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Wal Bass Club.

#3,661
Hey guys, I posted a different thread yesterday but somebody pointed me over here for some more advice. My MKI is having an issue. It is making alot of crackling/static noises and occasionally some weird modulated sounds like squeals and bleeps. Caca De Kick suggested cleaning the pots out. I bought a can of DeoxIT and cleaned the pots and the input jack. Popped a new battery in. Fresh cable etc. No luck. Any ideas what the problem would be?
 
#3,662
kulit17 said:
I'd have to guess there is some sort of stigma in the UK that shipping instruments and using "couriers" to either be unsafe or expensive.

Suppose if you really wanted it, you could make an offer with shipping..... ;)
Click to expand...

Jose,

New Wal bass in my house = no more wife

Some times this is a hard decision for me ! LOL
 
#3,663
Musicman1901 said:
Hey guys, I posted a different thread yesterday but somebody pointed me over here for some more advice. My MKI is having an issue. It is making alot of crackling/static noises and occasionally some weird modulated sounds like squeals and bleeps. Caca De Kick suggested cleaning the pots out. I bought a can of DeoxIT and cleaned the pots and the input jack. Popped a new battery in. Fresh cable etc. No luck. Any ideas what the problem would be?
Click to expand...


You probably may have done this already, but Have you plugged the bass into a different rig/setup? Squeal noises are a little unusual.
 
#3,665
I have not tried it through a different rig yet but I have tried numerous basses through this rig and have had no problems. It's mainly a crackling/staticy sound and occasionally some weird bleeps and modulated noises. I tried plugging 3 different basses into this setup and had no problems. As soon as I plug the wal back in it starts up again.
 
#3,667
Musicman1901 said:
I have not tried it through a different rig yet but I have tried numerous basses through this rig and have had no problems. It's mainly a crackling/staticy sound and occasionally some weird bleeps and modulated noises. I tried plugging 3 different basses into this setup and had no problems. As soon as I plug the wal back in it starts up again.
Click to expand...


Yikes! Ya I just read your thread. Sounds pretty serious. I know it's not really everyone's cup o tea but did u take a gander at solder joints and various ICs like resistors, capacitors if anything unusual stands out? beeps , squeal, pops = yikes.
If anything you can always take out the circuit boards and send them to Paul for servicing.
 
#3,668
Maedros said:
I was talking with Janforth about MkI weight, and as far as I can remember, I've never heard of one being below 10lbs. I've yet to weigh mine but I think they're both most certainly in the 10lbs range, though the Curly BE is noticeably lighter than the Lacewood. Curious to know if there were ever any made, perhaps with a core other than mahogany, that weighed less than that? Thanks!
Click to expand...

So I weighed mine last night, the Lacewood MkI weighed 9.4lbs, and the Curly Birdseye Maple weighed 10.2lbs. Thanks for the replies.
 
#3,669
kulit17 said:
I'd have to guess there is some sort of stigma in the UK that shipping instruments and using "couriers" to either be unsafe or expensive.

Suppose if you really wanted it, you could make an offer with shipping..... ;)
Click to expand...

Before I found mine in the U.S. (thanks again, Jim!), I was looking at one in the UK. The 1985 Walnut, recently sold (local collection only). The guy was willing to sell to me, but I could not use PayPal, had to send him the money through a Bank Transfer, and then have UPS go to his house and pick it up. Other than the Bank Transfer, which is inherently risky, I was almost ok with this. However, the 1.65:1 dollar/Pound ratio wasn't in my favor and was increasing. So, I made him an offer in US dollars, regardless of the transfer rate. He took it. Fortunately, I found Jim before that deal were going to go through. I think the '92 Jim sold me is nicer, and more unique, anyway (even more with the dumbo tuners) ~ and seems to have been owned by Les Nemes of Haircut 100 at one time? Smashed up my car bumper on the way back from meeting with him (the day Atlanta shut down due to snow), but still worth it! So, even if you are looking in the UK for a Wal, I say the BEST way is the Paul Herman way... ;)

Sidenote on the dumbo tuners. If you search in YouTube for The Cranberries Paris, the bassist has a MkII with dumbo tuners.
 
#3,671
Caca de Kick said:
Now that the cleaner has had overnight to sit and hopefully you turned and clicked the knobs 100 times by now, is it sill squealing?
Click to expand...

I still recommend playing with the blend (B, BT, T) knob set in either the T or B direction completely. Isolate this down to a single pickup and pre-amp, since they're separated for the most part. If the B or T setting squeals, but not the other, another easy test might be to very carefully swap the TAB1043 IC chips out with each other and see if the problem moves with the chip or stays with the blend setting of B or T. Use a small flat-head screwdriver to pry out each end of the chips (may have to remove the electronics from the bass cavity to do this).

