Westone guitar cases serial numbers#
Many serial numbers on guitars built there during this era use the first digit to indicate the year the guitar was produced, so the leading “0” in your guitar’s serial number could indicate 1990, but this is all speculation. Your guitar appears to be a circa 1989 or 1990 Corsair GT WE7400 that was produced in Korea. While this marked the end of Westone as many of us knew it, FCN Music reintroduced a few models to little success in 1996/1997, Status Graphite made some “Sid Poole Westones” in 1998, and the German company Musik Meyer would later try and revive the name in the 21st century via the production of inexpensive Gibson and Fender copies. Production would continue in Korea under the Westone name until 1990 or 1991, when SLM decided to start branding all their electric guitars under the Alvarez name as a complement to their successful acoustic line. Saint Louis Music then shifted production of Westone guitars to Korea, where they essentially came up with an entirely new line of guitars. In 1987, the Matsumoku factory closed due to low sales. The early Westones built by Matsumoku in Japan are generally regarded by collectors and players to be decent guitars. SLM combined the two brands as “Electra-Westone” in 1984, but by 1985, they dropped the Electra name all together and went back to just Westone. At the time, SLM also owned and distributed Electra guitars, a brand made by Matsumoku. In 1981, Saint Louis Music (SLM) acquired a partial interest in the company, and shortly thereafter, SLM became a distributor of Westone in the U.S. Matsumoku developed their first prototypes in 1979 to 1980, and the new line of guitars was branded Westone. In the late 1970s, Matsumoku decided to introduce their own line of guitars and market/distribute the line themselves, all while continuing to produce guitars for other manufacturers. They produced guitars for many large companies in the 1970s and 1980s including Epiphone, Aria, and Vantage.
Matsumoku was a well-known and well-respected guitar and sewing machine manufacturer from Japan. Let’s take a brief look at the company’s history.
It makes you wonder how many guitars and other pieces of cool gear are buried in peoples’ garages and attics, doesn’t it? Westone is definitely a product of the 1980s, but the brand has appeared in some form for almost every decade since. Seems to be a model that is relatively rare. It just needed some cleanup, but otherwise is in great shape. I believe it’s a 1989 Westone Corsair GT WE7400TRB (SN 052921). This guitar was buried in a friend’s garage.
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