Really?

Are we now in the age of silly prices for Westone guitars?

Or are people cottoning-on to how good they really are?

Thunder 1A

To be fair, that's not too far from obtainable.

I thought it looked a bit "used", but there you go. On the up!

I preferred This One

I wouldn't pay anywhere near 300 for a T1a, personally..

I that case Bob, you won't own one. Old guitars, at least proper guitars, are being seen by more people as investments rather than instruments. That one on ebay is mine, I have various high end guitars and the Westone sits in an old Gibson case in my spare room, unplayed. It takes up no space and I certainly don't need the cash, but the last one I saw go on ebay went for £265. So, if someone wants a decent guitar, which most Westones are, and an investment rather than looking at their £300 sitting in the bank earning negative interest they will buy it. If not it will continue to enjoy a relaxed existence in its rather salubrious environ

Sorry pom,  but if bob wants to pay lots less for a common as muck T1a, all he needs do is wait,  and he won't wait long either as they come up for sale, and regularly sell for, much less than a ton,  not everyone sees them as an investment.

Sgt. Vimes wrote:Sorry pom,  but if bob wants to pay lots less for a common as muck T1a, all he needs do is wait,  and he won't wait long either as they come up for sale, and regularly sell for, much less than a ton,  not everyone sees them as an investment.

Then good luck to him and enjoy the wait

Ooohhhh. Touched a nerve there...

Adey wrote:Ooohhhh. Touched a nerve there...

hardly, were you trying to? thats not very nice, not the sort of thing you ususally see on this forum. Ah well nastiness everywhere these days

pompom wrote:I that case Bob, you won't own one.

Bob does own one...     Check his avatar.

Westbone wrote:

pompom wrote:I that case Bob, you won't own one.

Bob does own one...     Check his avatar.

Not this one

Active gain control eh! I've got 5...in various colours...

Westbone wrote:Active gain control eh! I've got 5...in various colours...

LOL thats some serious GAS you have there

5 is gas?  Boy you ain't seen nothin' yet!

Must have sold at least 20/25 Thunder's+ basses.
Never at a loss.

I've sold a few (not as many as Mr Westbone!). A couple have indeed been very nice examples and not far off unused by the look of them.
But, none has realised close to 300 sobs, hence the initial post.
If you get that for it, great. I'd just be surprised if prices for less than immaculate ones are close to that yet.

I see the red one I put the link in for sold for £150 with a case.
OK, not the ash body, but I'd still rather have bought that one.

Calm down, kids... we're not talking about ending world hunger here, just the relative value of an old Japanese electric guitar!

I don't think Westones' run of the mill guitars are anywhere near collectable at the moment, though perhaps the high end stuff is but equally, if you're selling one on the open market, you're entitled to ask whatever you want for it, eh?!

Yeah.... £300 perhaps a bit steep for a T-1a, but if someone out there wants one then perhaps that's the one for them and let's face it, we've all paid over the odds for one or two we really wanted so bad we could taste it... I know I have!

corsair wrote: let's face it, we've all paid over the odds for one or two we really wanted so bad we could taste it...

Guilty as charged your honour on more than one occasion

And talking of world hunger, I think when you are passionate about a subject there can be a tendency to be a bit precious and protective about it and just recently there have been one or two price related threads that have put one or two of us on the defensive. Maybe changes are afoot, there certainly seems to be a minor " All things Matsumoku" buzz going on at the moment on the bay and a few other forums, but I for one play a Westone guitar for my pleasure and work not because it's in vogue or trendy or it's intrinsic value, it's because it's just a -ucking great guitar that I really enjoy playing...... period

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCwCNF5Id1E

corsair wrote:Calm down, kids... we're not talking about ending world hunger here, just the relative value of an old Japanese electric guitar!

I don't think Westones' run of the mill guitars are anywhere near collectable at the moment, though perhaps the high end stuff is but equally, if you're selling one on the open market, you're entitled to ask whatever you want for it, eh?!

Yeah.... £300 perhaps a bit steep for a T-1a, but if someone out there wants one then perhaps that's the one for them and let's face it, we've all paid over the odds for one or two we really wanted so bad we could taste it... I know I have!

