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Wishbass Club

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#21
war_n_peace said:
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. "
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translation..."I get most of my wood from a salvage yard...it's generally weathered and full of worm holes and knots...but it's cheap enough for what I do" ;)

yes indeedy...this explains why I've seen wishbasses made from things like barn siding and even the keyboard cover from an upright piano...
 
#22
PilbaraBass said:
translation..."I get most of my wood from a salvage yard...it's generally weathered and full of worm holes and knots...but it's cheap enough for what I do" ;)

yes indeedy...this explains why I've seen wishbasses made from things like barn siding and even the keyboard cover from an upright piano...
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Yeah, maybe true. That is one ugly-azz bass above. But some of those old-piano-wood basses have turned out pretty nice. And who is to say that old wood from a piano or 100-year old tree is a bad thing? Seriously. It's easy to dis the Wish, but these things have a unique charm, sound great and are a pleasure to play. My first string fretless is my 5-string Steinberger Synapse, but after that I go straight to one of my three Wishbass Scarabs. And in many situations I ever prefer one of those.
 
#29
cheezewiz said:
My favorite Wish feature are the nails pounded into the side of the neck for fret markers!
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And this is my one and only gripe with them. The fret markers are never accurately placed. On the two that I play the most I had to use a felt tip marker to create new "dots" on the side of the neck in the right place. May sound primitive, but it worked and is not too unsightly. That's why I say these are not for everybody. You cannot expect perfection. But you do get a custom made great playing and sounding bass for a very reasonable price.
 
#30
one more for the feeble bashing
 

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#31
gruffpuppy said:
one more for the feeble bashing
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Wow, that is pretty cool. Odd shape, but cool. He doesn't make too many of that model. What is it, the JB? Only other I had seen is the one pictured on the Wishbass site. Looks refinished, did you do it yourself? And if so, how?
 
#33
I am in desperate need of a fretless but I have 2 toddlers and another kid on thew way so needless to say I have no money.

The idea of a $350 5 string fretless is very appealing....I have a lot of hardware for a 5 string laying around so I was thinking of getting one finishing it myself (he will send you a bass with no finish) putting on a gotoh bridge and routing out another hole for a pair of bartolini jazz pups.

with a new finish, upgraded bridge and pups, I think this bass might be 1 hell of a deal.........any opinions?
 
#34
jady said:
I am in desperate need of a fretless but I have 2 toddlers and another kid on thew way so needless to say I have no money.

The idea of a $350 5 string fretless is very appealing....I have a lot of hardware for a 5 string laying around so I was thinking of getting one finishing it myself (he will send you a bass with no finish) putting on a gotoh bridge and routing out another hole for a pair of bartolini jazz pups.

with a new finish, upgraded bridge and pups, I think this bass might be 1 hell of a deal.........any opinions?
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Sounds good, go for it. You can do the finishing yourself, but if you were so inclined you could send Wish your bridge and pickups and maybe he will install them for you. I've never talked to him on the phone, but I've dealt with him in many e-mails and he is very accomodating, very casual. Short on words though.
 
#37
No, it was easy to play (except for the tight string spacing). The two lower prongs are in the right place to sit nicely over the leg while seated, and the upper prong is forward by the upper chest, not poking into anything. The player's right arm comes across over the back diagonal bar with no interference. Whatever else wasn't right about the construction, at least it was comfortable.
 
#38
Link RemovedLink Removed

Mine's Wish #603. I bought it on eBay 2nd hand a couple of months ago. The original gent didn't enjoy the thick upright-style neck, but I'm finding it more than comfortable. He paid $400, but I bought-it-now for $275.

Mine's got a Bubinga top, Walnut back, and a 7-piece neck made up of Walnut, Maple, and Purpleheart. We've had several periods of rain followed by 100+ degree heat, and there's no sign of neck trouble. It's stayed in perfect tune.

The brads as position markers are surprisingly accurate, not that I rely on them very much. The 'factory' ;) roundwounds have been replaced with flats, and the fingerboard is remarkably even. This thing mwahs like a dyslexic cat, and I couldn't be happier with the ability to get the tone I want by feel.

Has it got flaws? Of course. A couple of glue spots that I haven't cleaned up, and a couple of finish drips. Can you see them from more than a few feet away? Hell, no. Am I willing to overlook them to get a great sound? You betcha. Look on the bright side: no splinters! :-)

I took this brute into Guitar Center to find a case for it, and once the staff got over their surprise, several of 'em had a blast trying it out through several different amps. We had a great time trying different things.
 
#39
BassDudeSA said:
Wow, that is pretty cool. Odd shape, but cool. He doesn't make too many of that model. What is it, the JB? Only other I had seen is the one pictured on the Wishbass site. Looks refinished, did you do it yourself? And if so, how?
Click to expand...

Yeah its a real big JB. I sanded it alot and then was going to use lindseed oil but KayCee suggested Tung Oil and used that. about 6 coats.
 
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