Westone Thunder 3 - you 'avin a larf, or what!?

[Stingray5]

Following on from the optimistic Gibson Grabber (posted recently by @ash), I just spotted this Westone Thunder 3 with a BIN price of £2,000!! Starting bid is 1,400.

As the owner of two of the earlier Thunder II basses (see my signature pic), I can testify that these babies punch well above their weight and are true classics from the Japanese Matsumoku factory.

But 2 grand?! Seriously? Or am I missing something here? 🤨

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324787506820

[BreadBin]

Punching well above their weight only really applied when you could pick them up for a few hundred quid!

[Stingray5]

1 hour ago, BreadBin said:

Punching well above their weight only really applied when you could pick them up for a few hundred quid!

Exactly.

[itsmedunc]

I used a Thunder 3 as my main bass for over 20 years. Great basses. I've still got a Thunder 2 MK2 (I think), it's basically the same as the Thunder 3 apart from the headstock logo. They do punch well above their weight but 2 grand for a 3 is very optimistic! 😂

Maybe he doesn't want to sell it and the other half has insisted that it goes up for sale 😂😁

[King Tut]

I've had my eye out for a iiA or a 3 for a while now. Think I'll knock that search on the head!

[Bassassin]

Ebay always was the last refuge of the eternally hopeful. Or 'idiots', as they are more commonly known.

[TheGreek]

1 hour ago, Bassassin said:

Or 'idiots', as they are more commonly known.

 

"Chancers"

[Bassassin]

19 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

 

"Chancers"

 

Asking 2 grand for a Thunder III, no matter how shiny, more like 'no-chancers'!

[itsmedunc]

52 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

 

"Chancers"

Chidiots? 😁

[lowregisterhead]

Whenever I see one of these, it makes me immediately think of Henry 'Magic Thumb' Thomas and Rockschool. Simpler times...

[prowla]

Has it slipped a decimal point?

[TheGreek]

You could have this instead for a very reasonable price.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224613571992?hash=item344c031d98:g:3BoAAOSwIOlhRM0Y

[Bassassin]

58 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

You could have this instead for a very reasonable price.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224613571992?hash=item344c031d98:g:3BoAAOSwIOlhRM0Y

Will be interesting to see what it fetches - needs a bit of tlc, & given the condition I wouldn't put money on the electronics being functional. About £300-ish would be fair enough but I wouldn't want to pay much more.

[TheGreek]

I haven't seen too many 11's come up TBH but 1a's have been selling for silly money recently. 

 

I'll be keeping my eye on this.

[prowla]

My two Thunders.

[prowla]

2 hours ago, TheGreek said:

You could have this instead for a very reasonable price.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224613571992?hash=item344c031d98:g:3BoAAOSwIOlhRM0Y

 

1 hour ago, Bassassin said:

Will be interesting to see what it fetches - needs a bit of tlc, & given the condition I wouldn't put money on the electronics being functional. About £300-ish would be fair enough but I wouldn't want to pay much more.

£300 seems a bit high for that Thunder 2, given that some of the electrics are broken and the wood around the jack socket is damaged.

You'd also have to factor in finding the right knobs for it.

[Stingray5]

3 hours ago, TheGreek said:

I haven't seen too many 11's come up TBH but 1a's have been selling for silly money recently. 

 

I'll be keeping my eye on this.

Yeah, I may have to re-think my thoughts in my original post. It does seem the old Thunder's are creeping up a little more.  
Here's an original Thunder II, only thing is it's in Japan, going for a tad over $1,800 (£1,300) - plus shipping. 😏🤔 (Seems another dealer has the same bass -- or at least it's the same picture -- at a slightly lower price)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254810812956

[Bassassin]

5 hours ago, TheGreek said:

I haven't seen too many 11's come up TBH but 1a's have been selling for silly money recently. 

 

I'll be keeping my eye on this.

A lot of Ebay hopefuls are asking silly money, but with the occasional exception 1As & 1s still mostly go for £150 - £200-ish. Same as it ever was, really.

 

4 hours ago, prowla said:

£300 seems a bit high for that Thunder 2, given that some of the electrics are broken and the wood around the jack socket is damaged.

You'd also have to factor in finding the right knobs for it.

 It's probably a £400 - £500ish bass in top condition - if the electronics work it would just be tidying to make this one nice. Fortunately these days repro knobs are available for £35 a set.

[prowla]

8 hours ago, Bassassin said:

A lot of Ebay hopefuls are asking silly money, but with the occasional exception 1As & 1s still mostly go for £150 - £200-ish. Same as it ever was, really.

 

 It's probably a £400 - £500ish bass in top condition - if the electronics work it would just be tidying to make this one nice. Fortunately these days repro knobs are available for £35 a set.

I think there's more than just a bit of tidying up, as one of the toggles looks like it's snapped off and the jack socket looks to have had an impact, so it's pushed in at an angle and the wood is damaged.

 

.

[Bassassin]

3 hours ago, prowla said:

I think there's more than just a bit of tidying up, as one of the toggles looks like it's snapped off and the jack socket looks to have had an impact, so it's pushed in at an angle and the wood is damaged.

 

.

I suppose it depends what you consider to be tidying! The jack is the worst bit but looks to me like it could be eased back level, glued from the front & then reinforced inside the route. Replacing a microswitch (prob 2-way) is a part that costs pence & about 10 minutes with a soldeing iron. Maybe a bit more of an issue if it's mounted on a PCB but I don't think these were.

 

Like I say, it's perspective - I spent about 10 years doing this sort of bodge fix - sorry, restoration work - almost as a day job a while ago, so this doesn't look too daunting to me. That said, I'd be keener if the bass was £5 from the car boot instead of £300, like this Thunder 1 guitar I bodged restored was!