Ibanez Gary Willis Signature GWB35 Fretless 5-string Bass Guitar - Black Flat Reviews

I love it. Best bass I've ever owned. I put Thomastik-Infeld JF345 Jazz Flatwound Bass Guitar Strings on it and set the action so it's sweeta. Sounds nice too!

My bass-playing friend referred to the neck as being like a Ferrari. I have to agree that this is as much fun to play as a Ferrari is to drive. Don't be put off by the tuners - they are a good design and I wish my fretted bass had them too - they don't get bumped out of tune nearly as easily as other tuners.

When I ordered this bass I had the Sweetwater techs do a full setup on it, with string height set to reasonably low but not too low. It's a lot of fun to play but the strings I got with it were my chosen DR Black Beauties (stainless steel not nickel plated), the same ones I use on my fretted bass. For those who don't know, when you have the techs do a setup they do it with the strings you want on it so the tension is consistent between setup and you playing it. Anyway, those DR Black Beauty strings sound great on my fretted bass but I found the sound on this bass to be way too bottom-heavy, as another reviewer noted. I tried a bunch of other strings by other manufacturers but never found the bright, punchy sound I wanted (and had achieved on another Ibanez fretless bass) until I installed a set of stainless steel Elixir Strings 14677 (clear coated) strings. At the moment we are going through a period of post-covid economic recovery and Elixir isn't making the 5-string stainless steel set. So I purchased a single UNcoated stainless steel .125 B string from another mfr. It worked - THAT'S the sound I was looking for! The stainless steel Elixir strings are definitely the way to go in my opinion. Of course, your mileage may vary, but I was considering making electronics changes because the original sound was that bottom heavy. Now I LOVE this bass!! Thanks for all your help, Joel!

The Gwb35 is a enjoyable bass to play
I have been playing bass for a long time and enjoy listening to and watching Gary Willis play
The GWB 35 when it is set up properly Is a pleasure to play. A very close action at 2/64th and a awesome sound coming from the electronics from the factory
The neck is slim and fast and the weight comes in at about 8 pounds is nice on the back with a 4inch strap
I love the feel of this instrument an in my opinion is very nice fretless to own

What an outstanding bass this one is. Lightweight, smooth neck, very useful finger ramp, growling tone - what else can I ask for. Gary's tone at such an affordable price. Happiness all over.
Huge thanks to my sales engineer Ben Stokes.

My Son named this bass lafawnduh (Napoleon Dynamite). He got it for his 18th Birthday and he gets a ton of comments on both the looks and the sound. He loves the fast, fast neck of an Ibanez. It's fret-less, but it's hard to tell with the flattened frets on the fret board. Amazing Sound and quality you expect from an Ibanez Bass.

What a great bass. I didn't think I'd aclimate to playing 5 string fretless, but this bass is effortless.

Great sounding and the neck is fast. I removed the ramp (4 Screws, had no adhesive) and it allows me to dig in better for my style. Love it, Love it, Love it... what a bargain price too.

Good tone range. Useful electronics. Very fast neck- required a small bit of tweaking, but that's to be expected once the instrument acclimates to your location. Can be a tad neck heavy when casually sitting and practicing; when strapped and standing, it is very comfortable. The tuners are different; I don't realize an advantage other than a unique look. If anything, they are a hinderance when re-stringing; you're going to be winding manually with no tool. As you play your bass, you'll actually wear the satin finish in to a semi gloss on the contact areas- kind of a neat look. Though this is off topic, I cannot say enough good things about my rep, Aaron Hoff. I've known him for years and he is always available, always thorough, and always pleasant.

Having been a fan of Gary Willis his entire recording career, I have wanted to see his signature basses for years. Not willing or able to spend thousands for his ash/Bartolini high-end model, the GWB35 was within reach for me. The fact that no dealers seem to regularly stock these instruments, and after nearly a year wait for Sweetwater to have 2 in stock, I decided to try one.
I should preface my comments by saying I'm not a particular fan of Ibanez nor am I comfortable buying an instrument sight unseen, but for the price, I took a chance.
The bass I received arrived in fine shape, plays well out of the box, intonates accurately and at this point, needs no further adjustments. The bass balances great on a strap, and at just over 8 pounds, is the lightest instrument I have ever had. The response of the bass to my touch is amazing - it growls,sings, and has the lowest action of any bass in my experience which for me, helps with my intonation and muscle memory. The ramp works as Willis intends by limiting digging-in and playing hard which reinforces his dynamic technique concepts and also provides a thumb rest between the pickup and end of the fingerboard.
As Willis says, the decision to play fretless bass is not a casual one, and this bass is not for the heavy-handed.
Two things I have to point out are: I expected the bridge to be slotted for quick string changes - the installed bridge requires the strings to be threaded through. Not a big deal, but not what I expected. Secondly, the stacked bass/treble - boost/cut pots are scratchy & noisy when turned. Using contact cleaner had no effect. I don't expect this to be a problem playing live, but will have to see if problems become apparent when recording. At some point, they may need to be changed and would appreciate knowing which pots Ibanez used.
I'm surprised the techs that do the inspections didn't notice or point this out. I'm not going to return the instrument, but had to let you know.

