Friday 29 June 2012

Westone Quantum Bass X850. . . . . .

Westone Quantum Bass X850

This is not a toy and never was. 


These were serious instruments, with a fairly hefty price.
Back in 1986, these were listed at $529, which in today's money,
is over $1000, at today's $ to £ rate, is just over £640!! 


Medium scale, well balanced, with a great range of tones.
When you go to pick it up, it is quite a surprise - it is almost as heavy
as a standard bass, having a maple neck and body. 


Matsumoku built, so pretty much ticks all of the boxes.
It has a cut-away, so if you wander into a bit of 80's Slappin' and Poppin',
you can easily get your fingers under the G and D string.
This was also a feature on the Super Headless, which is the one that
has escaped me, so far - would love to have a go on one. 


The stringing set up is as per the Westone Rails I had, so there is no
need for double ball strings - any string will do, so if you have a favourite,
stick 'em on and get playing.


This one has it's original silver carry bag and I believe the original strap,
as one of my Rail basses, also came with the same strap.
It is in very good condition, aside from the marks on the pick-ups, which
is common on this type. 







As you can see, got some shots at last - I think it's time for some lemon
oil and a string change - might take it to rehearsal next week!

Quantum Info 

Now I have done this one, I think I will carry on the headless theme and do
my Yamaha BX1, which is lurking somewhere and I may also do my Hohner
B2A, which is also probably lurking in the same area as the Yamaha!!

Cheers. :) 

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12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Eric, nice bass. I have one too! Please check out my headless Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/329486003810785/

Flat Eric said...

Hi. Had a look at the page - Look, no heads!!
I still have several headless - Gordy, B2A, Yamaha BX1 and the Quantum - all great to play.

Unknown said...

Hello Eric, at the risk of sounding desperate, my Quantum was stolen a few years back and I haven't been able to make do with any other bass I've tried. Do you or anyone else here have a Quantum for sale or know of one for sale? I can repair if necessary.

Flat Eric said...

Brian, Hi.To find a good one like mine, would take some time. A great bass, so I know that if it was a favourite you must miss it. If you scroll down my blog, you will see an email address - drop me a line and I'll see if I can help. Cheers. :)

Alien Dog said...

I had that bass in the early 80s. Bought in a local store that also had a Rail, and I spent days going back in to play them both. I liked the look of the Rail better but liked the sound of the Quantum. It was the easiest-to-play bass I've ever had. I wanted a Fender P, was talked into trading it in by a bandmate, always regretted.

Flat Eric said...

Hi. Quite a few readers have emailed about this bass, a few with the same experience you had. They were in fashion and then after a few years, went out of fashion, so were sold, swapped, moved on. All of them wish they had kept it. I haven't played mine in a while, so this is a good excuse to dig the old fella out. Cheers. :)

Brian bass player said...

After playing my fretless Warwick for a while, I decided to bring my Westone Quantum back into use. Immaculate condition and most people think it is a new cool instrument. Then I tell them I’ve had it for 30 years! After I bought it I added a 4" black metal strap extension to the body to improve the balance, and resigned the controls to Treble cut, Mix, and Master volume. Having separate PU volume controls seemed a daft idea.

Nick Riffed said...

Hi. I've just tracked one of these down at what appears to be a reasonable price.
The current rate seems to be between £650 & £850 which is not only a bit OTT but beyond my wife's temper threshold.
Its due to arrive next week at some point.
I can't wait to see how it compares with my Hohner B2A but, if it's anything like my other Westones, I think it will blow it away.
Did you ever get to play a Westone Super Headless?
IIRC when this post first went up you hadn't got your hands on one.
Guess who has one?? ����
Keep up the good work.

Cheers,

Nick

Flat Eric said...

Nick, Hi. Not got my hands on a "Super", to date but there is still plenty of time!!
Nice to hear from you. Cheers. : )

Unknown said...

Just scored an immaculate left hand version here in Oz...straight out of the bag beautiful.
Very impressed, the neck is glorious!
Such a cool weapon...looks like a rifle in the car!

Flat Eric said...

Top Job - Another satisfied Westone player! Cheers. : )

Nick Riffed said...

Hi Eric, I got blown out by the shop that I was buying the Quantum from. Cancelled my payment with no further information. I presume that it had been sold a fair while back and they hadn't marked it as sold or taken the ad down.
I've just picked up a fairly tatty one on Reverb so watch this space.
The Super Headless plays like a dream. I've also just picked up an old Vantage VA900b. Very much like the Westone Thunder 3 unsurprisingly. Very well put together and extremely playable once you get used to the headstock seeming a fair way away due to the short top horn.
If your ever anywhere near Great Yarmouth, give me a shout and I'll get the Super headless out for you.