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NEW WAL WEBSITE UP AND RUNNING!
- Thread starter danweb22
- Start date
I agree 100%
If I get one it will be used...and even then, that may not even do it for me.
Ill probably just stick with my P's and Ric's
Wow, looking at Wal site I see they started production in '76...I didn't associate the tone on those Eno albums with a Precision.
I do recall an ancient interview with Percy in a Guitar Player magazine from the early '80s...there was a picture of him playing an early Wal with an embossed leather pickguard...pretty funky!
Better not, cost me $5000!
On topic, eh, I'm not soiling myself with excitment, but I'd like to try one, for sure, only then could I decide if I want to part with the price for it.
I was wondering when this would become a how much is stupid type of discussion. FWIW, its similar to comparing a Dodge Charger to KAsey Kahne's nascar machine. The astronomical cost for somethign that looks fairly mundane is because they are literally built from scratch, by hand, to very exacting specifications. If you use your charger (or your P bass) and it does what it needs to do, then its all you need, and to most people the performance difference between the two would be useless if not completely wasted. I think the same kind of applies here. There comes a point where the quality differences are measured in much smaller units and where improving requires obscene money, time and skill. Racers will spend thousands of dollars to drop a few hundreths off of their lap times or to shave a pound off here or there. The differences between an off the rack bass and something like a Wal is the same type of thing. The differences between a good Fender and an SX are going to be much more obvious and marked than the differences between the same Fender and a Wal, but those improvements were very hard to come by. Sorry for the rant.
There must be a demand in the market in that price point or they would not be creating the supply...
I am excited for Wal devotees and the company...I remember well getting their color brochure in the mid 80's and lusting for a mkII in my teen years...even though I worked my tail off as a kid, never could get the scratch to buy one even at that time....kinda like the beautiful girl always beyond reach in high school...
For those who can swing it...good for you...It takes a lot of work to achieve a financial goal like that(or a friendly patron
...probably be the bass of a lifetime and hopefully the journey of saving/getting the bass built is memorable too.
I would love to get my mitts on one someday....still, 5K can pay for a nice chunk of school for the kids...or that once in a lifetime trip with the wife.....might be tough to justify...still...one can dream, right?
MB
I am excited for Wal devotees and the company...I remember well getting their color brochure in the mid 80's and lusting for a mkII in my teen years...even though I worked my tail off as a kid, never could get the scratch to buy one even at that time....kinda like the beautiful girl always beyond reach in high school...
For those who can swing it...good for you...It takes a lot of work to achieve a financial goal like that(or a friendly patron
...probably be the bass of a lifetime and hopefully the journey of saving/getting the bass built is memorable too.I would love to get my mitts on one someday....still, 5K can pay for a nice chunk of school for the kids...or that once in a lifetime trip with the wife.....might be tough to justify...still...one can dream, right?
MB
That's cool and all that they're building again...but as others have pointed out...will this sound and play $3500 dollars better than my $1500 dollar bass? I mean, that's what it gets down to isn't it...tone and playability. Even if you're a pro that does this for a living....I mean...$5000 bucks? I suppose if you have more disposable income than you know what to do with this is a no-brainer.
I don't know, the most I could ever see myself buying is a Metro Sadowsky.
I don't know, the most I could ever see myself buying is a Metro Sadowsky.
I reference my above post. 3500 hundred dollars difference will get you very specific "improvements" aimed at people who demand them at that precise a level. Its the same reason Sadowsky sells both NYCs and Metros very succesfully. Someoen once said about Lakland US vs Skyline that Skyline is all you ever would need, but a US is all you could ever want. TO some people its all about tone, playability and that fact, adn they are willing to pay a lot for it.
According to an interview I just read he played the P bass from 1974 - 1978 which included the early Brand X stuff (Unorthodox Behavior, Livestock, Moroccan Roll) and the Eno albums (Another Green World and Before and After Science).
He started playing the Wal in 1978 when Brand X recorded Masques and continued with Wals until ~ 1996 then went Ibanez. There's some good stuff on his website Invalid Link Removed.
Now back to Wal GAS!
