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Electra/Westone club

#141
Thanks Wolfmancharlie ,32is perfect. I will let you know after a jam, we need a set first lol but a gig shall come.

TRichardsbass , yes it was on the Evilbay , until I saw it , was hooked on the red and black . There is just something about that combo of colors, on just about everything too , that makes it look badass.
 
#144
I own an Electra P bass copy that I believe must be late '60s of early '70s as I don't think they had aftermarket P Bass pickups yet. The pickup in this looks like the chrome covered neck pickup in a Telecaster. It's natural ash with a maple bolt on neck and maple fretboard. Any ideas?
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#145
Bornagnhooligan said:
Thanks Wolfmancharlie ,32is perfect. I will let you know after a jam, we need a set first lol but a gig shall come.

TRichardsbass , yes it was on the Evilbay , until I saw it , was hooked on the red and black . There is just something about that combo of colors, on just about everything too , that makes it look badass.
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I live here in NJ, would love to hop up and see it sometime. And darn you, I wanted that one. ;)
 
#148
It's finished!!!! Here's my latest project... I picked up a ratted out Concord I bass body on TalkBass, and this is what it became...

Ingredients: Westone Concord Bass I body, Washburn Force 8 BBR Bass neck, Electra Phoenix Pickups and series/parallel switch, Musicman copy bridge, Grover Titan bass tuning machines (I really like), new full size pots, switchcraft jack, Orange Drop tone cap, custom pickguard.

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And here's a comparison shot. Top one is a pic of a Concord I that's on eBay right now. and it's exactly what this one looked like when it was new...

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and a recap of it's progression...

How I got it...
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Layout the cut-lines
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Wood cutting done
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Best pic of actual color
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#149
I'm not a Westone owner any more, so I don't need a number, but I do have some pictures to share :).

My first ever bass, in 1984, was a Westone Thunder 1A (in gloss black). Like many players in the UK at that time, I was a devotee of the TV program "Rock School" and used to love to see Henry "King Thumb" Thomas grooving away each week on his Thunder III :bassist: ...

Rockschool - Series 1 - Ep.2 - Tuning (Part 1 of 3) - YouTube

Now you all know how to tune your basses :D. Anyway, back to the Westones ...

I liked the build quality of it, but once I started to try out Fender copy basses (Squier Vintage Js and Ps), I realised that they had the tone that I was after and I drifted away from the modern Japanese basses altogether.

25 years later, nostalgia got the better of me and I couldn't resist getting myself another Thunder 1A, just to see if the sound was any better than I remembered it. Sadly, it wasn't :p and I was still left with the feeling that the instrument lacked any of the crispness and dynamics of a Fender bass :ninja:. It was a pretty looking one though ...

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At about the same time, I decided to try and find the Westone that I'd dreamed of ever since it came out and I saw one being used at a New Model Army gig (in about 1986), the Spectrum GT :hyper:. I got one. A nice looking one (again). I played it and loved the feel of it :smug:. I plugged it in and played through all of the tone and pickup settings. It sounded like garbage :hmm:. Clearly there was something wrong with it, but I never managed to figure why it sounded as 'muddy' as it did (all of the controls did something, but I could never get much tonal range out of it, even with new batteries, strings etc.). So, I only kept this one for a month, but again it's a nice bass to look at ....

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I feel a bit bad about coming here and saying that I didn't like the sound of these basses, as I know that many people really rate them :hmm:. Still, I very much admire the designs and the excellent build quality.

As the catalogue rightly said though, these basses were "Hot Stuff" back in '85/'86 ...
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Hope you enjoyed the pics ;).
 
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#153
Fender32'
Thanks for posting your pic's. I am just sorry that you couldn't connect with your 2 Westones but different strokes for different folks. My Thunder 1 actualy was getting more and more muddy sounding but my tech put new pots in and it is back to being itself again. Won't ever let it go. I also have a couple of Fender basses and guitars and love their tones but I still gotta say I love my 3 Westones best. I think it is amazing how so many Electras and Westones are still kicking it all these years later and they still look and sound soooo good.
 
#154
wolfmancharlie said:
mcbrat,
Absolutely love what you did with the concord.Looks fantastic. Custom pickguard and knobs are cool. What pickup did you put in and how is the tone ? Thanks for sharing with us.
Click to expand...

Its a pickup from an electra x-640 along with the series/parallel switch.
 
#156
got to work from home today, so took a break at lunch to crank the amp up a bit. It sounds really good, and I like the neck better than the x-640. The series/parallel switch really gives it a different sound. massive bass cut. more treble than my ElectraFaker wired like a vintage 4001 with a real RIC bridge pup.
 
#158
wolfmancharlie said:
Fender32'
Thanks for posting your pic's. I am just sorry that you couldn't connect with your 2 Westones but different strokes for different folks. My Thunder 1 actualy was getting more and more muddy sounding but my tech put new pots in and it is back to being itself again. Won't ever let it go. I also have a couple of Fender basses and guitars and love their tones but I still gotta say I love my 3 Westones best. I think it is amazing how so many Electras and Westones are still kicking it all these years later and they still look and sound soooo good.
Click to expand...

Actually, it could have been the pots which made my GT sound so dull, as I remember them as (historically) very bright and punchy basses.
 

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