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I've decided to buy a Wal

#61
casualmadness said:
So that's it...I have a milestone birthday coming up in about 3.5 years and according to the website, their lead time is currently about 30 months. I want to try to time it to arrive near my birthday so it's a legit birthday present. I've never actually played a Wal but I've always held Wal as my ideal bass. Just something about the tone, the appearance, all of it just speaks to me. May be crazy to spend that much on a bass that I've never played but hey, life is short and at the risk of sounding arrogant, I can afford it, and I want it.

So Wal owners...how was your experience? Did any of you buy your Wal without having played one? Were you disappointed or was it everything you imagined it to be? Can any owners speak to the payment process? The website says you make an initial payment then when the neck is assembled you make a second payment, then when it's complete you make a final payment. I assume each payment is a third of the total?
Did you get a MKI, II, III? I'm leaning toward an MKI but I honestly am unsure of the difference. I was initially drawn to the MKII but I honestly don't know why. So at this point I'm researching to figure out exactly what I want. I'm leaning toward a four string as that's what I typically play the most.

Anyone outside of the UK (preferable the USA) have any issues with import? The website mentions the import fees and other import requirements being the responsibility of the buyer. Can anyone educate me about that? I've ordered things from other countries and it's never been something I had to think about.
Anyhow, that's my big news. I assume the wait will be the hard part though I have no desire whatsoever to grow any older. But it's inevitable so I will make a lifeliong fantasy a reality to distract from my aging meat bag.
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I went to visit Paul and check out the Wal factory/shed before placing the order. I also returned 2 years later to pickup the bass. Overall, it was a great experience.

My Wal connection centers around the 4 Rush albums that were all Wal. Nothing else in my mind is able to create that tone. I got a MKI for the looks frankly, although it is a fairly heavy bass. I'm sure the II and III sound and play as good or better at a lighter weight.

And I never pass up the opportunity to post this:

 
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#62
Congrats on your decision! I've owned several Mk1 4 strings and have played a couple Mk2's and a Mk3's (all used) - since you're ordering new - my suggestion would be to make sure you're requesting the ideal specs that you want neck-wise. My first two had a V profile I could not get comfy with, my 3rd was an incredible C shape that was perfect.

Also...the guy I purchased my 3rd Mk1 from was selling because he had 2 Mk2's on order he needed to pay off, he requested custom neck specs but they both showed up wrong so they were sent back to England. So just keep that at the top of the list so you're not fighting with the neck after waiting so long.
 
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#64
casualmadness said:
So that's it...I have a milestone birthday coming up in about 3.5 years and according to the website, their lead time is currently about 30 months. I want to try to time it to arrive near my birthday so it's a legit birthday present. I've never actually played a Wal but I've always held Wal as my ideal bass. Just something about the tone, the appearance, all of it just speaks to me. May be crazy to spend that much on a bass that I've never played but hey, life is short and at the risk of sounding arrogant, I can afford it, and I want it.

So Wal owners...how was your experience? Did any of you buy your Wal without having played one? Were you disappointed or was it everything you imagined it to be? Can any owners speak to the payment process? The website says you make an initial payment then when the neck is assembled you make a second payment, then when it's complete you make a final payment. I assume each payment is a third of the total?
Did you get a MKI, II, III? I'm leaning toward an MKI but I honestly am unsure of the difference. I was initially drawn to the MKII but I honestly don't know why. So at this point I'm researching to figure out exactly what I want. I'm leaning toward a four string as that's what I typically play the most.

Anyone outside of the UK (preferable the USA) have any issues with import? The website mentions the import fees and other import requirements being the responsibility of the buyer. Can anyone educate me about that? I've ordered things from other countries and it's never been something I had to think about.
Anyhow, that's my big news. I assume the wait will be the hard part though I have no desire whatsoever to grow any older. But it's inevitable so I will make a lifeliong fantasy a reality to distract from my aging meat bag.
Click to expand...


I say spend for a flight and check them out. And send us a pick of the stages being built. Got the feeling the bass is calling you. If you can afford it. Seems like a good way of buying a hand made instrument.
 
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#65
casualmadness said:
Well I'm certainly not a rich man but I'm frugal with a lot of things. I drive a 15 year old truck that I paid cash for and have a 9 year old daily driver that wasn't super expensive to begin with (it's a Kia.) I never eat lunch out at work. I'm 100% a brown bagger. I buy most of my clothes from thrift stores save shoes, undergarments, and a few suits I bought for work. I don't have a lot of hobbies. Aside from Scuba diving, music is really the only thing that I do regularly.
The replies here make me want to do a little more soul searching on this. I would really hate to spend $10-$12K for something that doesn't really work for me. That would be hard to recover from.
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I tick a lot of the same boxes as you do above, but I'd never even dream of buying an instrument worth more than either of my two cars sight unseen and without ever having put hands on one. I've been burned / let down too many times in the past doing exactly that with far less expensive instruments. But hey, that's just my opinion.
 
