Westone Thunder ii a (2A) anyone know anything about it??

[JJ Bass]

Hi all,

I've been offered a Westone Thunder 2a active from the early 80's, it has a jazz pick up and 2 precisions and plenty of switches!

Can anyone tell me about these basses, sound wise ? I play alot of Jazz-Funk and funk, alot of Mark King style slap & fingerstyle - will thbis be any good for that? I use 30-90's normally so I should be able to get a brighter tone, but is the bass any good??

Also, whats it worth??

Any help or sound links would be appreciated, theres nothing on youtube about this bass!!

Thanks

[Krysbass]

[quote name='jonannlou' post='1052599' date='Dec 9 2010, 01:06 PM']Hi all,

I've been offered a Westone Thunder 2a active from the early 80's, it has a jazz pick up and 2 precisions and plenty of switches!

Can anyone tell me about these basses, sound wise ? I play alot of Jazz-Funk and funk, alot of Mark King style slap & fingerstyle - will thbis be any good for that? I use 30-90's normally so I should be able to get a brighter tone, but is the bass any good??

Also, whats it worth??

Any help or sound links would be appreciated, theres nothing on youtube about this bass!!

Thanks[/quote]

If it's an early one, this model is what later became the Thunder III - I own an almost mint 1984 Thunder III. The Westone Thunder III was the weapon of choice for Henry "King Thumb" Thomas in the BBC "Rockschool" TV series in the '80's and I can vouch for this bass being very good for the styles you mention. I was heavily into Level 42 when I bought my Thunder III, as I reckoned it had a few visual similarities to the Jaydees MK was playing at the time, without carrying the same price tag, which was out of my league! I don't slap much with my own Thunder III these days, but soloing the J pickup at the bridge gives a fingerstyle tone that's hard to beat and overall the tones available from this bass are very versatile.

You mention that the bass you've been offered has 2 Precision pickups - I'm pretty sure only 1 was fitted as standard - unless you're maybe referring to the 2 "halves" of the Precision pickup?

These basses came from Japan's legendary Matsumoku factory and were quality instruments made from good materials. Good examples are becoming harder to find, but secondhand prices (in my view) don't do that as much justice as it deserves. Typically, these change hands for £250 - £350 on Ebay, which is the main reason I've held onto mine since buying it new in 1985.

I hope the above helps a bit, but also check out www.westone.info which is a mine of information on these basses.

Edited December 9, 2010 by Krysbass

[JJ Bass]

[quote name='Krysbass' post='1052668' date='Dec 9 2010, 01:03 PM']If it's an early one, this model is what later became the Thunder III - I own an almost mint 1984 Thunder III. The Westone Thunder III was the weapon of choice for Henry "King Thumb" Thomas in the BBC "Rockschool" TV series in the '80's and I can vouch for this bass being very good for the style you mention. I don't slap much with my own Thunder III these days, but soloing the J pickup at the bridge gives a fingerstyle tone that's hard to beat and overall the tones available from this bass are very versatile.

You mention that the bass you've been offered has 2 Precision pickups - I'm pretty sure only 1 was fitted as standard - unless you're maybe referring to the 2 "halves" of the Precision pickup?

These basses came from Japan's legendary Matsumoku factory and were quality instruments made from good materials. Good examples are becoming harder to find, but secondhand prices (in my view) don't do that as much justice as it deserves. Typically, these change hands for £250 - £350 on Ebay, which is the main reason I've held onto mine since buying it new in 1985.

I hope the above helps a bit, but also check out www.westone.info which is a mine of information on these basses.[/quote]


Thanks mate, I can't find anything on youtube, but I like the looks of the bass and by what you say it'll be versatile enough to give a good slappin' !!

Thanks for the help

J

[martthebass]

I had a Thunder III (fretless) back in the day. Tone - wise could do pretty much anything you'd want. Well made and versatile. Mine was slightly neck heavy but not hideously so and had a tendency to eat batteries so remember to remove the jack plug when you've finished with it. Cost me about £270 new back in 1984 so as Krysbass said - a veritable bargain at the prices they go for now.

[Musky]

Henry Thomas with his Westone

[JJ Bass]

[quote name='Musky' post='1053384' date='Dec 9 2010, 09:36 PM']Henry Thomas with his Westone

[/quote]

Thanks for that, I remember watching that with my old man as a kid Sounds like you could dial alot more out of that bass, almost like a Fernandes Fab170 - the Alembic copy one anyway. Looks like it might be a better choice than a newer yamaha tbr1004, or others!! If I get that one, you'll soon be seeing it on youtube!!

Sound also reminds me of Paul Tubbs Williams sound early 80's ish... I think he used Aria, Musicman and maybe a precision... Check out Light Of The Worlds Soho to hear that Musicman sing!!

J

[JJ Bass]

[quote name='Krysbass' post='1052668' date='Dec 9 2010, 01:03 PM']If it's an early one, this model is what later became the Thunder III - I own an almost mint 1984 Thunder III. The Westone Thunder III was the weapon of choice for Henry "King Thumb" Thomas in the BBC "Rockschool" TV series in the '80's and I can vouch for this bass being very good for the styles you mention. I was heavily into Level 42 when I bought my Thunder III, as I reckoned it had a few visual similarities to the Jaydees MK was playing at the time, without carrying the same price tag, which was out of my league! I don't slap much with my own Thunder III these days, but soloing the J pickup at the bridge gives a fingerstyle tone that's hard to beat and overall the tones available from this bass are very versatile.

You mention that the bass you've been offered has 2 Precision pickups - I'm pretty sure only 1 was fitted as standard - unless you're maybe referring to the 2 "halves" of the Precision pickup?

These basses came from Japan's legendary Matsumoku factory and were quality instruments made from good materials. Good examples are becoming harder to find, but secondhand prices (in my view) don't do that as much justice as it deserves. Typically, these change hands for £250 - £350 on Ebay, which is the main reason I've held onto mine since buying it new in 1985.

I hope the above helps a bit, but also check out www.westone.info which is a mine of information on these basses.[/quote]

Cheers for all the info, I've checked the website and actually emailed Henry Thomas too - never know, might get a reply!

Thanks again for all the help

J