Westone Pantera X300

Made in Japan
22 fret
Rosewood
master volume with a push pull coil tap
5 way selector
2 magnaflux III single coils
1 magnaflux III UBC coil tap dual coil
passive
Solid Maple body
Canadian Hard rock maple neck
Pearl Pink enamel finish black graphite neck and hardware
strat thin body style
bendmaster FT under strung
locking nut stock bendmaster fine tunners @ bridge westone tuners @ neck stock.
350mm radius Neck
350mm radius neck
comes 1 with allen wrench attached behind neck stock for bridge tunner and licking nut stock bolts.
standard hard case no locks

for fast metal and shredding solos I love this guitar
I run it through a Zoom Valve 9150 dsp effects possessor and a BOSS noise gate through a Marshall JCM lead-master 500w head.
pickups can be noisy you definitely need a noise gate to play this thing loud w stock pick ups.
has a mid-tone sound bordering on bright but gives allot of heavy crunch when overdriven the coil tap feature I rarely use but does work nicely when I do.
with the stock pick ups and 5 way selector you can get a huge variation of tones but you cannot over drive the pickups too much as the wiring starts to hum from lack of shielding in the wiring .
I like the semi-bright sound and the sustain you can get from the solid maple body resonating is nice the stock wiring does not give enough shielding to allow over driving without hum.
the center and top pickups are ok but the bottom dual coil is what makes it shine .
the electronics are over 20 years old there are better pickups you can get to replace the stock ones. and the wiring should be redone as well if you plain to go that route but in stock form it still sounds very good .
the gutair it self can be adjusted for very very low string height and still give good tone I love it for scales and fast picking the neck is very forgiving and gives you tons of feel I own and play guitars twice as expensive as this one and I wish they all played as nicely as this one does.
only thing I really dislike is the humm at high levels .

the factory set up was ok but it was meant to be adjusted everywhere and included a booklet of suggested adjustments for different styles
so factory adjustments really don't apply here.
the guitar was built very nicely the fit and finish were and are still exceptionally high grade for a guitar of this price range the example I have is flawless and I haven't been exactly kind to it over the years

Aside from me losing the locking allen bolts which was my fault I have never had to replace any hardware on this guitar in over 20 years.
this thing is built like a tank
I bought it new in 1986 and it works just as good now as the day I bought it the hardware is all stock I was tempted to re-wire it and install new pick-ups but after the first 10 years I decided to keep it all original.

I have been playing for 25+ years I have more equipment than I can remember I mainly use a Marshall 500w JCM leadmaster head and whatever effects processor I have laying around and run it through a noise gate.
I hate pedals everything is rack mounted.
I wish I bought all three models of this guitar the Pearl-white and Candy-red as well.
I would definitely want the same exact one if it were stolen.
I love the neck and feel it's radius is pretty close to perfect for fast picking scale work or slow finger picking , it's an all around great neck setup.
the vibrato needs meticulous set up and can be a pain to get it just right and when changing strings you really have to clean this thing thoroughly to make sure everything is working just right because it can lose some resonance just from dirt buildup on the string rollers .
I love the fact that overall it's a very simple guitar but you can adjust it to a huge variety of settings .

Sculpted maple body loosely based on a strat, hard rock maple neck, unbelievably durable and hard paint on body and neck, lovely dark red metallic color, black neck, Floyd Rose-ish floating tremolo with Kahler-ish behind-the-nut string lock, standard Westone Gotoh-looking tuners, neck is large-ish and fills the hand nicely, 25.5" scale, came with original hardshell case, 22 of the biggest frets I've ever seen, rosewood fingerboard, made in Japan by Matsumoku in 1986, HSS pickup configuration, 5-way switch, volume knob with push/pull coil tap for bridge humbucker, NO TONE KNOB. This guitar is pretty heavy, around 10 lbs.

-2 for no tone control which would be useful on the bridge humbucker

I bought this guitar used to add to my vintage Matsumoku Westone collection. Specifically, I wanted to try out the Westone Magnaflux UBC (unbalanced coil) pickup. This is a Humbucker with asymmetrical coils: one is hotter than the other. This allows it to sound like a Humbucker with both coils on and to match the volume of the two single coils when split. Unfortunately, the UBC humbucker was dead on arrival. I stripped back lots of the wrapping and got to the actual coil wires behind the harness and found an open loop. So this one needs a re-wind.

