Westone bass guitars - what do people think of them?

[rjb]

Great basses. Am tempted to pick up a fretless Thunder if I can find one.

Edited July 30, 2009 by rjb

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='jhk' post='555520' date='Jul 29 2009, 08:04 PM']+1 on the above

`thunder` series is really the one to consider.

good luck ![/quote]


Or the quantum headless - brilliant bit of kit and great for lugging around hotels etc

[Marvin]

Just seen a thunder 1A in my local music store. Look the biz. Was sorely tempted.

[Kiwi]

[quote name='john_the_bass' post='555420' date='Jul 29 2009, 06:38 PM']The Spectrums aren't as good as the Thunder series (which are very good indeed).
It's worth watching ebay as you'll get a much better Thunder for less that the price of that Spectrum[/quote]
As an ex-owner of a Spectrum II, I couldn't wait to get rid of mine. The Westone Super Headless basses are the best instruments they've ever made and they pop up on Ebay occasionally. I think the Bass Gallery had one in a while back.

[waynepunkdude]

I'm going to buy a Thunder at some point just to see what the fuss is about.

[4000]

[quote name='Count Bassy' post='556542' date='Jul 30 2009, 08:29 PM']Or the quantum headless - brilliant bit of kit and great for lugging around hotels etc[/quote]

I used one of those for years in preference to the Ric I had at the time (my 1st). Great bass for the money.

[markdavid]

[quote name='CathalOC' post='555354' date='Jul 29 2009, 05:35 PM']Hello everyone

I just joined yesterday. I have been playing bass for years without knowing a whole lot about bass guitars.

I played a Westone in a shop yesterday. I had never heard of the make before and it sounded pretty nice.

It is called Westone Spectrum GT Bass and the shop owner reckons it was made in 1985.

It's in reasonable condition and on sale for £199. I had a look at some older threads and did a google search on Westone but I was hoping that some of you might be able to enlighten me on these guitars and whether or not it sounds like a good deal.

thanks in advance

Cathal[/quote]
I know its not much help but I generally tend to think that a bass is worth whatever a person is willing to pay , I saw a Westone bass in a shop near me for £200 and would have bought it if I was not completely skint at the time, I would say try it and see if you like it , it will certainly be no worse than a lot of basses in the £200 range

[Musky]

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='556574' date='Jul 30 2009, 08:58 PM']As an ex-owner of a Spectrum II, I couldn't wait to get rid of mine. The Westone Super Headless basses are the best instruments they've ever made and they pop up on Ebay occasionally. I think the Bass Gallery had one in a while back.[/quote]

That would be because the Spectrum II's weren't built by Matsumoku.

(Cheers for that link Jon. Most informative.)

[tauzero]

[quote name='Count Bassy' post='556542' date='Jul 30 2009, 08:29 PM']Or the quantum headless - brilliant bit of kit and great for lugging around hotels etc[/quote]
I had one, I was able to transport it plus a GK 200MB (plus a leads and effects bag and a sleeping bag) on the back of my bike. Not a bad little bass.

[Krysbass]

The only problem with Westones is/was that they aren't expensive enough for some people. Other people don't like them because they don't have "Fender" printed on the headstock or because the base models were popular with beginners, the higher spec models are perceived as lacking "the right image".

But if you cut through all that superficial stuff, don't let yourself be a guitar snob and judge an instrument purely on its own merits, then you'll find that Westones are extremely well made and still put many contemporary manufacturers to shame. They may have been cheep, but they certainly were never low quality.

Rant over.

My first decent bass was a Thunder 1A and loved it so much that the logical upgrade was to the Thunder III bass I bought new back in 1985 and still use as my main bass today. If you can get hold of a Thunder II or III then I'd strongly recommend you check it out.

Just to summarise, you get these sort of features for your hard-earned cash on a Westone Thunder III;

5 different woods used in the construction, including an ebony fingerboard
a beatifully constructed laminated thru neck
a solid brass bridge
18v active electronics, but with a bypass switch, giving you passive tones too.

I could go on, but I'm getting boring now, so I'll leave it there. Hope this helps

[geddy76]

I had a passive P-type Westone, natural wood.  Got it from Cash Converters for £90 I believe, back in 1996.  I remember it being fairly difficult to play with high action, which when fixed, was still fairly high.  It had a nice woody tone to it, but it wasn't balanced well.  I gave it to a friend's younger brother  because he wanted to start playing bass.  There are much better cheap basses available these days, especially as the prices of the old Westones are very over the top now.  But if you want that tone, then it's possible you may have to stump up the money.

[Eldon Tyrell]

Zombie Thread Alert 😁

 

[kodiakblair]

6 hours ago, geddy76 said:

There are much better cheap basses available these days, especially as the prices of the old Westones are very over the top now. 

So folks should avoid Westone due to your experience of one bass, a used one from Crack Converters no less ?

