ezbass Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 (edited) As we know BC is a dangerous place. An innocent thread started by Thor asking questions about SBMM Ray34s has resulted in GAS attacks for both of us. He arrived at Ez Towers around 10:20 and very quickly I was on the 11:06 train up town, destination The Gallery and he was on his way back to Wilts with my Ray34! So here's my new acquisition, an Ibanez GWB35. It's the 'budget' version of Gary Willis' Ibby 5 string fretless signature bass. I'm not a GW fan, but this bass ticks my current GAS boxes having recently got back into playing fretless in a big way. The Gallery were true to their website boast and matched the rather low figure that I found on the internet, good on yer Alex (it was good to see you Martin and John as ever, thanks for the warm welcome and tweaks). Anyway as these threads are worthless without pics........... Not mad about the finish at the moment and a can of paint stripper and wood stain may be in its future. Watch this space. Edited April 29, 2012 by ezbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 You've got a great finish there as a blank canvas though, Rather than stripping it why not embellish ontop of the black? I'm sure someone could do something really cool for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Played one a few years ago and loved the ramp, which is why I had one as part of my Shuker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Very nice, I'd love to try one of those! Just remember if you decide to strip it; you don't know how nice/nasty the wood is! Good score! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 [quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1332935839' post='1595043'] Very nice, I'd love to try one of those! Just remember if you decide to strip it; you don't know how nice/nasty the wood is! Good score! [/quote]True. There is a YouTube clip of a guy who did his, quite pleasing, but all wood cuts are different eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 [quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1332940682' post='1595171'] True. There is a YouTube clip of a guy who did his, quite pleasing, but all wood cuts are different eh? [/quote] Yeah, you just never know. They're more likely to use the ugly cuts on the basses that have solid colours, you could easily strip the paint off and find a dirty great knot..... or it might be fine like the guy on youtube! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 I possibly just need something to break up the unrelenting sea of black; either that or join a metal band At least I can say I bought this based on nothing except playability and sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I was wondering how you got on....only just spotted this thread! Looks cool to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 You do like a black bass Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 [quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1332951521' post='1595445'] Yeah, you just never know. They're more likely to use the ugly cuts on the basses that have solid colours, you could easily strip the paint off and find a dirty great knot..... or it might be fine like the guy on youtube! [/quote]Well I started stripping it back and you were right a big assed knot has revealed itself. Not too bad though as it's on the rear. Super thick finish, the matt black is over some sort of varnish, the Nitromors is getting a hammering. I'll post pics when I've oiled it and rebuilt it (I'm going to add some shielding too as the current job looks poor). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 (edited) [quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1333138846' post='1598092'] Well I started stripping it back and you were right a big assed knot has revealed itself. Not too bad though as it's on the rear. Super thick finish, the matt black is over some sort of varnish, the Nitromors is getting a hammering. I'll post pics when I've oiled it and rebuilt it (I'm going to add some shielding too as the current job looks poor). [/quote] Well at least it's on the back! The stuff underneath is probably a sanding sealer/primer of some sort. Looking forward to pics! Edited March 31, 2012 by TRBboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 All day sanding it back trying lose the last remnants of the stain left behind only to find that the Danish Oil matched it up anyway (some bits I just couldn't knock back all the way). Hopefully all the sanding hasn't altered the fit of the components. Shielded all the cavities (copper foil not just conductive paint) and just waiting to put the 2nd coat of oil on. 1 more coat tomorrow morning then buff and rebuild in the evening. If I'd have known about the clear primer under the black I'd've just sanded away the black and buffed it up from there, oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 So after 2 days of manic stripping and sanding, followed by oiling, knocking back and buffing it's all done. Well I say all done, it seems to have developed an elecrical fault which I can't fathom (despite actually being pretty good at this) so The Gallery are looking into it (might have them fit an Aguilar OBP2 while they're at it as the current preamp is really cheap and nasty, although it sounds OK). So here we go; the first 2 shots show the drying oil pre knock back and buffing with shielded cavities (the source of my electrical fault?) This shows the one big knot and another of the rather nicely flamed section of the 4 piece body, what a shame this wasn't the upper wing, or the entire body for that matter. And finally the reassembled product. I'm pretty happy with the finish all things considered and I definitely prefer it to the 'Stealth' look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Looks great man! Good job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 [quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1333383499' post='1600947'] Looks great man! Good job! [/quote]Thanks, it's a little 'Ikea' but John at The Gallery was quite complimentary about the work (although he could've been blowing smoke to make a customer feel good, but I choose not to listen to myself ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 I think I would have kept the black ramp Looks good though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjb Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Is the ramp new ? I'm guessing it is, I'm sure the one I tried had a plastic ramp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 I photoshopped the ramp leaving it black, but it didn't seem to work to my eyes. It's the original ramp stripped back, a quite nicely grained piece of very light wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted April 29, 2012 Author Share Posted April 29, 2012 A final update on this beast. I have used it in anger and yikes is it LOUD! It's even louder than my SUB which has always blown all of my other basses away output wise, I barely had the LMll on. This is weird as many of the reviews I have read have talked about its feeble output. No such problems with mine and just from 9volts. So far so peachy; well there was an issue. Despite giving it 3 coats of Danish Oli and knocking that back with compound, I still found the body a little 'sticky' inasmuch that if you ran you hand over the body it dragged a bit, not a big deal, but mildly irritating. So I followed some advice I read somewhere and applied 2 coats of neutral paste wax with some 0000 steel wool. Ahh that's the stuff! Smooth and with a lovely lustre. I used Liberon Black Bison Wax and can highly recommend it, easy to apply, low odour and buffs up a treat (I used a lint free cloth and a soft bristle brush, kind of akin to polishing a pair of shoes). I think that's me done now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Am I imagining things, or had they used to do the cheaper (GWB35) model in a natural finish like this ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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