This is one of the hardest decision I've ever had to make when it comes to musical instruments. I have a fire burning inside me that can only be fueled by the purchase of a Double Bass, so after a lot of soul searching I am prepared to let my favourite bass go to purchase one.
I have for sale one 1979 Electric Wood Wal ProIIe and I'm pretty sure that this is the only one that has ever been for sale on Talkbass and it's the only the second one I've ever seen for seen for sale. These were only made for a couple of years and there was I believe only around 700 ever made. The body is ash, the neck is a ten piece combination of maple, purpleheart, and hornbeam. The fretboard is Indian rosewood with vintage style frets and a new bone nut. The bass has been run on a PLEK machine and the fret job and setup are nothing short of perfect.
Wal ProIIe's are active basses with a very unique preamp. There is a separate volume and tone control for each pickup as well as master volume and pickup selector switch. The tone controls are unique to this bass in that they aren't just a passive treble roll-off, but they actually change the impedance of the preamp. There are also three switches, one being a low-mid boost, another is a bass cut/treble boost and the last being a the famous Wal pick-attack switch, which makes the bass sound like it's being played with a pick when playing fingerstyle.
I bought this bass earlier in the year and I had Mike Lull fully restore the bass to the tune of over $2200 dollars. Mike Lull was great to deal with and his work is absolutely fantastic. All of the details of the restoration can be found in this thread. I've been told by many Wal fanatics that most early Wals have been restored and modified over the years.
OMG, Look at what Mike Lull did to my Wal!!!!
Playability on this bass is excellent and it's easier for me to pull of hard lines on this bass than any other I've owned. The bass has a soft V profile, like classical instruments. It takes a little while to get used to it, but when you do the neck feels like an old baseball mitt that's been broken in by years of use. The combination of vintage frets and the PLEK setup means that your fingers just glide up and down the neck with very little effort. I'm going to miss the neck on this bass more than anything.
There are a myriad of tones available with this preamp and pickups. The Wal pickups are SICK by the way. They're just sound powerful whether you play with a pick or your fingers. I've been playing this bass with my classic rock band for a while now and the tone fits in the mix perfectly.
Finally, this bass was custom painted to look like T.C.'s helicopter in Magnum P.I. The guy who paints all of Mike Lull's basses did the refinish and he did an absolutely fantastic job. Every time I walk past the bass, it puts a smile on my face, not to mention how much the crowd digs it.
This bass also has the original hard case, which are impossible to find. It's a cool 70's brown colour and it is a LOT less bulky than modern hard cases and it does an excellent job protecting the bass. You cannot find these cases anywhere.
I know I'm forgetting a lot and I will edit this thread as I remember things. Although Wal is starting to produce basses again, they will never make another one of these. This bass is a classic and rare as hen's teeth. This Wal was made by the original guys at Electric Wood and it's a piece of history.
Price: $3600 plus shipping.
Price Drop $3299 I'm into this bass for over $4200 and the bass is in excellent condition. I've only seen one other ProIIe for sale; it sold for $4300 and it had also been modified and routed for another pickup. This is a great price for a one of a kind, fully restored vintage instrument. I'm only selling this bass to purchase a Double Bass, an Upton Hybrid to be exact, so no trades please. I will consider local deals for a Double Bass, but it has to be the right Bass for me. I'm looking for instrument that will be my primary player for several years.
Feel free to ask any questions.
Thanks,
Michael
