Electra Westone X-700JB Futura Bass, Made In Japan circa 1984

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Ah, you know we're big fans of Japanese-made guitars here at Guitarz, particularly those from the now legendary Matsumoku factory (could they ever do any wrong?), so I can't help myself showing this Electra Westone X-700JB Futura Bass which is pointy and Explorer-y in a very 1980s way but you only have to take one look at it and you know that it's going to handle well and perform perfectly. The design will not appeal to everyone, I mean it's going to look a bit out of place in your Bluegrass band, but as far as I'm concerned it's biggest problem is that it's got too many names! "Electra Westone X-700JB Futura" is quite a mouthful.

This bass is interesting from a historical point of view as in 1984 the brands Electra and Westone (both used by Saint Louis Music from the 1970s onwards on their imported guitars) were merged. A year later, however, the brandname - which I have already noted was rather a mouthful - was shortened to simply "Westone". It was also the in-house brand for Japan's Matsumoku factory for a while, before production was moved to Korea in the late 1980s (not to mention certain high-end models being made by Status Graphite in England, but that's another story).

This bass is currently listed on eBay with a starting price of $399.99 and no bids at the time of writing with just under a day before the end of the listing.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.