Westone - US Design - Development History

posted the Presley info here:
http://forum.westoneguitars.net/t2288-tp-qa-on-trevor-rabin-signature-models

I did too, and my Q & A has been here since I received it - about the Bendmaster bridges.

While I agree with Barry in no uncertain terms, I also know that there's sometimes an overwhelming desire to know something esoteric about an instrument and to have TP in here, well, the opportunity just presents itself, really eh!! That said, there are an awful lot of other people in here with knowledge that is none too shabby - I've been helped all the way along this quest of mine by bods in here from long time users to new people; so rather than just pop off a PM to TP, post the question here and one of us just may have the answer!! Thorn may still be about and his knowledge is right up there and I do hope he'll join in again sometime; bout, colt, sarcaster, hoax, Westbone, Barry and loads more have all helped me over the months and years and hopefully I've helped people as well: we have a great wee community in here!!

Bugging TP with questions about an instruments' current market value is crass at best; just as it is here....

I have a bunch of questions...no rush in answering them:

- Why was the Westone line closed and replaced with Alvarez? Was there a feeling that the Westone brand reputation had been lost or something?

- Why was the variation between versions of the Spectrum guitar bigger than between the Spectrum and the Corsair?
Put another way, what was the decision-making process behind the marketing?
background: In 1987, both the Spectrum II XA1220 and the Corsair XA1420 had the same body shape, 22 frets, same headstock, same pickup configuration, same electronics configuration. The only real differences were the XA1420 had active pickups, the XA1420 had binding, and the body wood was different (ash for the Spectrum II vs poplar for the XA1420). But the Spectrum II (XA1230) and III (XA1330) had poplar body wood like the Corsair...half the time I forget my XA1420 is a Corsair and call it a Spectrum. It seems like the XA1220 is the one that is the most different...
And then the Genesis I and II had poplar bodies, as well (except for the solid ash TBR model). So it really seems like the only difference between the XA1330 and XA1630 is the body shape. Even the pickups and controls are identical.
Even more stark: look at the specs page for 1988:
http://www.westoneguitars.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/069.jpg
There is very little variation across that range. The Spectrum I is the only one I could call a truly different guitar.
Was this just due to the transition from Matsumoku Westone to the MIK line?

More to come...I'll separate them to make it easier to answer separately.

corsair wrote:I did too, and my Q & A has been here since I received it - about the Bendmaster bridges.

Can you point me to the Q&A about the bridges? I can't find it.

In the 1989 Catalog, we see the Magnaflux name for pickups dropped and two new names:
Heatwave & Stylist.
It seems like the Heatwave are Alnico and the Stylist are Ferrite, correct?
But those names only appear in 1989.
In the 1990 Catalog, the only Westone-specific name I can find is "Powersound" on the Villain standard. Everything is either not named, a Trever Rabin signature, Dan Sutcliffe pickup, or EMG Select. What happened to the Stylist pickups?

The Challenger is probably my favorite guitar ever. It has perfect ergonomics for me, perfect action, perfect neck and the best tone I've ever heard on a guitar. Maybe that last part is just due to my taste, but since I'm a greedy fellow, I want to find more Westone/Alvarez guitars like it. Which other pickups, either prior to 1989 or after, is likely to have the same tone as the Stylists?

How do the Stylist, Heatwave, and Powersound pickups compare to the old MMK45, in terms of specifications? How involved were you with the design of these three pickup lines?

really enjoyed reading those articles

Indeed a very informative thread ! Thanks for that.

I would love to hear a story about the Pantera X790 bass