#67
I did the same think with a different brand for my 50th .. 4 year wait and I was disappointed in the final product. It was a custom build and there was no way to test that bass. It was way too heavy.. 11 lbs and I sold it.
I have other basses from this brand and they’re excellent.

You might want to test one before ordering. Hop on a plane if you must to a shop that has one.
 
#68
HalfManHalfBass said:
I found the neck not to my tastes too. I'm a little bit obsessive about things like proprietary pickups, bridges and string trees etc. because I like having the possibility to swap things out if they need / I want to change them.
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Wow!

I’d think that anybody dropping that kind of money on a bass would be buying it because they were already fully committed to its design and tone and not even think of ever modifying it.

Otherwise they’d be out commissioning a fully custom built instrument. And, in the case of a Wal, possibly saving themselves a grand or so in the process. :laugh:
 
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#70
DigitalMan said:
I went to visit Paul and check out the Wal factory/shed before placing the order. I also returned 2 years later to pickup the bass. Overall, it was a great experience.

My Wal connection centers around the 4 Rush albums that were all Wal. Nothing else in my mind is able to create that tone. I got a MKI for the looks frankly, although it is a fairly heavy bass. I'm sure the II and III sound and play as good or better at a lighter weight.

And I never pass up the opportunity to post this:

Click to expand...


What RUSH albums were those? I remember Geddy using it on the Show of Hands video, but thought he maybe just used it on Hold Your Fire and Presto.

(And sorry if thats off topic, folks!)
 
#71
casualmadness said:
I get the "play it first" mentality. Believe me I would love to try them out to make sure. But as I said, I've never seen one in the wild. Never known anyone who owned one. It isn't like I can go to guitar center and check one out. They just aren't out in the wild. If anyone knows a secret Wal stash somewhere, I'm all ears.
Click to expand...
Well, aren't they custom hand built instruments? As in, can't you tell them what you want, and have them make it that way? If I was paying 7 grand for an instrument, I'd make sure it had at least the neck profile, pickups, and lack of electronics that I want before they build it for me. Know what I mean?
 
#72
JeezyMcNuggles said:
Well, aren't they custom hand built instruments? As in, can't you tell them what you want, and have them make it that way? If I was paying 7 grand for an instrument, I'd make sure it had at least the neck profile, pickups, and lack of electronics that I want before they build it for me. Know what I mean?
Click to expand...

It isn't a free for all full custom. You can only change a couple creature comforts within their structure. But they only use their in-house pickups and their in-house preamp. They only make 34" scales, and the string spacing isn't an option.
 
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#75
mikeswals said:
There is only two people in the workshop, and everything is hand made. Wood sections are cut by saw and shaped with a rasp. The only off-the-shelf parts is the tuning machines. Electronics are their own completely build in-house, and all the goofy imperial screws are their own made in small batches and either chrome or gold plated in small batches.
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and you're not the only person in the world they're making a bass for.....

I mean, seriously. This is how long it takes when someone's making instruments at this level and actually have demand for their work.
 
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#79
dkelley said:
How? You send it to them, they fix it. The actual guys who MADE your bass, fix it.
Click to expand...

Of course. Now, remind me how long will that take again? How much is the shipping back and forth to the UK? Lead time on repairs?

I'm being mostly facetious here, but still, user serviceability is a component you should take seriously when considering a bass. If it's a really exotic instrument with very limited ability for you to find parts and repair it easily yourself, then that's just something you have to take into account in whether you choose it or not. It's not a sin to think about this, be sensitive to it and do research on it.

This is one of the reasons Fender style basses practically took over the whole planet: Leo Fender had the idea "a quality instrument is easily repaired". Being able to recover quickly if something breaks or goes bad is important especially if you're gigging.

But if you have to ship the bass back to the manufacturer every time, well, that's something you should keep in mind too. I'm not saying that's bad, I'm just saying it's ok to take that into consideration...

L
 
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#80
Justinian said:
Why doesn't Wal increase production?
Click to expand...

dkelley said:
Why? They keep up with demand just fine considering the cost of the instruments. This is not slow, by in-demand world-famous custom-built instrument standards.
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It is impossible for the 2 sole workers at Wal to increase production without sacrificing quality. That is the exact opposite of what the owner and his assistant want to produce. They are fiercely proud of the quality they work into every single instrument they've built throughout the years. I went to collect my brand new Wal in person mid March this year, and it's just mind boggling to find out only 2 full time workers make all these art pieces.

So, because they want to keep quality at its peak, they cannot work any faster than they already do. Many Wal owners and enthusiasts know this.
 
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