Westone Thunder 1A

[glentirran]

Hi, I have bought a Westone Thunder 1A, but cannot get consistent sound out of it. It has been re-strung and set up properly, but seems to produce a great deal more output from the E string, a bit less from the A, and a big drop to the D and G. Tried just about every setting combo on the guitar and the amp, and varying the height of the pick ups, but no result.

Appreciate any ideas/advice.

Thanks

[FlatEric]

[i]If[/i] it is the one with the adjustable pole pieces, it's amazing what a difference they make.

The pics show one of my basses that had a similar problem, as you can see, there is a big
step in the heights but the volume across all the strings is now equal.





If they are like these, adjusting the pole heights is more effective than lifting the pups.

Cheers.

[Gust0o]

That's a nice piece of kit, FlatEric!

I had no idea that any of them had adjustable pole pieces - a very neat feature.

[geoffbyrne]

I worked on a bass with a P pickup not so long ago that had exactly this problem.

The E & A were strong, the D less so & the G almost non-existant.

In this instance the treble-side pickup had failed & needed a rewind I'm afraid.

The only way to check, really, is to get a tech to put a meter across that particular coil & see if there's a reading or if it's open circuit.

G.

[The_D]

My Thunder IIA is a bit uneven across the strings too but wasnt comfy adjusting the poles that much! Will have to spend some time with it I think.

[glentirran]

Many thanks all. FlatEric, that seems to have done the job, although I have had to wind the E string poles down to subterranian levels to get balance! More fiddling to do, but heading in the right direction...

...next, I will work out how to operate the 'reply' function on this site properly!

Cheers

[7string]

That's a great tip.

I've heard of the same problem on a Westone that I setup recently (I put the bass in the Gear Porn thread), so I'll let the owner know.

[FlatEric]

[quote name='glentirran' post='860434' date='Jun 7 2010, 10:14 PM']Many thanks all. FlatEric, that seems to have done the job, although I have had to wind the E string poles down to subterranian levels to get balance! More fiddling to do, but heading in the right direction...

...next, I will work out how to operate the 'reply' function on this site properly!

Cheers[/quote]

Hi. Glad it worked out.
I have other basses with Di Marzio type pick-ups and none of the poles are set level.
One of my amps is an Ashdown, with a VU meter - I set them up by pulling open strings, then fifth fret,
over and over again and watch the VU, as well as listening to the volume.
make adjustments on the poles and Bingo!
I also have basses with standard P & J pick-ups and all of them have [i]some[/i] slight weakness [i]somewhere[/i].
The adjustment really does make a difference and as you say, the E is screwed way down but at least you
have a equal sound.

Cheers.

[glentirran]

And by coincidence I have an Ashdown Electric Blue 180, so doing exactly that! Amazing difference.

Cheers

[Davee]

Long shot, recently dug out my thunder 1 bass anyone know what the action hight should be ?

thanks 

[White Cloud]

15 hours ago, Davee said:

Long shot, recently dug out my thunder 1 bass anyone know what the action hight should be ?

thanks 

 

[Bassassin]

16 hours ago, Davee said:

Long shot, recently dug out my thunder 1 bass anyone know what the action hight should be ?

thanks 

Whatever's comfortable for you & suits your playing style.

[Lfalex v1.1]

On 14/01/2021 at 18:57, Davee said:

Long shot, recently dug out my thunder 1 bass anyone know what the action hight should be ?

thanks 

I always aim to get as low as it can go without buzzing when I'm playing as hard as I normally might.

Then I'll adjust the pickups for string-to-string balance (in terms of output). Bear in mind that some Westones have adjustable polepieces, so these should be used instead. 

I run the pickups as close to the strings as possible, but not so close that they produce wolf-tones, obstruct my playing or collide with the strings.