Wal Pro1e fretless. I picked this up for about £400 in 1986. The previous owner had epoxied the fingerboard. It was passive, single pickup, clear over ash, large 'paddle' headstock, etc. Whilst I regret selling the bass, it is more for the back-story than the actual guitar. For anyone interested, here goes...
Later, in 1987, I decided that the epoxied FB was not good and contacted Electric Wood to see what they could do. EW was based in High Wycombe to the north west of London, and I was living in south London at the time. Ian Waller suggested that to save shipping I could drop the bass off at his flat in Shepherds Bush. I ran the gauntlet of the mid-week Tottenham Hotspur crowds and dropped the bass off. I think Ian's comments on the epoxy were along the lines of "someone should be shot..."!
A few days later Ian called me up and said that he had found an active preamp for the 1e lying around in the workshop and would I like it fitted to my bass. "How much?", I asked. "Nothing", he said. "Does a bear s#*t in the woods?", I thought. A week or so after that I got a call saying that the bass was ready and could I pick it up from Ian's place on the 22nd September.
I turned up and was presented with a completely overhauled, factory set-up bass with a beautiful newly finished fingerboard, fresh strings and the active preamp on board. Ian then started to play, and over coffee he showed me how the preamp worked and how to adjust pickups, trusses, etc. Then Ian's 'phone rang. He went off to take the call and I carried on playing. A few minutes later he returned looking very upset. He had just taken a call telling him that Jaco Pastorius had passed away. Coffee turned to brandy, we chatted and played for another hour or so, and then I left. I kept the bass for a number of years but eventually let it go as, in spite of it being a fantastic instrument tonally it was not good for live work as it was too heavy and not well balanced on the strap (later Wals had a much smaller headstock). Letting that bass go is one of my biggest regrets that still haunts me, at least from time to time, nearly 25 years on.
Later, in 1987, I decided that the epoxied FB was not good and contacted Electric Wood to see what they could do. EW was based in High Wycombe to the north west of London, and I was living in south London at the time. Ian Waller suggested that to save shipping I could drop the bass off at his flat in Shepherds Bush. I ran the gauntlet of the mid-week Tottenham Hotspur crowds and dropped the bass off. I think Ian's comments on the epoxy were along the lines of "someone should be shot..."!
A few days later Ian called me up and said that he had found an active preamp for the 1e lying around in the workshop and would I like it fitted to my bass. "How much?", I asked. "Nothing", he said. "Does a bear s#*t in the woods?", I thought. A week or so after that I got a call saying that the bass was ready and could I pick it up from Ian's place on the 22nd September.
I turned up and was presented with a completely overhauled, factory set-up bass with a beautiful newly finished fingerboard, fresh strings and the active preamp on board. Ian then started to play, and over coffee he showed me how the preamp worked and how to adjust pickups, trusses, etc. Then Ian's 'phone rang. He went off to take the call and I carried on playing. A few minutes later he returned looking very upset. He had just taken a call telling him that Jaco Pastorius had passed away. Coffee turned to brandy, we chatted and played for another hour or so, and then I left. I kept the bass for a number of years but eventually let it go as, in spite of it being a fantastic instrument tonally it was not good for live work as it was too heavy and not well balanced on the strap (later Wals had a much smaller headstock). Letting that bass go is one of my biggest regrets that still haunts me, at least from time to time, nearly 25 years on.
