about to pull the trigger on an Ibby GWB, but...

[M-rek]

I‘ve been flirting with the idea of getting my hands on a fretless fiver for a while now and thought a lot about my options. I really like the Gary Willis Signature basses, and I like old basses so I felt very lucky when I stumbled upon a ebay ad for a GWB-1 from 1999 here in Germany!
At first I didn‘t like the dark finish, but I somehow came to like it by now and I almost pulled the trigger already. Then I inspected the pics further and finally contacted the seller and asked for more/better pictures...

To me, the body looks like it‘s made from multiple pieces. But according to my infos, the GWB-1 was made from one piece of swamp ash. It weighs 3.9kg (8lb 9.5 oz).
The seller is not sure if it really is a GWB-1, that‘s what the first owner told him, but he‘s not sure about it. The serial number dates it to 1999, made in Japan, Fuji-gen plant.
What do you think about this? Are there GWB-1s that were made from multiple pieces? Do you have any sources/websites that give me more information about the bass with the serial number?

 

[dralionux]

It could be a de-fretted GWB2

The GWB2 is the fretted version of the more common GWB1 fretless bass made by Ibanez Japan for Gary Willis (from 1999 to 2002)

SOLD - Ibanez Gary Willis original GWB-2 fretted NEW PIX

 

[lz4005]

It could be a de-fretted GWB2

The GWB2 is the fretted version of the more common GWB1 fretless bass made by Ibanez Japan for Gary Willis (from 1999 to 2002)

SOLD - Ibanez Gary Willis original GWB-2 fretted NEW PIX

Good call. That's exactly what it looks like. You can see some tear out near the fret lines. Looks like an amateur hack job. Also maybe refinished. I don't know if the whole thing was, but the ramp in particular looks like it was either refinished badly or maybe replaced with a block of wood.

 

[M-rek]

Good call. That's exactly what it looks like. You can see some tear out near the fret lines. Looks like an amateur hack job. Also maybe refinished. I don't know if the whole thing was, but the ramp in particular looks like it was either refinished badly or maybe replaced with a block of wood.

yes, I see what you mean - especially the last and the 18th fret look pretty rough.
I‘ve seen similar basses with a brownish finish like this and at Invalid Link Removed it‘s this kind of brown too (altough it says „black“ in the specs).
The ramp really looks odd, very shiny, almost plasticy.
thanks for the feedback! now that I‘ve heard your impressions, I think the price the seller‘s calling (990€ - about 1.140$ right now) is a little high...

 

[jd-ns]

Yes, that is a gwb2, defretted. I used to have one. Otherwise looks original. Excellent quality bass. Pulling the frets would drop the value considerably and ruin an otherwise fantastic bass. There is likely a reason it is for sale...