I happened to have a Seymour Duncan TB-4 George Lynch Screamin' Demon pickup laying around, so I put it in the X-300. This pickup is essentially a medium output PAF style with slightly enhanced harmonics. I got it on a trade a few years ago and was never really happy with how it sounded...UNTIL I PUT IT IN THE X-300!!! Lynch was playing maple body super strats when this pickup came out, and it is a perfect match for the maple body on the X-300. The harmonics jump right out of this guitar with little effort. I've recently used it for some ZZ Top covers and it sounds great...rich and full with a little extra sizzle on top. However, it sounds best de-tuned through the treadplate model on my POD XT-Live. I can nail the Tool sound.

The stock single coil pickups are fine in my opinion. The middle is bright and airy and sounds great for clean rhythm. The neck pickup is also a bit bright and works well clean or dirty, especially for soloing. Not exactly like a strat, but close enough.

Did I mention that tone control would be nice?

The guitar is built like a tank and the only finish flaws are from 20+ years of use and they are minimal. The neck is great. It's not super thick, but not like a Jackson either. It fills my medium size hands comfortably, which makes for low fatigue. The manufacturing quality is excellent with great attention to detail. I cannot attest to the original set-up from the factory, but I did my standard floating bridge set-up and it's as good as you could want.

I play it live sometimes when it fits the music. The finish is rock hard and incredibly durable. The hardware is not pitted. Everything is original and works except for the original Magnaflux UBC pickup.

-2 for original humbucker being dead on arrival

The original importer and distributor is St. Louis Music, but they no longer support Westone products. I have had good luck from SLM, however, supporting an Alvarez Yairi.

I've been playing on-and-off for over 20 years. I have lots of other Matsumoku Westones, other golden-age Japanese guitars like Aria Pro II and Electra, various PRS, Fender, Ibanez, and some custom Warmoth axes. These days I use the POD XT-Live almost exclusively.

I wanted an X-300 to round out my Pantera collection. I might buy another given the right opportunity.

This is a great playing, great sounding, quality built instrument.

I wish it had a tone control! I could add one, but I don't really want to drill a hole in the face of the body.

Finish: Pearlescent Pink
Body Style: Joe Satriani type body style
Bridge:Once had a Bendmaster Deluxe but changed it to a Guinune Floyd Rose
Tuners: Factory with westone emblems on back of them
Neck: locking nut followed with a carbon graphite nut,Rosewood fingerboard, recently got it fret dressed.
Made: 1986 in Japan (Matsumoku Product)
Frets: 22 frets
Body: Hard Rock Canadian Maple \m/
Controls: volume (tapped option) / 5 way selector
Pick up configuration: H/S/S (Ive replaced two of the pick ups)
Bridge Pick up: Seymour Duncan "Dimebucker" Passive
Middle Pick up: Factory Magnaflux Single Passive
Neck Pick up: Seymour Duncan Hot Rail (single sized humbucker)
Passive
string gauge and tuning: 49-11 in a standard D or C sharp standard tuning

Well I plat a swedish style metal and my own incorporated the tone and acoustics off the body pick up nicely through the new pick ups. I am using a 1972 Traynor YGM4 studiomate amp and also a 2006 Behringer GMX1200H with a Behringer 4x12 Cab
Depending on what sound im looking for I cross the pick ups often like the neck and middle together or tap the dimebucker and cross with middle. The hot Rail has more brightness than the dimebucker but the dimebucker has a good metal shred tone in low tuning

When I got ithis guitar it was hurtn' couldnt play past the 6th fret so it literally had not action nor response. I almost didnt even bother with it, I found a joint in the back plate of this guitar well beyond smokeable but you know friends, they smoked it and almost lost a lung. rusted strings dead electronics and off set bridge way out of intunation ,loose hardware and heavy nicotine covered the finish. That was 6 years ago Alot of restoration to this soul machine an now the guitar is well set, confortable to play on, action is low how i like it and squeals like a motherf**ker. People laugh about the colour but shit there pants when they hear it. Ive set this up to my standards and playing style so be careful with the old girls.

