Aria or Westone

[Quin]

Hey,

I dont really know where to put this but I need some advice. I have to choose between a Westone Thunder II bass (the early version with PJ style pickups and neck through, wood finish) or an Aria Pro II Sb-700. They westone would cost me 700 (with original case) and the Aria 500 (without case). Which one gives me the most bass for the money? I cant choose both :/. Im leaning more towarde the westone for the diversity of its sound.

 

Thanks!!

[Doctor J]

Just be aware that many of the Arias imported have really, really narrow string spacing at the bridge. If that's not an issue, cool, but it would be a deal breaker for me. The ones with the oval and dot inlays on the neck are usually normally spaced, the necks with just dots are usually very narrow.

[Sparky Mark]

There are probably better PJ available new than the Westone. They were decent basses in their day (esp. Thunder 1A) but are average by today's standards and possibly heavyweight if that's a consideration. Aria SB1000 is the only model I'd look at owning again if it was cheap enough. 

[Quin]

thanks for the advise, and yeah. I know they are on the heavy heavy side but thats not too much of a problem for me. and yes I reckon there are plenty of better basses but i dont know, i just like the idea of old matsumoku instruments. I have an old washburn raven guitar too and I really want a bass of around the same age I guess. Ill take some time to think, thanks again!

But isnt it a benefit of older basses (around 80s) that when u buy them second hand they only appreciate in value generally speaking? 

 

[Grahambythesea]

700 (do you mean £s) for a Westone seems somewhat excessive!

[Rayman]

I have a couple of Aria Integras, great basses, well made, MIK, the electrics are decent I'm no hurry to upgrade anything, but they're heavy. The 5er is very weighty. As far as Westone, I can only remember what we thought of them in the late 70s early 80s..... just ok. The Thunder 1 was a common starter bass, I wasn't overly excited by the one my mate had, but the Thunder 3 is meant to be a sought after 'classic' these days. I've seen some silly asking prices, in MY opinion, for some of these old MIJ basses, but each to their own. 

[Boodang]

I like Westones basses for the way they play and I've always had a Thunder 1a in my collection but.... they're heavy beasts and the original electronics and pickups were not great. My Thunder has a Bartolini pickup and Aguilar preamp. As nice as it is £700 seems a lot for a Thunder II especially if it has original electronics which would benefit from being swapped out. 

[Sparky Mark]

15 minutes ago, Quin said:

thanks for the advise, and yeah. I know they are on the heavy heavy side but thats not too much of a problem for me. and yes I reckon there are plenty of better basses but i dont know, i just like the idea of old matsumoku instruments. I have an old washburn raven guitar too and I really want a bass of around the same age I guess. Ill take some time to think, thanks again!

But isnt it a benefit of older basses (around 80s) that when u buy them second hand they only appreciate in value generally speaking? 

 

Those 80's Japanese basses will only appreciate to a certain point. Like all vintage stuff, once us oldies that have fond memories of them first time around retire, their prices will probably decline back to their intrinsic value.

[barkin]

13 minutes ago, Quin said:

They westone would cost me 700 (with original case)

Crikey, is that what they go for these days?

[tubbybloke68]

There’s an Ibanez musician for £700 on bass players U.K. market place, the seller’s probably on here aswell I’d have thought.If you want Japanese 80’s quality get that if it’s still available, streets ahead of a westone and most Arias. Just a thought 

best of luck x 

[tubbybloke68]

£700 is an awful lot for a thunder II A in my humble opinion x

[dudewheresmybass]

If you're a fan of the matsumoku instruments, don't discount the Westburys.

Lovely build, and with dimarzio pups iirc.

I have two, and they sound immense

 

But of those two, I'd go for the Aria

Edited January 26, 2022 by dudewheresmybass

[stewblack]

Aria. Every time.

[Grahambythesea]

Did just have a sneaky peak on that Auction site, there a rather a lot at BIN in the price range mentioned. As there are quite a few, may be they’re not selling.

