...Maybe the Holey bass started out as a control-cavity cut gone horribly wrong!
I would say (in MythBuster's terms) that that's totally plausible!
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Wishbass Club
- Thread starter BassDudeSA
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I would say (in MythBuster's terms) that that's totally plausible!
I haven't actually ordered one of these so i may not have room to talk. That being said.....through research, i've come to the conclusion that these basses aren't really worth it if you're looking for more than just a bass that plays and sounds good; these Wishbasses don't seem designed for the more artistic player. The only controls that are on these basses seem to be a volume control (though you might be able to get other if you spend extra). I've also noticed that everyone reworks their Wishbass after they get it anyway, which costs money. In my opinion, It's just as cost-effective to get a Fender from Guitar Center for $700 that has great tonal controls, pickups, and look all included in the price than to get a Wish for $600 that needs things added to it afterward. If you took into account the amount it costs to get technical work done, plus refinishing it I think you would realize how much these Wishbasses actually cost in the long run. I also don't agree with the multiple woods being glued together in one bass, i doubt that helps the sustain very much. Again, I haven't actually bought or played a Wish so I may not be right in this but that's how i see it.
You have a point, but remember that $700 to Wish would get you a bass in a custom shape, to a custom scale, with custom chosen wood. It would also easily pay for extra volume and/or tone controls which Wish offers.
Are you sure the multiple woods glued together hurts the sustain in any significant way? It seems to be a feature on an awful lot of high end basses...
wish only charges $10 more for the tone control, but I have to tell you, it doesn't do much. I think it would be better to install one of those varitone set ups...
and as far as people reworking them, I think that's part of the appeal. If you get a custom job done, and have any kind of woodworking ability, have with send it without the finish, and do it yourself.
and as far as people reworking them, I think that's part of the appeal. If you get a custom job done, and have any kind of woodworking ability, have with send it without the finish, and do it yourself.
Gubna said:
I suppose it all depends on why you're buying a bass. If you have the KISS Philosophy on music ("Music is 90% look 10% sound") then you would buy a Wish for it's cool custom shape. If the music is just a hobby then you would probably buy a Wish for the customization factor. I personally play music for it's sound and the art of it; a Wish just doesn't seem to be the bass for that kind of outlook.
As for that, I'm not sure. I can't say that I've ever heard of a bass using multiple woods like that. Most basses that have good sustain are carved out of one single piece of wood. Scientifically, it makes sense: it's alot easier for vibrations to travel across one uniterrupted piece of wood instead of across multiple woods with seams in between.
All in all I'm just saying that a Wish isn't for everyone; especially not for me.
Hehehehe - that would be the 'other' KISS philosophy
(wishing there was an emoticon with a longer tongue)I suspect Wish does the 'sandwich' construction to use up less-attractive wood on the backs of the instrument - remember those icky recycled-piano chestnut backs? If you really planned ahead, the sandwich method would make pickup wiring a lot easier, but I suspect he glues up the sandwich and THEN makes it into body wings.
I enjoy playing a bass that has a different look. That's on of the major reasons I got my Rickenbacker. I'm playing R+B now and the sound guy AND the band far prefers the sound of my Wishbass... I do too.
Last week I tried some TI flats and they all really liked them better than the RotoSound Flats I had been using. There are a lot of styles that the Wish would be good for. But if I ever have to sound brite and poppy again, I'll grab the Ric.
Steve Wishnevsky's KISS philosophy (Keep It Simple Stupid) really works well. He claims that the vibrations from wood to metal and back are a detriment (that's one reason there is no truss rod- and with the thickness of the neck, you don't need the rod). After playing a Wish for over a year I totally agree. As for the different woods hampering the sustain, I think I can understand the thinking of a solid piece of wood, and in fact that might be true, but I don't think that the different woods affect the sustain in any real way. My Wish has as much sustain as my Ric. There are lots of examples of very expensive basses with different woods used for tops and backs.
Last week I tried some TI flats and they all really liked them better than the RotoSound Flats I had been using. There are a lot of styles that the Wish would be good for. But if I ever have to sound brite and poppy again, I'll grab the Ric.
Steve Wishnevsky's KISS philosophy (Keep It Simple Stupid) really works well. He claims that the vibrations from wood to metal and back are a detriment (that's one reason there is no truss rod- and with the thickness of the neck, you don't need the rod). After playing a Wish for over a year I totally agree. As for the different woods hampering the sustain, I think I can understand the thinking of a solid piece of wood, and in fact that might be true, but I don't think that the different woods affect the sustain in any real way. My Wish has as much sustain as my Ric. There are lots of examples of very expensive basses with different woods used for tops and backs.
Interesting you say that, because even people who say they don't like the look of their wish (maybe it has some cosmetic issues), or even if it has playability issues... Almost everyone says they love the way they sound...
These are my least favorite styles of wishbass:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320115442944
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320115442944
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Hey it's an ANTLER WISHBASS!
Link Removed
it's just missing a deer or a moose painted, or carved on the body.
Link Removed
it's just missing a deer or a moose painted, or carved on the body.
huh, this looks interesting
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Wishbox-for...11QQihZ002QQcategoryZ4713QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Don't know if i would want to be the first one to try one though....
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Wishbox-for...11QQihZ002QQcategoryZ4713QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Don't know if i would want to be the first one to try one though....
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Wow - sounds like the same thing (in principle) as Birdsong's "Bboxes"
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I trust Scott at Birdsong's wiring way more AND I've played through a BBox - it rules...a lot. So there is your "proof of concept." If Wish can come even close, good for him. That said, while I'm a fan of Wishbasses on a lot of levels, I trust the quality of Scott's wiring AND woodwork far more, so I'd pay the extra 20-30 bucks to get that extra level of confidence.
