Re: Famous Westone Players - Name and (no) shame them!

[corsair]

I guess I should have just posted a picture of the All Blacks, instead

...nah, wouldn't help; I don't follow what over-priced prima donnas do on a big paddock with a little ball....

[Pollyanna]

Sorry Antoine,

That was just a bit of good old fashioned 'Geordie' humour!

I was in actual fact, referring to the contrived Status Quo poster! So there you have it, all the proof you need!

Oh, and 'Geordie' is a nickname for someone who comes from near the River Tyne in the North East of England! YAY!

Pauline

[Sfalj]

I guess I better whip out an encyclopedia and figure out the geography lesson you're giving me.

[Pollyanna]

Try an Atlas, you might find me in there!

Pauline

[colt933]

Trevor Rabin, the whole reason I discovered Westone.

TR with a Spectrum FX:



TR with the 1986 Westone Pantera X-390CB remarked as 'Alvarez':



And again, same guitar:


TR with a custom Pantera that you'll never see anywhere else:

[corsair]

...wasn't he the guitarist on "Owner of a broken heart"? What's the 4th knob for on that custom Pantera? Sure is pretty, eh!

[Old Gregg]

Trevor Rabin, the whole reason I discovered Westone.

TR with a custom Pantera that you'll never see anywhere else:

Hey, we have points on the scoreboard!!!!

I've no idea who Trevor Rabin is (nothing that a quick Google won't fix ), but it's great to see someone actually posing on their album sleeve with a Westone guitar (even if it is one that nobody else can buy ).

Good find there, colt933 .

[Sfalj]

...wasn't he the guitarist on "Owner of a broken heart"? What's the 4th knob for on that custom Pantera? Sure is pretty, eh!

I think you mean Owner of a lonely heart. And yes, he was the guitarist for 90125.

[corsair]

...ta, bud - that's exactly what I meant!

[Pollyanna]

And yes, he was the guitarist for 90125.

I thought he was the guitarist in the band 'YES' and the album was called 90124, not 90125!

Pauline

Oops! My mistake, he did make an album called 90125 as well! I'd forgotten about that! Never get old, it does funny things to your memory!!!

[colt933]

...wasn't he the guitarist on "Owner of a broken heart"? What's the 4th knob for on that custom Pantera? Sure is pretty, eh!

He wrote "Owner of a Lonely Heart" and all of the other songs on 90125, Big Generator, and Talk, and 3 songs on Union. He graciously shared writing credit on all of these songs, but it's pretty obvious he wrote them all.

The custom light blue Pantera has a single coil in the middle, between the two humbuckers. I bet the 4th knob is a volume knob for the middle pickup. Panteras have a 3-way selector and the combination of 3 pickups with a 3-way switch doesn't give you many options.

On the Spectrum FX guitars, one of the push-pull knobs turns on the middle pickup because it only has a 3-way.

Search youtube for Trevor Rabin. You'll find LOTS of video of him
playing the Pantera X-390CB. Check out his video for 'Something To
Hold On To' from his 1989 solo album. There are a couple of hundred
Westone and SLM guitars on the set, including the light blue Pantera.

[colt933]

TR burning up the X-390CB:

[corsair]

The custom light blue Pantera has a single coil in the middle, between the two humbuckers. I bet the 4th knob is a volume knob for the middle pickup. Panteras have a 3-way selector and the combination of 3 pickups with a 3-way switch doesn't give you many options.

On the Spectrum FX guitars, one of the push-pull knobs turns on the middle pickup because it only has a 3-way.

Yes, I think we should keep in mind there were one or two issues with Westones, eh! In addition to the above, how about there being no string height adjustment on Bendmaster Deluxe bridges; my Genesis has no coil split for the h/b and only a 3 way switch!? I'm sure on eor two of the longterm Westone owners have more irksome things as well - so they're NOT perfect, just very close to it!!

[colt933]

Yes, I think we should keep in mind there were one or two issues with Westones, eh! In addition to the above, how about there being no string height adjustment on Bendmaster Deluxe bridges; my Genesis has no coil split for the h/b and only a 3 way switch!? I'm sure on eor two of the longterm Westone owners have more irksome things as well - so they're NOT perfect, just very close to it!!

Don't forget that Floyd Rose tremolos and all tune-o-matic style bridges have no individual string height adjustment.

This is not necessarily a flaw...Mr. Rose and the Gibson brand have made LOTS of money without individual string height adjustment.

The Pantera X-390 guitars typically have Kahler Pro tremolos which DO have individual string height adjustment.

Also, the extra knob on the light blue Pantera is a great way of controlling the extra pickup, and the push-pull on the Spectrum FX is another great way of controlling the extra pickup.

[colt933]

More TR burning the X-390CB with good close-ups. Note that his guitar does not have the panther head logo on the body.



Check out my two Pantera X-390CB's. The one on the left has the panther head logo and the one on the right has the 'Westone Pantera' logo like Rabin's. Both have Kahler Pros. The X-390DB prototype has a Bendmaster Deluxe.

[Old Gregg]

TR burning up the X-390CB:

Enlightening !