[Quin]

sorry I forgot to mention that I'm dutch, so it was in euro. If im not mistaken 700 euro is like 590 pounds and 500 euro is 420 pounds. Ill add some pics of the basses to avoid any confusion because there are way too many diferent thunder II's haha. and yeah I am really tempted to get the Aria but I have no suitable case and can only use public transport because I'm still a student. Both of them are in a surprisinly good condition too. Im really surprised by all the comments so thank you all :)) 

 

Edited January 26, 2022 by Quin

[Grimalkin]

I owned an Aria SB-R60 in the '80s, I had a Westone Thunder 1A fretless too. What I should have bought, is a Tune Bass Maniac, but they were expensive at the time.

[Boodang]

Hmm, both nice. I know what you mean about the matsumoku instruments, for me it's the neck profile which has a flattened U shape unlike others that I like.

Also bear in mind that a case like the Protection Racket semi rigid would only be about €90 and they have shoulder straps as well as handles that make them easier to carry around public transport than a normal hard case.

[Skybone]

If it were me, I'd go for the Westone, more for the rarity, and the fact that I always wanted one after watching Henry Thomas using one on "Rock School" on BBC2.

 

As much as I love the Aria SB basses, the Westone wins this one. Although it will probably be a bit heavier than the Aria.

[Woodwind]

Based on those 2 photos and the prices stated, It would be a no brainer for the Aria for me.

 

As @Boodangsays you can get a very good, portable semi rigid gig bag for not a huge amount of cash

[Grimalkin]

Those two basses are going to sound very different. What kind of sound are you after?

[Quin]

4 minutes ago, Grimalkin said:

Those two basses are going to sound very different. What kind of sound are you after?

Well, one thing i do find important is that the bass doesnt really get drowned out by the guitar, I play with a little band sometimes but we really play a lot of different genres so that would be hard to say. A big benefit for the westone is that i could switch it active or passive and between pickups etc. But i grew up listening to duran duran because of my dad and John Taylor used an SB700 on the first album, and I do like that bass tone a lot. I'm just slightly scared that the aria is not as flexible as I want it to be

[Roger2611]

I sold a mint Thunder III last year for £450.00 so 700 euros is a lot for a Thunder II and as others have said, they are heavy beasts, personally I would go for the Aria

[Quin]

29 minutes ago, Skybone said:

If it were me, I'd go for the Westone, more for the rarity, and the fact that I always wanted one after watching Henry Thomas using one on "Rock School" on BBC2.

 

As much as I love the Aria SB basses, the Westone wins this one. Although it will probably be a bit heavier than the Aria.

I've seen that too, and I really like the sound he gets out of it too. plus, I like the little snowflakes on the fretboard and ebony :p, I wish I could just get both

[Grimalkin]

1 minute ago, Quin said:

Well, one thing i do find important is that the bass doesnt really get drowned out by the guitar, I play with a little band sometimes but we really play a lot of different genres so that would be hard to say. A big benefit for the westone is that i could switch it active or passive and between pickups etc. But i grew up listening to duran duran because of my dad and John Taylor used an SB700 on the first album, and I do like that bass tone a lot. I'm just slightly scared that the aria is not as flexible as I want it to be

 

The SB-R60 single pickup Aria I had, had its own sound, quite middley, but I couldn't describe it as that versatile. Then again, I think the P pickup on the Westone, is a little far forward than you might like, if you're going for '80s definition. I'd be a lot happier if that front pickup was moved back by an inch. Ideally, you need to play them. Are you dead-set on an '80s bass? Older is not always better.

[Quin]

5 minutes ago, Grimalkin said:

 

The SB-R60 single pickup Aria I had, had its own sound, quite middley, but I couldn't describe it as that versatile. Then again, I think the P pickup on the Westone, is a little far forward than you might like, if you're going for '80s definition. I'd be a lot happier if that front pickup was moved back by an inch. Ideally, you need to play them. Are you dead-set on an '80s bass? Older is not always better.

I'd like one, but it's not completely necessary. I just want something unique and those matsumoku basses just appeal to me. I can try my best to play them both, maybe It will clear things up a bit. Thanks