The Electra Forums

ok. my moms boyfriend gave me an 1984 electra westone X185 guitar for my birthday. I was just wondering (no offense) how much it was worth. it plays well and i like the feel although i am not familiar with electra westones at all. so if anybody could give me an estimate i would be honored. thanks.

Lots of good information on the X185 on this link:

http://www.rivercityamps.com/electrapag ... 123-091934

includes description of the versatile controls among other tidbits. 1984 is the year Electra changed it's name to Westone, and quality was very consistent from the Matsumoko Factory, good year. Many of the Westones had that body shape, with differences being electronic configuration, tailpeices, neck bolt-on or set, colors, etc. Generally these have been undervalued (according to owners!), you hear about people finding them at pawn shops for $100, if you check eBay, probably closer to $175-$275. Because they were so inexpensive, many of them have been modded, and possibly lost their switching capabilities. Play it for a while before you sell it, you may get attached to it.

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Electra Guitar Videos ===> http://www.youtube.com/user/mjm33mjm?feature=watch

This is all good advice.

Here is some more:

Guitars are like women. Etc. You got a good one. It might just take some time before you understand how good it is.

Enjoy!

It's worth what people are willing to pay for it.
But keep it for a while, you may be surprised.

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Addicted to Matsumoku.

What they said. In short: he had the good taste to give you one of the best guitars ever made. Now, the truth is (not kidding) that this is easily also one of the least appreciated brands.

So... talking price- most likely in the $200 range, if you were to go out looking on ebay and craig's list and pawnshops. Sure they vary, cheapest I ever got one was $40 and the most I've seen one go for was around $500 (rare variation, ebay insanity)

Now... how much would you have to pay to get an equivalent new guitar today?

I'm going to take a stab and say somewhere between $500 and $1200 for an equivalent. Better than a mexican Fender (although those vary wildly and these don't). Somewhere in the range of an modern american Fender? Hm...

YOu know what I would say is an equivalent, in terms of quality of neck, body, etc- a good vintage 80's Fender, the japanese ones. REally nice, yes.

Now, if you add upon that the fact that your guitar has much more versatile wiring, offering coil tap and phase reverse, right? Plus those MMK45 pickups really are better than anything you can get in the aftermarket.

So... value?

I'd say your mom's boyfriend gave you just about the best bang for the buck, quality for value, that you could possibly get in a guitar. These things are dang good, play so go play the heck out of it!

And give us a shout if you need help setting it up, making adjsutments, any troubleshooting, etc. They're pretty bulletproof though.

We'd love to see pics of your guitar, btw.