Westone ThunderJet

Kind of satin black fnnish. Double cutaway sort of strat style. Thoughbody bridge. Westone own brand tuners. Maple neck, rosewood board. Matsumoku, made in 83 in solid alder. One vol & tone with push pull coil tap. Toggle selector. Twin humbuckers that look very similar to DiMarzios..

I was expecting this to be a real grunge machine but was very suprised at at the range of sounds. Played though my Orange Rockerverb 50 it has a great lush warm sound but by no means mushy. Pull the coil tap to single and it does a very passable impersonation of my USA Tele. Not as twangy but certainly sparkle bright. Only off note is its a bit noisy on single coil.

Only just got it so strings are way too light for me. Has been set very low and fast. Considering its age it has come through the years fairly unscathed. Just the odd ding and tarnishing. Should clean up pretty well.

I bough this as a back up for my tele when gigging. Ive a feeling its going to get more use than I thought. I read up a lot on these Matsumoku guitars. I think people are right. These are a well made reliable workhorse. Remarkably versatile. IMHO they are underpriced and imagine prices will inevitably rise like the early Washburns and Arias from the same factory.

Long gone. Though some spare available from Westone owners site.

Playing 30 years. Had various strats and teles and other stuff that I should not have sold! These dont come up too often so not so easy to replace if it was lost or nicked. But if I do come across another Westone at the right price I'll probably buy it.

Made by Matsumoko in Japan sometime in the 80's. I think the factory burned down in '88 and the Thunderjet was one of the last models released before the fire.
Solid wood body very heavy in a les paul way. Double cutaway. Great 3 tuners (Schaller style) per side neck with rosewood fingerboard.Hard tail bridge. Two humbuckers with plenty of punch. I replaced them with Dimarzios - a PAF at the bridge and a PAF-PRO at the neck. They were better than the stock p'u's - but not by much - which is a compliment to the stock pair.3-way selector, 1 vol. 1 tone, pull out switch for single coil sound

Soundwise this is very versatile. Rock, blues, jazz or metal pose no problem finding the sound I feel appropriate. Love 'em all.

I'd seen this guitar hanging in a pawnshop in '97. Didn't buy it. 2 years later I noticed it still there, now reduced to some ridiculous low price. So I bought it - didn't even play it. When I plugged in at home, I could not believe the action - it was the lowest, quietest and fastest player I had ever experienced.
I usually take every guitar to pieces and try to make it play better.Not this one - it really is perfect!

Tough guitar. Has lasted and will last

Long gone. But apart from a direct nuke hit I think it will survive.

I own many other guitars - some of which I've made. If my ThunderJet was stolen, I'd still hopefully have my Westone Concorde I or Spectrum ST or....etc., etc....but I'd try to find another one. If one crops up I'll buy it anyway! I no longer hanker for a Les Paul