If I had your electronics here, I could hook a scope up to it and see where the problem is happening.

Also, will it happen if you leave the bass alone on a guitar stand, plugged in and untouched? If not, then try plucking strings while it sits on the stand, being careful not to move it.

Lastly, have you considered having the bass re-capped (replacing all the old film and electrolytic capacitors)?
 
#3,672
kulit17 said:
Yikes! Ya I just read your thread. Sounds pretty serious. I know it's not really everyone's cup o tea but did u take a gander at solder joints and various ICs like resistors, capacitors if anything unusual stands out? beeps , squeal, pops = yikes.
If anything you can always take out the circuit boards and send them to Paul for servicing.
Click to expand...

My 86 had a number of solder joints that had separated over the years. Per Paul's instruction, I pulled out the boards and sent them to him for servicing. The turnaround time was very reasonable, and it made the bass sound SO MUCH better. Those broken solder joints were making the bass sound very harsh, even when they were touching enough to pass signal. You won't be disappointed if you go that route!
 
#3,673
kulit17 said:
I'd have to guess there is some sort of stigma in the UK that shipping instruments and using "couriers" to either be unsafe or expensive.

Suppose if you really wanted it, you could make an offer with shipping..... ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah I don't get it, I had a lot of trouble getting the seller to agree to ship my Lacewood MkI from the UK. He was very reluctant, had me send him a scan of my driver's license, he also had me arrange the pickup and set up shipping online myself, which ended up screwing me because I had to pay a lot more for shipping because I had to accept the estimate. I paid using Paypal, he was entirely protected, so I'm not sure what the concern is.
 
#3,674
brconflict said:
I still recommend playing with the blend (B, BT, T) knob set in either the T or B direction completely. Isolate this down to a single pickup and pre-amp, since they're separated for the most part. If the B or T setting squeals, but not the other, another easy test might be to very carefully swap the TAB1043 IC chips out with each other and see if the problem moves with the chip or stays with the blend setting of B or T. Use a small flat-head screwdriver to pry out each end of the chips (may have to remove the electronics from the bass cavity to do this).

If I had your electronics here, I could hook a scope up to it and see where the problem is happening.

Also, will it happen if you leave the bass alone on a guitar stand, plugged in and untouched? If not, then try plucking strings while it sits on the stand, being careful not to move it.

Lastly, have you considered having the bass re-capped (replacing all the old film and electrolytic capacitors)?
Click to expand...

+1 definitely worth checking
 
#3,675
Okay so after letting it sit all night and through the work day today I just came home and plugged it in. Immediately it started up, worse than yesterday. I tried to isolate it to one side or the other with the blend but it happens no matter what. It seems to be much worse when panned 100% to the bridge but it still happens when panned 100% to the neck or anywhere in between. I plugged the bass in while it hung on the wall and didnt touch anything on it. Just sat and browsed online while keeping the headphones in. It was going crazy the whole time. So playing does not seem to make it come or go. Adjusting the tone or pickup blend does not seem to have any effect either.
 
#3,677
Another test: You can take out both TAB1043 chips and see if that makes a difference. That would isolate whether the problem occurs before or after those stages.
You can get them both out with a tiny flat-head, but replacing them back in their sockets needs ultra care not to bend the silver legs of each chip. Don't worry, I've tried this with no probs. It just simply disconnects the pickups and first-stage Pre (maybe a couple of tone controls) from the actual output. This will help better tell if the XLR transformer, or maybe a cap or two might be the culprit, and where.
 
#3,678
Do you think these things could be performed y your average guitar shop? And I don't mean guitar center haha. There is a mesa/fender amp technical engineer in my area that I'm sure knows alot about electronics. I am not super comfortable popping things in and out and I have no idea what I'm looking for. You think somebody like that might be able to isolate the issue or am I better off contacting Paul about it?
 
#3,679
If the tech is someone quite knowledgeable about onboard pre-amps in general, this one isn't necessarily that complex. If I can troubleshoot them, it's certainly not that hard for a career techie. Unfortunately, there's no schematics that would really detail the boards well, since the components aren't labeled, and another issue comes in where parts need to be ordered/replaced, especially the pots or the pickups, themselves--which is why I specifically ordered most of my parts for my own replacement in later years. If you look for a shop, I'd seek out someone in one of the major cities. More electrical talent for bass-pre's will likely live in places like NYC. Otherwise, you may be best off to ship the electronics to Paul in the UK. At the very worst (or best?), you would order all-new electronics from Paul.
 

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