The 34″-scale rosewood fretboard has 24 frets and the fretboard markers are smaller than average. The string nut is carbon graphite, and its three-piece maple neck measures 19/16″ wide at the nut. The two-plus-two headstock has Westone’s own Trak Wind Deluxe tuners, and a close look reveals its W logo is an eagle silhouette. The Burgundy Pearl and Transparent Burgundy instruments had quite different hues – the former being more purple while the latter was more cherry-colored. The bass, listed as model XA6520 in catalogs, retailed for $569 when it was introduced in ’87 and was available in three colors – Burgundy Pearl (XA6520BUP) on a poplar body, and Transparent Walnut (XA6520TWA) or Transparent Burgundy (XA6520TBU) on a Canadian ash body. One of the more traditional-looking Westones was the limited-edition Genesis guitar and bass, created to commemorate the distributor’s 65th anniversary.
The Matsumoku-made Westone brand came along at the start of the ’80s, and SLM distributed it, as well, phasing out some Electra in favor of Westones, some of which evolved through the decade to become unique and innovative in their own right. Louis Music (SLM), which distributed the successful Matsumoku-made Electra instruments. Gibson (technically, it’s parent company, Norlin) contracted with Matsumoku to make Epiphone instruments in the ’70s. It entered the guitar market in the mid ’50s and in the ensuing decades made parts or instruments for Yamaha, Aria, Greco, Vantage, Univox, and Westbury, among others.
Japan’s Matsumoku company was a family-owned woodworking enterprise founded circa 1900, and established a relationship with Singer shortly after World War II, contracting to build cabinets for sewing machines manufactured in Japan. The relationship between Japanese instrument builders and domestic distributors was critical in the evolution of guitar sales in the United States, and was arguably the most important factor in the demise of domestic budget-grade guitars in the late 1960s.
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