The Company Line

Luthiers seem to take a variety of paths before ultimately landing in that role, but I believe Randall Wyn Fullmer may have taken one of the most unique and interesting journeys. Sure, like some other bass luthiers, he started out building guitars, and like many others, he started out building instruments for himself. Heck, even the “12-year old kid gets mentored by an elder statesman, who helps him build his first guitar” story is not entirely unheard of in these pages. No, what I think sets Randy in rarified territory is the twenty years he spent at Disney, where he animated on Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, and went on to play the role of Producer on hits like The Emperor’s New Groove and Chicken Little. Nope, I can’t think of any other luthiers with a resume quite like that!

I can see where this background would develop some skills that carry over into the world of lutherie.Certainly, Randy’s career at Disney is evidence of artistic ability on a very high level. The vision, drive, and organization necessary to bring together a feature animated film from a variety of components is undoubtedly an asset when trying to create a singular, cohesive and musical instrument from a collection of disparate parts. But Randy picked up a few more esoteric lessons, as well.“When you start at Disney, you think that you are going to be overwhelmed by the other talent, but then you realize that out the 1,800 or so other artists who work there, maybe four of them are truly gifted beyond the rest.Everyone else succeeded through good work ethics and not being afraid to make mistakes.” Randy also remarks that he learned to, “Be brave, and have guts; be smart about what you keep, and don’t fear failure.”

The passion for building guitars never left, though, and within a short time after leaving Disney, the itch hit him stronger than ever, and Randy was back in the saddle – this time, building basses.

Going Organic

We’ve brought you photos of Wyn basses before, and Randy earned a Bass Gear Magazine 2010 Winter NAMM Show Award – and that was his NAMM debut! The Wyn Guitars webpage (www.wynguitars.com) is full of more pictures of Randy’s creations. Even if you never pick up a Wyn bass in your lifetime (which would be a darned shame, I tell ya!), these basses are worth examining for their sheer artistic beauty, gorgeous woods, and compelling lines. These are the kind of basses which look so earthy, rich and good, that your initial thought is that there is no way they can sound and play as good as they look.Well, sometimes it’s good to be wrong, and believe me, every one of us who played those Wyn basses at the 2010 Winter NAMM Show was blown away on every level. I knew then that I just had to get one of Randy’s basses in for review.

Those earthy, natural body shapes almost seem like they were grown or raised, instead of shaped by man. The carved top instruments, where Randy shaves off part of the top layer of wood, revealing the underlying layer around the edges, and leaving the “top wood” as almost a second body shape overlying the main body, is especially organic and unusual. I like how the trimmed down “faux top” evokes a single-cut body shape, contrasting the double-cut body.

Our test instrument sports a full top, and what a top it is!Flamed, AAAAA curly flamed koa, with a lot of depth and variegation. A thick layer of wenge frames the top very nicely and gives way to an African mahogany body core.Flipping the bass over reveals that the top only tells half of the story. The lighter, “atmospheric” quilted/figured maple back both perfectly matches and yet perfectly contrasts the more “earthy” koa top. The lack of an accent wood where the fancy back transitions to the mahogany body creates a totally different vibe, as well. When I first saw the back of this instrument, I had initially thought that perhaps the finish was not evenly applied, or that perhaps Randy had done some innovative staining techniques. But no, the contrasting patches of lighter and darker maple are entirely unenhanced, which makes this piece of maple all the more rare and impressive. It is worth noting that Randy does not use stains or dyes on any of his basses.What you see on each bass is the natural color and beauty which each piece of wood brings to the equation.

A cursory visual inspection also reveals that this bass features a neckthrough construction. In fact, all Wyn basses feature this construction technique. Randy explains that with this design, “The tuning pegs, nut, fingerboard, pickups, bridge and strings are all attached to one unbroken continuous block of wood.For the ultimate in sustain and transmission of tone from the neck and fingerboard woods, it’s the most direct way to get there.” The use of multiple laminations adds stability and strength; the last thing you want on a neck-through instrument is a twisted neck. Many Wyn basses (the test bass included) feature a taper core neck.This is where all the laminations outside of the core are exactly parallel to the taper of the neck, and it lines up the grain of each board much more closely with the orientation of the strings, as they widen out from the neck to the bridge. This technique definitely requires careful planning and additional effort, but the looks are quite striking, and Randy believes it is a contributing factor to the clarity of his basses. The 7-piece neck on this bass features two larger pieces of wenge, with figured eastern rock maple rails and bubinga stripes.The dark, rich wenge fingerboard nicely grounds the overall esthetic presentation.

