Wal Bass build - what do you think?

[Peteyboy]

To be clear: I'm not asking how much you paid. I'm guessing this wasn't cheap. But I'd base my response to this mainly on that amount. If they weren't side-by-side I doubt anyone would notice the discrepancies. I think it looks great. But if you can't live with it then you gotta get into it with him, and if you don't wanna get into it with him then you gotta live with it.

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

I feel you. I own a really great Wal tribute and am in the process of getting another. Unfortunately, the builder I have only does Mk II bodies, not Mk I. PM me if you want to know more.

BBB

 

[KevInDaBassment]

Personally, if you asked for a Wal replica and a yahoo like me can see the differences in that photo...I'd be asking for the proper-sized body, or your money back.

The bridge location, pots location, and overall size are nowhere near an actual Wal.

 

[DWA2469]

Personally, if you asked for a Wal replica and a yahoo like me can see the differences in that photo...I'd be asking for the proper-sized body, or your money back.

The bridge location, pots location, and overall size are nowhere near an actual Wal.

Exactly! If the Builder cannot see why you have a problem with it, he has character issues IMHO!

 

[Michedelic]

Hi! I am a bit lost on this subject so I'm seeking your help. I bought a 1983 Wal bass neck some time ago and had a luthier bulid me a body for it. It took some time and today finally I get a pic of the finished result. My bass is the one on the right. I supplied neck, pickups, electronics and the bridge (yeah, I know, Sandberg ... but it was the closest I could find for the moment).

Well ... without telling you too much about my initial reactions: What are yours? What are your opinions on this build?

Thanks very much!

Compare/contrast to this neo-Wal line I discovered at NAMM(click on all the pages for all the models, they do mini and short scale). Yeah, not cheap.

Search Results for “Form factor” – Amp Shop Bass Exchange

www.ampshopbassexchange.com

 

[LowWay]

I agree it is off, but I like the mini version better. I never cared for the aesthetics of the was to begin with. In your position, I understand your disappointment. What was your explicit understanding with the builders?

 

[WG Plum]

Compare/contrast to this neo-Wal line I discovered at NAMM(click on all the pages for all the models, they do mini and short scale). Yeah, not cheap.

Search Results for “Form factor” – Amp Shop Bass Exchange

www.ampshopbassexchange.com

Holy migraine trigger... to each their own, but this would literally be a brain killer for me.

Short Scale bass Form Factor Audio Wombat Pyrographic 4-String Terminator Bass – Amp Shop Bass Exchange

Form Factor Audio Wombat 4-String Bass Pyrographic Custom Graphic The term Pyrography means "writing with fire", from the Greek pur (fire) and graphos (writing). It can be practiced using specialized modern pyrography tools, "Pyrography dates from the 17th century and reached its highest...

www.ampshopbassexchange.com

 

[Bevan777]

The main thing that would bother me about the difference in dimensions used, is the pickup placement, that’s what makes a wal sound like a wal, and here it looks the the pickups are not in the same place, so it’s not only going to look off, it’s going to sound off too.

It might sound and play amazingly though. But it’s not what you ordered.

 

[Saetia]

That's exactly the thing. I didn't want it smaller. It's an obvious mistake on their part and now they're like 'oh c'mon, it sounds really fantastic!'.

The measurements are seriously off (look at the upper horn and the strap button at the 15th fret!) If I had wanted a mini-Wal, this would've been a cool example but I just wanted the original size.

Not sure what to do about it now ...

Have you thought of maybe converting it to a short scale? Have someone more capable produce something for your current neck? The body looks great and if it sounds great might as well try and do something with it. Maybe move it to someone who wants a project?

 

[bassbrad]

I do understand your concerns as the body is not a 100% reproduction BUT you ought to at least play the assembled bass and see if the body balances properly. Personally I dig the more compact body and the fact that is a one and only creation.

 

[jimmydean]

I like the small size , How much $$$$$$ ?

 

[Dirk Diggler]

To me it looks better than the one on the left.
Wal bodies always look too big to me anyway.

Does the size difference bother you that much?

I suppose you could ask them to build an exact body copy.
But that means they'd have to have one to trace out, perhaps that's where the problem started.

 

[Fender_Bender]

The bridge placement just looks odd to me, hopefully it intonates alright.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Looks like it will balance a little worse on a strap as well. The upper horn already doesn’t go that far down, but the body being smaller is going to put the balance point a little more towards the neck. Hope it doesn’t have neck dive.

 

[Fuzzbass]

The bridge placement just looks odd to me, hopefully it intonates alright.

With the smaller body, it makes sense to place the bridge closer to the butt end than toward the middle. But that's no guarantee that intonation will be correct.

I once got a custom P-style bass that didn't intonate properly because the bridge was too far inland (so to speak): the saddles for the B and E couldn't travel as far back as necessary. The fix for my bass was to move the bridge out toward the edge of the body. Doesn't look like that's possible with the scaled down Wal. So yeah: let's hope it intonates correctly.

 

[Fuzzbass]

This could turn out to be the one thing that the builder will use to deny any claim you have to it not being what you wanted. If you approved it without verifying the specific measurements than that's an OK for them to proceed as laid out in the pdf.

Excellent point. I would hope that it's enough for the OP to state "at no time was there any specification to downsize the body, and it's impossible to tell from the PDF that the body had been downsized". But I am not about to wager that this would hold up in arbitration (or wherever).

Makes me wonder whether the manufacturer scaled down to fit a too-small body blank.

 

[J Wilson]

They couldn't simply trace the 'real' one to double-check their dimensions??

 

[mikeswals]

They couldn't simply trace the 'real' one to double-check their dimensions??

He said the guy didnt have access to it then.

 

[mikeswals]

I do own Wals:
Mk1's can be neck dive-y because of the short upper horn, some do some don't. The small body, especially if its light, would make me very curious about that.

Were you not able to get in contact with Wal to build you a bass with that neck?

 

[Robal]

OP: Hypothetically, if you saw this same bass for sale at a reputable music store for the price you paid to have it made custom, would you buy it for that price? In other words, ignore for the moment whether it accurately copies a real Wal and the builder failed to follow your build instructions. If you wouldn't buy it for that price, then I'd say insist on getting a return/refund. And if the builder balks, out him/her here. (I am assuming you had a very explicit agreement -- hopefully confirmed in writing -- with the builder about what he was to make for you.).