Westone Genesis Bass 1987 Purple Finish Matsumoku MIJ

For sale is a very rare Matsumoku bass, the Westone Genesis bass. Model XA6520. This bass is the very last model model to be made at the Matsumoku factory. They were released in 1987 to commemorate St. Louis Music's (SLM's) 25th anniversary. Unfortunately, shortly after these were released that same year, the Matsumoku factory burned down and its then-owners Singer never rebuilt it. And so an era came to an end. This is a rare bass indeed. A little history:

St. Louis Music built a large business by importing and later, manufacturing, high quality instruments from abroad that were affordable to a wide variety of players’ hands. This was happening at a time when the quality of the more traditional US instrument manufacturers was slipping and as a result many of these newer imported instruments became preferred by many musicians, professional and amateur, for their quality and dependability.

To have their own brand of guitars and basses to add to their portfolio of brands (which also included Crate, Electra and Ampeg, among others), St. Louis Music launched Electra Guitars and Westone Guitars which were all manufactured at the legendary Matsumoku plant. SLM’s venture into guitars resulted in some very innovative instruments such as the Electra MPCs and Westone Thunders, which hold are true classics IMO.

To commemorate their 25th anniversary, they made the Genesis bass. The bass was intended to be a higher end instrument that gave a nod to their tradition of building quality instruments while making certain improvements for the more contemporary player. The result is a highly crafted bass made of Canadian ash (the same figured ash that features on the Aria SB1000 and other SB basses), two high output pickups, a 24 fret fingerboard, and a recessed and contoured lower horn area to accommodate slap bass players. And accommodate slappers it does- this bass is SCREAMIN fun to slap! It is also very comfortable to play with really nice action and a neck that feels good to move up and down on.

This bass is designed in the true spirit of an anniversary model, featuring numerous design elements apparent in Westone basses over the years. This has the classic Matsumoku headstock shape and 2+2 tuning configuration, high quality woods, powerful and flexible proprietary electronics, and superb craftsmanship. It also borrows from some of the later design elements that Westone became known for such as a more modern and sleeker body design, cupcake knobs, pickup switching, and top carving of the body on the lower side (to accommodate slap players). The result is a really cool looking bass that is build solidly and is very easy and enjoyable to play.

Cosmetically, this one is not a perfect 10 as it does have some slight nicks here and there as shown, but overall it is a very good looker in very good shape and a very collectible bass. I have only ever seen these come up 3 or 4 times for sale and I bought 2 of them. I would have bought the others but by the time I noticed it was too late.

This bass comes with a very protective violin shaped hard case and will be very well packed for its journey to you. 

This is a great chance to have a nice vintage instrument that represents a piece of Matsumoku history at a very affordable price. The very same model is currently being listed at guitar center for much more than my asking price.