Westone Thunder 1A

Had it from new, nearly 20 yrs. Natural finish.Ash/maple ? Jap built. 2 hums,coil tappable, active circuit.Master vol/tone.As many features as you could want on one guitar, I reckon.

Heres where it lets itself down a bit.Loads of sounds, most of 'em not so good. Sounds a bit 'muddy' to me.Only really 'cuts through' in active mode, then it really does the shit.I use it through a zoom 1010 into a digital 4 track. I suppose the clean sounds are ok really, it's when I want to get 'dirty' it sounds crap.

Played like a dream right out of the box. I've tweaked it a tiny bit , as you do , to get it just right for me.

Broke one of the mini switches early on, replaced it with a superior , but non-matching switch ,(anyone got one to spare?). Otherwise solid as a rock, built to last forever.The finish appears to be very thin, but it's still there after nearly 20 yrs.

N/A

Been playing 20+ yrs. Also got Epi LP Special2, one I built myself,Eko accoustic,Takamine accoustic,zoom 1010, fostex FD-4.If it were stolen, Ithink I'd get another, dunno. We've been together a long time . I might buy something else tho' cos of the muddy sound. The thing I love most is the neck, its the greatest. If I could find something that plays like the westone , but sounded better, I'd sell the wife to get it !But I still don't know what guitar is ' the one '.
Secondly I love the active sound, It's the bollocks ! It's also beautiful to look at, not to everyones taste of course , but to my eyes it's beautiful

My particular guitar was bought in 1982(ish) and was reputedly one of the first in the country. Made in Japan, it has 22 frets, rosewood fingerboard, 2 humbuckers (active) and a natural wood finish.

At the time, I was playing the pub'n'club circuit in S.E. England using a Marshall 50 watt combo and Boss delay pedal. The sound, although different to other guitars that I had played, was usable in all pickup settings. A unique sound could be obtained using both pickups in double coil mode, but out of phase, through the o/d channel of the amp. The single and double coil sounds (in phase), both clean and distorted, were all usable, but not like other guitars.

The action was extremely low with no choking, pickups were properly adjusted with no detectable flaws straight from the box - amazing for a guitar of this price!

I used this guitar from 1982 to 1987 as my ONLY instrument. The tuning was rock solid. A problem with the saddles which materialised after few months use (it kept breaking strings) was cured FOC by the retailer promptly. From 1987 to 2000 it saw service as joint first guitar alongside a Japanese Strat. From the middle of 2000 it has been replaced on stage by a Burns and now hangs on the studio wall ready for recording duties - I still love the o/d out of phase sound!

The saddle problem mentioned above was cured, without quibble, by the retailer and importer supplying modified parts as soon as the fault appeared.

After 18 years continual gigging and recording it is only now due for a re-fret. It would still go gigging now if I had the energy to carry three guitars with me. I suppose that it's obvious that I love the instrument - even the way grooves have been worn below the pickups and the way that the "gold plated" hardware has turned green. A tremolo arm would have been nice, but I would still search out another one if this one disappeared.

Dunno, but it does everything it needs to.

I play everything from Jazz to Rock and Blues to Heavy and it suits me just fine. I have an old Korg effect machine and Hartke B30 amp.
It's great that it diesn't go like snap, crackle, pop, when i adjust volume or something else (as example warwick does, at least mine).
It's good on live, 'cos it is good.

I bought it second-hand and it was bit dirty and stuff but i cleaned it and it is working well (and looking nice).

I have had it for three years now, and all i have had to do to it was change strings. I have used it on a gig and it is great. I've dropped it acouple of times too.

I've played it for three years for now, and i actually don't have a bad word to say about it.

Not a clue!

I could create a variety of sounds with the features available suiting the sonic noises I attempted to create in a predominantly rock band. I had to be very diverse as we were a three piece relying a lot on each others creativity. The Westone handled it all in its stride. Volume is pretty weak though!