Steve Howe has better cheek bones than Kate Moss, don't you think !?

Sorry , back on topic ....

[colt933]

Hey, we have points on the scoreboard!!!!

I've no idea who Trevor Rabin is (nothing that a quick Google won't fix ), but it's great to see someone actually posing on their album sleeve with a Westone guitar (even if it is one that nobody else can buy ).

Good find there, colt933 .

Check out his Live in LA release on VoicePrint. That's the X-390CB on the cover (although the cover of the version of the CD that I bought a couple of years ago is a little different) and also heard on I believe 100% of the songs on the album (that's what it sounds like).

He is definitely the most famous Westone endorsee. He also endorsed Alvarez-Yairi guitars ( DY-88 ) and Ampeg amps (VT-100 tube heads), both SLM products with Westone. Chris Squire, the Yes founder and bassist/vocalist has endorsed Ampeg amps for decades and obviously hooked Rabin up with SLM.

Check out Trevor Rabin on Ebay. There are LOTS of magazine advertisements for sale that picture Rabin endorsing Westone, Alvarez, Alvarez-Yairi, and Ampeg products. One of his Westone advertisement photos is from set of the "Something To Hold On To" music video that I posted earlier in this thread. You can also purchase all 5 of his solo CD releases on Ebay, along with his Master Licks/Star Sessions guitar instructional video (featuring his famous strat, the Pantera X-390CB, and the Alvarez-Yairi DY-88, his Yes releases, and the 9012Live video (no Westones there...before his relationship with SLM).

In the instructional video, he discusses Tom Presley at SLM (designer of the Westone Panteras and first Spectrum guitars along with the Bendmaster FT and Bendmaster Deluxe tremolos and the Magnaflux UBC pickups) making the guitar for him and presenting him with it.

There are a few really good bootleg videos from the Union and Talk tours and one or two really rare ones from Big Generator that feature the Pantera X-390CB and and the Alvarez/Yairi DY-88. Most of the live videos of him on Youtube are from these bootlegs.

There was a Trevor Rabin Signature model from Westone around 1989-1990 and then these were re-branded as Alvarez after the Westone brand name disappeared in 1990-91. These guitars occasionally appear on Ebay, but mostly the Alvarez versions...I have only seen one Westone Trevor Rabin Signature model for sale on Ebay and it went for like $900 and wasn't in good condition. Occasionally you will find necks from Westone or Alvarez Trevor Rabin Signature models on Ebay as well (from the cheaper bolt-on neck model).

It surprises me that the Westone forum guys aren't familiar with Trevor Rabin or his work. He's in my top 5 favorite guitarists with Van Halen, Dave Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, and Eric Johnson. He and Van Halen are friends and Van Halen covered one of Rabin's songs on the last VH album with Sammy. Also, Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" riff and beat from 1984 sound a whole lot like a song from Trevor Rabin's Wolf album from 1980. Obviously Van Halen knew who Rabin was about 30 years ago, before he was in Yes.

Since he left Yes in 1994, he has scored over 30 motion pictures including some Jerry Bruckheimer blockbusters like Armageddon and more recently the two National Treasure movies.

He is a bit of a guitar God. Check out this cool picture of TR with Satriani, Vai, Lukather, Morello, and Jordan (these guys are all legends and he was invited to play a virtuoso show with them):

[DavidL]

1980's Geordie black metal band venom standardised on Westones, vocalist/bassist played both Concords and Panteras but more often than not super headless models. In most footage the guitarist is usally playing a black Dimension iv.

In Tina Turners music video for 'one of the living' from the Mad Max beyond thunderdome film she can be seen playing what looks like a red Dimension iv though on the quick flashes of it you see I couldnt be sure, however, the fretboard is painted red to match the body which I believe was the case with the Dimension iv models in red. Also it only has 2 humbuckers rather than H/S/H setup so maybe a custom?

There is also a local busker who plays a pristine cherry red concord 1 !!

[Pollyanna]

Hi there David, good to see another fellow Geordie joining the troops!

Right, back to the subject!

There was also Dave Brock out of Hawkwind, (I'm not sure if Guy has already mentioned him) but he had a Paduak that he played on stage and it was hand painted with a picture from one of his album covers by our one and only Guy (Thunduak-1). It sold recently on eBay to a bloke in Germany called 'Ginger Baker' for £3,600!

There, that's my two-penny'th worth! You'll have to 'Google' it for yourselves though because I'm in the middle of cooking!

Pauline

[Sfalj]

Hey Colt! That is some extensive info you have on Trevor Rabin. I guess you are a fan after all. I haven't seen the videos you posted yet because I'm at home on dial up, but I'll be sure to check them out later this week.

I personally know absolutely nothing about him but you make him sound pretty good. I'll post later and tell you what I thought of it.

[Old Gregg]

Another good clip of New Model Army in action , c/w Westone Thunder Jet Bass being slapped, plucked, dug at and even a few tasteful harmonics too. What more could you ask ?

Link ...

I know that most of you will hate this band , but the Westone bass footage is unrivaled .