Hell this guitar will withstand live playing but just dont judge the colour over the souls I reap. I have replaced the hardware and kept what was still good. I got a magnet placed under the existing single in the middle it increased response(note* dont do to new pick ups. may cause undesirable sound and possibly damage the pick up itself)The finish is a poly coat. Its nice but if it gets dinged it looks ugly. Ive fixed the strap pins by shoving wood glue and a toothpick in the hole where the screw goes and then rescrewed the screw back in. I would most definitely have trust in this guitar. I would use back ups depending on the tone set up the other guitars may have.

I had this thing repaired a year and a half ago. Repaired by Seppo Valjakka from Frankenstein Guitars Curries, Ontario he did an awesome job of fixing it. you should see his custom guitars. f**kin amazing.
The company no longer exist so any form of help is friends, guitar shops,the net and ebay

I wish it had 24 frets.
IF you find one of these westones elsewhere, Pick it up and take it home. A sure diamond in the rough hense Me paying 50 bucks for it. Just cause its dirty and needs work dont mean its broken.

S-S-H setup. One volume knob with a push/pull coil splitter for the humbucker. It doesn't have a tone control but you can get enough different sound with the 5 way selector switch. Unless you play though some piece of shit Behringer amp like dumbass John does!! Sounds great though my classic '67 Princeton or even my Crate GT-80 (way better than you amp John!!).

Great! These things kill with the Magnaflux Pickups! They kick the shit out of any DiMarizo!! BTW to John who complained it sounded like shit through his Behringer amp, it's your Behringer amp that sounds like shit dude! Plus those things catch fire! Get a decent amp and write another review there sweet cheeks!!

It's a Matsumoku product so it was handmade! Seriously! You can't say that about a Les Paul to you Gibsonaholics out there!!!

Action was perfect.

Built like a friggin tank! My second Westone. These things will never wear out!

Don't need any. Plus there is a great Matsumoku website for fellow Westone enthusiasts as well as Aria Pros and other Matsumoku crafted guitars of the 80's.

Mine was a time capsule that was made in 1986 but never sold. I bought from a guy who bought out a music store's inventory in Chicago. It still has it's original store sticker and hang tags! This guitar will never be gigged. It is my "don't even look at it" guitar (ala Spinal Tap for those of you not in the 411).

Mine was made in 1982, Japan or Korea, I'm not sure.
22 frets
Solid top
It has one volume knob (coil tap) and a 5 way selector, s/s/h
The pickups are stock
Passive electronics
Its has some old bendmaster deluxe tremelo system, really annoying to string
I'm not sure what it's made of
It used to be white, but after 25 years, it kinda yellowish (really ugly)
non locking tuners
it has a thick neck, not thin or fat, rosewood
I bought mine used with a great case!

The sound is great! I play on a Marhsall valvestate s-80 tube amp, with a dimarzio cord and dean markley strings. It sounds really cool, low action with great sustain creates a unique rich sound. A but TOO bright at times. I think it's good for anything. It's really annoying to string up because of the old system, but other then that it's cool.

I wouldn't know, I bought it used. The pickups are stock, they sound incredible for really old pickups. I'd like to get new ones like the other reviews suggest.

Seems great. Mine came with a new output jack and strap locks so no problems here. Yeah the hardware will last! It's 25 years old and works great. I paid about $85 to have the neck re-aligned and all the screws tightened and what-not. It changed the sound a bit, but after I lowered the action it sounded cool again.

They went out of business.

I've been playing 8 months, I have this and some esp bass. I wish I had asked about how the springs work, I still can't figure out if I need 2 or 3!!!! If it were stolen I'd get a new one.

Nothing special, a pick-up selector and volume knob. mine is a 1980's model

OVER RATED

I paid like 200 for it on eBay, I had to pay international shipping rates that brought it up to like 250 or so, WHAT A RIP OFF. This guitar sounds like shit with my behringer vamp, like my $100 epiphone cheap les paul replica. The reviews here are full of shit, they've all had their pick-ups changed...they'd have to, the stock pick ups are garbage

The guitar looks OK, but if your looking for real melochonic sound like some of the reviews claim, cheap out an Epiphone demon. I just got one of those a few weeks ago and it;s increbible, same price as this thing but way better highs and lows, and it stays in tune longer. which brings me to my next point, i'm pretty sure this thing is not floyd rose and holy shit it NEVER stays in tune!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I'll be selling the westone.

