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Hi guys!
I finally bought a nice hollow body! It's a 80s Westone Session II made in Matsumoku. The guitar is amazing.
The previous owner left it unplayed for some time, and it had very light strings. I cleaned it up and put some roundwound 12-52, with the fear that the truss rod couldn't keep the tension. Well, actually the neck remained straight, and didn't even needed a turn! I already knew these Matsumoku were great guitars, but I never really tried one before.
The finish is awesome, actually it's quite dark. The outside pic is more accurate than the couch one.
The guitar is very solid and pretty heavy. It has a really loud acoustic sound, maybe because of the sound post under the bridge. The neck is quite thick (less than some Gibson i played in the past though) and very comfortable to me. The pickups sound very very good, very clear and articulate (more than a Gibson 57 IMO). I only played it at home with a ZT Lunchbox and a Laney VC15. I always prefer hollowbodies thru solid state amps, but it sounded great thru a tube amp too. In the next days I'll play it in studio with my Mesa Boogie Mark III and my '64 Ampeg Reverberocket II.
I only need to remove that horrible pick holder ;-)
And now for the obligatory group shot:
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12-21-2015 02:30 PM
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Congratulations, very nice guitar, a bit of a rarity as well. Matsumoku built guitars were among the best Japanese quality of that era.
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Nice guitar. Now off to the honeymoon suite, err I mean woodshed to bond with it.
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Nice guitar. Play it in good health!
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Beauty! Love the color. The deck picture by the water is nice too.
Yeah the pic holder has to go. I hope the adhesive is not permanent.
Be proud, play some nice music with it!
Joe D
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I love the lightly mottled colour on her. The neck pup looks closer to the end of the fretboard than an standard ES-175. I see that The Heritage guitars have a Japanese forebear.
Looks great.
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Nice.
I like it.
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Sweet guitar! Nice find. Enjoy!
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Thanks guys!
I still have to decide if I'll keep it with round 12s or go with flats..
Jabberwocky is right, the neck pickup is closer to the fretboard than a standard Gibson ES175
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why do people have to put those things on their guitars at all?
Originally Posted by GNAPPI
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Why not on the pickguard? Those can be replaced. Originally Posted by GNAPPI
Tip: tie a piece of string to your belt loop, tie a paper clip to that, and put a pick in that.
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That is a very nice guitar. Love the burst. I can't imagine that .12's would be an issue, and that .13's would be fine as well. Flats have more tension BTW, I believe. Enjoy and play often. I expect she has a sweet sound.
Steve
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Actually, I have a 50's Goya LP type git, it has the NEATEST little metal clip on the back of the head that holds one pick. I'm AMAZED it's never been duplicated! Originally Posted by EpiJazz
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I'd like to see a picture of that. (Not to hijack the thread or anything!) Originally Posted by GNAPPI
Isn't that pretty hard to get to if you drop your pick mid-performance, though?
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Sunburst under the sunlight, beautiful. Congratulations!
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Congrats! It's lovely.
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I don't think it's tough, just reach back and slide the pick off the head. Originally Posted by EpiJazz
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Ok now that is a useful pick holder!
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Ditto! Originally Posted by bill.lee
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Very cool. Looks like a cross between a Gibson and a Heritage. Enjoy !
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Try working a fine gauge fishing line between the pickholder and guitar (very slowly and gently of course!)
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Hi to bill.lee, I hope you are enjoying playing your Session II as much as I am! I have had mine for about 19 months, and it's my most-used guitar now. It has a really sweet sound, both acoustically and electrically (original pickups). I put it down to the way the body is built; it has a thin top with little bracing, and an all-important soundpost.
It's difficult to find these guitars at a reasonable price now in the UK. I have been lucky enough to find two Westones locally - a Rainbow 1 and a Session II (did you know there was no Session I?). However they were both badly neglected and needed some restoration work. The Rainbow must have been stored somewhere damp, as the pickup poles had started to rust. The Session had a screw missing from the bridge, which I managed to sort out, but I couldn't seem to get the neck action right (fret buzz in one or two places), so I took it to the local repair shop where I discovered that some of the frets had lifted out of the board, meaning a re-seating and re-levelling was required. I'm pleased to say that both guitars now play perfectly. They may not be in A1 condition cosmetically, but at least I don't have to worry about the odd scratch when I'm gigging!
Alan
PS notice any similarity?
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Go, Matsumoku! Enjoy your guitar. I have been a sucker for Matsumoku archtops for years. They are well built and sound great. They play great and, IME, almost never need tuning. Seriously, they keep a tune quite well. Stable wood, stable construction, and great tuning machines.
I have gigged the bejabbers out of my Matsumoku-made archtop (copy of Gibson Super-V) and would not part with it.
Again, enjoy. Your Westone is beautiful.
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Yep, I play it every day and the more I play it, the more I like it! It's really a great guitar, and with a set of flats (Thomastik 12s) it sounds superb!
I'd love to get a Rainbow 1 too, they are super cheap and look great. We'll see after my recording studio is finished ;-)
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I already noticed the similarity of headstocks - is it just a coincidence? Ahah, just kiddin'!
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