Terrible action, but useful learning platform as it developed a strong grip which facilited my speed on other easier to play basses.

Hard as nails. You could easily kill a man with this piece of machinery. Yes, I have dropped it, many a time, and yes it continued to rumble on.

I believed Westone stopped producing guitars for a while and only re-opened recently, but I've never used them so can't comment.

I played this bass for about four years and subsequently sold it, traitering the bass profession to play the electric lead guitar. I have sold it to a friend who appreciates it as much as I did. (By the way he bought it for R1 000. Ha!) It's a good base to learn on.

Early '80's (Thank you Michael Wright of Vintage Guitars for the info) Japan solid-body double cutaway asometric countoured electric (whew!), 22 frets. Body solid wood not plywood, but laminated from 5 pieces top-to-bottom (not front-to-back like plywood). Volume control, passive tone (treble cut like most "tone" controls are) and active tone- clockwise boost treble counter clockwise boost bass- this is what a tone control SHOULD be! 3-way pickup switch on top horn, 3 mini-toggles for coil splitter, phase and on/off of active electronics. 2 open-coil black humbuckers, ala Les Paul. Honey-tone finish HEAVY wood- this thing weighs about the same as a Les Paul- maple, maybe? Double skunk stripe down middle of body giving it a neck-thru look, but is is a bolt-on. Neck same finish and wood. Semi-satin finish, maybe was shiny just dulled with use and time. Tele-style bridge, non-tremolo. Bridge and knobs made of brass- nice cause their different, but tarnish easily, and mini-switches, 3-way, pickup-screws and tuners are all chrome- they shoulda gone all brass or gold, I think. Westone-stamped tuners, but I think they are Gotoh's- round and closed. Neck is pretty thin- measures same as my Strat, but feels thinner, faster and better. Big strap buttons- a plus. Was originally sold thru Andy's Guitar Workshop and Centre, 27 Denmark St, London- sticker still on back of headstock. I wanted to see if they were still in business when I was there in June, but forgot. 10 rating is true- this thing has more features than anything without on-board effects.

I play blues, rock and folk- suits them all, and altho I don't particularly like jazz, this could do it. I've played it thru GK-250, Art T-28 and Crate KX-80, and thru Digitech RP-7. No noise from guitar at all. Brite sound compared to hollow-body, but richer than an alder Strat. Lots of variety- more sounds than I can tap into, esp. with RP-7- too many, really, as it can become hard to recall how I got a particular sound. Sometimes I like the sorta wierd body shape, sometime I hate it, same with the finish- I sometimes want more flash. 9 here cause it can't sound like a hollowbody- duh!

Set up was good when I got it, I tweequed it a bit. Pickups adj. good, good bridge set. No flaws, given it's almost 20 years old.

Tank-tuff. Big, solid strap buttons. Maytag-dependable. Strat is backup, except when I want more flash, but don't need one.

Out of business for years. End of story.

"Been playin' since I's babies" Well, 11 at least. Got other electrics, this is number 1. If stolen, I'd HAVE to get something else- 1A's are rare, and lefties much more so- I guess I'd just hot-rod my Strat, while crying my eyes out. Compared to my Strat, it's 1) much more versitile, 2) different (2-edge sword there), 3) nicer to play, 4) at least AS durable, 5) sounds nicer both electrically and acoustically, and 6) CHEAPER! All that would go for a Les Paul, too- esp. the price thing. If you can handle unusual looks, what's not to like? Value Value Value. And, no, I dont work for Westone, either- they are defunct, remember? May not be too many here in the States, I think, so rare, too.

