Westone Thunder IIIA Bass

Year built: Unknown
Japanese made
21 frets, 4 string.
Bolt-on neck.
Volume, treble and bass knobs. pickup setting (single coil vs. humbuck) and active vs. passive setting through a toggle.
Single Humbuck pickup which can be set to single coil.
Active electronics.

Unsure of wood on body, but a very solid hardwood (Oak or Ash)
Neck is likely maple.
Wood stain finish.

Body style is unique.
Best I can describe is think of a P-bass and cut away the neck (sharply) about 3 inches back.

The bridge is a string thru - really solid, as good as a BadAss.

Tuners - here is the weakness. They are effective, yet cosmetically look very cheap.

It takes two 9 volt batteries.
One great thing about the bass (for an active) is it doesn't need a battery as a passive mode is available. My other bass is 100% dependent on a live battery.

This bass can grind with the best of them.
For a grungy - Tim Commerford sound you can't get much better.
I can really dig into this bass and it responds nicely.
It also has a great clean round sound.
You can play slap pluck but I don't find there is enough midrange available, unless you like a lot of bass in your slap / pluck sound.
I don't think there is a bass out there that can go as deep while maintaining brightness and still producing the over-drive this bass does. At least not for at least 10 times what I paid for this one.

The bass isn't the best setup, the action is fairly high on mine.
However, I have never had it adjusted.
The pickups needed a minor adjustment when I bought it (it was 20 years old at the time).
The bass has been through a few players, but it looks great with no major flaws. I wouldn't be worried if I dropped the bass - the wood on the body is beautiful and rock solid.
I have had a few problems with the active-passive toggle but I think they were due to battery issues.

I have 100% faith in the bass, no need for a backup.
The bass is 25 years old now and I don't need and will likely never need to replace any hardware.
The strap buttons are excellent, wider than standard so a strap doesn't come off as easy.

I don't think any is avaiable.
However, non required.

I have been played bass and guitar for 20 years.
I would buy this bass again for 3-4 times the amount in a heartbeat.
I would lose it if I lost or had the bass stolen (irreplaceable)
I love it for it's great grungy sound, it's unique look.
My favorite feature is the passive - active toggling.
I compared this bass to an Ernie Ball Musicman Stringray. Although the Stringray has much more brightness (treble) and a cleaner treble sound it was 10 times the price. A Stringray is much better for playability. I am not saying this bass is better than a Stringray, it was however a lot cheaper and a comparible sound (in the deep grungy area).

Japanese guitar, bought new around 1985. 22 frets, solid top.
Controls: Rotary solid brass knobs for volume, tone and active boost/cut. Switches for active on/off, pickup phase, pickup selector.
Pickup make unknown, but single pickup and split pickup fitted.
Active electrinics, powered by 2 x 9v PP3 type batteries.
Made from Canadian Ash with black stain although not on through neck.
Body style similar to Aria Pro etc.
Solid brass bridge, Westone machine heads, thin neck, rosewood fretboard with mother-of-pearl inlays.
Only supplied with cable.

Excellent for "slap" bass/jazz-funk style, especially with light guage Superwound strings, but active circuitry and twin pickups gives wide range of sounds suitable for a variety of music styles. A bit noisy on some settings - particularly when single pickup (non hum-bucking) is on line.

Used with Carlsbro 90W Bass top (with parametric EQ), thru 12" ported speaker.

Superb individual looking guitar - ie not a pretend "Precision" (yawn) - A lovely piece of "furniture" (plenty of real wood on show)which looks just fine hanging on a wall if you can bear to put it down!
Disappointment is some of the brasswork hasn't been lacquered too well, so has tarnished with age.

Very reliable, but note previous comment about finish on brasswork.
Hardware very solid, as are strap buttons. Shouldn't need a backup, unless you plan bouncing it off the stage.

No experience of customer support.

Been playing since 1982. Don't gig any more, so play thru a Sound City 30W bass combo now.

Would definitely have the same again, (unless I could run to a JayDee Mark King that is!)

Love the look and the sound. Love the through neck. Tempted at time of purchase to go for a Fender Squier Precision, but glad I didn't as I wanted something that wasn't a copy of another guitar, with an up-to-date sound.