Westone Thunder II Bass

Mine is a 1982 Japanese (Matsumoku) model, 24 frets, neck through, Canadian ash body with 7 piece maple / mahogany neck. It has two split coil pick ups which can be switched from active to passive. It also has a phase switch and a series / parallel switch. The active tone control can be switched from max 15dB bass to max 15dB treble. It would have been better if bass and treble could be switched independently but I'm very happy with the bass as it is. The batteries last well as long as you disconnect the bass when you stop playing. Access is via an anodised aluminium cover fixed with two screws. All three access panels on the back are anodised aluminium. Mine has an XLR connection rather than the standard jack. This was an option in 1981 but there is no mention of it in 1982. Two a side no-name sealed tuners do the job. The wood grain shows through the walnut lacquer and it is beautiful! Mine came complete with the original hard case with the Westone name in scroll letters. The solid brass bridge is heavy duty and the bass is easy to restring. It has a brass nut too - quality bass.

This is a versatile bass. What sounds would you like? You can dial in warm and soulful to dark and aggressive with all sorts of other sounds in between. I play mostly blues and Stax soul / funk and I don't need any other bass. This is a 27 year old bass and it makes no hiss or unwanted noise whether active or passive. As the previous reviewer said you can get some distortion with the active controls whacked up full but it's controllable. If you don't want distortion you don't need to have it. I use mine through a Trace Elliot Commando 100W 1 x 12" combo and |I'm very happy with the sounds I can get. I've also tried it through a Behringer 120W amp and that was good too. If you find a sound that doesn't suit your style then make a minor adjustment to the dials until you're happy! I've not gigged it yet, but in the rehearsal room it's trouser rattlingly powerful if you want. It has enough backbone to drown out our lead guitarist and that says something!

The build quality on my Thunder II is superb. The frets are well finished, the neck feels and looks gorgeous, I love it! The lacquer has had a couple of knocks over the years but only one is visible (small, but annoying). The brass bridge and the brass nut are showing signs of tarnishing but this doesn't bother me. If I could be bothered I could polish them but why bother. The controls are all in superb condition. I lowered the action a little, personal preference, and haven't needed to make any adjustments since. The pick ups seem to be fine where they are, but I might put it in for a professional set up next time the strings need changed. The frets show a little wear, but it's a 27 year old bass. No rattles and no dead spots.

This bass is built to last! The hardware is solid, the finish has already lasted very well and looks like new (other than a couple of very minor dings). The strap buttons are well mounted and big enough to use live without straplocks. I would depend on my Thunder II without any hesitation and would use it ona gig without a backup. If the batteries should fail and I was too lazy to take spares with me I would just switch to passive and get on with it.

Never tried, the company no longer exists. When I bought the bass one of the battery terminals was corroded so I put in a new one. I'm not exactly an expert when it comes to electrics but it was quick and easy to do. There is plenty of information available if you need it (instruction manual, wiring diagrams).

I've been playing for a couple of years - switched from guitar and I'm very glad I did! I have a Westone Spectrum 2 (Japanese, passive) and an Aria Pro II Cardinal 300 fitted with flatwounds. I love them all. If it were lost or stolen I would buy another if I could find one but I want to look after this one - it'll never be sold. I love the looks, the sheer quality, the vibe, the sounds .... man I love my bass! I had just been to look at a Yamaha BB1200S (didn't click with me although it's a very very good bass) when I saw this one advertised. My first bid was accepted and I have gazed fondly ever since. I've tried a lot of basses including US Fenders, Laklands, etc but none of them come close to making me feel as good as my Thunder II does. As I said, the only improvement I could imagine would be individual bass and treble controls for active use but the bass is so versatile that I don't see this as a necessity.

Made in the 80's Japan, a very high quality, 24 fret bass, solid oak and maple body, neck thru. with 2 prescision style active pickups, a notched active tone knob, normal tone knob and a volume knob as well as a an active on/off switch, 2 pickups / in phase/ out of phase selectors and a 3-way tone selector switch. all in all a VERY high quality bass. The bridge and nit are brass, which allow for excellent sustain, as well its put together really well

it is great for most of the new pop/slap/funk lines as well as the old 80's metal, again the bridge has wicked sustain, the only problem is that the active preamp is a bit too powerful and tends to distort with a high-gain amplifier even through the low imput. I play it through an old modified peavy PA amp coupled with some home made cabinets in which are black widows, it sounds very good, but again with the preamp. I do really enjoy the large range of sounds you can get out of this beast with the selection of tone controls

the action is what makes me love this guitar, it is perfectly set up, and if maintained stays perfect, the pickups are pretty good but unfortunatley in mine the springs are worn out so i cannot adjust them very well (im too lazy to fix it because its such a minor problem) the bridge and nut agian are great, and the finish is supreme, the only copmlaint i have here is that the inlays arent overly well done, and also the finish on the brass isnt very strong so it oxidized a bit, to give it a cool tarnished look.

this is the optimal bass for both live playing and studio work, it is built solid like a brick shithouse as well is relativley inexpensive (300$ canadian) so for its price it outplays most of the fenders and other brands of bass from this time. the truss rod and neck need only maitenence and at that, very little to maintain great playing, yes i would use it on a gig without backup becuase of the high quality.

well westone is bankrupt but for its age and stuff i only had to fix up the tone selector switch because it was a bit loose

I've been playing for about 5 years and play it through a rigged up PA amp wi th some home made cabinets and it sounds great, i own all sorts of cheap knockoffs to high quality fenders and this is personally my favorite and best playing guitar i've had, but i have to complain i dont really like the bart simpson look of the headstock