Electrically Enhanced

All those good looks would be for naught if the bass didn’t sport electronics which were up to the task.No worries, here. Randy uses Nordstrand pickups in most of his basses. He is really happy with them, and consistently gets the sounds he wants out of them. Bartolini pickups are also available, upon request. He would rather play around with different wood options, and not have too many other variables. The pickups in this bass are Fat Stacks, which feature a single-coil mode and a humbucking mode. I have played several other basses with these pickups, and in each case, I distinctly preferred the tone in single-coil mode, but appreciated the ability to switch to humbucking mode (with minimal, yet noticeable, tonal loss) if hum/noise became an issue. One of the basses I played at the Wyn booth that first NAMM Show – the one which spoke to me the most, I might add – also had Nordstrand Fat Stacks. I recall commenting at the time that it struck me that on that particular bass, the Fat Stacks offered two equally good, but decidedly different, tones. But that was NAMM, and often times, it’s hard to get a good read on things in that kind of environment.

Well, this bass seems to work the same kind of magic with those Fat Stacks.There is no “compromise” setting.Both the single-coil and humbucking modes sound flat-out great (and there is no appreciable noise/hum in single-coil mode, either). I asked Randy what his secret is, and he modestly replied that there are several different ways to wire up the Fat Stacks, and he settled in on a way to wire them up where both single and dual coils work well. He may have a bit of a leg up when it comes to working with Carey Nordstrand’s pickups, though. As Randy explains, back when that building bug hit him again, “I called my friend Carey Nordstrand and told him that I’d work for him for a week for free if I could ask him any question that came to mind.” Carey accepted, and obviously, Randy soaked up a thing or two during that week.

Two preamp brands are available: Nordstrand or Aguilar. While I’ve definitely had good luck pairing up Carey’s pickups with his preamps, this bass sports an Aguilar OBP-3, and in this bass, I feel that it is a very good fit.The FET-based OBP-3 gives you +/- 18dB at 40Hz, +/- 16dB at either 400Hz or 800Hz (push/pull the Mid knob selects between the two), and +/- 16dB at 6.5Hz. It’s obviously a very powerful preamp, so a little goes a long way. Input impedance is 1 Meg ohm.

The Soul of an Artist

Randy runs a tight ship, and his entire staff responds instantly to his every command.Admittedly, that’s not so hard to do when you have a staff of one. Still, even as a relatively new, one-man shop, Randy builds about 25-30 Wyn basses per year, and he is barely keeping up with demand. At his heart, Randy is an artist, and in addition to building basses, he finds his muse in drawing, painting, sculpture, leaded glass, custom furniture, and music (he plays piano, sax, guitar, and bass).

He plays guitar more so than bass, and his first instruments were all guitars, so I asked Randy why he’s making basses, now. “I find the sensibility of most bass players to be in tune with the beauty and sound of the same exotic hardwoods that interest me. In my experience, bass players tend to value individual one-of-a-kind guitars, as compared to guitar players, who are more looking for that perfect early Fender or Gibson. Also, besides the deep expressive tones, bass guitars are just plain bigger and offer a larger canvas for design, shape and beauty.”

Randy’s approach to each instrument is very much based upon the particular player the instrument is being built for.He sends each prospective customer a list of ten questions, then based upon the answers, he asks ten more. Then, he asks them, “If you were to win the lottery, and you could pick any three basses on my webpage, which three would you choose?” This gives him the insight he needs to design the perfect bass for that player.

Randy works with a mixture of woodworking machines and hand tools.The machines can certainly make some tasks more efficient, but sometimes hand tools lead to better results. “There is something magical about a hand-made instrument; it has a soul. You miss this with a machinemade instrument, even when machine-made is technically more ‘perfect.’” He believes that there is a zen to everything, and gets particularly excited about making a musical instrument, “You launch it into a different realm.”

Real World Performance

Tonally, this bass has a big, full tone, with excellent high end extension. It seems to have the high-end “snap” I often associate with a nice bolt-on neck, but without the “growl” in the upper mids (more on this, below). The midrange is nicely balanced, and the notes sound decidedly smooth and clear throughout its range. Instead of copping one particular tone profile (e.g., a ‘70s J-bass tone, or a ’51 Pbass, or a Stingray vibe, or whatever), this Wyn bass offers more of a blank canvas upon which to craft your own ideal tone. “Full, clear and smooth” are the words that come to mind the most when assessing this bass’ inherent tone. Having two pickup voicings to choose from, switchable active/passive modes, and a powerful 3-band EQ, this “blank canvas” approach certainly allows for a wide variety of very usable tones out of this instrument.

Working through different pickup blend and right hand placement combinations always opens up a whole new world of tonal possibilities on pretty much any two-pickup bass, but on the Wyn, this process led to some interesting discoveries. The first thing I noticed is that while the Wyn is incredibly smooth with the blend control centered, it is very much capable of dialing in some nice (alder/rosewood –variety) growl when you solo either pickup. The neck pickup soloed sounds, predictably, more P-bass like, and the bridge pickup soloed is rather like what you’d get doing the same thing on a fatter than usual sounding J-bass. However, I also noticed that when I favored one pickup or the other, the overall tonal balance did not change very much.The feel (and midrange character) did vary quite a bit, but the relative balance of lows to highs did not.Typically, when I solo the bridge pickup, I find myself reaching for a little bass boost, but this was entirely unnecessary with this Wyn bass. Of course, if you want to thin it out, the OBP-3 certainly allows you to do that.

