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Double Bass NS Design WAV4 megathread part I

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#44
They're as cool as a moose. I shipped a bunch out on Thursday and Friday. So far I've only spent about 20 minutes with one and hope to carve some time this weekend to engage it more fully.

Preliminary conclusion: It's a winner. Very low action, very playable, feels like the CR/EU models, nice arco and pizz sounds. Supplied strings are light gauge steel, you can mwah your brains out. As with the CR/EU basses, I suspect you could go to an alternate, fatter and rounder URB string for a more traditional sound.

I played one through my EA iAMP800 and a single VL208 cab, nice full sound. Given the pre-holiday activity here I have to buckle down to supply Santa in time, I have to prioritize life to keep the UPS/USPS folks busy.

Those I've sent out should start hitting their destinations next week, so you'll start to get other players' reports.
 
#45
Other things to add-

There is a significant shielded cavity covered by a large metal cover, so there is the potential for the adventurous among us to supplement the electronics. Caveat: that cover also has four keyholes for those who want to use 3/4 size bass strings. The OEM strings are shorter and terminate at the bottom of the instrument; you'd run them through those holes around and up the underside of the bass into the four keyholes. I've posted two new photos of the back view on my site.

There seems to be a significant ability to adjust the bridge height; haven't done it yet, just observing the guts to make that conclusion. The pair of screws to do so are accessible through holes in that back plate.

The supplied action is very low (from an URB player standpoint), and once I have time I'll be raising it up.
 
#46
Thanks for the update Bob, and for the information regarding the control cavity.

I've been looking into EUBs for a while, and I'm really glad to see some quality instruments coming into the budget end of the price spectrum. The really good news (for me at least), is that at least 1 retailer here in Toronto will be carrying the WAV4, since I always like to try before I buy.

I'm looking forward to reading more about the WAV4, especially how it sounds with proper DB strings.

Thanks again.
 
#47
Thanks for this early info Bob, and for posting those photos.

The WAV's tripod seems to be a (quite understandably) cheaper design than supplied with the EU/CR's. That's one thing I was anticipating may need to be upgraded from the start. When you have chance to assess it I'd appreciate your opninion on how it compares. Thanks again.
 
#48
Jeffn said:
Thanks for this early info Bob, and for posting those photos.

The WAV's tripod seems to be a (quite understandably) cheaper design than supplied with the EU/CR's. That's one thing I was anticipating may need to be upgraded from the start. When you have chance to assess it I'd appreciate your opninion on how it compares. Thanks again.
Click to expand...

It is not as expensive as the CR/EU stand, but it is well designed and executed. The only plastic in it are the sleeve clamps, knobs, and the sliding joint for the legs, and it's heavy duty, quality stuff, does not seem to be the more fragile kind of material you see on cheapo stands. I don't think it will self-destruct, it's not cheesy, just budget; it doesn't worry me at all.
 
#49
and have spent a couple hours with it.

(caveat - this is my first eub and the best urb i've owned is my current 30's Kay)

the sound - i've only had a chance to play it right out of the box and thru my swr cali blonde with the tweeter off so far... in the arco switch position, and with some heavy eq (bass at 3 o'clock, mid at 9 o'clock, treble at 1 o'clock) pizz sounds great to me. much, much better than i thought it would. arco sounds great too. except for the missing room "air", it sounds just as 'real' as my kay with a fishman full circle amplified. in the pizz switch position, i think it sounds horrible, nothing i could do on the cali blonde could save it. thin, nasty and everything a piezo is stereotyped to be. yecht. i'll be curious to see if using my old raven labs pmb will help with this. but, i'm absolutely thrilled with the pizz and arco sound in the arco switch position with the eq mentioned earlier... oh, and absolutely no hum at all, and this amp is prone to hum.

the setup - i hope it needs just a truss rod adjustment, but there's a pretty good hump near the middle of the neck, but more on the e/a side. pretty nasty sounding past the second position or so. i'll let it sit a day or two before adjusting it... the e/a strings are also lower than the d/g strings, kinda strange... the strings feel nice and really low tension, very similar in feel to my obligatos. i don't feel the need to change them at all. i guess you could say i'm not very happy with the setup out of the box...

the fit/finish - the back of my neck has been hand sanded to a satin finish. i personally like it, but i think it's a pretty odd choice to do this. bob, is this normal? again, i like the way it feels so no compliants from me, just curious. the overall fit and finish is great. i dig the amberburst finish, certainly helps the pogo-stick look of these eub :)

the stand - i have no issues with it. as bob said, feels plenty durable for the price. i've had more fragile stuff (boss tu-2 tuner) in my gig bag for YEARS getting banged around, dropped, stepped on and they still work. so i feel like if it does break, then it deserved to break... i like the range of adjustments. i was a bit skeptical i would like a tripod, but within a few minutes it felt fine. certainly nothing that would hinder my already hindered abilities anyway...

bag - very cool the bag (and stand!) are included! i just think that should be a given with any instrument, and i really appreciate it.

overall - assuming mine just needs a little setup and adjustment, i'm really happy with it. setup aside, it sounds much, much better and more 'natural' than i thought it would. it'll get alot of use from me :)

tony

ps - the fingerboard turns my fingers black. first time experienced this. why is this?

pss - and thanks as usual for the great service from the folks at gollihur.
 
