so Wish basses really exist, I thought it was a joke for people who are waiting for custom basses
Well, yeah , it IS a joke...and also not a joke at the same time.
I just bought a Wishbass here in TB classifieds. And what I've learned about them is: You don't need a reason!
Buying a Wishbass is the poor man's version of buying a Ritter or a Drozd. These are ART basses. The look, the design, the emotional feel are all from the artwork, but for the Wishbass the actual sonic technology is at the absolute minimum (or less!) unless you decide to change it. (I am) Which brings up a point. Buying a Ritter is like buying a museum quality painting. The artist is bursting with talent. It shows in his work which is absolutely impeccable. And it costs a ton of cash.
A wishbass is more like rustic folkart. There is certainly something artistic going on there but it isn't in the mainstream. Which leads to my interpretation (and some others who see it this way too) which is that every Wishbass is an artistic collaboration between you and Wishnevsky. The future I see for my Wishbass isn't some rustic "cigar box" instrument to play as is, but rather some very unique design that I have personally tweaked and polished until this instrument is as much "me" as it is Wishnevsky!
Personally I've never been into folk art. But like all musicians I have always been ready for artistic collaboration. It's what we do! And a bass-building artistic collaboration is just one more way to find expression. So the rough-feeling neck, the really nasty finish job, the poorly sanded corners, the control plate sawed without following the lines too closely and all the rest have to go. The single volume knob and pickup will need to be replaced by something with more controls and tones. In short this bass needs to be more "me". You can see many more examples in the many wishbass threads here of people who have put themselves into their wishbasses creating wonderful compositions.
So hopefully, when I'm done the bass will be amazing. And BOTH Wishnevsky and I will be proud to sign our names on the headstock of our "poor man's Ritter". And I won't have had to sell the house to own it.
In a way, the Wishbass project is not all that different from the way I've tweaked out my collection of SX basses. I've fine tuned and modded them until they are amazing sounding and playing basses. But the difference is that with the SX basses, I only end up with some amazing sounding and playing Chinese Fender-clone basses. But with the Wishbass I (hopefully) end up with a bass that is not only great sounding and playing, but is also an exceptional piece of unique original art as well.
This is how I see my Wishbass.
