Wishbass EUB

[heath_the_great]

alright, ive seen the slander on wish's basses.....but just outta curiousity has anyone played his electric uprights?.....im so turned on by a wish eub, and turned off by the price, and the necks of an NS design eub......but on topic, anyone played one? comments?

[Eilif]

This belongs in the EUB section of the Doublebass section.
Though in fairness folks who would buy a Wishbass, are probably not serius EUB users.... They are probably crossovers from Electric bass.

[ElMon]

I actually made the mistake of buying one. I actually sent him a detailed drawing of how I wanted this bass to be built, and what I got was a heavy, undercarved, piece of you-know-what with the most massively unusable neck I've ever encountered. When I called him to complain, he acted like it was my fault.

[Aj*]

One thing I do know is that those NS ones are one gourgeous piece of design!

[The_Ryst]

Most Wishbass buyers wish they never bought them, let's put it that way:-o

[Lo end PUNCH]

Not true, in fact MOST wishbass owners have bought two. Look outside of Talkbass, as we only represent a very small portion of the bass playing community. Wish keeps selling 'em, so somebody keeps buyin' 'em.

[SnoMan]

I bought one...


that was more than enough

[heath_the_great]

Originally Posted by The_Ryst

Most Wishbass buyers wish they never bought them, let's put it that way:-o

there are a few people on here that do own wishbasses and love them... i mean, there are people who love behringer gear, and those who hate it..but lets not steer this that way.....but i do like most of wishes designs.....ok im not gonna go a devoted EUB'er but it is good to have that extra option, like i play in cover bands and a blues band and it would be good to have that EUB for a few songs

ive emailed wish a few times in the past, he's always seemed helpful and kind, but i spose i havent had your problem Elmon.....but if anyone that can steer me to a custom builder with the same price that wish provides, please do, cos i havent found anyone else

the voice of the ignorant and hateful are louder than those of the accepted and kind

[Eilif]

It ain't custom, but if you want to make a step toward a true EUB or doublebass (I am sorry, but compared to eub building standards, Wish doesn't qualify yet) your best bet is the Pace Bass by Dean. It's a 5 string EUB with 35' scale. You can't bow on it due to the flatter fingerboard, but if you are just planning on plucking then it might be just up your alley.

$650 w/stand here:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/...se_pid/519948/

Oh, and it actually has a piezo pickup and buffer preamp, a (no eq, just impedance changer), a real finish, and adjustable bridge. Admitadly, it is something of an EUB/electric bass hybrid, but it definatley seems like a better option than a wish bass.

Further, if you get a wish, and you want a true "upright" tone, expect to invest in an acoustic pickup, preamp, and if you want to bow on it, expect to bring it in for a fingerboard dressing and bridge work. (That's 2-6 hundred dollars or more)

I have never owned a wish, and am not trying to be a hater, but I am a double bassist who was interested in a wish EUB and read all I could about him. I just want you to be aware of what you are getting into if you get a wish.

Lastly, If you are a good woodworker, you may want to buy a wish EUB with the expectation that you will do your own shaping, planing, refinishing and other adjustments.

[bluemonk]

[quote=Eilif]It ain't custom, but if you want to make a step toward a true EUB or doublebass (I am sorry, but compared to eub building standards, Wish doesn't qualify yet) your best bet is the Pace Bass by Dean. It's a 5 string EUB with 35' scale. You can't bow on it due to the flatter fingerboard, but if you are just planning on plucking then it might be just up your alley.
QUOTE]

I agree.

[Doug Ring]

Have to step in here about your quote, Bluemonk. "What's so Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding" is a Brinsley Schwarz song, so probably attributable to Nick Lowe, although Elvis C did cover it.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program...

[bassmutant]

I got my ergo eub, http://www.ergoinstruments.com, at the end of july, it has been one of the better purchases i've made in a long time, it's my review thats up on harmony-central. I personally wouldn't even consider a wish anything, especially something like an eub from him. That is my opinion based on all of the work i've seen pictures of and his reviews on this site. The ergo 5 string was about 780 bucks shipped with position markers, sounds great, and I just found a place to buy a gig bag for it that was made for an ns designs instrument for 140 dollars. I really like it, and have tried the deans and pallandino eub's that music stores are starting to carry, along with quite a few chinese DB's. Ergo is much higher quality for similar pricing to the others. It actually sounds good too. The ergo is 42" scale, and has very close action to the doubles I've played, as well as a compound radius, so it's completely bowable....I just have to learn how to bow On another note, i've read that the folks who had them setup with the lower action aren't very pleased with the results, mine is setup fairly high, i asked for jesse to make it have as close to an uprights action as possible, that may explain why I like the tone so much.

