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Them ore I see these, the more I want one.
Get a cool bass cheap, finish it up my way, and walah.
Get a cool bass cheap, finish it up my way, and walah.
Another Wishbass! This time it's a Scarab. Okay, we're showing off here a bit for newbies to this thread ....
BassDudeSA - you will be pleased to know that I just got done releveling and then polishing out the fingerboard. When I whittled down the bridge piece some weeks ago it started buzzing up near the nut. So, I took the strings off and discovered a little wave in the purpleheart - which is now gone and the thing practically plays itself. This one is a joy. Thanks again!
BassDudeSA - you will be pleased to know that I just got done releveling and then polishing out the fingerboard. When I whittled down the bridge piece some weeks ago it started buzzing up near the nut. So, I took the strings off and discovered a little wave in the purpleheart - which is now gone and the thing practically plays itself. This one is a joy. Thanks again!
I have a question! I've gone the uncreative route in defretting one of my old basses, and it is a nice learner's tool, but I'm looking for a better fretless without having to spend much money. Now I'm all in for putting in the effort of refinishing a body, having to fix a bridge, epoxy a neck, or whatever else is necessary, but without spending much down on the bass in the first place, if I were to take this bass, fix it up and everything, would it honestly be worth it? I mean, I'm sure that's all my opinion, and I've seen plenty positive things, heard samples, etc. but I would like to know if in my situation, with one defretted beginners bass and Spector as my main, would this be a nice addition? Looks don't really matter much to me, that's not my thing. Does it feel nice? Does it sound warm enough to you all? I'm mainly asking all of this because I don't have much experience with playing fretless basses, other then a Warwick Corvette that I borrowed for some weeks and the bass mentioned before. Would this be a good, reliable fretless bass that I could count on to play live and/or record with? Thank you for your responses if I do get any! 
I have a question! I've gone the uncreative route in defretting one of my old basses, and it is a nice learner's tool, but I'm looking for a better fretless without having to spend much money. Now I'm all in for putting in the effort of refinishing a body, having to fix a bridge, epoxy a neck, or whatever else is necessary, but without spending much down on the bass in the first place, if I were to take this bass, fix it up and everything, would it honestly be worth it? I mean, I'm sure that's all my opinion, and I've seen plenty positive things, heard samples, etc. but I would like to know if in my situation, with one defretted beginners bass and Spector as my main, would this be a nice addition? Look doesn't really matter much to me, that's not my thing. Does it feel nice? Does it sound warm enough to you all? I'm mainly asking all of this because I don't have much experience with playing fretless basses, other then a Warwick Corvette that I borrowed for some weeks and the bass mentioned before. Would this be a good, reliable fretless bass that I could count on to play live and/or record with? Thank you for your responses if I do get any!
I think it'd be a reasonable route to go, especially as you're willing to put in the extra finishing effort.
I learned fretless on a very cheap, kinda cruddy defretted Aria Pro II that I played for a long time, then some upright and ashbory. My wishbass Hyper was the next one I got, and it's been a great addition, certainly a great recording bass. The only real additional learning curve has been the lack of fret lines, but that's not that big of a deal.
Here's a tune I used it on:
http://fawm.org/songs/5297/
Thank you very much! That's just the type of response I was looking for. I think it was good for me to post that here rather then a more general thread, I would have gotten a lot of mud slinging. Short, sweet, to the point, with an example. Thank you very much. That track is nice too, I see you even got compliments on the bass. I'll probably be back as a club member next time I post here!
Yes, and yes. My first fretless was a old Mexican Tiesco del Rey with the frets pulled off. Then a Yamaha... Then the Wishbass Stude. The experience of finnishing and refining the Wishbass was an absolute joy and it sounds better than the Yamaha. Looking forward to seeing which model you pick...