The fullness and clarity which I experienced playing the Wyn on my own at practice definitely translated well on the gig. With the blend control centered, the EQ set “flat,” and the pickups in humbucking mode, I was hitting my comfort zone right off the bat. For songs which needed a little more snarl and growl, I soloed the neck pickup and dug in.

The overall neck thickness and width is roughly the same as, say my Sadowsky P/J 5, but Randy handcarves all of his necks, shooting for playability and comfort, “It should fit like an old pair of jeans.” It is, like the rest of the instrument, organic and inviting. Randy definitely strives for a familiar feel, from the player’s perspective, stating, “While I try to break up the silhouette somewhat,really, every ergonomically correct bass is very close to a Fender, because Leo got it right.” That being said, I do notice that the upper horn strap pin is just a tad bit south of the 12th fret.Combine this with the 34.5” scale, and the reach to first position is a little longer than what you’d get on a Fender (or on my Sadowsky). Overall, though, it has a fairly “normal” position and reach, and the balance on a strap is very legacy in the world of bass lutherie. If you ever get the privilege to play one of these basses, savor the opportunity, and start saving your pennies, because Randy’s work is likely to Wyn you over (sorry, I couldn’t resist!).

The Bottom Line

The phrase “functional works of art” can certainly apply to many instruments, but every Wyn bass I have seen really hits that nail on the head. Producing major animated features for Disney is certainly top of the food chain in that particular mode of artistic expression, and Randall Fullmer could have settled into a quiet, content retirement after leaving Disney. Ever the driven artist, though, he has forged ahead in a new field, and I believe he is destined to leave an equally impressive I really like this bass. That’s saying something, as most “hippie sandwich” instruments bore me. I like wood, but I’m not generally a fan of multiple pieces of glued-up lumber on instruments. Here is the thing, glue and wood can sound like a bookshelf, but they can also sound very good if it’s done right – even with “bookshelf” style plywood, like on New Standard double basses. Properly made hippie sandwiches can kick the tar out of a garden-variety plank bass, if they are done properly.

This Wyn Bass is a great hippie sandwich – one of the better one’s you’ll see – and the work that went into it is fist rate. One of the coolest things about this bass is the they way he laid out the stringers on the neckthrough billet. Usually, billets keep stringers the same size through their length and are carved down, or added to, for the peghead. Then, the body wings are glued on to make up for the width in the body area. On this bass’ neck billet, the two outer maple sections and their three short bubinga partners are straight from end to end, but the two center wenge sections taper from 2mm at the tip of the peghead to 29mm at the base of the body. They still have to glue on body wings, but the whole run from end to end is very elegant. A ridiculously tedious detail that is easy to miss, but it’s a very nice design element and very well-conceived. The rest of the wood planks are very nice. A quilted maple back and figured koa top sandwiched around an African mahogany core make it nice-looking, resonant, and relatively lightweight.

I really like the smaller fretwire.Jumbo frets seem like big-soled boots, where I’d rather see a nice toe shoe.Smaller frets don’t last near as long, but generally play in tune better as they wear out, and get your hands closer to the lumber – which keeps you playing in tune better as you squeeze a note in, rather than pulling the note sharp because the frets are so tall.

The electronics are fantastic – a set of Nordstrand Fat Stacks run through a defeatable Aguilar OPB-3 preamp.Even the passive tone cap is the nice reissue Orange Drop. There are lots of knobs on the face of this bass: Bass, Mid (with frequency center switch), Treble, Passive Tone (with coil tap, making the stacks big singles), Blend, and a Master Volume with active/passive switch – pretty much the kitchen sink. Well-installed, wellshielded and great-sounding. The only thing I didn’t care for was the battery being held on by a Velcro strip. The body of the 9-Volt is defaulted to ground, so if the Velcro ever failed and the battery cut loose, it could touch a hot lead in the compartment and short out the bass. Velcro would work if the battery were encased in something like electric tape, or a bag of some kind, so that if it did start moving around, it wouldn’t cause any electrical issues that could interrupt a show.

The hardware is all the usual suspects on this level of instrument: Hipshot Ultralight machines and bridge, secured by Dunlop Dual Design straplocks – very nice.

A few other comments: the nut slot on the bass side wasn’t fit quite right. The truss rod was set so the neck is flat under string tension, but when the tension of the strings was relaxed, the neck fell into a profound back bow.That’s a pretty springy neck and fingerboard, by my standards. It works fine, though, and adjusts right where it should live for a range of setups. I felt like this particular bass had a lower output B string and a little deadness in the upper register on the G string; not unusual or maybe not even problematic for the average player. It seems like a wood thing, and is probably different on other versions of this bass. I only point it out because the price range demands a high level of sophistication, which overall I’d say this bass delivers. I really think overall this bass is built well, sounds great, plays great and is a worthy contender in its price point.