Recent content by walman01

Hi Russ, I think the curing of the wood is often overlooked. Some lutiers kiln-dry the wood. However, if the wood has any moisture in it at all, the bass will experience neck twisting, glue problems, etc. I know at Wal Basses, Pete bought several planks of wood that he was assured was...

Personally, I LOVE Geddy's Wal tone. Every note is heard. Manring has always been a favorite of mine. In fact, the 3-octave fretless Wals were loosely based on Manring's 3-octave fretless from Zon. That being said, Wals with the thicker strings just BOOM! They retain the articulate...

To my knowledge, Geddy has never tried that. Or at least he has never approached Pete with making the adjustments required to accommodate thicker strings (new nut, etc). It is a little trickier than it sounds and should be done by a luthier or a knowledgeable tech. As much as I LOVE Wals, they...

Here is the second three octave Wal I had Pete make.

There were two 3-octave fretless Wals made. One was the prototype made with the burled redwood. The other has a quilted maple top and back. They are VERY unique sounding instruments. But the prototype (redwood) was near perfection in terms of construction. I actually bought the redwood from...

I had a Ric, but really didn't care for it. I found it heavy and cumbersome. One of my 5 string Wals is one of the heaviest basses I have ever felt though. I don't play it that often because of its weight. For a 4-string, I really think the Rics are among the heaviest. Steve Chesney

I agree, I have never been a big fan of vintage. I played with a guitarist who dropped $7000 on a 1950's gold top Gibson. I just didn't get it. Now I have heard some vintage Fenders that have had a unique sound. But for the most part, I prefer more modern, handmade instruments. Steve Chesney

Hi Russ, Not a problem. I am attaching a picture below of the 3-octave fretless Wal prototype. I also have a quilted maple one that I had Pete make after he made this one. This one is special though.

Hey Russ, Here is the link to Elrick Basses website. I co-designed a 3-octove fretless Wal bass with Pete Stevens and tried to buy a piece of burled buckeye off of Rob Elrick to use on the prototype. Needless to say, he would not sell me the lumber. We ended up using burled redwood for...

I completely agree!! Geddy's tone is great on this tour. I think Russ mentioned before that Geddy backed some of the distortion off of his SanAmp this time around. To me, it made a huge difference. Russ, have you had any experience with Elrick Basses? I played one at Bass Central and...

Not harsh at all. I completely understand and again, I do want to apologize. You have to understand that I may have had a preconceived notion that day because of what Pete was telling me. At any rate, have you had any experience dealing with Elrick Basses? I played one the last time I was at...

Russ, I think if you ever got the chance to work with Wals, you will find their necks are particularly prone to shifting in different climatic environments. It is my one complaint about them. I live in Florida, so I have set them for a warm, humid climate. However, if I were to play in...

Russ, I would like to add about my post regarding Jimmy Rhodes. When I became involved with Wal Basses, Geddy's tech was, I believe, Skip Gildersleeve. Pete at Wal Basses would constantly gush about how easy he was to deal with. Pete did not have that opinion of Jimmy, which seemed to be...

I didn't mean to insult Jimmy. I met him in 1992 during the Roll the Bones tour and did not get along with him at all. Maybe it was the fact that on that day the crew was about 4 hours behind schedule for a Jacksonville Fl show. I had read somewhere that Geddy didn't get along with him. You...

Hi Russ, I have learned that there is no such thing as a dream job, even if all of us envy what you do. I am sure you have to take the bad (prima donna 20 year old bass players with no talent) with the good (Geddy Lee). But I am sure even Geddy has bad days. I must say I was happy to hear...