IBANEZ GARY WILLIS SIGNATURE (GWB) SERIES

Gary Willis' absolute mastery of the fretless is well documented in recordings with Tribal Tech, Wayne Shorter, Allan Holdsworth, Hubert Laws, Joe DiOrio and his own solo recordings. He is also one of the finest bass instructors in the world—his seminars on bass are a must for players who want to take their playing to the next level. Gary's no-frills fretless bass personifies and facilitates his total tonal and dynamic control. In 1999, Ibanez Guitars introduced the Gary Willis Signature Bass. In development for almost 2 years, the Willis Bass offers bassists the chance to purchase the bass built to Willis's exacting specifications, and an opportunity to get that "Willis sound." The bass has evolved over the years with subtle improvements, but the latest model (the GWB1005) is hand-crafted in Japan from start to finish and in Willis's words: "Instead of trying to make this bass more affordable, Ibanez has decided to make it perfect.

IBANEZ GWB1

The Ibanez GWB1 Gary Willis Signature model was introduced in 1999. Available in natural flat (ntf) or  transparent black flat (tkf) finishes.  The fretless GWB1 neck was 20.5mm thick at the first fret line marker, with 34" scale length and a bolt on All Access neck joint which allowed the easy access to the upper frets.

This model was discontinued in 2005.

Read more

IBANEZ GWB1005

The Ibanez GWB1005 Gary Willis Signature bass was introduced in 2009, replacing the GWB105 signature model.  The GWB1005 is hand crafted from start to finish in Japan. There are a few changes from the previous GWB105 model: it has a black-faced headstock which no longer bears a Gary Willis signature. Now the signature is on the back electronics cover (each one is hand signed by Willis). The fretless fingerboard is now high gloss finished rosewood (instead of the GWB105's ebonol). The detachable finger ramp, designed by Gary Willis, is still there.

Read more

IBANEZ GWB105

The Ibanez GWB105 Gary Willis Signature bass was introduced in 2005, replacing the original GWB1 signature model. The fingerboard on the GWB105 was ebonol (phenolic) instead of the GWB1's ebony fingerboard, and it has offset dot position markers. The GWB105 was replaced by the GWB1005 model around 2009.

Read more

IBANEZ GWB2

The Ibanez GWB2 Gary Willis Signature model was introduced in 1999 as the fretted version of the GWB1. The GWB2 was available in transparent black finish only and was discontinued in 2002.

Read more

IBANEZ GWB35

Ibanez introduced the Gary Willis signature 5 string fretless bass (model GWB35) in 2004. It has a double cutaway basswood body with maple neck and ebony fingerboard. The GWB35 has a single SFR-GWB Custom pickup, active electronics and black hardware. The detachable finger ramp underneath the string pickuing area, designed by Gary Willis, encourages players to not "dig in too deep" and allows a more consistent attack with quick recovery time.

Read more

Specifications:

ModelImageFinish colorsFinish effectsMade inNumber of stringsScale length
IBANEZ GWB1
1999 to 2005
black finish, natural finishsatin finish, transparent finishJapan5 strings34 inches scale-length
IBANEZ GWB1005
2009
natural finishsatin finishJapan5 strings34 inches scale-length
IBANEZ GWB105
2005 to 2009
natural finishsatin finishJapan5 strings34 inches scale-length
IBANEZ GWB2
1999 to 2002
black finishsatin finish, transparent finishJapan5 strings34 inches scale-length
IBANEZ GWB35
2004
black finish-Korea5 strings34 inches scale-length
ModelPickups brand and modelPreamp
IBANEZ GWB1
1999 to 2005
Bartolini GW pickup(s), Bartolini NTBT pickup(s)-
IBANEZ GWB1005
2009
Bartolini GW pickup(s)-
IBANEZ GWB105
2005 to 2009
Bartolini pickup(s)-
IBANEZ GWB2
1999 to 2002
Bartolini GW pickup(s)-
IBANEZ GWB35
2004
IBZ SFR pickup(s)active preamp
ModelBody materialBody shape features
IBANEZ GWB1
1999 to 2005
swamp ash bodydouble cutaway
IBANEZ GWB1005
2009
ash bodydouble cutaway
IBANEZ GWB105
2005 to 2009
ash bodydouble cutaway
IBANEZ GWB2
1999 to 2002
swamp ash bodydouble cutaway
IBANEZ GWB35
2004
basswood bodydouble cutaway
ModelBridgeHardware color
IBANEZ GWB1
1999 to 2005
STD-5 bridgeblack hardware
IBANEZ GWB1005
2009
B-105 bridgeblack hardware
IBANEZ GWB105
2005 to 2009
B-105 bridgeblack hardware
IBANEZ GWB2
1999 to 2002
STD-5 bridgeblack hardware
IBANEZ GWB35
2004
B-105 bridgeblack hardware
ModelFingerboard inlay materialFingerboard materialFingerboard position markers
IBANEZ GWB1
1999 to 2005
pearl fingerboard inlay materialebony fingerboarddot fingerboard position markers
IBANEZ GWB1005
2009
pearl fingerboard inlay materialebonol fingerboardoffset dot fingerboard position markers
IBANEZ GWB105
2005 to 2009
pearl fingerboard inlay materialebonol fingerboardoffset dot fingerboard position markers
IBANEZ GWB2
1999 to 2002
pearl fingerboard inlay materialebony fingerboarddot fingerboard position markers
IBANEZ GWB35
2004
pearl fingerboard inlay materialebony fingerboarddot fingerboard position markers
ModelNeck jointNeck materialNumber of fretsTuner layoutNeck width
IBANEZ GWB1
1999 to 2005
bolt on neckmaple neckfretlesstwo-up-three-down-
IBANEZ GWB1005
2009
bolt on neckmaple neckfretlesstwo-up-three-down1.77 inches wide at nut
IBANEZ GWB105
2005 to 2009
bolt on neckmaple neckfretlesstwo-up-three-down1.77 inches wide at nut
IBANEZ GWB2
1999 to 2002
bolt on neckmaple neck24 frettwo-up-three-down1.77 inches wide at nut
IBANEZ GWB35
2004
-maple neckfretless-1.77 inches wide at nut
ModelEQ or mix controlsNumber of control knobsTone controlsVolume controls
IBANEZ GWB1
1999 to 2005
----
IBANEZ GWB1005
2009
2-band EQ control2 control knobs2 stacked tone controls1 volume control
IBANEZ GWB105
2005 to 2009
----
IBANEZ GWB2
1999 to 2002
----
IBANEZ GWB35
2004
2-band EQ control-2 stacked tone controls1 volume control