Early '80's (Thank you Michael Wright of Vintage Guitars for the info) Japan solid-body double cutaway asometric countoured electric (whew!), 22 frets. Body solid wood not plywood, but laminated from 5 pieces top-to-bottom (not front-to-back like plywood). Volume control, passive tone (treble cut like most "tone" controls are) and active tone- clockwise boost treble counter clockwise boost bass- this is what a tone control SHOULD be! 3-way pickup switch on top horn, 3 mini-toggles for coil splitter, phase and on/off of active electronics. 2 open-coil black humbuckers, ala Les Paul. Honey-tone finish HEAVY wood- this thing weighs about the same as a Les Paul- maple, maybe? Double skunk stripe down middle of body giving it a neck-thru look, but is is a bolt-on. Neck same finish and wood. Semi-satin finish, maybe was shiny just dulled with use and time. Tele-style bridge, non-tremolo. Bridge and knobs made of brass- nice cause their different, but tarnish easily, and mini-switches, 3-way, pickup-screws and tuners are all chrome- they shoulda gone all brass or gold, I think. Westone-stamped tuners, but I think they are Gotoh's- round and closed. Neck is pretty thin- measures same as my Strat, but feels thinner, faster and better. Big strap buttons- a plus. Was originally sold thru Andy's Guitar Workshop and Centre, 27 Denmark St, London- sticker still on back of headstock. I wanted to see if they were still in business when I was there in June, but forgot. 10 rating is true- this thing has more features than anything without on-board effects.

I play blues, rock and folk- suits them all, and altho I don't particularly like jazz, this could do it. I've played it thru GK-250, Art T-28 and Crate KX-80, and thru Digitech RP-7. No noise from guitar at all. Brite sound compared to hollow-body, but richer than an alder Strat. Lots of variety- more sounds than I can tap into, esp. with RP-7- too many, really, as it can become hard to recall how I got a particular sound. Sometimes I like the sorta wierd body shape, sometime I hate it, same with the finish- I sometimes want more flash. 9 here cause it can't sound like a hollowbody- duh!

Set up was good when I got it, I tweequed it a bit. Pickups adj. good, good bridge set. No flaws, given it's almost 20 years old.

Tank-tuff. Big, solid strap buttons. Maytag-dependable. Strat is backup, except when I want more flash, but don't need one.

Out of business for years. End of story.

"Been playin' since I's babies" Well, 11 at least. Got other electrics, this is number 1. If stolen, I'd HAVE to get something else- 1A's are rare, and lefties much more so- I guess I'd just hot-rod my Strat, while crying my eyes out. Compared to my Strat, it's 1) much more versitile, 2) different (2-edge sword there), 3) nicer to play, 4) at least AS durable, 5) sounds nicer both electrically and acoustically, and 6) CHEAPER! All that would go for a Les Paul, too- esp. the price thing. If you can handle unusual looks, what's not to like? Value Value Value. And, no, I dont work for Westone, either- they are defunct, remember? May not be too many here in the States, I think, so rare, too.

Light oak body with faux "through body neck" laminated middle section, Roland Guitar synth sort of shape with 2 cutaways, bolt on neck, headstock reminiscent of Aria-Pro, rosewood fingerboard. 2 Westone covered humbuckers. Les Paul style switch for pick-up selection (i.e. toggle for bridge, neck or both), push-pull pots for coil splitting (volume pot), coil phase (tone pot) mini single throw switch for active circuitry + treble-bass boost pot for actives with centre stop for straight volume boost. Westone tuners, 3 a side, fixed bridge, separate intonation adjusters, through the body string fixing.

OK, it's not a '52 tele, it's not a PRS, it's not a Les Paul Custom. But I only paid # 189 for it. I love this guitar, I love it more than my Strat. There is a great versatility to the sound, I can get just about any sound I want from it, from hollow, bottly sounding, Robert Cray-esque blues to thrash metal hell. Splitting the humbuckers down to single coils and putting them out of phase gives a real nice mid cut, great for jangly numbers, add a chorus pedal and it sings like an angel. Both humbuckers, out of phase, with the actives turned on and all the way to the bass side, full gain on my GK amp, heavy metal heaven, oh yes. My only quibbles with the sound are: 1) that without the actives switched on the pickup output as a touch on the low side, and 2) With the single coils selected there is also a fair amount of hum using either only one pickup or both in phase. These are very minor gripes, the active electronics easily compensate for the lack of output. For the hum, well that's all part of the magic, jeez, what do you want for 190 quid, the moon ??

