WESTONES HAVE lost their heads. After the various Thunders, including the all-black Jet, there is now a range of headless basses. Two have conventional body shapes but the pair reviewed here are in the Steinberger mould. Both of these have a finish described as "Satin Black" which gives the impression of graphite but conceals old-fashioned wood — hard maple to be precise.

The problem with this style of bass is that you have to use a strap even when sitting. I'm not over-keen on the shape, and obviously your reaction will depend on your opinion — my reservations were shared by several other bassists who tried them. However, before you dismiss me as an old fogey, allow me to mention that I'm all for the headless idea. It's simple and I'm sure it does produce a more even response and I expect that it will become a standard feature on most basses in the future.

An obvious advantage of a minimal body and no head is lightness. I was able to carry both basses, on the tube at the height of the rush-hour with no difficulty. In their soft gig bags and slung over the shoulder they do look like rifles, so be prepared for plenty of flak — literally, perhaps.

Supplying a gig bag with the instrument is definitely a step in the right direction. This one is basic and doesn't look too sturdy, but it'll do the job. I'm told that in future the amount of padding will be increased so protection should be adequate. Since the majority of users are unlikely to sling their bass in the back of a Transit, a bag is much more useful than a case.

The lightness is also a benefit when playing. The necks felt comfortable — similar to other Westones, which I like — a bit narrower than a Precision but not cramped. The scale length (32¼in) is shorter than usual. This may help anyone who finds a long scale (34in) bass too much to handle.

Both basses feature a "Trak Tune" bridge. It looks very solid and tuning is smooth and accurate. Adjustment of action or intonation requires the use of allen keys and these are supplied. The Quantum has two pickups each with its own volume control plus a master tone control. The Rail has a single sliding pickup with just a volume control. They all worked smoothly but with the usual problem of most of the effect in the last 10% of the turn.

Beyond the nut the strings are fixed by a retainer held in place by three grub screws. Unfortunately this arrangement makes it impossible to replace a single string without disturbing the others. The distributors tell me that this has already been mentioned to Westone so maybe in later models this problem will be overcome.

I was surprised to find that they were louder than my own basses which have EMG pickups. So, bearing in mind that EMG's are louder than Fender's, you'll appreciate that the "Magnaflux" pickups produce plenty of volume.

Tonally they weren't so impressive being a little dull and lifeless when compared to a Thunder 1A which sounded better whether in its active or passive mode — though being supplied with a better set of strings gave it an advantage.

The Rail's "variable position pickup" is an idea that was tried some years ago by Dan Armstrong and it didn't catch on then. It works but it's awkward and I'm not sure there's any advantage over a conventional two pickup arrangement. Furthermore it's uncomfortable — the sliding section sticks in your chest and, as it includes the jack socket, the lead can end up hanging from some unusual positions which is a nuisance and spoils the visual impact of the bass. Some players might be unhappy that there's nowhere to rest their thumb unless the pickup is set in a convenient position. I didn't find this a problem as I prefer to rest it on the E string, anyway.

My overall impression is that the Quantum and the Rail are not what they might appear to be in their ultra-modern style. Their construction (neck bolted to body), material (wood, so no bouncing on the floor to demonstrate their resilience and tuning stability), and circuitry (not a microchip to be seen), is, in fact, completely conventional.

Clearly these basses are aimed at the player who wants, but can't afford, a Steinberger. Certainly they succeed where appearance is concerned — they created a stir whenever I used them. This, together with Westone's reputation for reliability and good value should ensure popularity with budding stars. However, the typical bassist is more concerned with practical considerations such as sound quality and comfort — the success of the Thunder 1 and 1A demonstrates this — so I expect that the appeal will be limited. A headless Thunder 1, now there would be a thing.

WESTONE Quantum bass: £265 Rail bass: £275

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