*OFF MARKET* FS: Early NS WAV 4 with Ebony fingerboard

fred pratt · #1 07-19-2011, 10:12 AM

Hey, Folks,

I haven't been using my WAV 4 much lately so I've decided to sell it to finance other purchases.

I bought this a couple years ago from a guy on the BG side. When the bass arrived in themail the piezos didn't work so David Gage got new ones from Ned Steinberger and intalled them. David says this is one of the early WAV 4s, and the neck, while dark brown in color, is definitely ebony.

A while after replacing the piezos I was walking to a session having carelessly zipping the WAV in the bag. The WAV fell out onto Bleecker Street causing some damage to the wood on the very bottom of the bass. Manny at David Gage's shop repaired the damage and did an expert job. You can see where the wood chipped, but the finish is smooth. There is a slight ding at the very top of the headstock. Other than that the bass looks good. The finish is Amberburst.

Manny also installed active elctronics for me, and switched out the tone pot for one that actually provides a useful range of treble settings. There is now a 9-volt battery mounted in the compartment, which allows the use of longer cords and helps to provide deep tone.

I have D'Addario NS Traditional strings on it, which are my favorite for this bass. I will also include the original NS strings that the bass came with and a German bow that also came with the bass. The stand is the orignal lighter one. I replaced some of the nuts that would periodically come loose with lock nuts. The thumb screw that controls the tripod works well enough but should probably be replaced since the plastic thumb part of it is slipping a little.

The photo below is from when I bought the bass two years ago but the bass doesn't look much different now. I'm a terrible photogapher. I can try to take more photos if you're interested, but I can't vouch for how good they'll be.

I'd really prefer local NYC pick-up but if you're from out of town and really interested let me know. $699

Ben Mitchell · #2 07-19-2011, 10:28 AM

Photos? Does it bow easily?

I'm trying to figure out how to buy this thing from you.

fred pratt · #3 07-19-2011, 10:32 AM

I only started learning the bow a month ago on my double bass and I haven't yet tried to bow the WAV. I'll try it when I go home and let you know. It has a toggle switch to set the piezos to a bow-friendly mode.

Ben Mitchell · #4 07-19-2011, 10:34 AM

Alright. Let me see what I can dig up in terms of funds, and you may be hearing from me.

fred pratt · #5 07-24-2011, 12:00 PM

It bows surprisingly nicely. It might be in part that it has D'Addarios on it, while my upright has Velvets. But it sounds good. Way more like an actual acoustic bass than you would predict.

I took some pictures. Let's see if I can attach them.

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