Wishbass Club

[BassDudeSA]

Love 'em or hate 'em, they are the controversial Wishbass. Some people think these basses are works of art and of outstanding quality. Some others cannot get over the fact that most do not have a truss rod and that many are hideous in appearance. However, there are some beauties out there as well. Several other members here have already PMed me asking about my Avatar, which is the first Wishbass that I bought. It is the Scarab model and I have been lucky enough to buy three of the last four offered by Wishbass on Ebay.

What prompted me to start this thread is that my first Wishbass (as seen in the Avatar) is now famous. Well, not really famous, but I was surprised to just see it pictured on page #108 of the newest (August) issue of Bass Player as the featured ax in the Wishbass ad. For almost a year now he had some other ugly Wishbass pictured, so I think he'll do better wiith mine.

Anyway, all in all I have purchased a total of eight Wishbasses, all off Ebay for between $200 - $400. My favorite is another Scarab which I have pictured below. I'd like to see photos and hear from others who also own Wishbasses or have at least spent some significant time with one.

 

[Lokire]

Cool. Now you need a family pic with all of them!

 

[Kosko]

thats def the best wish i've seen, i'd love to see a family pic as well!

 

[vindy500]

yep, 8 wish basses in one photo would be uhh great...

 

[BassDudeSA]

yep, 8 wish basses in one photo would be uhh great...

I have two being shipped to me right now so I'll take a family photo once that I have them all with me. However, one or two others are being sold. Since all eight are 4-string fretless, I think I need to scale down a little and sell a couple. My least favorite designs will be the ones that will be outcast from the family.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

I actually haven't read anyone say that they are of outstanding quality- did you read that on TalkBass? I had one for a month and it was the lowest quality bass I've ever touched. It would be great if he has greatly improved since then- if you keep doing something, you're bound to get better at it.

 

[Burg]

Is this a joke?

 

[FL Knifemaker]

Hey, among car collectors there's a Trebant and Yugo club. As long as 2 or more people like them, what the heck

 

[J Posega]

I really like the Scarab design. I'm considering ordering one in a 6 string fretless, in the white, as well as not installing any of the electronics or routing for the bridge.

How does it handle the changes in weather? I can imagine the Seattle area being pretty wet at times, and I know we can go from freezing and dry to hot and humid in a matter of hours. Would a certain type of finish alleviate any problems that may be had?

 

[Bass.]

i like wishbass. always have. probably always will. but that might be attributed to the fact that i've never actually played one.
i would really love to.
does he do fretted models?

 

[bongomania]

FWIW, the Wishbass I had was "famous" too: it was the first one he put on Ebay (AFAIK), and it was featured in Bunnybass's amusing basses gallery. Here it is:

I sold it a few years ago because the string spacing was ridiculously narrow. Other than that, though, the neck showed no signs of warping in any direction after owning it for about two years, and the tone was killer. I attribute the tone to the fact that it was essentially a large neck-through chunk of birdseye and curly maple. The guy I sold it to played guitar as well as bass, so he didn't mind the string spacing, and he thought it was well worth the $100 I asked for it.

 

[superbassman2000]

i am a wishbass fan, i don't have one, but i really liked the "let's buy a wish ptII" wishbass that was sent around...i really want to order one, but i can't decide on what body shape i want

well, plus i don't have the money

 

[BassChuck]

I have two. One is a fretted bass, the "JB" model. Mine is
wenge front and back and a wenge fretboard. It sounds great, and I've used in for probably 20 gigs and 5 recording sessions since I got it.

The other is a 6 string fretless made like a 18th century viola da gamba. You play it like a cello. I bought it on eBay and at the time it was a 7 string, but the string spacing was very too close for my taste. So I had a local luthier cut a new nut and I now have it tuned EADGCF. It has a piezo pup in the bridge with a Fishman preamp. I've used this for a recording session also, and it sounds like an upright bass. The recording has fooled quite a few.

