Hello and pics of my 2 Westone's (UK built cutlass and corsair)

[dlmorley]

Hi all
Since I got a Sid Poole Les Paul a while back, I keep my eye open for his work and found these 2 Westones. Great guitars. Absolute top notch instruments for the money, but I guess I'm preaching to the converted!
I kind of prefer the Cutlass as an instrument, but both are wonderful.
The Corsair has a Bare Knuckle pickup in the bridge, but I'd prefer an original Gotoh if I knew what model to find!
Anyway, cheers and glad to have found this forum
David

[norfolkngood]

Hi David and welcome to the nuthouse!

Couple of nice Sid Poole guitar you've got there

His UK-made guitars get a welcome on here, not original MIJ/ uncle Mat obviously but he kept the tradition alive. The last two or three on UK ebay went for top £s.

[corsair]

They're both stonking instruments, bro - very very nice; I'll have the blue one, thanks..... Yes, whilst they're not Matsumoku I concur that they do uphold the traditions of Westone and that they also need cataloging a little better than they are presently - welcome here, man!!

[Administrator]

Welcome David, Excellent stuff - I'll have both please! I'm on the hunt for a blue one.

Keen eyed members might have noticed the very subtle change to the header at the top of the page over the last couple of weeks.

As for the original pickups - I might have a bit of news for you on those in the next week or so....

[dlmorley]

Hi guys and thanks for the welcome!
And thx Admin! Any news on pups would be good.
I think these guitars have been under the radar really but seem to have their fans. I certainly think the quality speaks for itself. Great necks, wonderful build quality and decent hardware.
Cheers
David

[Barry]

Hi David, and welcome again...
I know bugger all about Sid Poole but looking at the pix and the comments from my learned comrades these are obviously fine instruments!
Damn, another name to add to the list of guitars I need to look out for!

[dlmorley]

Here is my Sid Poole LP. I had 2. Gibson asked him to stop, so he started making his own designs. I think the LP replicas are hard to find (made in about 94 I believe)
I had 2, sold one alas, but such is life.

[corsair]

Bloody hell; beyond pretty.... ! Gibson *asked* him to stop???

[Barry]

[dlmorley]

Bloody hell; beyond pretty.... ! Gibson *asked* him to stop???

Asked/told not sure! Word is that it was all very civil and Sid stopped straight away. He wasn't producing them as such. Only to order.
Great guitar.
Back to the westones!
I think Sid designed great neck connections and it's a pretty importnat part of a guitar. See how far the neck goes into the body.

[Barry]

...I think Sid designed great neck connections...See how far the neck goes into the body...

Wow, impressive!
Anybody know what the chances are of seeing one of these outside of the UK?

[Administrator]

Stay tuned Barry..... ;-)

The original Cutlass and Corsair Prestige were domestic only, so probably extremely rare in the wild overseas. They are uncommon enough as it is in the UK.

I'd love a Sid Poole Les Paul - might have to re-mortgage the house before I could afford one... let alone two! Sadly Sid's website is no longer maintained (it was for a few years after his death), so aside from those people lucky enough to already own one, or met him there is precious little knowledge out there. Bernie Marsden (whitesnake) and Geoff Whitehorn (procol harum) both used Sid Poole Les Pauls.

Anyway, I digress! I'm really hoping to have some interesting stuff to say about the Cutlass and Corsair soon.

[norfolkngood]

Here is my Sid Poole LP. I had 2. Gibson asked him to stop, so he started making his own designs. I think the LP replicas are hard to find (made in about 94 I believe)
I had 2, sold one alas, but such is life.

My twopennorth, for what it's worth...

1) Gibson rarely "asked" anybody to stop nicking the LP shape. Look at all the so-called Lawsuit models all over the shop. They are called that for a very good reason; Gibson jealously guard their prized LP (it's iconic and worth a fortune to them) and anyone using it got the Legal version of a "wanna swim with the fishes?" offer. It was along the lines of ... please stop plagiarising our top selling guitar or our corporate lawyers will be along shortly to nail your sorry nuts to the floor

2) Looks like dear old Sid saw the wisdom of changing the shape of his axes, to keep his business out of the Courts (unlike PRS who ended up in litigation with Gibbo for ages). That's why there are so few of these about and why those that remain are likely to be in the UK

3) and that's one nice guitar you've got there

[kaelmi]

I just both the sunburst one in central London , i think it is a cutlass ... not 100% sure
Nevertheless it 's a fantastic instrument of high quality , i was after a US strat and ....
i bought the Westone.
the guitar has a beautiful sunburst finish
chunky maple neck , small headstock
a trem bar , 1 vol , 1 tone control , 5 way switch
hss configuration with a silver cover on the bridge humbucker

Does any one have more info about the guitar
i would like to know more about the pickups ?
the wood used for the body is it alder or ash ?
............. ?

thank you .

[Administrator]

I just both the sunburst one in central London , i think it is a cutlass ... not 100% sure
Nevertheless it 's a fantastic instrument of high quality , i was after a US strat and ....
i bought the Westone.
the guitar has a beautiful sunburst finish
chunky maple neck , small headstock
a trem bar , 1 vol , 1 tone control , 5 way switch
hss configuration with a silver cover on the bridge humbucker

Does any one have more info about the guitar
i would like to know more about the pickups ?
the wood used for the body is it alder or ash ?
............. ?

thank you .

Hi, What you have is a Corsair Custom which has an ash body, a Gotoh Vintage Covered Humbucker, and two Gotoh Vintage single coils.

[Westbone]

The Corsair has a Gotoh H-3R humbucker, S-5S-S(south) at middle, S-5S-N(north) at the neck. The Cutlass has the same humbucker, but uncovered. If anyone has any please let me know.

[Westbone]

The Cutlass has a H-2R at the bridge, S-5 s(south) neck. 11.32 ohms + 6.41 ohms.

The Corsair, bridge to neck. 12.12, 6.58, 6.62 ohms. Sound like alnico 5 magnets.

Hope this helps.