# Ibanez GWB35? Yea or nay?



## Origin (Apr 30, 2011)

Just sold off my Spector Legend 6, and I'm thinking about snagging a GWB35 to try fretless and have an Ibanez again. It's between this and I'm not sure what else.  I also want to snag a cheapass P-type from some brand or another if anyone has recommendations for those. 

But yeah, if anyone's played a GWB35 and has a big opinion one way or the other, or has otherwise played a great cheap 5-string fretless they would recommend, chime in! If I get enough help I'll post several, several long-overdue NGDs I never ended up putting up.


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## ixlramp (Apr 30, 2011)

Yes I owned this for a few days. Excellent bass but there was a fault with mine that you should check for ... each fretline was slightly lower than the surrounding ebonol, with a 'valley' shape around each fretline 4mm wide and a fraction of a mm deep. This caused nasty buzzing at certain points and a jump in pitch as the contact point jumped from one side of the valley to the other.

Hold the bass up to a window, headstock away from you and look down the neck at a shallow angle, look at the reflection in the fretboard to check for undulations in the surface. It should be completely flat, the mirror image should not be distorted.

I didn't want to risk a replacement being the same way so I exchanged it for a Cort Curbow 4 string fretless.

Ebonol is an awesome material for a fretboard.


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## Origin (Apr 30, 2011)

Thanks for the warning, this would be a used one so I don't think there'd be issues but I'll certainly scrutinize pictures thoroughly now.


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## Origin (May 10, 2011)

Bump, just paid for one used, it'll be shipped to me soon and I'll post an opinion piece in the thread if anyone's interested.


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## HL7DS (Mar 24, 2013)

Necroposting, but...



ixlramp said:


> each fretline was slightly lower than the surrounding ebonol, with a 'valley' shape around each fretline 4mm wide and a fraction of a mm deep. This caused nasty buzzing at certain points and a jump in pitch as the contact point jumped from one side of the valley to the other.



It seems like I have the same issue with my GWB35. Gonna check with a local luthier about it, but meanwhile - do you guys think it can be fixed somehow?


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## ixlramp (Mar 24, 2013)

If it's a new bass they should replace/refund it for you.

I do not want to put people off buying these basses, they are excellent and i have seen another in a shop that does not have this problem.


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## JaeSwift (Mar 24, 2013)

HL7DS said:


> Necroposting, but...
> 
> 
> 
> It seems like I have the same issue with my GWB35. Gonna check with a local luthier about it, but meanwhile - do you guys think it can be fixed somehow?



It can be fixed but how easy and the cost of it will depend on the finish they put on the ebonol board. If they just polished up 2-3 coats of epoxy the solution is simple; lightly sand the ebonol with 800 grit orso and add another coat of epoxy. Depending on how deep the dip is at the fretlines it could take between 1 to 3 coats (THIN consecutive coats, never apply too thick). After that just radius sand it up to 1200 after which you use some polishing compound.

If they used laquer it's gonna be a bit more trouble as you'll have to first sand off the laquer coating, then apply epoxy and if you are adamant on it, re-laquer it. It should take about 3-4 coats of laquer to get a good gloss.


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## HL7DS (Mar 25, 2013)

Thanks for your input guys!

That's really a great bass to play, confirmed  Just that issue on this particular one. We'll see how it goes now with the return/repair...


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## pushpull7 (Mar 28, 2013)

I have one, and my issue is that that A string buzzes out in around the middle of the neck. Is this related? I thought it was just a setup issue as first, now, not so sure.


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## HL7DS (Mar 28, 2013)

chrisharbin said:


> I have one, and my issue is that that A string buzzes out in around the middle of the neck. Is this related? I thought it was just a setup issue as first, now, not so sure.



The issue is that the fret lines are "deeper" than the rest of the finderboard (on some of these basses), so if you fret on the line and make a note, it buzzes. Hovewer, there's no buzz if you fret between the lines. 

So I'd say if there's only one string buzzing in a certain area of the neck, like you described, it might be something else...


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## pushpull7 (Mar 28, 2013)

Yeah, it's prolly not the same


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## HL7DS (May 29, 2013)

So at the end the seller company decided to repair my bass and I recently got it back with fretboard sanded and polished, and the buzzing sound almost gone! Totally "yea" now


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## pushpull7 (May 31, 2013)

Yay!


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## Thornmoon (Jun 6, 2013)

Congrats! It's a very good bass! I have one and am about to bypass the electronics and wire the pickup directly to the output jack.

Never noticed any issues with the fret lines on my bass.


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## HL7DS (Jun 6, 2013)

I've read on some forums that it's quite popular to change the preamp on GWB, because the stock one is not the best you could get, and this change improves the sound drastically. Has anyone done that here?


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## Thornmoon (Jun 6, 2013)

HL7DS said:


> I've read on some forums that it's quite popular to change the preamp on GWB, because the stock one is not the best you could get, and this change improves the sound drastically. Has anyone done that here?


I have.. I swapped the stock pre for a Bartolini 3-band. What I've discovered though is that the bass sounds better in passive mode. That's why I'm considering wiring the pickup straight to the output jack.


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## simonXsludge (Jun 6, 2013)

I really like mine, it's definitely a solid instrument for the money. The neck is super flat, I love it. Feels like playing a guitar. Here's my NBD from when I got it:

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/ba...anez-gwb35-fretless-5-string-lots-photos.html


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## HL7DS (Jun 6, 2013)

Thornmoon said:


> I swapped the stock pre for a Bartolini 3-band. What I've discovered though is that the bass sounds better in passive mode. That's why I'm considering wiring the pickup straight to the output jack.



That's a great experience, so you've heard this bass both with stock and bartolini preamp, and possibly will hear in passive mode as well. Do you plan to record any samples of the 2 latter? Would be awesome to listen to the difference in sound


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## Thornmoon (Jun 6, 2013)

HL7DS said:


> That's a great experience, so you've heard this bass both with stock and bartolini preamp, and possibly will hear in passive mode as well. Do you plan to record any samples of the 2 latter? Would be awesome to listen to the difference in sound


Yeah I'll try to get a couple of sound clips to post up.


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## pushpull7 (Jun 7, 2013)

What strings do you guys use on yours? I went with the D'addario 45-130 set as a replacement, not sure I dig on them.


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## HL7DS (Jun 7, 2013)

I played the stock roundwounds most of the time, and recently switched to 45-132 flatwounds (daddario chromes). I like both rounds and flats on this bass, each sound has its fine spots. Also, want to try Thomastic flatwounds someday (I heard they are really classy).


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## Thornmoon (Jun 7, 2013)

I use La Bella nickel rounds, .040 ~ .128

Personally, I don't like the sound of flats.


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## pushpull7 (Jun 8, 2013)

HL7DS said:


> I played the stock roundwounds most of the time, and recently switched to 45-132 flatwounds (daddario chromes). I like both rounds and flats on this bass, each sound has its fine spots. Also, want to try Thomastic flatwounds someday (I heard they are really classy).



They better be for that coin!

Interesting about that flatwounds though


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## pushpull7 (Jun 8, 2013)

Thornmoon said:


> I use La Bella nickel rounds, .040 ~ .128
> 
> Personally, I don't like the sound of flats.



Hmmmmmmm. Nobody ever has those in stock except online places like "just strings" (looking now)

The lighter top/heavier bottom school is intriguing. I had some circle k's on my fretted 5 and it did NOT work out. The tapered isn't my thing. (edit, they don't appear to be)

(even more edit, the nickel are listed with a 60 2 and the SS's are listed with a 50 2 string)


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