I'm not sure why some people get all fussy about them not having a truss rod. The necks are straight as an arrow with or without the strings on. In other words, the necks are many times stronger than they need to be. I have total faith they will not bend. With other basses (Rickenbacker, BC Rich) I used to do a thing with hitting a harmonic and then bending the neck to change the pitch (probably not a really good thing to do). I can't do that with the Wish... the neck simply will not move.

The build, while not elegant, is sturdy, functional and can be striking in appearance. Mine sound great, and for me that's the bottom line. I love 'em for the sound and I have a great deal of fun with mine because of the looks.

 

[mark beem]

FWIW, the Wishbass I had was "famous" too: it was the first one he put on Ebay (AFAIK), and it was featured in Bunnybass's amusing basses gallery. Here it is:

I sold it a few years ago because the string spacing was ridiculously narrow. Other than that, though, the neck showed no signs of warping in any direction after owning it for about two years, and the tone was killer. I attribute the tone to the fact that it was essentially a large neck-through chunk of birdseye and curly maple. The guy I sold it to played guitar as well as bass, so he didn't mind the string spacing, and he thought it was well worth the $100 I asked for it.

Whoa!! Is this the same bass pictured here??

Invalid Link Removed



Sorry guys, couldn't resist. I had a Wishbass once and hated it. If you're digging yours though, that's great!! More power to you!

 

[BassDudeSA]

I had one for a month and it was the lowest quality bass I've ever touched. It would be great if he has greatly improved since then- if you keep doing something, you're bound to get better at it.

One thing is for sure, these are not for everybody. But there are certainly enough of us to form a decent little club. I don't know what the old wishes were like, but all the ones I have received were top notch. Certainly some finish flaws, and I did have to raise the bridges on two with a thin slice of wood (I thought the action on those two were too low) but the sound, action and durability on all of these is fantastic.

 

[BassDudeSA]

How does it handle the changes in weather? I can imagine the Seattle area being pretty wet at times, and I know we can go from freezing and dry to hot and humid in a matter of hours. Would a certain type of finish alleviate any problems that may be had?

I've only had mine for a few months now, so they have not yet endured a winter. But I keep my house at at least 60 degrees and I don't leave the basses outside, so I'm not sure I'll notice any change. But as another poster already said, these necks are like rocks, they 'aint going anywhere.

Regarding finish, I'm not sure, but the Wishbass finishes are usually pretty uneven, I have heard that it is very common for Wishbass owners to refinish them on their own. I know at least one or two others here have already done that. Maybe there are some finishes that stand up better to changes in the weather. Either way, I'm not worried about it.

 

[J Posega]

Hmm... I think I'm going to get in touch with him, see what kind woods he's got available, and go for some sot of Scarab design... I'm diggin' the idea of a $500 8 string fretless.

 

[Casual Karma]

I'm really looking into a fretted Scarab, an but I can't decide between that or a Bongo...

 

[PilbaraBass]

all joking aside...I bought one in Aug of 2004...paid $300 US for it (#350)

right off the bat, I LOVED the tone...liked the fingerboard, and the wood (curly maple and purpleheart) and HATED the finish and setup.

I worked with it (new finish, new bridge, some minor electronic enhancement (shielding and parallel/series switch), new strings (Labella tapewounds)...and now it is actually a very sweet bass.

I recently started playing it at church for the slower "worship" stuff and it is just great.

It will never be a star, but working with this bass has taught me a lot about what it is I like and don't like about about bass sounds, construction, and setups. Now I know what my ultimate fretless should feel and sound like.

It's no secret that I like my wishbass.

 

[war_n_peace]

Here is an excerpt from one of his basses on Ebay.

"This wood has a story to it. I harvested it years ago while on a re-forestation mission to South Eastern Virginia. Persimmon is a relitive of African Ebony, and used to be used for golf clubs back when "woods" were made out of wood. This is the way i am going; to use more local and salvaged wood. Think of it as my little Contribution to slowing down global warming. This bass has Persimmon top and Poplar back with a thick Red Cedar accent line in between. "