#50
Got my WAV4 today, and I'm quite impressed. I've had an Azola, and currently have an Ergo; the WAV is, to my mind (and ears, fingers and eyes) much superior. I'm getting great sound from my old Contra with everything set flat, the setup is good, and fit/finish are excellent.

Tony - I suspect it's the new strings that are turning your fingers black, not the fingerboard. Just my guess.

Bob G. - thanks, once again, for the excellent service. (Question: should I have expected any documentation and/or adjustment tools to have arrived with the bass?)

Cheers,
Mark
 
#51
vanderbrook said:
Got my WAV4 today, and I'm quite impressed. I've had an Azola, and currently have an Ergo; the WAV is, to my mind (and ears, fingers and eyes) much superior. I'm getting great sound from my old Contra with everything set flat, the setup is good, and fit/finish are excellent.

Tony - I suspect it's the new strings that are turning your fingers black, not the fingerboard. Just my guess.

Bob G. - thanks, once again, for the excellent service. (Question: should I have expected any documentation and/or adjustment tools to have arrived with the bass?)

Cheers,
Mark
Click to expand...

No tools, but a single sheet of instructions are in each box. I scanned them for you or anyone else that wants to see them, grab the pdf file I created on my site at http://www.eclecticbass.com/wav4instruct.pdf
 
#55
Bob Gollihur said:
It is not as expensive as the CR/EU stand, but it is well designed and executed. The only plastic in it are the sleeve clamps, knobs, and the sliding joint for the legs, and it's heavy duty, quality stuff, does not seem to be the more fragile kind of material you see on cheapo stands. I don't think it will self-destruct, it's not cheesy, just budget; it doesn't worry me at all.
Click to expand...

Very grateful to you Bob for this info - and also the instruction pdf.. I'll hold out for the standard tripod for now.

I'll be sure to post up some first thoughts on the thread as soon as mine arrives.
 
#58
I'd be interested to hear the thoughts of those who've had a close look at these regarding their durability in general and their resistance to temperature and humidity extremes in particular. One of the really unbeatable things about my Ergo is its utter simplicity. I have had no concerns about taking it to rehearsals and gigs when the temperature has been below zero. It lives in a convenient corner of the living room, not the carefully-humidified room where my carved German bass lives. Given the way the WAV is built, should I be so carefree with it? Should I be hesitant to take it out (in its case, of course) in extreme cold? Would it likely benefit from more humidity than we usually have here in Denver (i.e., should it find a home alongside the Real Bass)?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Loving the WAV,
Mark
 
#59
vanderbrook said:
I'd be interested to hear the thoughts of those who've had a close look at these regarding their durability in general and their resistance to temperature and humidity extremes in particular. One of the really unbeatable things about my Ergo is its utter simplicity. I have had no concerns about taking it to rehearsals and gigs when the temperature has been below zero. It lives in a convenient corner of the living room, not the carefully-humidified room where my carved German bass lives. Given the way the WAV is built, should I be so carefree with it? Should I be hesitant to take it out (in its case, of course) in extreme cold? Would it likely benefit from more humidity than we usually have here in Denver (i.e., should it find a home alongside the Real Bass)?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Loving the WAV,
Mark
Click to expand...

The concern of temperature and humidity variations are chiefly when dealing with carved instruments, large carved instruments-- and even then, it's the length of time. If left in a drier area than "normal", moisture can be leached out of wood, causing it to shrink. This is not as big a deal with smaller instruments (though is a concern to serious players with delicate instruments), but the larger expanses of wood in an URB shrink, and the culmulative effect is larger due to the size. Seam splits or cracks can result. This does not apply to the WAV4 and similar instruments.

The WAV4 is a solid wood instrument, and a compact one at that. I cannot imagine any effects greater than you encounter with your stick bass. And besides, it has a truss rod. I know that I need to tweak some of my fretted bass guitars' truss rods when the seasons change, depending on their setup and type.
 
#60
I just got my wav4 yesterday, and have been playing it for hours since. I am very impressed with the quality of workmanship and durability of the instrument - nothing but solid and simple design and construction here. The main feature of this bass is its sound - I can't believe how easy it is to adjust the tone to sound exactly like an amplified DB with my iamp800. This is one of the best investments in music gear I have made recently, and I highly reccommend it for upright players looking for a great and inexpensive EUB...
 
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