I made a post on this build as it was happening, but wanted to do a standalone of just the finished piece.
Picked up a 21’ Ibanez Gary Willis GWB35 thru GC Used for about $770 to my house. Had broken wiring, a chip in the finish, and was generally butt ugly with the truck liner stock finish. I fixed the electrics first, and tested the sound and playability, which were superior. Markedly better than the price paid, but the finish was unacceptable, and there were aspects of the design that I didn’t jive with.
The unique tuners would not operate with my standard power tuning tool. The bridge string pass thru holes were so tight, the strings filed shards of metal off the bridge during string changes. The ramp extended from the pickup to the neck butt, obstructing any attempt to play slap style on the bass . ( You don’t slap a fretless!!) The dual strap buttons at the bottom end of the body would require a different strap, rather than the same strap I use with all my basses ( which is connected in the center of the body below the bridge) The omission of a truss rod cover made the headstock look incomplete. So, I removed the tuners, the ramp, the strap pins, installed Ibanez Gotoh Tuners, and Ibanez quick release bridge with the identical spacing. i refinished the body, redesigned ramp, and pickup in Olympic white, and changed all the hardware to polished gold finish ( which I felt would look good with the white color of the body) .
It’s done now, and I am pleased. I built this as a keeper, to my specs, for me. Not to sell, and not what I thought someone else would like. So I’m sure Willis model fans may not appreciate the changes. But I find this version a tad more practical, and more akin to a custom than a signature. Here she is.
Picked up a 21’ Ibanez Gary Willis GWB35 thru GC Used for about $770 to my house. Had broken wiring, a chip in the finish, and was generally butt ugly with the truck liner stock finish. I fixed the electrics first, and tested the sound and playability, which were superior. Markedly better than the price paid, but the finish was unacceptable, and there were aspects of the design that I didn’t jive with.
The unique tuners would not operate with my standard power tuning tool. The bridge string pass thru holes were so tight, the strings filed shards of metal off the bridge during string changes. The ramp extended from the pickup to the neck butt, obstructing any attempt to play slap style on the bass . ( You don’t slap a fretless!!) The dual strap buttons at the bottom end of the body would require a different strap, rather than the same strap I use with all my basses ( which is connected in the center of the body below the bridge) The omission of a truss rod cover made the headstock look incomplete. So, I removed the tuners, the ramp, the strap pins, installed Ibanez Gotoh Tuners, and Ibanez quick release bridge with the identical spacing. i refinished the body, redesigned ramp, and pickup in Olympic white, and changed all the hardware to polished gold finish ( which I felt would look good with the white color of the body) .
It’s done now, and I am pleased. I built this as a keeper, to my specs, for me. Not to sell, and not what I thought someone else would like. So I’m sure Willis model fans may not appreciate the changes. But I find this version a tad more practical, and more akin to a custom than a signature. Here she is.
congratulations on a job well done and your new instrument! 
