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Electra/Westone club

#341
Oh, I want to join the club! WESTONE! I picked up a cool Thunder I and I liked it enough to seek out a fancier Thunder III.
the neck pickup is screwed up, and I screwed it up more trying to fix it so I am looking for a suitable replacement, or a good replacement that can fit well inside the original magnabass cover.
IMG_5219.gif
 
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#342
DanAdams said:
Oh, I want to join the club! WESTONE! I picked up a cool Thunder I and I liked it enough to seek out a fancier Thunder III.
the neck pickup is screwed up, and I screwed it up more trying to fix it so I am looking for a suitable replacement, or a good replacement that can fit well inside the original magnabass cover.
IMG_5219.gif
Click to expand...
What a beautiful pair of basses....My 70's Masada bass is the same wood setup as the top bass except the ash is stained dark....which I don't care for.

The black one on the bottom looks very cool!
 
#343
I picked up a Spectrum 2 with plans to salvage some parts to help fix up some other bass projects I have going on... BUT I CAN"T
Since this was on the bottom of the westone totem, Koren made, I thought it wasn't going to be much of a bass. It sounds incredible, plays like butter, and is easy on the shoulder.
I just find the pointy headstock to be embarrassing, so I'll probably make it less pointy. Or if I'm feeling ambitious I'll biscuit and glue on a new piece of maple, fill the tuner holes and design a new headstock. Westones continue to surprise me ($107 with free shipping)
IMG_5287.jpg
 
#344
It's been a while since I last posted here but Westone has been on my mind recently.Couple of weeks back I was on a UK 80s kick,it was a good time for
Scottish bands. One of the videos had The Primitives playing Crash and the bass player had a Spectrum,forcing me to give mine a bash:thumbsup:.

Then last week this came up again. I've admired it since I followed the build diary,Thunder Jet with a burl birch veneer. After nearly 70 basses I've never owned a
green bass,it was time to rectify that glaring omission.Arrived this afternoon.What do you think folks ? I'll take a better photo in daylight tomorrow.
Thunder Jet front.jpg
Thunder Jet back.jpg
 
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#345
kodiakblair said:
It's been a while since I last posted here but Westone has been on my mind recently.Couple of weeks back I was on a UK 80s kick,it was a good time for
Scottish bands. One of the videos had The Primitives playing Crash and the bass player had a Spectrum,forcing me to give mine a bash:thumbsup:.

Then last week this came up again. I've admired it since I followed the build diary,Thunder Jet with a burl birch veneer. After nearly 70 basses I've never owned a
green bass,it was time to rectify that glaring omission.Arrived this afternoon.What do you think folks ? I'll take a better photo in daylight tomorrow.
View attachment 743266 View attachment 743265
Click to expand...

I sometimes wonder how cool it would be if Matsumoku came back to life, rebuilt their factory, and started making Westones again, this time in cool colors like that. I have seen lots of green guitars but green basses are harder to come by.
 
#347
Very nice Dan. How's the availability of Westones your side of the water ? Casting my hazy mind back to the 80s I remember they had a strong presence in the UK.
Before the publication of the magazine Guitarist the music papers Sounds,NME and Melody Maker all carried gear ads,both trade and private, Westone basses were
always there.

This may be in part due to endorsee Henry " Thumb " Thomas,he was the bass player on the BBC's show Rock School.Most UK players in the late 30s to early 50s will
remember this show fondly,though a Punk fella the episode on Funk sticks out as a highlight.First time I'd ever heard Bootsy talk,Nile Rodgers had a short interview too.

My apologises for drifting OT. Keeping an eye out for a Thunder IIA in 2016,my luck the white T-40 with blades I have my name on will happen the same time:D

More pictures when you have time please Dan:thumbsup:
 
#348
Westones died along with hair metal. Westone bet the farm on the pointy headstock/garish color design/optional snakeskin finish etc. movement in the late 80s just before grunge hit.
I don't know the real history, but that seems about right to me. the earlier in the 80s models are cooler, although there are some bonkers pointy ones then too, and a few later models that still seem really cool today.
Most weeks there are about four or five on eBay USA. I waited a long time for the Thunder 3(b) to show up, and I'm glad I was paying attention when one was listed. the sell price was only $203 and it's an unbelievable instrument (pictured a few posts back with a thunder 1)

kodiakblair said:
Very nice Dan. How's the availability of Westones your side of the water ? Casting my hazy mind back to the 80s I remember they had a strong presence in the UK.
Before the publication of the magazine Guitarist the music papers Sounds,NME and Melody Maker all carried gear ads,both trade and private, Westone basses were
always there.

