Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

FretlessOnly wrote:If you are so lucky as to have an uncoated FL board, why would you coat it? The voice of a bass is wood and, if you'll pardon the expression, you've got wood.

To me, all coating does is increase clack and decrease wood.

Hey John,

I'm just tossing it out there John, Jeff Scott suggested coating that board for a better Mawah sound.

When I ordered it, I told the luthier to keep it natural wood FOR the wood tone, I was looking for folks reaction or advice to the suggestion to coating it.

Thanks for the response!

Gotcha Joey, I know to crank up the mids...still working on it!

ajish4 wrote:I'm just tossing it out there John, Jeff Scott suggested coating that board for a better Mawah sound.

Tony did say he was looking for that MM tone, who's ZONs have hi gloss phenolic fingerboards.

ajish4 wrote:I'm just tossing it out there John, Jeff Scott suggested coating that board for a better Mawah sound.

You want your FL to sound like a New Jersey township?

rickenbrother wrote:

ajish4 wrote:I'm just tossing it out there John, Jeff Scott suggested coating that board for a better Mawah sound.

You want your FL to sound like a New Jersey township?

I would never suggest Mawah! Tonnnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

jps wrote:

rickenbrother wrote:

ajish4 wrote:I'm just tossing it out there John, Jeff Scott suggested coating that board for a better Mawah sound.

You want your FL to sound like a New Jersey township?

I would never suggest Mawah! Tonnnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Jeff is right, I wanted THAT M.M. tone.....

And, just to set the record straight Jeff....


This commercial got me into more fights when I was a kid!

ajish4 wrote:I wanted THAT M.M. tone....

This M.M.?

No Jeff,

Like THIS!

Eh Tony, c'mon, make your own vid now playing your FL. Show MM how it's done!

Tony, get your E-Bows ready for this one!

rickenbrother wrote:Eh Tony, c'mon, make your own vid now playing your FL. Show MM how it's done!

That's funny Joey....if I did, it would be something like this!

That's a demo of how NOT to play a fretless bass!!

rickenbrother wrote:That's a demo of how NOT to play a fretless bass!!

LOL, Isn't it though? When I feel depressed about my playing, I watch that!

That's the guy who invented the WISH BASS...now I know how he named the bass!
Guys wife probably kept yelling "I'd WISH you would quit playing that BASS"! LOLOL!

Jeff...THAT IS SO COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ebow baby!

That demo is ridiculous, but I have a Wishbass and it's growl and tone is unmatched by any other bass I've every heard or played. I took it to my luthier, Jim Mouradian (of Mouradian Guitars; has made basses for Squire) and he told me that at first he was very suspicious of it, but soon realized that it was a monster.

FretlessOnly wrote:That demo is ridiculous, but I have a Wishbass and it's growl and tone is unmatched by any other bass I've every heard or played. I took it to my luthier, Jim Mouradian (of Mouradian Guitars; has made basses for Squire) and he told me that at first he was very suspicious of it, but soon realized that it was a monster.

Really John?

WOW, yes....I have a lot of respect for Jim M...for SURE!

I was tempted a few times, but when I heard they didn't have a truss rod...I passed on it....I mean, they sell for what,,,,$300.00 on Ebay?

Pictures please!

Two things about the WIshbass:

1. You need to get over the lack of truss rod thing (although it is a $50 option on a new one, if Steve W. is still making them). How many double basses are there in the world, 100,000+? None of them have a truss rod. The neck on my WIshbass is nearly that of my upright - this makes it extremely easy on the hand (for me). I can play it for 3 hours with no cramping at all. 45 minutes on any other electric bass and I get cramping. The reason I took my Wishbass to Jim was because it had a bit of backbow despite having LaBella flats on it. Truss rod = completely unnecessary.

2. What makes my Wishbass much more tonally-diverse is an aftermarket 6-position tone dial. Because of this, I paid $325 on ebay for mine (i.e., an extra $25). I don't remember who makes it, but I could search my e-mails if need be. The 6-position dial is the larger of the two in the pictures below (it goes from bright and hot, to P-bass - I prefer setting #2, which is mid boost and more growl than a grizzly bear getting a tooth pulled in a phone booth. Most Wishbasses just have the small single volume.
Now understand, the finish on a Wishbass is rudimentary at best, but the tuners, pickup and electronics are fine. I spraypainted the control cover on mine from aluminum to gold, and it blends in better now (a rear panel is also an option on new ones, again, if they are still being made). I stripped the crude finish and oiled and waxed it. This is all explained on the WIshbass site. If you want a battle-axe that can get great fretless mid growl, consider one, but know that you may to put some elbow grease into it to make it look nicer (and most certainly go for the aftermarket tone switch). I did spend some coin to get the fingerboard dressed by Jim, but it was worth it. You may not need to.

(Sorry, I screwed up the attachements, but they are all there.)