thunder 1A desperatly wanted

hey anyone out there just played on a 1a a few days back and fell deeply in love with this guitar does anyone know where i can get one/ have one to sell. or does anyone know any other more easy to obtain guitars that use the same avtive circuit?

Keep your eyes on Fleabay there are always Thunder 1's on sale at most times.

They show up on ebay a few times a month.

There is one on ebay.com right now actually. Westone Thunder I-A

im in the uk and that seller wont post here thanks anyway

Hello Tom and Welcome,

There is a cherry red Thunder on eBay at the moment (Item No:150248255941) but the seller seems to be a bit confused as to whether it is a Thunder I or a Thunder IA!

I suppose it might be worth your while if you email him, although it appears to have an extra knob where the toggle switch should be.

Good luck with your search, I'm certain that you will find one soon!

Pauline :flower: :queen:

Tom,

The red one looks like it's been "modified" or messed around with somewhat. The pickups appear to be seymour Duncans, the saddles look wrong & there is an extra wrong style knob fitted. Very odd looking guitar.
I'd personally avoid it. A better one will inevitably come along quite soon.

Try to find a natural wood one & comission Polly to give it the works for you it will end up looking something like this.

Zube.

Nice! If I may ask, what did you do to the guitar to get it to look like that, Polly?

I'd love for the wood grain on my Thunder I-A to look like that.

Here's mine for comparison.

Hi Sfalj,

I like your thunder as well it's in pretty good shape & not modified at all. I have a real soft spot for Thunder 1's because the first professional guiatar that i could afford was indeed a Thunder 1a back in the early eighties.

Didn't really do much to this one it just natuarally has one of the nicest woodgrain patterns i've ever seen.

Polly did one for me recently that she finished in oil which looks very nice but i have not finished putting it back together yet but it looks a lot like that one.

With the right lighting they photograph really well.

Zube.

Yeah, it is in pretty good condition. My only gripe is that the bridge is pretty corroded and I'm not sure how to clean it.

I was pretty surprised at the difference between the finish on my Thunder I-A and my Thunder II, they're so different. The Thunder I-A seems like the finish is really breathable whereas the Thunder II is not.

Sfalj wrote:Yeah, it is in pretty good condition. My only gripe is that the bridge is pretty corroded and I'm not sure how to clean it.

I was pretty surprised at the difference between the finish on my Thunder I-A and my Thunder II, they're so different. The Thunder I-A seems like the finish is really breathable whereas the Thunder II is not.

Corroded bridges are something of a specialty in here...

http://www.whirligigworld.co.uk/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1207146433/

...there was another thread in there too if memory serves - it often doesn't! - maybe Polly can recall...

Zube,

You are teasing us all now by putting odd photos up here and there!

Get it over and done with my friend and put your whole collection in our 'Members Westone' forum!
(Or have you now got so many that you can't remember where you stashed them all and it will take you too long to post all the pictures?)

corsair wrote:
...there was another thread in there too if memory serves - it often doesn't! - maybe Polly can recall...

John, you know that my memory is just as bad, if nor worse than yours!

Anyway Antoine, here is a brief run down on how to clean up that brass bridge of yours!

Clean the brass with a solution of household ammonia and fine wire wool, (about 1 part ammonia to 6 parts water), rinse well. Clean with a good quality brass cleaner and wash well in warm soapy water, polish to a shine with a soft cloth. For added protection, use a clear coat lacquer specifically designed for use on metal - hey presto, shiny brass bridge and knobs!

Tip: If you can't get hold of household ammonia, try using a Brillo pad (a soap filled wire wool pad used for cleaning pans etc.,) It works just as well but make certain that you wash and rinse everything thoroughly before applying the brass polish!

Here are a couple of before and after pictures of the brass stuff on my Paduak I!




Pauline :flower: :queen:

Polly,

I'd really love to do a big group shot, but there is not the space to lay them all out and i dont have enough stands to put them on either.

Need to give it some more thought.........

Zube.

Tom.

There's a Thunder IA on fleabay! Item No: 300226618536.

Zube,

I'll let you off mate!

Pauline :flower: :queen:

unclemax wrote:Polly,

I'd really love to do a big group shot, but there is not the space to lay them all out and i dont have enough stands to put them on either.

Need to give it some more thought.........

Zube.

G'day Zubair - hey just take shots of each one and bang 'em on; I mean look at this set of desirables...

http://www.rivercityamps.com/electraforum/viewtopic.php?t=3621

...I'll bet Paul didn't have enough stands either!!!

We'd surely like to see 'em...

Wow Polly, what a difference! I'll try that soon, especially now that I'm just fresh out of school for summer and have too much free time.

thanks polly yeah i think ill bid on that one as it doesnt look like it would take to much to fix it
fingers crossed
tom

Good luck Tom,

I'll be rooting for you mate.

If you get it, and if you need any help with it, you know where I am, I'll be only too happy to help.

Antoine,

That's great that you are finished for the Summer, you've got no excuse now, get that bridge looking like new and get some photo's put up when it's done!

Pauline :flower: :queen:

tomniv wrote:hey anyone out there just played on a 1a a few days back and fell deeply in love with this guitar does anyone know where i can get one/ have one to sell. or does anyone know any other more easy to obtain guitars that use the same avtive circuit?

Hi there. Good choice on the Thunder 1a. I love mine. Its a dented old all black one so can't compete on the looks front with the nice woody ones but it plays great and when you flick that active switch sounds awsome.

One thing to remember, if there was a particular active circuit you liked the sound of be aware that there are two types of Thunder active circuits out there. IIRC the early ones have variable gain where as the later ones (mine included) have the active tone variable but not adjustment to the active gain boost. As ever, info on the thunder models is on westone.info

hope this helps


David

So, I have had my westone for 10 years now, but I have just found this forum... better late than never!

Anyways, I appreciate the advice for cleaning the bridge! I will be doing that soon. Also, my pickups are corroded as well. Does anyone have any advice to bring them back to health?

Hello Sacketts and Welcome!

I'm glad that you have found the advice for cleaning your bridge to be useful. As for the pickups, try gently scraping away the excess rust from the pole pieces with a small flat screwdriver. Another tip for cleaning the pole pieces up, carefully wrap a small piece of sandpaper tightly over the end of a cotton bud and rub this gently over them to remove any excess dirt and rust. Wipe the whole thing over with a clean, slightly damp cloth.

I hope this helps and please put some photos up in the Members Westones forum when you've done!

Pauline :flower: :queen:

This one seems available : http://instrument-musique.vivastreet.fr/vente-instruments-musique+la-roche-sur-yon-85000/westone-thunder-i-a/9458372

Since the dollar is climbing , 250 euros is not too much imho

The guitar is 80km near my home, so it should be easy to check it is you like

JP

just found another thunder 1A.ebay no is 130270362955 ...

another one on ebay...in uk this time... ebay no
150304601660...

best wishes
hans

Hi All,

If anyone is interested, a local Music Shop has a Thunder II for sale. Apart 30 years of odd scrapes, the only thing that is missing is the back plates ( Can be bought from Westone Spare ). Although two of the knobs are brass as they should be, one is a plastic Strat clone.

The colour is pearlised white, an extremely light yellow with the fixed neck. All yours, apparently, for £200.

Happy Hunting, Steve

http://www.theguitarworkshop.co.uk/

01530 267324