much more than my others. It just feels and plays great. And the tone of these pickups is just terrifyingly amazing. But I do have some questions about it.

Does anyone know what kind of pickups these are? I'd like to go about getting another set.

Also, the bridge is a Kahler tremolo style, but it lacks any telling signs of what model it is, so far as I can tell. I may need to go about locating parts for it, as the high-E saddle has broken away from the adjustment screw accessed from the back cavity on the underside of the bridge. And I have some worry about the fine tuners, as well. The brackets that hold the fine tuning screws are bent at an upwards angle. When I inspected the bridge closely it doesn't look there was any harsh warping of the metal attaching the fine tuner brackets to the bridge itself, but I can't be sure as every picture I've seen of this guitar's bridge up close does show the fine tuners at a slight upward angle. Is this normal? Or just a sign of age?

And for a final question, this one more just out of curiosity. Why in the world would Westone ever stop producing such a fine axe as this one or the other models that must be at least as good, if not better in quality? Not sure what the policy on naming other brands here, but I would put this guitar up against my LTD any day of the week, and for me that's saying something because I fell in love with that LTD the moment I got. The same can be said for this Westone, but I think it may have won a much larger part of my heart. Only improvement I can think to really make is purely personal. Perhaps a standard kahler trem and not a floating one. Or even a fixed bridge. I'm really not a trem guy, but I made the exception for this beast.

Anyways, any help that can be offered on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks ahead of time,

-Rich

Hi Rich. You have a post-Matsumoku model there but I don't recognize the prefix "AX".

Westones were made in Korea for a short while after the Japanese plant closure, then later, the brand was resurrected in England, Germany and China. So it could have originated in any of those places. Pictures would be helpful when you're able to post.

Meantime, CLICK HERE for some background historical information on the Westone brand.

I'm guessing it's a XA1130rd, not AX?
http://www.westoneguitars.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/058.jpg
http://www.westoneguitars.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/069.jpg

And the necks on these post Mats spectrums are superb, and what pickups ive heard (ferrite and alnico) are equally as good, but that neck...phew!

That's the one, Sgt. Vimes. And thank you for your feedback, Barry. I just went off of what the guy I traded said. But yes, the neck is amazing, not too thin, not too thick. But just right. It's a Goldilocks guitar, if you will.

However, that information was exactly what I needed, Sgt. Vimes. Thank you very much.

Here is a picture, hopefully y'all can help me get the condition of the trem right.

looks like a Kahler 2500 "Traditional series" fulcrum trem

What's going on with those intonation screws??  

Thanks again Sgt. Vimes. Im working on getting that verified. Told the guys on the Kahler facebook page about the issue as well. They said they were looking into it. So I will verify as soon as I know. But from the goofling I've done thays probably the correct trem model.

Barry: That's ecactly what I want to know. I am sure they are damaged; almost sure anyways. But I do not knowif this actually warrants a replacement or not. Even with the broken saddle and the likely age warped fine tuners this thing tunes up, intonates and plays like a dream. At this point I am not sure I wouldd even want it fixed.