I've seen a dozen or so of these babies in different shops and they've all looked different, different switching for the actives (switches instead of push-pull pots), different woods, different knobs and pickups, different body shapes too. This suggests to me that they may be hand built, or made of spare parts. I have had mine for over 10 years now and I've had no problems with it at all, except the time I took the chip out of the active electronics and well and truly busted it (luckily it was within the warranty, I played dumb and just said it went funny on me - it was replaced with a whole new active circuit which had to come from the land of the rising sun, so I was "sans guitar" for a month or so - the replacement was a better circuit though, so, who's the fool ?). The finish has definitely improved with age, although it has quite a few dents and chips to show off too. It could probably do with a refret also. It's still my favourite, I have a Strat now too, which is great, but I paid a lot more money, so it should be great. The Westone Thunder 1A fells as though a lot of work has gone into it and 10 years later it's still solid as a rock and can still cry like a baby in an ant's nest.

This guitar will withstand being thrown into a volcano or being dropped from the space shuttle. It's withstood me knocking the crap out of it for 10 years, I'm going to play it again tonight. The hardware will last, there is no finish, it's made of wood, no paint, no sunburst, no flamed maple, just a thin coat of varnish, satin varnish, it's gone shiny now, though, due to my sweaty paws. I've just swapped the strap buttons with the straplock compatibles from my strat, the original ones were real nice, machined brass, curved in the middle and twice as wide as normal ones, Combined with a rubber ring seal from a beer bottle, the strap would never fall off, even in an earthquake. I can depend on it, I have depended on it and I will depend on it, it could definitely be used for gigging without a backup or a safety net, I don't, however, it IS my backup guitar.

I didn't really deal personally with them, the guys at the shop I bought it at got it done for me. Warranty was from the shop itself and was I year. It was fixed inside a month which, considering the guitar had to be sent to England and the parts had to come from Japan is pretty good in my book.

I love everything about this guitar. Well, slightly beefier pickups would complete the package, but for under # 200 you can't have everything can you. Definitely excellent value.
I do not work for Westone - honest.
But if there are any jobs going there ....

Light oak body, rosewood fingerboard. 2 humbuckers. Switches for pick-up selection, coil tap, coil phase and active circuitry (variable bass or treble boost. Pots feel very sturdy. The whole guitar was very well put together.

With all the pick-up options (humbucking, single, phase, active) this is a very versatile guitar - warm humbucking sounds, thinner signle coil and an almost acaustic sound on some settings. It does a lot of things - but a bit of "Jack of all trades, master of none". I found the humbuckers fuzzy, and in single coil mode there was quite a lot of hum. I think with a change of pick-ups the sound could be v.nice. The active circuitry can add treble/bass and volume but I never used this much - I would have preferd it to have had less of an effect.

Action is very good, though I always found hammer-ons required a lot of force. Pick-ups seem slightly wide for the string spacing (poles not directly under all strings). Construction was very good. The brass saddle did tarnish over the years but it never got so rough it broke the strings. Tuners are very smooth.

I had the guitar for 10 years with no problems. It stayed in tune well and the pots never got crackly. All the switches were as positive after 10 years as they were new. The natural wood finish aged very well - more character as it got older.

Not needed.

This is a very versatile guitar and allows you to get a feel for a wide range of sounds. In the end I traded in for a Gibson as I found I was always playing in humbucking mode but needed that extra something. They were very well put together (mine was a Japanese model - I think they switched to Korea which may affect the qulaity). I think with a change of pick-ups the sound could be very nice and still versatile. I never much liked the active circuitry.