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I think the Wishbox is a collaboration between Wish for the 'furniture' and Pete Kovalcik (the seller) for the electronics. If I read the description correctly, Kovalcik is using a third-party Varitone circuit - he made reference in an earlier eBay sale to the Varitone found at www.has-sound.com.
That said, I don't know how it compares to a Birdsong.
That said, I don't know how it compares to a Birdsong.
From the pics and rep, I would go with a bbox, although I did find a vendor on 'bay who has varitone set ups. I was thinking of adding one to a bass.
I just checked the HAS Sound site. Very cool. I'm fairly certain Birdsong is using the kits from Torres Engineering.
Gubna - I won't go back to passive basses with standard tone knobs. My fretted has a varitone (the kit that goes into the BBoxes - why I don't have a BBox currently - rather than the standard one Scott uses) and my fretless has 2 volumes/no tone knob (and is what I ran through the BBox - it's the main reason I'm considering them).
I'd actually push for the BBoxes on guitar more than bass as a general rule. The subtle differences in tone are a bigger deal. On bass - it's a really nice passive tone shaper, but I'm not sure how much use it is unless you have no tone knob or the traditional tone. With active or a varitone, it seems a bit redundant.
Gubna - I won't go back to passive basses with standard tone knobs. My fretted has a varitone (the kit that goes into the BBoxes - why I don't have a BBox currently - rather than the standard one Scott uses) and my fretless has 2 volumes/no tone knob (and is what I ran through the BBox - it's the main reason I'm considering them).
I'd actually push for the BBoxes on guitar more than bass as a general rule. The subtle differences in tone are a bigger deal. On bass - it's a really nice passive tone shaper, but I'm not sure how much use it is unless you have no tone knob or the traditional tone. With active or a varitone, it seems a bit redundant.
Odd place for this post I know, but seeing as nobody lists them here. I am looking to trade my TBC AP500M so if anyone wants to trade a Wish my way let me know.
Details on my bass are everywhere in this forum.
Thanks
Matt
Details on my bass are everywhere in this forum.
Thanks
Matt
Hey, I got one of the Wishboxes (number 002 to be exact). I love it. The knob has 6 positions. One of them is a bypass, the others seem to be various settings of a LowPass Filter. The last setting has a odd sound to it, sort of a light flange and/or distortion. Very cool filter.
I tried with my JB Wishbass, TI flats. I can't wait to try this on a gig. The band is out June 8/9 and I'll try it then. The JB model, like many Wishbasses, has the pickup very close (like less than 1/2 inch) to the bridge and so it has a very trebly sound, even with the Kent Armstrong pups. There is (as I understand it) more harmonic information from the strings the closer you get to the bridge, and since the human ear picks up on higher pitches than lower (thats why we have to have 1000 watt amp when the guitar is 100 watts). So, there is still a good bit of bass sound in the signal, even though the pickup is close to the bridge (someone correct me if I have this wrong). I've always corrected for this with the EQ on the amp, but with the Wishbox, I can keep the EQ closer to flat and get the sound I want.
I also tried the box with my sons MIM P-bass. Excellent results and while the P bass doesn't really need this, the sound was warmer with the Wishbox than any setting I could come up with on the P-bass tone setting. I kept the EQ on the amp flat. I liked the sound and if I was using the P-Bass on gigs I would take the Wishbox.
Then I tried it with my Rickenbacker. The Ric has single coil passive pups. The box still had the same kind of effect, but I didn't like the sound at all. The effect was a weirdly bassy sound but it didn't have the punch and focus that I found with the P-bass and Wishbass.
I'm looking forward to using on a gig and I really feel that this is something that every Wishbass owner should have. If I find that its not that necessary on a live gig I'll post that, but I really love what it does to my Wishbass.
I tried with my JB Wishbass, TI flats. I can't wait to try this on a gig. The band is out June 8/9 and I'll try it then. The JB model, like many Wishbasses, has the pickup very close (like less than 1/2 inch) to the bridge and so it has a very trebly sound, even with the Kent Armstrong pups. There is (as I understand it) more harmonic information from the strings the closer you get to the bridge, and since the human ear picks up on higher pitches than lower (thats why we have to have 1000 watt amp when the guitar is 100 watts). So, there is still a good bit of bass sound in the signal, even though the pickup is close to the bridge (someone correct me if I have this wrong). I've always corrected for this with the EQ on the amp, but with the Wishbox, I can keep the EQ closer to flat and get the sound I want.
I also tried the box with my sons MIM P-bass. Excellent results and while the P bass doesn't really need this, the sound was warmer with the Wishbox than any setting I could come up with on the P-bass tone setting. I kept the EQ on the amp flat. I liked the sound and if I was using the P-Bass on gigs I would take the Wishbox.
Then I tried it with my Rickenbacker. The Ric has single coil passive pups. The box still had the same kind of effect, but I didn't like the sound at all. The effect was a weirdly bassy sound but it didn't have the punch and focus that I found with the P-bass and Wishbass.
I'm looking forward to using on a gig and I really feel that this is something that every Wishbass owner should have. If I find that its not that necessary on a live gig I'll post that, but I really love what it does to my Wishbass.
woho a nice Wishbass 6er in England... you just have to clue the good place and set up the bridge right there. The pickgard is backside
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/6-String-Fret...oryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/6-String-Fret...oryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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