Wendler electroCoustic Bass

Serial# 107

I saw a press release from Wendler on the Harmony Central web site and curiously followed the manufacturer's link, and got very intrigued by the bass guitars.

I emailed Dave Wendler with some questions about price and finish options, and he replied promptly. He explained that he used a variety of woods and could shape the neck profile to fit my specifications, which pleased me. I measured up the neck on my trusty Ibanez Roadster which has great playability.

We settled on a tung-oiled mahogany neck, with pao ferro fingerboard. Dave kept me informed of construction progress, with photographs of the instrument in various stages.

You can read more about Wendler's passive Magnetic/Piezo pickup system on their web site. In tone, it tends to be very dark and deep. I find that plucking the strings with my right hand up the fingerboard - just like a real upright - gives the best results.

Technically this was my 40th birthday present, but experts disagree as to whether it was this or the VK-8.