Seems pretty solid, it looks good and it's like 20 years old, but who cares??? It just doesn't sound good at all, especially not for $250.00
I would never take it on a stage.

they're out of business, or they've changed their name and relocated in england, I'm not sure =)

NOT WORTH THE MONEY AT ALL... GO FOR AN EPIPHONE DEMON OR JACKSON RANDY ROADS V FOR THE $300 RANGE !!!!

x330 made in japan i think, maybe korea, 1987/88 make. volume and tone + selector. one dimarzio ultra-distortion humbucker, 2 sock single coil westone pickups, whammy bar. quick bridge, great guitar.

This REALLY comes down to the amp. From experiance, this guitar can have a great down tempo jazz tone, great treble, but with the right set up, or with some old tube amp if you get lucky, you can get a very entrancing melonchonic tone, very low, but clear and loud. distinct is one way to describe it, this guitar has a very unique tone, an acquired taste I suppose. I use a a Behringer V-Amp 11000 (i think...vamp something anyway) & Peavy Transtube Studio 112 with A Eminence 120 Watt Speaker. this guitar is a must have for everyone, you should atleast try it, if it still exists! I wouldn't know where to look for one. eBay maybe...

very comfortable and great weight, great shape too. really well put togather, i've never had any work done on it, after all these years...

I bought it used for $250 back in 91 I think. i had no money and i knew westone make great cheap guitars, so it was sort of an impulse buy. REALLY worth every cent

I've never used it live, but with the right combo, i'm sure it would work fine. this guitar really shines in the studio.

I have a x300 made in Japan around 1988 - still works fine today. 22 frets. Volume and Tone controls and selector. pickups are one double coil, two single, westone stock. I've never changed a thing on this guitar except strings.
It's really beat up, not much to look at, but who cares? It used to be red I think. =)
My mother bought it for my 8th birthday, I've been using it ever since. The basic features on this guitar are very reliable, and personally, I don't like too many knobs on my guitars. =)

I haven't used it out of the house in a few years, now I use a Jackson soloist model 6 to gig, but I do differant music now. In the 90's me and my friends were doing only metal cover songs. This thing has one of the most unique sounds I've ever heard a guitar make, i really let me put my own twist on other people's songs. I used to plug it into some old Marshall tube amp, now I used some $600 behringer with a billion effects to practice at home. NOTHING sounds like an x300. You can get a very brilliant tone, but with enough tuning work you can get a muddy fat grim tone which sustains REALLY well and has a depth I've never heard any other guitar make. Unfourtunaly, I wouldn't use this thing for anything besides heavy metal. And this guitar is very hard to find in good condition. I'd suggest compiling parts and building your own. This thing also tends to stay in tune a really long time. Hell, I haven't cleaned it in years. It's not warped or anything. It's really made to last.

The pickups are great, although not as clear as they were 10 years ago, what else can you expect? If I wasn't lazy, I'd go get some new parts installed. I got the guitar in perfect condition. Westone make very reliable cheap guitars.

This is where it shines. It's VERY versitile, you can use it anywhere and plugged into anything, and it will sounds good. It can and in my case has gone threw live shows. The finish will dissapear quick, but who cares? Get it painted or put stickers all over it, as long as it make that sound, who cares what it looks like. I wouldn't use it as a back up now, but I would've when it was new.

If you have a problem, don't expect WESTONE to help you, they went out of business.

I've been playing 15 years. Now I use a Jackson Custom Soloist, I have a lot of other guitars and amps, I'm constantly selling the old and bringing in something new. The only things I have now that I'll never sell is my Pantera, my Jackson, and my Dimension IV. Also: My behringer amp, and my marshall stacks. =)

Year: N/A Given to me by friend, so price is also unknown.
22 frets, Laminated top
1 volume knob, 5 way tone switch, whammy bar
2 single coil pickups, 1 humbucker at the bridge (Dimarzio I Think)
not sure of the woods, but the other reviewers know.
the finish is very smooth the finish on the back of the neck makes it very fast and easy to control.
strat body style, but more rounded, but mules to the body very well.
Floyd rose bride, with fine tuners (My Favorite feature!)
The neck is rosewood, and the frets are flat, which Im not too fond of.
I got bag, cables, strap, but al of different brands, that came with it.