Overall, I love how this bass feels and plays and look forward to having a lot of fun with it.
Lastly, my opinion is that if manufacturers and dealers are going to sell instruments without cases, they should at least offer suitable options available at the time of purchase rather than as an after thought. I understand the marketing strategy, but would suggest listing choices with the instruments. For a working player, not having a case is not an option.

I have owned this bass for about a week now and I really appreciate playability and tone. The bass weighs in at about 8 lbs. and the flat black finish looks great. The Sweetwater specs list the fingerboard material as ebanol but I believe Ibanez changed the material to ebony. My only complaint about the bass is that it comes strung with round wound strings which can scratch the fingerboard. I quickly changed the strings to flat wounds. Sweetwater provides great service and quick delivery.

Fantastic first fretless, if you are considering making the move. Great build quality and really nice tone for a bass in this price range. Very "giggable" and I'm sure will sound great in the studio. I really like the "ramp" that keeps you from digging too deep with your right hand. Simple controls and comfortable neck. The faucet knob tuners aren't for everybody, but I supposed I'll get the hang of them in time. My bass is a bit headstock heavy while playing seated. Otherwise, I couldn't be happier. Buy one! Sweetwater will deliver incomparable service!

My Ibanez GWB35, as it stands on the day of this review, is a fantastic instrument. I have owned it for about six months now, and have enough experience with it to write an informed review. Visually, it is strikingly beautiful. When I was looking at buying it, the only negative feeling I had about ordering it was the flat black finish. Boy, was I wrong! The finish is more of a satin rather than flat, and photos don't do justice to the way it catches the light. The design of this bass is really well thought out. The maple neck with the gorgeous ebony finger board is smooth and comfortable, and the unique Gary Willis tuners are a godsend. I have arthritis in my left hand and thumb, and the three bladed tuners are easier for me to grab comfortably than standard tuners. They also hold their tuning extremely well. The bass is light, well balanced on a wide strap, and the controls are simple and have a fairly wide range of tone. It is an absolute joy to play. I also am very happy with the Willis Ramp, it definitely aids my technique. I had Sweetwater install LaBella Flat Wounds on it instead of the factory round wound strings for two reasons; I didn't want the rounds to mark up the beautiful finger board, and since I don't play it on a regular schedule, the flats wouldn't tear up my fingers as much. The flats also seem to cut some of the brightness from the tone. I was a little worried about how challenging a fretless bass would be, but to be honest, it's been more difficult adjusting to the fifth string than the fretless neck.

Tone wise, this is a "modern" sounding bass. If you are looking for vintage Motown thump or a booming rock tone, than this is probably not the bass for you. It has a bright and articulate tone, probably because of the maple/ebony neck combined with the Bartolini pickup. I found that in order to coax the classic fretless "mwah" tone from the GWB35, I needed to play on or close to the neck with my right hand. If you are wondering what the bass actually sounds like, just listen to any Gary Willis or Tribal Tech recording and you'll get a good idea.

You may be wondering, "If you are so happy with your bass, then why give it only three and a half stars?"

First, I want to say that Sweetwater has been fantastic in helping me deal with the issues that I have had. I don't know of any online or brick and mortar music dealer who would go so far as they have to make me a satisfied customer. My sales engineer, Jack Wellington, kept me informed every step of the way, and gave great advice as how to proceed when things went sideways.

These are the issues I had with my bass that lead to my 3 1/2 star review:

- A 7+ month wait for delivery from Ibanez (a bit excessive for a bass that costs under a grand, IMO).
- First bass arrived from the factory (Ibanez Indonesia) with a stripped truss rod, and was unfit for delivery.
- Second bass had defective fret markers that, week after delivery, started to come unglued and sprout up above the fretboard, creating actual frets. Bass was sent back to Sweetwater, where the luthiers re-glued the markers and planed the fingerboard to better-than-new condition.
- This summer, the neck bowed backward and was unplayable between the nut and seventh fret marker. I took it to the local luthiers, and they believe that the neck wood wasn't properly cured before it was attached to the body. It required a complete set up to fix the issue.

Again, the folks at Sweetwater were incredible, and the repair work was absolutely first rate. Ibanez, however, completely dropped the ball in my case. My advice; If you are thinking about getting this bass or one similar, purchase the complete set up from Sweetwater before they deliver it. It may save you some serious headaches later on. I would (and will!) gladly buy from Sweetwater again, just probably not an Ibanez.