"Calm down, kids" don't be so bloody patronizing.

Run of the mill Westones ARE becoming collectable. We've tons of them here in the UK and prices are certainly rising rapidly. How do I know? I sell the things!

Just have a look at the completed listings on e bay uk it'll give you some idea. There's plenty old Thunders going for way over £200. Let alone whats on various other sites, Gumtree etc.

All in the best possible taste..

Westbone wrote:

corsair wrote:Calm down, kids... we're not talking about ending world hunger here, just the relative value of an old Japanese electric guitar!

I don't think Westones' run of the mill guitars are anywhere near collectable at the moment, though perhaps the high end stuff is but equally, if you're selling one on the open market, you're entitled to ask whatever you want for it, eh?!

Yeah.... £300 perhaps a bit steep for a T-1a, but if someone out there wants one then perhaps that's the one for them and let's face it, we've all paid over the odds for one or two we really wanted so bad we could taste it... I know I have!

"Calm down, kids" don't be so bloody patronizing.

Run of the mill Westones ARE becoming collectable. We've tons of them here in the UK and prices are certainly rising rapidly. How do I know? I sell the things!

Just have a look at the completed listings on e bay uk it'll give you some idea. There's plenty old Thunders going for way over £200. Let alone whats on various other sites, Gumtree etc.

All in the best possible taste..

Totally agree, on all three points. Plus its good for people with relatively little money to be able to enjoy the thrill of collecting/trading guitar gear. Not everyone can afford Gibsons, Fenders, PRS's etc I personally enjoy playing rather than collecting but unlike some on this forum, I'm happy to live and let live

I wasn't intending to upset anyone. As the original post, it seems that the "secret" of damn fine Japanese guitars from Westone may well be out, and prices are on the up..

However, I'm still hoping that the (UK) negative inflation on the horizon will assist in dropping prices back down so I can affordabley add to my modest collection of Uncle Mats

pompom wrote:
 Plus its good for people with relatively little money to be able to enjoy the thrill of collecting/trading guitar gear. Not everyone can afford Gibsons, Fenders, PRS's

Westones are an easy flip and sell readily..

Just for the record  I also own/collect vintage Fenders, Gibsons etc. Not 70's, 80's or 90's but 1960's...

Just for the record  I also own/collect vintage Fenders, Gibsons etc. Not 70's, 80's or 90's but 1960's...

what 60's Gibsons do you have?

Oh god, please don't encourage him !

Sgt. Vimes wrote:Oh god, please don't encourage him !

Do you serious think I'd let every fooker know what I own.....

 

I wasn't being patronising, Damian, just trying to be a little humorous as the discussion was becoming tedious, so if anyone took offense, I apologise.

If, as you state, Matsumoku made instruments are becoming more collectable than they have been, and the prices are reflecting that, then it's well past due!

No worries John...  

Like I mentioned a good while back.
If you wanted to increase the value of your Westone stick a Aria decal on it.
Well the W'tone name is catching up and about time...

Westbone wrote:

Sgt. Vimes wrote:Oh god, please don't encourage him !

Do you serious think I'd let every fooker know what I own.....

I go on a few forums for various guitars and a stock saying from one of the more popular Gibson forums is '... if theres no photo, it doesn't exist'

Westbone wrote:No worries John...  

Like I mentioned a good while back.
If you wanted to increase the value of your Westone stick a Aria decal on it.
Well the W'tone name is catching up and about time...

True, they are great cheap guitars. Certainly a whole lot better than the nonsense coming out of China. I saw a Chibson with a pretend truss rod, someone took the thing apart and posted photos, the guitar looked great but was about as sensible as trying to set the relief on a banana

Actually I find bananas give me great relief  

And to be fair there are some incredible guitars coming from China, I have a Hagstrom which is particularly fine, also the Squier classic vibe are meant  
to be delightful, no doubt there are some dogs.

Sgt. Vimes wrote:...And to be fair there are some incredible guitars coming from China...

In recent months I've had to revise my previously negative bias towards Chinese made guitars.
BUT...it still strongly depends on who's making them and more particularly who's riding shotgun on the quality control.

