Westone Thunder II

The guitar was made in Japan. I was told they stopped making these guitars around 1980. It has 2 Tone knobs and a volume knob all nicely engineered nearled nuts in gold. This guitar has 2 Humbuckers. It has 1 three way rhythm/treble switch with 2 two-way switches which are this guitars best feature because I can get a heavey rock/metal sound or in between or single coil tap and well over 10 different combinations each with its own unique sound. Brill. The finish is transparent blue with the grain of the wood showing underneath, the closer you look at this guitars finish the more you will like it. It has a unique maple coloured stripe through the entire body and up the back of the neck. It has a great trussrod cover with 'Thunder II' written on it in white with a black background.

The sound is close to a les paul's. Good sustain. The 2 two-way selectors and rthythm/treble switches combine to offer a heavy mushy through to a light rich sound. I was very surprised how good this guitar sounded when I first played it because it was so cheap. I actually thought the pickups were active but after taking the back covers off the guitar I found that they are not active just sound a hell of a lot like active pickups. Ive heard this guitar through a Marshall all valve stack, Marshall AVT150 and a 100Watt Behringer combo & it sounds great on all. If Harley Davidson made guitars they would sound like the Thunder II.

Great action, easy to bend the strings and can cope with shredding the fretboard with fast hammer-on/pull-off's. The neck is glued on, & very straight. No problems at all with the machine heads. The pickups seem to be sitting right where they would on a Gibson SG.

This guitar does withstand live playing I now use it instead of my USA Telecaster as a first guitar. The strap button actually came out during a song which is a bit common for cheap guitars but after I tightened it it stayed tight and still is. The finish looks easy to wear off but I consider this a good thing. Saying that though it's over 20 years old and still has no worn out bits at all apart from one or two minor bumps here and there. The 'Thunder II' is a light guitar, well put together and is as strong now as it would have been over 20 years ago.

Never needed to use customer support.

I have been playing guitar for 14 years. I like the sound, finish, 2 two-way switches and shape of the Thunder II. The only thing I wasnt keen on was the word 'Westone' on the headstock (no offence intended), however I do think if it had Gibson on the heastock it would be worth ??1000. This guitar is the real deal & I wouldnt hesitate to part with my cash in future with anything that had westone written on the heastock. Thumbs up! Thanks for reading.

Almost the best guitar in the world,almost...

Unbelievable,thunder coming from the middle of the univers.

Here it comes:Unusable bridge in the wrong position,needed major surgery which I did myself otherwise it would have cost me $300 upwards.
Otherwise a beautifully made,unique guitar.

Built like a tank

None-exiting

Aside from the Bridge-problem an absolute winner,hunt it down if you can find one

I was pleased to see a review from a Westone Thunder I owner who loved it. I love My thunder II.
22 fret maple neck, rosewood fingerboard. My favorite combo. The neck is set in (Gibson-style) But the body is constructed of Ash with a maple strip down the middle, kind of like a through the body. The finnish is beautiful, even on this older, mid to late 1880's guitar. The tuners are nice, sealed gear type. It has a brass nut with LP style bridge and tailpiece. Two humbuckers with a three way switch, one pickup has been replaced by a previous owner. The orriginal pick-ups and pick-up rings were cream colored and the replacement was black so I threw a chrome cover from a Les Paul over it to bring a balanced look back to the guitar. One volume and two tone controlls with two mini-toggles for phase switching and coil tapping. The thunder II is a double cut-away, kind of PRS style.

Holy Moly!
The extra-long headstock and brass nut make for great sustain. The combo-style set-in/through the body neck set up with the Ash body also gives a great tone vs. sustain ratio. Everything on this guitar seems to be designed to maximize both. What does it sound like? Can You say Carlos?
If you like hot pick-ups and loads of sustain, A Thunder II is for you. You have to be carefull with the gain, though. You can get a little squeal and actually hear the strap moving on the strap button if you're not. Not the best sounding ultra-clean guitar I own. Pick-ups are too hot and it's too heavy for good ultra-clean tone. Even the clean sound is distorted. Not that I personally care. I dig it.

Action is nice. Fit: It's a heavy, yet well contoured guitar. The finnish is beautiful. The Ash is stained red, the maple has a nice light yellow-ish stain with double skunk stripes. I think that the may be stained in, rather than inlaid. Maybe a combo. It's done so well, it's hard to tell.

This guitar is built like a tank. I have been using it as My main axe for as long as I've had it. I lost some of the bridge saddles, once, trying to finnish a song with busted strings. That's My own fault. I had a back-up at that gig and didn't notice they had fallen off and never looked for them on stage. You live and You learn. There is a small bad spot in the clear-coat on the top of the neck where the maple meats the rosewood. Big deal. This guitars almost 20 years old. I could use this guitar at a gig without a back-up, brain a heckler with it between the third and fourth set and finish the gig without tuning it. I find it hard to tune straight out of the case. Probably because of brass nut is going to expand and slip with any temperature change. Once it adjusts to the room, it's fine.

I've been Guitar playing 18 years. Keyboards for 7

This is my main axe. Over My s*ra*ocas*er. If it were lost or stolen I could only try to replace it. It's a great, "big rock" guitar. The only electric I've played that I like better is My buddy's Les Paul. He has a nicer Strat than mine, but I'd still take the Westone.