westone rainbow ll £800/ £900 s/h ?????

ICBM

Wolfetone said:

I often wondered if they were made in the same factory as the early Aria  TA's?

Yes, I'm pretty sure they were. It's sometimes hard to be certain with some of these brands which weren't actually manufacturers, but all the other Westones were as far as I know. A lot of Ibanez were made there too.

Teyeplayer said:

Still can't get over that these were 'the piece of shit guitars' that we had knocking around at school, the ones that as a kid you could pick up for 50 quid. Crazy stuff, wherever they were made, however tough they were, or may still be. This will cause upset but they sounded like shit then and I doubt they are much better now. The 'vintage' fad has become a farce imo.

These are not remotely the same as the typical Spectrums with creaky trem units and ugly headstocks which are what unfortunately Westone later became known for.

Likewise Aria was once nearly on a par with Ibanez and Yamaha - their SB basses in particular were some of the highest-quality instruments to ever come out of Japan in the late 70s and early 80s - but after the Matsumoku factory closed they moved production to Korea and went very rapidly downhill. By the mid 90s they were terrible, and although they're a bit better now, they've never really recovered their reputation.

It's a bit like wondering why JV Squiers sell for upwards of £500 if you're only familiar with the Affinity Series...

impmann

Having owned one they are a long way sub Sheraton in terms of sound and woods used - I p/ex'd mine for one back in the day, yet the price appears to be some way North of a Sheraton now... I don't really understand that. 
Each to their own and all that but if you search you can find a Gibson 335 for only a couple of hundred more.

Teyeplayer

ICBM said:

Teyeplayer said:

Still can't get over that these were 'the piece of shit guitars' that we had knocking around at school, the ones that as a kid you could pick up for 50 quid. Crazy stuff, wherever they were made, however tough they were, or may still be. This will cause upset but they sounded like shit then and I doubt they are much better now. The 'vintage' fad has become a farce imo.

These are not remotely the same as the typical Spectrums with creaky trem units and ugly headstocks which are what unfortunately Westone later became known for.

...

It's a bit like wondering why JV Squiers sell for upwards of £500 if you're only familiar with the Affinity Series...

This would presume that I'm only just out of my teens though @ICBM and haven't played a multitude of guitars during 25 years of playing and wasn't a child of the 80s-90s. The problem is...I recal playing westone guitars and being totally uninspired by them. I don't care where they were made or what perceived value folks want to put on them now, if they were unpleasant to play in my memory I won't recommend them or encourage others to go and play them. I'd feel the same way if it was a Watkins Rapier for what it's worth. 

ICBM

Teyeplayer said:

This would presume that I'm only just out of my teens though @ICBM and haven't played a multitude of guitars during 25 years of playing and wasn't a child of the 80s-90s. The problem is...I recal playing westone guitars and being totally uninspired by them. I don't care where they were made or what perceived value folks want to put on them now, if they were unpleasant to play in my memory I won't recommend them or encourage others to go and play them. I'd feel the same way if it was a Watkins Rapier for what it's worth. 

No, I'm taking about the ones that were around in the early 90s, which would make you about 40 if they're what you played as a teenager at school .

I agree with you about many of the models - they were always a bit 'lumpy' even compared to the Arias of the same period - but the Rainbow really is surprisingly different and good, in fact the ones I've played have been better than an Aria TA series and not far off an Ibanez AS. It is a big problem with some of these older Japanese brands, there can be huge differences between different parts of the range.

Have a look at these pics and see if you think it looks like the type of Westones you remember…

https://www.greenwoodsmusic.co.uk/product-page/1982-westone-rainbow-1-birds-eye-maple-natural

Trust me, the Rainbow is a good guitar.

And the Watkins Rapier isn't .

Teyeplayer

ICBM said:

Teyeplayer said:

This would presume that I'm only just out of my teens though @ICBM and haven't played a multitude of guitars during 25 years of playing and wasn't a child of the 80s-90s. The problem is...I recal playing westone guitars and being totally uninspired by them. I don't care where they were made or what perceived value folks want to put on them now, if they were unpleasant to play in my memory I won't recommend them or encourage others to go and play them. I'd feel the same way if it was a Watkins Rapier for what it's worth. 

No, I'm taking about the ones that were around in the early 90s, which would make you about 40 if they're what you played as a teenager at school .

I agree with you about many of the models - they were always a bit 'lumpy' even compared to the Arias of the same period - but the Rainbow really is surprisingly different and good, in fact the ones I've played have been better than an Aria TA series and not far off an Ibanez AS. It is a big problem with some of these older Japanese brands, there can be huge differences between different parts of the range.

Trust me, the Rainbow is a good guitar.

And the Watkins Rapier isn't .

Spot on I'm fast approaching it, just a couple of years to go (and clinging on for dear life).

Totally agree, the ones I played never felt as sophisticated as their competitors. Always willing to be proved wrong though, so might have to try another rainbow before taring with the brush of memory.