I played one bass, and one bass only, a 69 jazz, from age 16 til I was 45. Then my midlife crises took hold, and, among other things, I decided it was time to face the fear of fretless. I found Wishbasses while trolling ebay. (Actually the first one I saw was an old custom, being sold used, that caught my eye cause it was so freaking weird/ugly/attractive. ) I don't gig much, wasn't sure if fretless was gonna take hold, so I didn't want to spend a lot of money. I ordered a wishbass, and have no regrets. I now own 6 of them. So I guess I did spend a lot of money, I just ended up with a lot of basses for the cost!I have a question! I've gone the uncreative route in defretting one of my old basses, and it is a nice learner's tool, but I'm looking for a better fretless without having to spend much money. Now I'm all in for putting in the effort of refinishing a body, having to fix a bridge, epoxy a neck, or whatever else is necessary, but without spending much down on the bass in the first place, if I were to take this bass, fix it up and everything, would it honestly be worth it? I mean, I'm sure that's all my opinion, and I've seen plenty positive things, heard samples, etc. but I would like to know if in my situation, with one defretted beginners bass and Spector as my main, would this be a nice addition? Look doesn't really matter much to me, that's not my thing. Does it feel nice? Does it sound warm enough to you all? I'm mainly asking all of this because I don't have much experience with playing fretless basses, other then a Warwick Corvette that I borrowed for some weeks and the bass mentioned before. Would this be a good, reliable fretless bass that I could count on to play live and/or record with? Thank you for your responses if I do get any!
Your post indicates that you are the prime target market for a Wishbass. Good luck, and have fun. James
I really wish that Wishnevsky would just charge 40% more and actually make sure the basses for finished in the first place. I really want one of these, but I'm not capable of fixing them up and it's just too much of a risk to spend the $500 and get something unplayable.
More like 200-300% more! I'd estimate I spent around 30hrs finishing mine.
I finished my bass with sandpaper and a block (where required), a micro-fiber cloth, Tru-Oil, 0000 steel wool and a bit of wood filler here and there and a screw-driver: there were no specialist tools involved.
As an extra I did add a wooden control cover and install a variable tone control (but you wouldn't need to do this) but I would say that 99% of folks and anyone who did some shop in high school could finish a Wishbass!
Read my post on what I did here: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5852656&postcount=64
From experience you will get a playable instrument off the bat when you order.
"Variety is the spice of life". Remember that quote? Wishbasses are what they are and they fill a niche that no one else seems to, or no one else seems all that interested in. I for one, am extremely grateful that Steve does what he does, because it allows me to do what I do! As Thunderitter has already said, you are looking at 25+ hours of finish work, but that is actually the magic of these things - if you enjoy working with your hands! There are untold numbers of boutique basses, as well as factory axes that a guy can buy, not to mention trolling CraigsList, Music-Go-Round etc. for decent used units if you can't or won't.
For the price of one boutique bass, I was able to purchase and retain 7 Wishbasses - plus a few more I bought and then didn't keep. All of them unique, all of them playable and all of them total crowd stoppers. It's been a fun 11 months as far as my Wishbass activity goes! - It's a blessing, man!
Hehehe - I was playing my Nemo #603 on Christmas Eve last year in church - we had a fancy string quartet, woodwind, and brass ensemble alongside our usual piano/violins/flutes/me. The cellist looks over at me and the Wish, smiles, and says, "Man, that thing is just too cool for church!"
Yep.
Kinda like a puzzle piece:
He's got an Ipe fingerboard, Bubinga top, Walnut back, and Walnut/Maple/Purpleheart neck. And depending on what sort of a mood I'm in, I pick a control plate:
Kinda like a puzzle piece:
He's got an Ipe fingerboard, Bubinga top, Walnut back, and Walnut/Maple/Purpleheart neck. And depending on what sort of a mood I'm in, I pick a control plate:
Mikey likes it!!! Was this a custom shape or one of Wish's? From the blanket backdrop I am thinking it was a "regular" Wish offering, but I've never seen that shape before. Very nice .....
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