Westone Thunder 1A Bass - Matsumoku Active Bass from 1986 - Review

I thought it was about time I reviewed this beautiful piece of history, which has been with me since 1986.  It's difficult to remember now that a hugely conservative (and sadly sometimes rather arrogant) bunch of guitar players viewed Japanese guitars with just as much suspicion and scepticism as they view Chinese guitars now: they were cheap so they couldn't possibly be any good, and what did the Japanese know about instrument building anyway?

Into that climate of change came Matsumoku, modelling a concept that would revolutionise guitar production, as one high quality production line produced guitars for many different brands.  This was a factory concept that could easily be rolled out to Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia and now China.

I remember as an impoverished student in the early 80s looking at Westone Basses and really liking what I saw (particularly a Westone 2 fretless in a secondhand store in Nottingham).   However a friend lent me his Burns bass for an extended period so I didn't need to part with any cash at that stage.

In 1986 the Burns had to be returned, and I was visiting a girlfriend in London, and ventured out with about £160 in my pocket to Denmark Street to finally pull the trigger on a Westone and hard case.  It was snowy in London that day and I had to walk through and inch or two of snow carrying my new purchase back to Norbiton where I was staying.

This bass has stayed with me ever since, put up with all sorts of abuse, and bears the scars to prove it.  I have never had to adjust the truss rod, never done any work on the frets, all I have done is clean it and restring it and very occasionally change the batteries (which seem to last for years).  This last restring I tightened up the machine heads which over the years had worked a bit loose.  The quality of the parts and workmanship is, now I look back, just absolutely stunning.  I've not even had to adjust the strap hooks.  No crackles in the pots, the micro switches still work the same as ever.  The active electronics still function perfectly.

5 ply neck, rock solid

So after 31 years some of my reflections on a long partnership.  I kick myself for not buying that secondhand Westone Thunder 2 fretless, but I still love the Thunder 1A.  It was innovative at the time, with its coil tap and active electronics, allowing it to produce a whole variety of tones.  The attention to detail in production really has to be seen to be believed.  The quality of the wood still amazes me - the ash, walnut, maple laminate of the body is extremely well executed.  All the joints are as steady and as tight as they were 31 years ago when this was made.  The 5 ply neck is slim and fast, and rock steady.  The rosewood fretboard shows almost zero wear. the frets only very slight wear.

Superb neck to body fit

Playing the bass is comfortable, the low action and the slim neck make it a joy to move around the fretboard.  It has plenty of weight without being too heavy.  The brass hardware is a little tarnished in places but all functions as it ever did, and the tuners are smooth and true.

None of this of course changes the fact that for most bassists this isn't one of those desirable basses that they will go out of their way to find and pay big money for, so if you like them they are still a real bargain if you can find one in good condition.  You'll certainly be hard pressed to find better quality workmanship than a Matsumoku guitar - sad the factory was so short lived...