 

[Bassassin]

8 hours ago, geddy76 said:

I had a passive P-type Westone, natural wood.  Got it from Cash Converters for £90 I believe, back in 1996.  I remember it being fairly difficult to play with high action, which when fixed, was still fairly high.  It had a nice woody tone to it, but it wasn't balanced well.  I gave it to a friend's younger brother  because he wanted to start playing bass.  There are much better cheap basses available these days, especially as the prices of the old Westones are very over the top now.  But if you want that tone, then it's possible you may have to stump up the money.

Typically Westone Thunder 1 & 1As still go for around £150-£200, which is pretty reasonable for a vintage Matsumoku bass - but they are plentiful and bomb-proof, and unlike many of the lower-cost basses from that era, very few of them seemed to have ended up in a landfill - for very good reason. There are often unrealistically expensive listings on Ebay but they tend to go unsold, month in, month out.

 

I think it looks like your experience with a badly set-up example has prejudiced your opinion of what's still a very good-quality and affordable bass.

 

[FinnDave]

I had a couple of Westone Thunder 1s (one might have been a 1A -active) about 40 years ago. They were good basses, and more reliable than the dodgy Fender Precision I bought to replace them! The only problem with them to my mind is that they will now have spent about 40 years in the hands of beginners, so who knows what horrors have been inflicted upon them!

[Guest]

I bought a Westone Thunder I-A guitar when I was 13. It had the most astonishingly low action. Half a lifetime later the neck hasn't shifted a micrometre. As far as I'm concerned, these instruments are still hopelessly undervalued.

[bigthumb]

13 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

I bought a Westone Thunder I-A guitar when I was 13. It had the most astonishingly low action. Half a lifetime later the neck hasn't shifted a micrometre. As far as I'm concerned, these instruments are still hopelessly undervalued.

 

I'd agree with that. My first bass (when 15) was a Thunder Jet. As it was my first bass and new to bass playing I had nothing to compare it to. I sold it to help fund my first Fender.

 

Anyhow, 34 years later I bought a Thunder 1A and being a much more experienced player and gone through many expensive basses I'd have to say that these truly are a VERY underrated bass. Now I know that the build quality is superb and they sound great. And if I were gigging again I'd be happy to use it. 

 

[rhysyjob]

On 30/07/2009 at 11:33, Cat Burrito said:

I remember the Westone Thunder 1A bass from school and it was a really solid bit of kit. Great tone, good price and decent. I'd pay £199 for a good one

I’ll second that. I always wanted one but wouldn’t pay over £200 for a clean one.

[Sarlscharisma]

I had the Westone Thunderjet in the early 80s.  It was my first good bass after a dodgy £30 Columbus Jazz which was only good for firewood.

 

The Westone was a fantastic bass I had for about 3-4 years.  It was really good quality and never missed a beat.  I played in a 3 piece back then and it really filled the sound and I got more + comments on my tone back then than I did ever since.  Maybe my playing has got worse

 

Stuart Morrow from New Model Army used one and he is one of the bass greats from the 80s - for those of us not into the Mark King type thing.  There is some like clips of him using it live and on ToTPs

 

Lets say I own a few expensive basses now but none would I regret selling more than I did that one.  Perhaps nostalgia, but still a really, really decent bass.

[Skybone]

My second bass was a Westone Raider, in the tasteful red & graphite colour scheme. It was a damn sight better than the Kay P bass boat anchor I had.

 

Wanted a Thunder 1A, but finally managed to get one a good few years later. Brilliant bass, wish I hadn't sold it.

 

Always lusted after a Thunder II or III, because of good old Henry Thomas on Rock School.

 

The Westone and Aria Pro II SB's were THE basses of the 80's.

[Stub Mandrel]

Being of even older vintage I can vouch that in the mid 80s a Westone was what people bought if they could not afford a Fender.

 

The tone and build quality are comparable to US made Fender P-basses of the same era.

 

Values are depressed by so many surviving and their distinct appearance rather than being clones.

 

I picked up a Thunder I a couple of years ago, and it's good enough that I don't feel the need to get a Fender precision.

[Wilco]

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…..

[kodiakblair]

Westones have caused me to ruffle the feathers of plenty USA Peavey owners. 

 

I find it difficult to bite my tongue when folks are praising early Peavey designs, they're near Stone Age 😃

 

It was 1985 before Peavey released an active bass and 1988 before they managed neck through models.

 

Westone were offering both in 1981 !!

 

My 83 Thunder III.  Isn't she lovely 🙂

 

 

 

[AndyTravis]

My brother started on a Spectrum model, think it was the SX.

 

Remember the brand attempting a revival of sorts in the late 1990’s

 

Also - not sure if this website is of use

 

http://www.westone.info/pantera2.html

 

[kodiakblair]

7 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

Remember the brand attempting a revival of sorts in the late 1990’s

Sid Poole designed those and Status Graphite were involved in some capacity.

 

Not quite sure what the capacity was but they were selling off the unused necks/bodies as a job lot when the venture petered out.