Cool, but that slogan is just awful... "The Sound of Electric Wood"
That one harks back to the 70s. Active basses were a bit special then. And there's both Ian and Pete represented in there.
There's surely some demand for Wals so it may as well be Wal making them - especially at the prices that the people have decided they are worth.
I say they are just like any other bass in that you will have gems and average ones. What is also overlooked is that those earlier Wal recordings were made with a different series of Wal bass than the one they ultimately settled on.
Nice basses though, no doubt.
I don't buy it. I've played USA Laklands and New York Sadowsky's...and yes, while they're very nice basses, I didn't see any difference that justifies the 3x price other than cosmetic appeal. I'm not one of these frugal guitarists either that want cheap at all costs....but there IS a price point to where you're not getting a better instrument by simply throwing more money at it.
And just because people buy them doesn't make them "better". People will always buy a more expensive item...it's human nature and there's not a thing wrong with it. And also, this isn't sour grapes, as I could easily afford these new Wal's. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Nor a NYC Sadowsky or a USA Lakland.
But that's just me...I'm certainly not judging anyone else or saying they are wrong for wanting or buying what they want. I'm only speaking for me.
I am probably in the minority here, but
I've owned 2 Wal's and personally i like the way they look way better than the way I sounded playing them. Just not my cup of tea. But man I just love the look of the MK1. Just classy.
Nice to see them back in production.
YOu don't buy it, and thats cool. Everyone has that point, too. For some its just considerably higher than others. For you there are Metros, Skylines, Kingstons etc and having owned 2 of those three and a played a bunch of all of them, they are all I would probably ever buy short of me becoming much more wealthy than I am, and I will never lose a wink of sleep over it. However, I can easily say that the two most expensive basses I ever owned were the best two and in fairly apprecialbe ways. But, if you owned both and compared them side by side daily, you might not feel the same. Then again, if you don't why would you care?
Alvaro Martín Gómez A.
TalkBass' resident Bongo + cowbell player
Fortunately for me, Wals don't produce me GAS pains in spite of loving Geddy's tone during the "Show Of Hands" era. But anyway I find that cult to those basses interesting and I have a question: As far as I understand, the magic of these instruments lays mainly on the electronics package designed for them by Ian Waller. Has anybody compared a Waller-era Wal with a Stevens-only Wal? Do they sound the same? If so, do you expect the "Herman Wals" to preserve that tone? Just curious.
That's wonderful info. Now...anyone know similar details about Mick Karn's instrument chronology? Because depite
...I'd always heard that he used a Travis Bean on the Japan albums, and didn't get his Wal until his solo career. I could of course be wrong, but just wondering if there's anything authoritative out there?
john turner
You don't want to do that. Trust me.
a shame about how folks who are not interested in these instruments anyway feel the need to post their dissatisfaction with the price. really unnecessary. 
interesting story about wals - i wrote them a letter in october of '86, my freshman year at ga tech. i asked them if they would build me a 6 string, and how much would it cost. they sent me a very cordial response telling me they did not build guitars, only basses (heh - i was pretty clear about wanting a 6 string bass, but guess it didn't click in my letter) and they also sent a copy of their catalog at the time. i still have that catalog - same one they have pictures of on their website.
i wonder how different my life would have been if they did, back then, build 6 strings, and i got em started on building me one - i was working part time while in college, along with actually making money at gigs, and could have put the money together i would have needed.
man. a 19 year old me with a 6 string wal. that would have been neat.
interesting story about wals - i wrote them a letter in october of '86, my freshman year at ga tech. i asked them if they would build me a 6 string, and how much would it cost. they sent me a very cordial response telling me they did not build guitars, only basses (heh - i was pretty clear about wanting a 6 string bass, but guess it didn't click in my letter) and they also sent a copy of their catalog at the time. i still have that catalog - same one they have pictures of on their website.
i wonder how different my life would have been if they did, back then, build 6 strings, and i got em started on building me one - i was working part time while in college, along with actually making money at gigs, and could have put the money together i would have needed.
man. a 19 year old me with a 6 string wal. that would have been neat.
