I've decided to buy a Wal

[dkelley]

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.

yea, that was my point too.

 

[luciens]

guess you never had first hand experience with Wal....... Paul at Wal HQ is always glad to help or fix if someone has a problem.

And where is Wal HQ? How far is it from your place? And how do you get your bass to him so he can inspect it?

Also see my response to dkelley.

L

 

[Relayer71]

Power Windows (black Mk1)
Hold Your Fire (black Mk1)
Presto (black Mk1)
Roll the Bones (mainly his red Mk2)

Cool, thanks.

Interesting, his sound on Power Windows is noticeably different from Presto (then again, Presto is a thin sounding album overall).

In any case, I like his sound on those albums! Never seen a Wal, myself. I didn't realize they (he?) returned.

To stay on topic: no way would I spend $7000 on a bass without playing it. Ergonomics are very important and individual (and sound you can tweak to a certain point). I'd only get it if I wouldn't lose too much in resale.

 

[LowEndHum]

And where is Wal HQ? How far is it from your place? And how do you get your bass to him so he can inspect it?

Also see my response to dkelley.

L

Wal HQ is just outside London, UK.

 

[RogerTheAlien]

One of the most underwhelming premium basses I have played but like in all things, YMMV. One I played was way way over 10lbs, I think the Radius was 15' but too long ago to remember, was not crazy about the ebony fingerboard or brown ' Sears furniture' finish on the body. For the price I was expecting a beautiful artisanal exotic bass, it felt more like something that could have been done in Asia which is fine, but the owner wanted big bucks and I didn't feel it delivered on any front of 'Bass' I could have used.

A fodera is hands, feet and butt hair above a Wal IMHO ... but then again maybe this bass is just not made for someone with my repertoire.

 

[SteveCS]

guess you never had first hand experience with Wal....... Paul at Wal HQ is always glad to help or fix if someone has a problem.

If that is the case then I can say from personal experience that he is keeping alive a tradition established by Ian and Pete over 40 years ago.

 

[luciens]

Wal HQ is just outside London, UK.

Exactly....

L

 

[2112]

Cool, thanks.

Interesting, his sound on Power Windows is noticeably different from Presto (then again, Presto is a thin sounding album overall).

In any case, I like his sound on those albums! Never seen a Wal, myself. I didn't realize they (he?) returned.

To stay on topic: no way would I spend $7000 on a bass without playing it. Ergonomics are very important and individual (and sound you can tweak to a certain point). I'd only get it if I wouldn't lose too much in resale.

Yeah, man. Changes his signal chain and engineering account for the differences in sound on those two (really all) records. And as I mentioned earlier... the demand for Wals is so high that if you did buy one, if you hold on to it for a bit and take care of it, you're likely to make a few bucks on the sale and it'll sell quickly. The market is that strong... these are basically the finest basses available, and given the 30+ month waiting period for delivery of new builds from Surrey, the demand is very, very strong. In the Wal Bass Club, there are more than a few stories of FS postings lasting just hours, and in some cases just minutes.

 

[nilorius]

Can't help - never touched and sound it, but from design, nothing special. Still the price is high and the quality should be, too. You want - take it.

 

[TrevorR]

Why doesn't Wal increase production?

Because they’re about hand building by individual craftsmen, highest quality luthierie, and precision. Not volume of output.

 

[TrevorR]

shipping from UK to US is about $350. once it hits US soil, you'll have to pay customs. Wal doesn't provide loaners overseas, nor will they provide confidential information on who owns a Wal bass for someone to hunt down.

again best bet is to post in the Wal bass club or at Facebook Wal owner group (which i posted earlier).

I actually met up with a few people to let try my Wals out.

Over here in old Blighty we’ve had the odd Walfest get-together and when I pop along to a Basschat Bass Bash anyone’s welcome to have a go on my Pro or Mk 1... we’re a nice bunch us Wal fanatics!

 

[mikeswals]

Here are some newer ones. Two 2016 5'ers, and 2018 and 2019 4 bangers.

 

[TrevorR]

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.

Any (sane) person who’s buying a Wal really isn’t in the “Wonder what a set of Barts and an East preamp would sound like in there...?” category...

 

[NKBassman]

Now I'm curious how many basses Wal actually produces in a year.
Anybody have any info?

 

[DigitalMan]

Cool, thanks.

Interesting, his sound on Power Windows is noticeably different from Presto (then again, Presto is a thin sounding album overall).

In any case, I like his sound on those albums! Never seen a Wal, myself. I didn't realize they (he?) returned.

To stay on topic: no way would I spend $7000 on a bass without playing it. Ergonomics are very important and individual (and sound you can tweak to a certain point). I'd only get it if I wouldn't lose too much in resale.

Presto was their first album recorded digitally, and IIRC the technology at the time had a different dynamic range. I'm thinking that's a bit-depth thing, but don't hold me to it. Overall, it is their quietest album (as opposed to Snakes and Arrows which is their loudest IMO).

 

[DigitalMan]

Now I'm curious how many basses Wal actually produces in a year.
Anybody have any info?

If you guess in the 30-40 range you wouldn't be off by much I'd imagine.

 

[kulit17]

Now I'm curious how many basses Wal actually produces in a year.

had this same convo back in FB Wal group....think guesses were between 40-65. Although there are certain time in the year where Paul goes off on holiday for a bit.....so it could be less...

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

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.

Why not get your own Baker, or "whoever made" fully custom from any wood with any pickups, electronics, and hardware for about 4500?

 

[devnulljp]

I decided to buy a Wal many many years ago. Still haven't because they're $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[Loring]

Why not get your own Baker, or "whoever made" fully custom from any wood with any pickups, electronics, and hardware for about 4500?

Wal has a proprietary pickup - a coil and magnet for each string and each is fully adjustable for output. Further they use a filter type preamp which very few manufacturers make - Alembic has one and ACG but very few others I can think of and even fewer in the aftermarket so - not so easy to have a custom one off equivalent...