This may be in part due to endorsee Henry " Thumb " Thomas,he was the bass player on the BBC's show Rock School.Most UK players in the late 30s to early 50s will
remember this show fondly,though a Punk fella the episode on Funk sticks out as a highlight.First time I'd ever heard Bootsy talk,Nile Rodgers had a short interview too.

My apologises for drifting OT. Keeping an eye out for a Thunder IIA in 2016,my luck the white T-40 with blades I have my name on will happen the same time:D

More pictures when you have time please Dan:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
 
#350
DanAdams said:
Westones died along with hair metal. Westone bet the farm on the pointy headstock/garish color design/optional snakeskin finish etc. movement in the late 80s just before grunge hit.
Click to expand...

I think the Matsumoku factory burning down had more of an impact than the death of hair metal. Matsumoku was making musical instruments for decades prior to the 80s. My Spectrum doesn't have pointy headstock, anyway.
 
#351
To be fair Dan's Spectrum 2 has a similar headstock to the Washburn ABT series Matsu built for a short while,no accounting for taste here
as I've owned 4 of them:jawdrop::jawdrop:

I knew I spoke too soon earlier,there's a lovely Thunder III on the market just now:woot: but so is a Peavey prototype Resodrool
 
#352
Sure, actually history is getting in the way of my imaginary history ;)
If the Westone brand's chosen style wasn't on it's deathbed I'm sure the brand would have found a way to exist successfully in the post Matsumoku era.
My latest spectrum DX has the old style headstock. It was around 87 when they seemed to go mostly pointy.
Spectrum said:
I think the Matsumoku factory burning down had more of an impact than the death of hair metal. Matsumoku was making musical instruments for decades prior to the 80s. My Spectrum doesn't have pointy headstock, anyway.
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#353
It's assembled, and I'm very pleased with the results. Sanding only the flat parts turned out pretty cool if you ask me.
The Spectrum DX claims to have a hot pickup and they ain't lying. I have to engage the pad switch on my amp to avoid clipping.
I'm digging the simplicity of a one pickup bass, and having a split coil closer to the bridge than a p-bass gives more edge. I'm sure being solid maple doesn't hurt either.
I would always prefer having too much top end and roll it off rather than not having enough and add hiss.
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[/URL]
 
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#357
DanAdams said:
It's assembled, and I'm very pleased with the results. Sanding only the flat parts turned out pretty cool if you ask me.
The Spectrum DX claims to have a hot pickup and they ain't lying. I have to engage the pad switch on my amp to avoid clipping.
I'm digging the simplicity of a one pickup bass, and having a split coil closer to the bridge than a p-bass gives more edge. I'm sure being solid maple doesn't hurt either.
I would always prefer having too much top end and roll it off rather than not having enough and add hiss.
IMG_5432.jpg
[/URL]
Click to expand...

Wow, that is beautiful. Looks like Rickenbacker's Mapleglo finish. Lots of basses don't look nearly that good with bare wood.

About the hot pickups; that looks like a Magnabass III I think. My Spectrum GT has one of those on the neck and a Magnabass IV on the bridge, and like you said, you have to treat them almost like active pickups to avoid clipping, they are very hot compared to my Ric or my Squier.
 
#358
Hello all, I have been among the missing for quite awhile. Nice to see the club is still growing .
Dan Adams , looks like you are number 52.
Welcome to our little group.
Love the Thunders.
To all my Electra Westone Bass Brothers ,I wish you Happy Holidays
Love,Light and Peace. May your gigs be many, your grooves be plenty,and your tones be low.
 
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#359
I'm really digging the Spectrum DX (pictured above) but the front strap button location... Pure idiocy.
It's a good thing I have fast reflexes or this bass would have hit the ground several times already.
What were they thinking? I put a different button and it's still bad. Straplocks required!
 

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