[heath_the_great]

well, from what ive gathered over the last week, the deans are horrible, i dunna like em, plus the 4 string is like $1700 over here, ive emailed ergo a few times with no response.....AND THERE ARE OTHER BASSISTS WITH WISHBASSES OUT THERE THAT ARENT ON TALKBASS, (sorry) and there are plenty on here that like em, and bassmutant, sorry again but i cant trust your opinion on wish's instruments cos you've only read reviews and seen pictures and not played them....also im not really interested in bowing, i dabble with an ebow occasionally but if i wanted to get into bowing id go out and buy a normal upright...

also, ive emailed wish a few times and he's gotten straight back to me each time...i asked for a 4 string electric upright with a walnut body, purpleheart fingerboard, J pickup, graphite neck re-inforcement with a small violin style body and he quoted me $300us

and my inspiration for getting a wish EUB is because of the setup im building up to, and basically all id use the eub for is maybe a solo in a song or the main groove and switch between my jazz and the eub by a foot switch, cos its on a stand if i plug em both into an A/B box i can switch instantly.......

[bassmutant]

Originally Posted by heath_the_great

well, from what ive gathered over the last week, the deans are horrible, i dunna like em, plus the 4 string is like $1700 over here, ive emailed ergo a few times with no response.....AND THERE ARE OTHER BASSISTS WITH WISHBASSES OUT THERE THAT ARENT ON TALKBASS, (sorry) and there are plenty on here that like em, and bassmutant, sorry again but i cant trust your opinion on wish's instruments cos you've only read reviews and seen pictures and not played them....also im not really interested in bowing, i dabble with an ebow occasionally but if i wanted to get into bowing id go out and buy a normal upright...

also, ive emailed wish a few times and he's gotten straight back to me each time...i asked for a 4 string electric upright with a walnut body, purpleheart fingerboard, J pickup, graphite neck re-inforcement with a small violin style body and he quoted me $300us

and my inspiration for getting a wish EUB is because of the setup im building up to, and basically all id use the eub for is maybe a solo in a song or the main groove and switch between my jazz and the eub by a foot switch, cos its on a stand if i plug em both into an A/B box i can switch instantly.......

It's your money man, I care not how you spend it, just make sure to review that wish on the forums when you get it if you don't mind.

[bluemonk]

Originally Posted by Doug Ring

Have to step in here about your quote, Bluemonk. "What's so Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding" is a Brinsley Schwarz song, so probably attributable to Nick Lowe, although Elvis C did cover it.

Doug,
Didn't know that. Thanks for pointing it out. I'll try to check out the original.

[Doug Ring]

Well if you like catchy songs, great harmonies and killer Hammond playing, you're gonna love the Brinsleys! Plus Nick Lowe's not too shabby a bass player...

[BassChuck]

I own a Wishbass and I like it. Its one of his EUB's. I did not buy it from him directly, but rather from a seller on eBay. It was about the size of a cello, actually a little larger 54" from top to bottom and had a scale of 34".

It had 7 strings, but I found that to be a problem for me (I've played BG for 30 years) plus the "B" string was a tad floppy for good use. I took the instrument to a local luthier (nationally known for his viola making) and had him make a 6 string nut. He also dressed a very small bump out of the fb.

The instrument plays well. Has the same feel and action as my sons DB. There is a piezo in the bridge and a preamp in the body. The sound is very good, very much like a DB with a mike near the bridge.

This is my first fretless instrument, so I'm working with the intonation, but its coming pretty well and I expect to have myself gig ready in about a month.

If you read all the things on TB about Wishbass's you'll get a good idea of the build, fit and finish. Some don't like the designs, but that's strickly personal. Some don't like the finish and Wish is pretty up front about doing a simple job there, if you order one, get it without finish and do it yourself. Some don't like the build, but again thats a personal thing, for me, I don't mind it, there is a personality there that is rather nice. The sound is very good, and if you read what Steve says about his instruments, this is the goal, to make a good sounding instrument.

I'm happy with mine, and I have a BG on order. I think they are worth considering.

[mje]

I get the feeling that Wishbasses are what they are; you can't compare them with anything esle, as no one else makes a crudely finished instrument with a neck like a baseball bat ;-)

They're not the cheapest basses around; I had a Rogue fretless I paid $129 for that was surprisingly good. What they are is Works of Art- granted, outsider art- that just happen to be playable as instruments.

Oh, and I wouldn't call an instrument with a 34" scale an EUB. I'd call it a BG played in a funny position ;-)

[BassChuck]

Originally Posted by mje

.

Oh, and I wouldn't call an instrument with a 34" scale an EUB. I'd call it a BG played in a funny position ;-)

Right. I've been wondering just what too call this instrument. Wish calls it a Gamba and that has some merit as the tone holes are sorta half moon shaped (I've seen pics of some late 1600's cello's with tone holes like that) and you have to play it seated, like a cello. Its tuned to a bass pitch but 6 strings EADGCF. You couldn't stand to play it with out a new and much longer end pin. It's heavy.

I like calling it an EUB cause my father was a minister and his church often did things with one of the other churches the Evangelical United Bretheren. The merged with the Methodist in the 1960's to became a part of the United Methodist church... so EUB is just kinda funny.

[Mark Latimour]

Heath

Short of sending it in a shipping container (6 weeks - 6 months depending on customs etc), you will not be able to get a Wish EUB to Australia. Its too big to ship through the mail (ie USPS, FedEx etc) and so it will have to go via sea. From what I understand that is no easy process and so expect to be shelling out well in excess of probably $2k Aus for the bass plus shipping for a Wish EUB. For that kind of money I'd get the Dean in Aus.