Anyone know if this was ever made available? I've heard of them but never seen them. I love my fretless so much that I'd love to have a matching fretted...
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Ibanez Fretted Willis bass ? Where?
- Thread starter jzucker
- Start date
At the risk of stating the obvious, buy a fretless and have it fretted.
Fret placement (accuracy) is an art to begin with. Fretting a fretless bass is iffy without an original jig and/or template.
very true but if ya take it to someone who knows what he is doing...i'm sure you'd be a happy camper....try a local repair show n if ya got one a local luither
I already tried that. The problem is that unless you have a jig or template for the specific neck, the best you can do is attempt to saw the fret slot down the middle of each line by eye. That'll yield poor intonation.
They were availiable at one time and then Ibanez stopped making them, I know because I still got all my old Ibanez brochures. just as I was about to order one they discontinued them. I think the Ibanez custom shop will buid one with frets but only a chosen few have acsess to that.
Yeah, i wouldn't do that. If I were going to have one made I'd just get hanewinckel to make me something comparable.
I played a fretted version of the Gary Willis bass in Guitar Center Buenos Aires while I was Backpacking in South America.
it was 4 Years ago... but i remember it was an OK bass with a real bad setup (store's fault).
IMHO the basic design of the bass is for Fretless players, and may feel unnatural for some bassplayers in the fretted version.
it was 4 Years ago... but i remember it was an OK bass with a real bad setup (store's fault).
IMHO the basic design of the bass is for Fretless players, and may feel unnatural for some bassplayers in the fretted version.
I guess it depends on what you're looking for. There's nothing intrinsically about it that makes it not work for a fretted bass other than the ramp which I'd remove (or at least shorten) to facilitate slapping. I find it extremely comfortable and very light weight. It probably would be better sounding with a rosewood board for a fretted bass but to have a bass made with those specs you're probably talking about $2000.
im workin at an ibanez dealer music shop here in the middle east we ordered 20 pcs of left hand prestige guitars (custom made) for one person and thats the minimum for custom orders.. if you want 20 fretted basses i guess you can order anytime with your local dealer
I tryed one at local Ibanez dealer as well.. Setup was ok, but the bass just didn`t feel right some how.. (hmm)
Bartolini pickup and no Willis designed "bridge" under strings.
I didn`t plug it to a amp tho.. Price was somewhere around 1000..
I liked much more about the Willis Fretless.. (the GWB35)
Something really cool in five string, all black fretless. For me it sounded and felt really good, and I have never played a note with fretless before that. .(my friend was all so amazed how good it sounded.. he tought that I could not play it becoase it had no frets.. Well he is a guitarist so he is easily amazed
)
