bassatnight Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 Folks, I have lusted after a Westone Thunder 3 Fretless for as long as I can recall after seeing Henry Thomas on the 80's show Rockschool play one. I had no idea what to pay as these babes come up so rarely. I saw one go for £375 a couple of years back so took a punt at £400 and managed to secure it, its in great conditon did I pay over the odds or just right? I just didn't feel I could hang about. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 No pics, no bass!! I saw a fretted go on Ebay about 2 months ago for £350. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray5 Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 [quote name='bassatnight' post='815178' date='Apr 22 2010, 04:49 PM']Folks, I have lusted after a Westone Thunder 3 Fretless for as long as I can recall after seeing Henry Thomas on the 80's show Rockschool play one. I had no idea what to pay as these babes come up so rarely. I saw one go for £375 a couple of years back so took a punt at £400 and managed to secure it, its in great conditon did I pay over the odds or just right? I just didn't feel I could hang about. Steve.[/quote] Link? Pics? £400 might be at the higher end of what these are generally going for, though not by much. A Thunder II recently went for £321 and I just put a link to another Thunder II in the Ebay Links section (4 days to run). And one recent over-optimistic seller stuck one on Ebay for a BIN of £700! (Tbh, can't remember if it was a II or III). Bottom line is, if you're happy with it and it's a good one, you could well have a bass for life there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 You have just made me feel very old as I watched Rockschool with Henry Thomas 'back in the day'! Congrats, cool bass as I recall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 All of the Matsumoku through-necks seem to be getting dearer/more sought after these days (look at the prices of Aria SBs) & I think if you want a Thunder II or III you'll be lucky to find one under £350. So this ain't too bad. In a way it's a good thing that the quality of these basses is being more widely appreciated. Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassistclem Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 I am a massive fan of the 80 Japanese instruments (guitars and basses) and although £400 might see a little bit pricey in the current marketplace, in reality the build and playability of these instruments blow away instruments that we find on the shelves these days in that price range. I was lucky enough to get a Yamaha BB1100s for under £200 and I honestly think I would have to pay at least £800+ to find anything as good new in the shops. Enjoy it. It is worth the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassatnight Posted April 23, 2010 Author Share Posted April 23, 2010 I am not selling it not sure why everyone feels seeing a picture will improve thier judgements!! It could be a picture of an empty shell! lol As soon as it arrives I will put some pics up, the seller claims its an 85 model but going by the black heads and the upgraded pick-ups it looks like an 87 reissue. [quote name='geoffbyrne' post='815203' date='Apr 22 2010, 05:08 PM']No pics, no bass!! I saw a fretted go on Ebay about 2 months ago for £350. G.[/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martthebass Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I had one of these back in the day. Bought new (from a small shop in Brum) for £270 IIRC. Build quality was exquisite - just as good as a Aria SB1000 that I would have really liked to have. I also bought it on the basis of Henry and Rockschool....sad but true. I never really got on with it unfortunately, pre-amp was a bit excessive (and hissy), ate batterys like a mutha and was a bit neck heavy (small body syndrome I guess), however it didn't deserve its fate of being px'd against an Ibanez Guitar in 1988. We live and learn.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krysbass Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Ok I’ll admit at the outset that I’m biased, as I’ve owned a fretted Thunder III since 1985 and it’s still my main gigging bass, largely because I’ve ever found anything affordable to beat it. The relatively low market value of these basses totally ignores the very high quality of build/materials and the substance of what you’re actually getting for your money. More often secondhand prices are governed only by desirability – and that tends to be very closely tied in with certain brand names. Suffice to say you’ve just bought yourself a bargain. This is a quality, Japanese-built bass, from Matsumoku; one of the most respected Japanese manufacturers, put together at a time when Japanese guitar-builders were stopping at nothing to show the world that they could build instruments that were as good if not better than anything from the big name Western manufacturers. Look at the prices of the best new Japanese-built basses nowadays and you’ll get an idea of how much your Thunder III should be worth in today’s money – ie, several times what you’ve just paid for it. Congratulations on your purchase! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 [quote name='bassatnight' post='815766' date='Apr 23 2010, 08:49 AM']I am not selling it not sure why everyone feels seeing a picture will improve thier judgements!! It could be a picture of an empty shell! lol[/quote] What makes you think we need the pics to help improve our judgment? We're just nosy bastards, that's all And we like lusting after bass p0rn. The T3 is a modern classic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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