Last year we began carrying the Sigma brand acoustics. Sigma was originally owned by Martin and was their entry level instrument. Today the brand is owned by a German company and licensed to use the Martin "look and feel". Let me tell you...these are outstanding guitars, even the lowest priced models around the $450 mark. LINK

I've also experienced the cr@p side of the Chinese manufacturing. Truly awful rubbish.

Meadows wrote:

corsair wrote: let's face it, we've all paid over the odds for one or two we really wanted so bad we could taste it...

Guilty as charged your honour on more than one occasion

And talking of world hunger, I think when you are passionate about a subject there can be a tendency to be a bit precious and protective about it and just recently there have been one or two price related threads that have put one or two of us on the defensive. Maybe changes are afoot, there certainly seems to be a minor " All things Matsumoku" buzz going on at the moment on the bay and a few other forums, but I for one play a Westone guitar for my pleasure and work not because it's in vogue or trendy or it's intrinsic value, it's because it's just a -ucking great guitar that I really enjoy playing...... period

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCwCNF5Id1E

A bit off-topic, but ... thanks for the youtube link, Meadows. I really enjoyed listening to that - brilliant track! 

Your welcome David, glad you enjoyed.

You can blame Corsair for that one   Quincy Conserve "Move on up" (Curtis Mayfield tribute)....what is that bass player on ????

pompom wrote:

Westbone wrote:
Do you serious think I'd let every fooker know what I own.....

I go on a few forums for various guitars and a stock saying from one of the more popular Gibson forums is '... if theres no photo, it doesn't exist'

There's photos of a few on the forum here somewhere. Have a search around....

There's many fine guitars coming out of China these days.
Here's a couple.

Sgt. Vimes wrote:Actually I find bananas give me great relief  

And to be fair there are some incredible guitars coming from China, I have a Hagstrom which is particularly fine, also the Squier classic vibe are meant  
to be delightful, no doubt there are some dogs.

Squier Classic vibe's are excellent guitars. Seriously good!!

I've got really bad gas for one and no funds

Sgt. Vimes wrote:I've got really bad gas for one and no funds

Sell your body to science...

Have a few 50's and 60's Strats, nice..

Now, there's a thing....

... are the pre-CBS Fenders really that much better than the CBS era ones? I know the values are sky high, but my strat is late 70s - I think - and before I messed around with it, I thought it was Ok, eh! Mind you, I've never knowingly played a pre-CBS model, nor a 59 LP, but I can't help wondering if the whole thing is a up scale version of our very own Japanese/Korean divide??

Interested in what you think, chaps, but especially you as an owner, Damian....

It's all about when Fender was owned by Mr Fender himself.

There's a ton of info on the net as you know.

Yeah, I know and it's essentially a w***-fest in favour or vehement hate; I've not found a cogent, well reasoned and presented discussion yet, and I'm not about to sift through endless piles of drooling drivel to satisfy a mild curiousity, eh!

I just wondered what your thoughts were seeing as you own what are to me quite exotic pieces of kit....

Where do you wanna start?
Any particular points?

Nothing exotic about them.

I think Leo Fender was trying to make guitars along the Henry Ford mass production example.

Well, do they - post CBS - actually play or sound any differently to pre CBS built guitars? Is the build quality really that much different?
I know Leos' ethos was instruments for the working musician that had replaceable parts should they get busted up, but the whole pre and post CBS thing makes me dizzy. As does the 59 LP thing....

And I know they're not exotic per se, but as I've never even seen one, they are exotic to me, eh!!

The main visual difference is the larger headstock on the CBS ones.
But there are many changes that happened and as time went on and CBS used crapper timber, heavier stuff. I've seen 1970's Strats with maple boards and the frets sprayed over with poly. Things got sloppy.

Not saying a pre CBS will sound better or worse(as some did) than a CBS model. It's all in the ear of the beholder!

It's all about when it was owned by Leo! That's why prices are astronomical! There's no magic guitar!

Thanks, Damian! People are odd things, eh...

Maybe our forum buddy 'pompom' would like to add something as he says he has knowledge of these instruments??