The sound is very distinct, and sounds great, it have a low feel like a telecaster, but also has the treble of a ibanez guitar.
Im using a Kramer amp with it, no effects as of yet, except overdrive.
It is noisy with buzzing, when you put the volume knob all the way up.
Rich sounds on the E,A,D and kinda bubble gum high squeeky sounds on the G,B,E
It can play any kind of sounds you want, very versitile in sound, which is amaizng.

It is built very well, the neck connects to the body very well, and is cut so it molds to the palm of the hand.
The pickups were loose when i got it, so i tightened them, and now it sounds amazing.
The bridge and top and well fitted.
some of the pickups and tuning knobs are rusted with age i guess, and it only has 2 springs wheer it connects the bridge, when you take the plate off the back of the guitar.

all of the hardwear seems to have lasted quite well, and the guitar is readsy for anything. everything is dependable, and i would play this guitar with Jimmy Page if I had the chance.

I havent contected the company or gone for any repairs, I have had this guitar for only 2 years, so i have just been doing minor repairs on my own to my own specifications.

I have been playing for about a year and a half, self taught, jam with classic rock CD's. Just have fun. if it was lost i would probly buy another one, and a strat. I love its feekl and its sounds.
I also own a couple acoustics. I wish it had jumbo frets, and 5 springs in the back. A very good deal for something supposed to be only 300 dollors. Thanks for your time. Jeff beck is an amazing guitarist!

OK - previous reviews have given a much more accurate description of the guitar's components. I'll be a little more brief:

I bought this guitar about 14 years ago, second-hand.

- 24 frets.
- H/S/S pick-up combination
- Candy apple red finish, black hardware
- 1 volume control (which can coil-tap the bridge humbucker)
- 1 5-way pick-up selector
- No tone control
- locking trem
- neck is pretty fat which i LIKE

I got this guitar in the late 80s, and it was very suited to heavy rock/metal. I quickly replaced the bridge humbucker with a fluorescent pink (!) DiMarzio PAF Pro (similar to those used by Steve Vai at the time, which were fluorescent green). I got the pick-up at half price because of the colour!

With the new pick-up, there is much more output from the guitar. This has the negative (but expected) effect of highlighting the relative weakness of the other pick-ups, which I assume to be the stock pick-ups.

I own an early 70s Marshall 50W head and cabinet, and I get Satriani-like sounds from the bridge pick-up. A bit too 'stark' for AC/DC, though (at least, with my effects setup).

I always liked the neck pick-up sound, too. Nice, warm, 'tubey' sound. I'm aiming to put a more powerful pick-up in the neck in the near future.

By pulling the Volume pot, this operates the coil-tap on the bridge pickup. This gives a very Tele-like sound, especially when you combine the bridge and middle pick-ups.

As I bought it s/h, I don't know what the factory set-up was like.

I've always thought it to be a beautiful guitar, especially in this colour, which I *think* is called Candy Apple Red. It's a very deep metallic red. Looks great with the all-black hardware.

The pick-up selector can be a little noisy. The input jack is non-standard and often comes loose on my guitar.

I love the neck - it's pretty fat, and it's what I became used to over the years when learning to play. I recently sold my USA strat because I hated the neck. I don't know if I could ever own something like an Ibanez, because of the weedy thin neck.

Nowadays, the slightly pointy headstock looks a bit silly. Oh well.

I've never really played live - more of a bedroom player! A mate once used this guitar on TV, when he had it as a back-up to his Ibanez which broke a string.

Over the years, the bridge has deteriorated. I always thought it pretty cheap. I've recently started to replace it with a licensed Floyd Rose, which is taking some time because I need to get a new, longer trem block fitted to the Floyd in order to engage the trem springs.

I'm not sure if the tuners are that great - I may replace them someday soon.

The input jack failed on me once before, and it was relatively expensive to get it fixed because it's a non-standard fitting (it's a pretty 'large' jack, not like those used on a strat).

Strap buttons have popped out in the past, but that's not uncommon.

Probably would use a back-up in a gig - no point in tempting fate.

