Reviews and Testimonials

"I've never had a luthier apologize for putting too much sustain into an instrument until I met Dave, as he was handing me his mandolin to try. (Can you ever have too much sustain?...) Outside of its unique body style and comfort, both in fret and fit, the sustain was exactly what blew me away.

No more struggling with the only natural decay of the mandolin, Dave has created the perfect voice for chord melody playing. It's a jazzers dream come true.

Imagining the lush tone of a hollowbody jazzbox guitar, I found myself interrupting my playing, turning the instrument upside down just to see how my ears were being deceived by my eyes. Such a thick sound coming from so light a body.

Needless-to-say I was haunted, and for the next several days, I had to beg him to sell me his prototype; I had to have it.

This will be the perfect ax for a jazz "pick-up" engagement. And when I thought I'd need to haul along extra processing gear, it dawned on me that the unenhanced tone of this critter is so naturally good, so rich, the only "device" needed between it and a good tube amp is a good ten foot cord.

This design is destined to be the new voice of electric mandolinning in the 21st century".

Ted Eschliman, Site Author

	Reviews and Testimonials

	Here's what people are saying about the Wendler electroCoustic...
	*Guitar Reviews at Harmony Central* *Bass Reviews at Harmony Central*

	todd rafalovich.(c) 2006	Dear Dave, I am the proud of owner of one of your basses. I bought it from Steve Carriere who bought it from Brian Gingrich, so I guess it’s one of the first ones .I wanted to write a fan letter: this bass is amazing. It is the fourth fretless I have owned. The first was a Fender p/j that I built out of parts—a nice bass which was stolen. The second was a custom made number made by a local luthier. The third was an Ernie Ball MusicMan Sterling. And now I have yours. It’s the first fretless that I truly want to play and look forward to occasions when I can use it. As you might know, I am a free-lance and studio player and have always felt the need to have a fretless on hand. But given a choice, I would always play a fretted bass .A lot of gigs that I play have a “jazz set” where we play standards for the first hour. The Wendler sounds wonderful there. I also have brought it to my regular worship gig at my synagogue and used it with an Israeli folk music band that I play with. And of course I have used it on a jazz gig, only switching back to fretted for the funk tunes. Everyone who has heard it and seen it has made very favorable comments. It’s easy to play, looks good, and sounds wonderful. What’s not to like? I have been to a lot of NAMM shows and music stores and have played other basses that are trying for the same effect, but yours actually does it. Others I have played: Rob Allen, Godin, Rick Turner, Azola, Viellete And many ABG’s from Taylor on down Feel free to quote me! I like the simplicity of controls as well: I just plug in and play. I’m assuming there is a piezo hidden somewhere under the other pickup and they are mixed together in a permanent setting. Maybe there isn’t, but however you did it, you did it right. I wish you much success in your instrument building and hope to meet you some day. Kansas is one state I have never been in. Best wishes, Jeremy Cohen, Berkeley, California jeremy@jps.net Jeremy is a well regarded pro and teacher in the bay area.
	"I find the Electrocoustic a very enjoyable instrument, especially for pop and jazz style vocal accompaniment… I've never played one through a PA, but it sure sounds good through the black face Princeton, and it sounded great through the Deluxe…Mostly as a guy who enjoys (and can usually afford) well made, high quality stuff, I find your guitar a pleasure to own and play." --Darrin Earhart Springfield, MO Darrin is a mechanical engineer and the national sales manager for a large HVAC component manufacturer.
		"Wanted to get back with you regarding #010. First and foremost, I really enjoy playing this guitar. I love the design and how lightweight the unit is. The tone and volume are wonderful.… In closing, I love this guitar. Please keep me informed of new products and/or modifications/improvements to the electroCoustic." --David George, Waterford, MI
	"I've used the guitar for everything from solo gigs to six-piece bands! I've even stopped carrying my dreadnought around for backup in my regular duo (guitar and bass). I love the dynamic range of the instrument. I set the guitar volume on full and use the blend control to vary my tone from bluegrass chop to smooth swing. I usually run the guitar straight through the main mixer, but it sounds great through my blackface Deluxe too! Thanks to you, I can get a great acoustic sound every time without worrying about feedback and room dynamics. Keep up the good work!" --Bret Hodges, Kansas City Bret bought the first production electroCoustic. He owns a software writing company and performs regularly. His standing gig is at Johnny’s Tavern, a popular Overland Park, KS nightspot where he performs with his duo every other Wednesday night.
		"I really love the guitar; sorry it has taken me so long to get back with you. I have many other guitars and have been playing the electroCoustic exclusively. I took it down to Guitar Center (I have lots of friends there including the store and district managers) Let them check it out and they were blown away... I did a CD using it and have shown several people who are also interested in more info on the guitar. I am going to start playing out more and hopefully that will spark even more interest. I am really impressed and just wanted to drop you a line letting you know the guitar has been a real hit around here...Thanks once again. It is an awesome instrument!!!!!!!" --Jerry Leslie, Denver Jerry was our first direct internet sale. He is an airline pilot for United.
	"Real jazz guitar sound! Excellent response and sustain. The attack was natural and the intonation was very clear. The guitar was really ringing and was not a bit screechy. The guitar is very well designed. The string tension is reasonable and the neck shape is superb. The offset designed body enables to keep the neck in the correct position. It is comfortable and very easy to play." --Hiroshi Yoshinada, Tokyo Hiroshi was our first international sale. He develops robotics and with his wife, runs a violin studio.
		"I have some feedback for you. I took your bass to the top local music store (Fender Gibson Godin dealers) they were really impressed with the instrument, one of their techs/ bass players could not believe the sound from such a light bass and they all thought the bass was easy to play and loved the finish and look. Last night at the gig I usually use my trusted 66 P Bass with flatwounds, when I run the amp flat the P Bass sounds a little weak, so I add a touch of bass (Eden bass amps have powerful tone controls) When I switched to the Wendler (used it all of the 3rd set) I switch the bass tone to the minus position. It has tons of fat warm fundamental, the guys in the band loved it. We are playing the same room tonight. I'll be using the bass for all 3 sets. Great Bass…" --Don Ray, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Don plays "jump blues" with his group the Hot Bananas all over the Hamilton and Toronto area. He bought the first production "electroCoustic" bass.
	"I've never had a luthier apologize for putting too much sustain into an instrument until I met Dave, as he was handing me his mandolin to try. (Can you ever have too much sustain?...) Outside of its unique body style and comfort, both in fret and fit, the sustain was exactly what blew me away. No more struggling with the only natural decay of the mandolin, Dave has created the perfect voice for chord melody playing. It's a jazzers dream come true. Imagining the lush tone of a hollowbody jazzbox guitar, I found myself interrupting my playing, turning the instrument upside down just to see how my ears were being deceived by my eyes. Such a thick sound coming from so light a body. Needless-to-say I was haunted, and for the next several days, I had to beg him to sell me his prototype; I had to have it. This will be the perfect ax for a jazz "pick-up" engagement. And when I thought I'd need to haul along extra processing gear, it dawned on me that the unenhanced tone of this critter is so naturally good, so rich, the only "device" needed between it and a good tube amp is a good ten foot cord. This design is destined to be the new voice of electric mandolinning in the 21st century". Ted Eschliman, Site Author www.jazzmando.com	Ted is a music store owner and site author of a jazz mandolin instructional site, in addition to being an author for Mel Bay instruction books.