Wilco

No, not all immediately recent - obtained over the last year in various ways. First one was the Thunder 3 fretted, acquired locally about a year ago. It was the classic been under the bed for 20 years job, but had a failed pickup, green frets & was a bit sad looking generally. I could see it was fundamentally sound though and just needed a lot of TLC, which I gave it & got the pick up fixed by Kent Armstrong via my local (most excellent) music store, Kempsters. Second one was the Thunder 1A, picked up off of here about 6 months ago. Paid probably top dollar for this one, but it did come with an original case. Also needed some TLC but not as much as my first one did. My first ‘proper’ bass as a teenager in the ‘80’s was a Thunder 1A. By now I was smitten with my more recently acquired Westone’s, & the 1A sounded even better than I remembered when played through my modern decent backline. So when a mint Thunder 3 fretless came up for sale about three months ago at Bass Direct, I was in like a shot! No second thoughts. Due to a talent shortfall on my part, the fretless will probably stay a home player lol. The fretted 3 & 1A have both been out on rehearsal duty already & sounded brilliant. I’d never owned a Thunder 3 before and after playing bass for 40 years or so, I’d say the one I have is one of the nicest basses I have ever heard. Very happy with this trio, it has to be said 🙂.

First rehearsal with a new band. 70’s Disco covers so plenty of notes to get through! Thunder 3 performed superbly well. It drew some very positive comments about looks & sound. Would gig this bass very happily without any second thoughts at all. 🙂

Top stuff. Taking my Thunder 3 to rehearsal tomorrow night.

My first ‘proper’ bass was a Thunder 1A back in the mid eighties. In the last year I have purchased two III’s & a 1A. Yes they have their ‘issues’ - balance on a strap, weight, & the treble side of the pre-amp is not great. However, I can get very, very useable sounds out of each, the materials used are top notch, the construction is high quality, & playability is a breeze. I love all three. I’ve probably spent about £1k on them in total. A couple of my other basses I spent that on each one. Those are superb basses too, but the Westone’s have kinda questioned my sanity on expensive bass purchases it has to be said…..

Very much so in conjunction with the actual weight obviously. A few years ago at the same time I had a Steinberger Synapse & a very ‘heavy’ mark 1 Sire Jazz. The Synapse felt like a feather in comparison on a strap. Turned out they were both the same weight…..

Thanks - feel lucky to have that one + these two.

I’ve bought my third Westone Thunder in less than a year. This time a Thunder 3 fretless. Bloomin’ lovely it is too & matches my fretted Thunder 3 nicely. Well pleased.

Picked up this Thunder 1A a couple of months ago from @geoff90guitar . Could see it was fundamentally a solid instrument that just needed a bit of fettling. Had a neck shim in which wasn’t actually needed so that came out, & there was a stuck solid pick up screw that my local guitar shop (Kempsters) sorted for me. Other than that, just a load of elbow grease on all parts. It’s 39 years old with some just right minimal mojo - very pleased with the end result! 🙂

Also, it was a limited edition so getting one now might be difficult. I believe you can patch a Bass Station 2 with the AFX software upgrade though.

Thanks. The AFX is a very cool piece of kit. I’m discovering new things about it daily! It’s probably a bit of overkill for what I need, but kinda saw it and had to have it! 😆

I love synths & the range of sexy noises they can produce. Below is the set up I’ve recently put together (which obviously includes a bass synth!!) Novation AFX Station / Roland JD-XI / McMillen 12 Step midi controller The 12 step is plugged into the Roland and I can trigger pads/strings or whatever with my feet whilst still playing my bass. I could midi through into the Novation too, but that’s not needed at the mo. The 12 Step is part of my bass pedal board now.

My Thunder 1A fretless has long gone (what was I thinking 🤦🏼‍♂️), but remiss of me not to add my latest Matsumoku to this thread. A tasty Thunder III.

Thank you - very pleased with how it turned out. The shop is in my hometown - Swindon.

So, I was a teen newbie bass player in the 80’s. Like many a young bassist of the era, I played a Westone at some point - a Thunder 1A in my case. Always had fond memories, so when this Thunder 3 came up for sale locally, I just had to have it. It was in a sorry state (it is 35 years old) - grimy fretboard, broken off screw on the battery cover & worst of all, & no sound from the front pick up, but I could see potential. I was told it had been in a case for most of its life & judging by the minimal fret wear, I can believe that. With a bit of elbow grease from me, the skills of my local guitar shop (Kempsters), & Armstrong pickups, it is now fully functioning and a most welcome addition to my little collection. Sounds epic through modern amplification and the neck is a joy - low action & perfectly set frets make it a breeze to play. Yes, first fret feels a reach & it is weighty at 10.3lbs, but overall it’s superb. Very happy.

I’m afraid I don’t knooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow 🤷🏼‍♂️