The Electra Forums

hi, right i looked at the catalog's pics and ive seen all the pics i can find on the prestige 250 and they all have gibson style speed dials, but mine has tele like metal knobs. now i realize they could have been replaced but i dont think so unless it was done the day it was bought (which i agree is likely) but the wear and ageing even the discoloration matches all the other parts perfectly.
the catalog's for 83 but mine dates to 82, but i know i talked to someone else (sorry i forgott your name) about this and his is the same year but with the gibson style. has any one else seen this?

Like i said they look to all the wrold like they belong.

It was probably mine. It has the notched speed knobs as depicted in the catalog but there is something uinque about the tone knobs.

If you bought yours brand new in 1982 it may very well have come with them. I would suspect moreso that one was lost or broken, and being unique and hard to find by themselves may have been replaced before it hit the shop floor.

If in fact you did acquire it used you may want to check the tone pots. The tone pots should be center detent with one direction cutting upper frequencies and the other actually cutting one of the two coils for that pickup. The original knobs were numbered from 5 to 0 then to 5 again with 0 at the center detent. This is why I say the knobs were unique and were intentionally mated with the center detent tone pots.

yeah they are center , and no i didnt buy it new its just that they actually look as old as the rest and the exact same color, they've even worn to that gold/chrome like the rest has.

thanks anyway. i just thought id ask as i actually prefere them to the other type ive seen.

I am probably fine with the ones that are on mine since they are notched and not smooth like the cheaper speed knobs. On the other hand, I doubt I would replace the gold barrel knobs with originals on my PE-60 since they fit well with the rest of the hardware on it.

My "mystery bass" also has tele style metal knobs

Of couse they could also be replacements....

Or Westone/Matsumuki could have gotten a good deal on them one month....

just throwin' it out there

I'm absolutely positive the ones on my PE-60 are not original because I received the originals in the case along with it and one was cracked. Sad thing is I did not get the original tuner buttons or tailpiece. Oh well. One out of three ain't bad.

I'm not sure what your mystery bass is.

I have seen several "Spectrum" grade Westones with barrel knobs.

I guess there is an outside chance Matsumoku would have briefly used barrel knobs on the Prestige. That just doesn't fit norm for Matsumoku though (using spot purchase or "what's on hand at the moment" to build guitars). No matter. It's just knobs and easily changed to suit one's preference.

If one is happy with the barrels, all the better. Whether they are stock or not makes little difference if that is what one prefers. I would imagine some collectors could get tweaky about the knobs. Then again, if someone is tweaking over non-original knobs most likely they are looking at it as a "piece" and not as an instrument.

To save argument I'll concede they could be original. I guess most important is the player is happy with it the way it is. The Prestige is definitely a keeper.