And Watkins are best kept for firewood!

ICBM

I added a link to one in the post above, I think you'd agree it looks more like an Ibanez AS than it does to this sort of thing .

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/lot-images.atgmedia.com/SR/10623/2872028/4-2013530135819_540x360.jpg

Teyeplayer

ICBM said:

I added a link to one in the post above, I think you'd agree it looks more like an Ibanez AS than it does to this sort of thing .

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/lot-images.atgmedia.com/SR/10623/2872028/4-2013530135819_540x360.jpg

Certainly that rainbow looks better than I recall. I remember these being two a penny at the back of guitar shops (when we still had them):
https://reverb.com/uk/item/4648454-nice-original-westone-thunder-1a-guitar-1980s-with-westone-period-case?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0fTfjMz01QIVrbztCh3hcAFPEAQYASABEgIRbPD_BwE&pla=1

Teyeplayer

It was the thunders and through necks that immediately came to mind.

ICBM

Yes, and I would agree that £500 for a Thunder 1A in less than perfect condition - even with the original case, which is quite rare - is a bit (or a lot) silly.

I was always dismissive of them because the "through neck" was simply a cosmetic feature, although some of the better models did have proper ones. Subtlety is not a feature of the active circuitry either, if I remember!

Teyeplayer

ICBM said:

Yes, and I would agree that £500 for a Thunder 1A in less than perfect condition - even with the original case, which is quite rare - is a bit (or a lot) silly.

I was always dismissive of them because the "through neck" was simply a cosmetic feature, although some of the better models did have proper ones. Subtlety is not a feature of the active circuitry either, if I remember!

I seem to recall proper through necks not just look alikes at my school. They would be propped up precariously in music practice rooms and beaten to hell, dropped, knocked over, so they can't have been bad as they put up with a bunch of marauding teens. I'm sure the cheap solid state amps we all had to contend with haven't helped my memory of how they sounded or felt either!

I'll give you that the rainbow looks much closer to an Aria or Ibanez of the era and some of those were very good solid instruments.

usedtobe

I loved my thunder 1a..!

Teyeplayer

usedtobe said:

I loved my thunder 1a..!

My condolences.

bugileman

Westones are great, but that price is WAY OUT

paulmapp8306

A thunder 2, used, was my first guitar (6 string as I started in bass) back in around 86.  I had an aria ta used in 91 as well, with a squire strat between them.

mark123

firstly can I say I'm not having a pop at coda just saying it how it is, but they have lowered the prices to £669 and I still stand by they will only get a sale in the £349 ballpark ....so still £300+++overpriced.....

OilCityPickups

I had a Rainbow in the early nineties ... it was a very nice guitar indeed ... and I had the proper hard case. I only got rid of it because I was offered a nice Gibson Les Paul and had to raise some extra dosh. 
I do think some Westone models are overpriced at the moment, but the really nice models are right up there on quality with he best. 

EricTheWeary

You can play spot the Rainbow in this ( FF to about 4:35 for a clearer shot) . 

WezV

Teyeplayer said:

ICBM said:

I added a link to one in the post above, I think you'd agree it looks more like an Ibanez AS than it does to this sort of thing .

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/lot-images.atgmedia.com/SR/10623/2872028/4-2013530135819_540x360.jpg

Certainly that rainbow looks better than I recall. I remember these being two a penny at the back of guitar shops (when we still had them):
https://reverb.com/uk/item/4648454-nice-original-westone-thunder-1a-guitar-1980s-with-westone-period-case?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0fTfjMz01QIVrbztCh3hcAFPEAQYASABEgIRbPD_BwE&pla=1

Thunders are great little guitars.  Really well made.  The best thing about them is you could always pick one up for less than £150.  I am fairly sure that us still closer to the mark than the £500 of the reverb listing.

WezV

Completed listings on eBay show the price range to be £180-250 rather than the £130-180 it was 5 years ago.  Maybe that's where we should all invest

slipnslide

The solid guitar pictured is surely not a Rainbow - which, of course, is actually a 335-lookalike, with f holes, and solid centre core.  
I was lucky enough to buy a beautiful sunburst Rainbow II from a guy in a brocante in Belgium for the equivalent of £70 about twenty years ago.  The electrics were somewhat corroded, but the body pretty well unmarked, so I replaced the pickups, and pots - and having had it professionally set-up a little over a year ago, absolutely love it.  As guitar reviewers have said since, these Matsuko guitars are beautifully made and finished, and it's a real pleasure to play, as a Gibson-style twin humbucker alternative to my Fender Strat.  There are some notable detractors commenting here, but no-one should be put off buying one, preferably if they have the chance to try it first.  I think these are nice, playable guitars - and yes, I say that as someone who used to have a Les Paul.  As far as I'm concerned, my Westone Rainbow II is a very good alternative to a Gibson 335, as well as being a very good lookalike!  I'm happy with it, and love it!