N/A

This is a pretty versatile guitar. Heavy rock to bluesy tones are easy.

I'll say it again - the neck is fantastic. It's nice and chunky. These guitars seem to be quite rare - I'm not sure if I'd be able to buy another one if I wanted.

Hopefully my attempts to get a floyd rose installed will work out - the original bridge has expired. I hope to get a new pick-up in the neck position, too.

This guitar owes me nothing. I love it. I also own a custom Chris Larkin electric. I used to own a USA strat, which sounded fantastic through my old Marshall valve amp, but I hated playing the strat!

All in all, this guitar didn't cost me much, so I don't expect the best hardware. But it 'feels' expensive.

Westone Pantera X300, build in '87 or '88.
Serial #: 6050060
22 frets
Cadillac Pink
Bold on neck,
originally S/S/H now H/S/H

General remarks:

Awesome neck, really one of the best and most playable guitars I've ever had. I also own Jackson, Ibanez and FRender guitars, but after 14 years, my fav is STILL the Pantera. It sounds AWESOME.

A HELL of a guitar! It acomodates ANY style (with my modifications).

Are they still being made?

I play Rock, blues, heavy metal, Reggae, ANYTHING on this babe!

Original tremolo was some proprietary low quality trem, replaced with a Kahler Spider in '91.
I moved the original (Westone?) Humbucker to the neck position and replaced bridge humbucker with a Dimarzio which I added another 1000 winds of copper wire. (it absolutely rocks now) The middle single coil is still the same. I also replaced the original V pot by a V and T pot that were on the guitar from which I took the Dimarzio. Added a microswitch to switch original Humbucker (now in neck position) from H to S.
Tuners, lockers etc all original.
Although I have "consumed" the original "Jumbo" frets almost to the limits, I still have the original frets on it, and readjusted the guitar throughout the years to avoid a re-fretting. This re-fretting is due this year. I found a good place to put some new Jim Dunlop Jumbo frets on it.

I still own it after 14 years, and it is still my favorite guitar

My dealer, Daan Smit in Maastricht, Holland, has never let me down on anything!

I play guitar for over 26 years now.

-Made in Japan in 1988.
-22 jumbo frets
-Bolt-on neck
-Solid, carved, super strat type body (quite funny looking)
-SSH pickup configuration
-5-way selector
-One volume and one tone knop
-Passive electronics
-Bendmaster Deluxe tremolo (Floyd Rose licenced)
-Finish is metallic pink (really ugly)
-Non-locking tuners
-Neck is quite thin and very fast
-Dark rosewood fingerboard
-I bought this used so no accessories was included
Overall very good features. This guitar has everything I need.

I play mostly 80's hard rock (big hair rock) and this guitar if perfect for that! I've been using it with Soldano and Peavy (5150) amps. The sound is absolutely brilliant! Especially with the bridge humbucker. Although it has a bolt-on structure and a floating bridge, it deliveres very nice sustain (longer than a Gibson Les Paul Special). Ex YES guitarist Trevor Rabin plays a similar guitar. If it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me! So if you're into 80's rock, this guitar rules! Unfortunately these are very rare.

Action is superb. Even though the action is very low, there is no fret buzz. This guitar is 14 years old, so it's not in the best possible shape anymore, but the flaws are all cosmetic. Finish is good... it shines and doesn't show any signs of ageing. Only bad thing about the finish is the fact that it's ugly... metallic pink!

This guitar is very reliable! I'd use it on a gig, no question about it! Hardware is outstanding. Only problems are the buttons and the input hole. They work, but I can't say for how long.

I bought this from a vintage guitar store in Germany. I had to order it so it took a bit time to arrive, but the service was great and it came on time.

I've been playing for about 3 years, but done it a lot during that time so I know what I'm talking about.
I tend to play this as long as possible. If this was stolen I'd find out who did it and beat the livin' crap out of him! These guitars are very rare. When I saw Trevor Rabin playin' this type of guitar I had to have one. Now I don't wonder why he uses it. Couldn't really find a better guitar. Easy to play (not stiff like floyd rose guitar often are). Tremolo system is probably the best thing about this guitar... it's awesome! Never goes out of tune and dive bombing is ridicuolusly easy. I can't remember the exact amount of cash I spent on this axe, but it was worth every cent!