Oakland (by Westone/Matsumoko?)

A guy in Frankfurt is selling this neck-thru that I might be able to score.  Seem to check all the boxes for a Mats axe, and there is some confirmation on the Westone site that Oaklands were made by them.  Only the headstock seems a bit misplaced.  The serial number suggests 1980.  It might even be a re-branded TS-800 (for which there is no data other than it existed).

Just found a Thunder I bass on Ebay where the headstock shows the Westone logo across the top and "Oakland by" between the tuners plus the properly engraved truss cover.

The axe WILL be actively pursued!  And is equipped with MMK-53s

Good luck it looks very nice

Yup, Oakland was a Mats!

As I mentioned, I am definitely going after this one.  I've corresponded with the owner and turns out we were near neighbors around 20 years ago.  Unfortunately, the axe is on the fleabay site or he would have probably accepted what I'll be able to shell out (I'm hoping it won't be even THAT much!).

You can see an "Oakland by Westone" brand on Thunder model on our website HERE
I don't know of any definitive info on who or what Oakland was.

Your model looks very much like a prototype of the Thunder line.

Good luck getting it!

Its the blue neckthru Skylark with controls of the middle model. http://www.matsumoku.org/models/skylark/skylark_info.html

Ah, yes, interesting Chris. Forgot about the Skylarks.
Still no idea who Oakland was though.

Such an incestuous fellow was our Uncle Mats!
Really dig that blue one.

Here's a thread regards Oakland
Oakland

3 - 2 - 1 - WON!

Nice!

Excellent!!

Congrats

Picked it up and went directly to my Son who is staying with his girlfriend till the crisis is over. The axe has only one small chip on the upper horn where the strap pin is located. The guy I got it from had it for 25 years and hadn't played it for the past 6. The strings are 7 years old!

Otherwise the pup hardly looks more than a week old.

I let my Son have the honor to play it first, ten he tried to bribe me with dinner to leave it with him... The SOUND that thing produced was astounding - he was flabbergasted (me too!)! There are 9 - 43's on it so I need to order a set and the setup does not seem to need any tweaking. I'll run it thru my Bugera tomorrow.

Paid more than I was hoping but a BUNCH less than I expected. Photos will be forthcoming.

Can't wait!!

Here are two of the body - front and back.  The rear shot is with the aluminum electronics cover removed showing the isolation paint cavity.  The front shows that there is virtually no oxidation on the metal parts.  Really hard to believe that this thing is 40 years old!

I dig it!!

Wowser! 

Sweet

Adding another Oakland (Mats, not the Cushin "Oakland & Co") to my stable.  This time it is a ZXB200 bass.  Just have to deposit a check and hope it clears quickly (it's an IRS check and I don't know how the German banks will treat it ).  Similar electronics to the XB-100 6-string with boost circuit and rotary "varitone" plus the three micro switches, so it should have nearly unlimited sound capabilities.

Only two obvious negatives that should not affect the playability - a small ding on the neck and the rrather unsightly chip on the edge of the lower bout.  Rather unusual to see an output jack of this type, but some claim it is actually more reliable .

The MUSICMAN case is also in the deal.




And I thought my GAS was cured .  At least I held out a month...

A beauty Pete.
More controls than the deck of the Starship Enterprise!

Looks like it'll keep you occupied until the next pandemic!

He shoots, he SCORES!!!!!!!

Also, on the original score, MMK53's are my favorite. My AP2 PE-R60 has them and its easily one of my best sounding guitars.

Had a slight setback today.  My bank (Postbank) would not accept a US Treasury check - not even for collection - so I'm off in the morning to cancel my account and switch banks.  They have lousy conditions anyway.  I sent the seller a deposit, so it's mine in any case - will just take a few days more...

As for the MMK-53's,  They sound really nice!  I am looking at a Westone "RAINBOW" where the seller is offering it (for too much) with a set of Bill Lawrence humbuckers (presently installed) for an extra cost and claiming the the 53's that were in it "sounded weak".

53s Weak? pft...

They're not as shouty as 45s, but they sure aren't 'weak'...

Rainbow's have 75's but maybe not all??

Have had a Prestige 227 fitted with factory 45's covers an' all.

Bass due to arrive this coming Friday !

Woke up this morning to the sound of the doorbell.  BIG package with a very nice bass guitar in a MusicMan case  !  A whole day earlier than anticipated (like, 24 hour delivery).  Needs a bit of cleanup (photos afterward) - brass bits are kinda cruddy and the XLR connector is quite corroded - but as soon as my neighbor wakes up I'll plug it in for a "figure-it-out" run.

Don't know what the XLR connector is for (stereo?), as there is also a normal jack and a 5-position rotary switch in addition to the normal pickup selector and the switch directly south of the tone knob is for the boost circuit.

Just looked inside the control cavity.  It appears that the XLR connector might have been added as a secondary connection as it is hooked up directly to the normal phone jack and the wire channel is not as cleanly drilled as the other holes.

ExFender wrote:...Don't know what the XLR connector is for (stereo?)...

No, not for stereo.
As you correctly pointed out it has been added by a previous owner. XLR connectors are seldom seen on production instruments.

The main reason to add one, the only one really, is that it allows for the use of a much longer cable than with a standard 1/4" cable hookup, apparently upwards of 100ft (30m) without signal loss! It's likely a previous owner was playing on large stages or moved around a lot and needed the extra length.

But under normal playing conditions and distances XLR cables can introduce a lot of noise and require a lot of EQ fiddling, so they are not too practical.

These days it's easier to just go wireless if you need room to move.

Plugged it in this afternoon and let it play me for about two hours (my fingers hurt!).  Everything works - even the boost circuit - with only the main selector switch having an intermittent at the bridge position (the detente is kinda weak and prolly dirty).  It's a sealed switch so I'll likely have to separate it from the body to give it a squirt.  When the signal was able to get thru, it sounds great.

Two DiMarzio's DO sound nice!  The "varitone" has very definite tone differences in all pickup configs and the three mini-switches seem to be 2x "dual-sound" and 1 phase reverse - also very noticeable.

I misstated the middle pot/knob as the tone control - it is the boost gain.  Tone is the rearmost.

There is some string buzz on the "G" string (no, not my girlfriend's ), but the neck has some relief and the action is actually a bit high - intonation seems spot-on - so I'm suspecting a high fret or two (buzz is from the 5th thru 7th frets).   Fretting tools that I ordered are due tomorrow, so I have my work cut out for me on the weekend.

As for the XLR gizmo, I'll probably replace it wiht a nice new one with a brass  top plate just for better looks.

This baby is HEAVY (4.6Kg -10lb, 2oz) and very top heavy (long scale with the bridge a long ways from the rear strap pin).

Sounds like a winner Pete! Nice.

That XLR socket does look like a pimple on the Mona Lisa eh?
Unless you plan on actually using it I'd rather see the hole capped with a matching wood plate. There's already enough clutter on the deck of that Starship.

Not long before my mishap toward the end of August, another ZXB200 popped up (MINT condition with original case ) for not much more than I paid for mine.  It also had the XLR socket, so I assume it was a standard feature.

XLR connections were not unknown on some early Mats models.
Perhaps also available as an option??

Ich habe meinen Oakland Bass 2002 gefunden, da war er schon ~30 Jahre alt, aber in sehr gutem Zustand. Ich musste mich an den langen Hals gewöhnen, aber er klingt wirklich perfekt, besonders für die Rock-Sachen, die ich spiele. Tolles Sustain, einfache aber effiziente "Elektronik" und hübsche Optik - kaum zu glauben, dass ich schnell nichts dafür bezahlt habe... Ich liebe es!