Wal Bass Club.

[Janforth]

Beauty indeed! I'm a lefty, but play right handed, so I'm out. That's gonna make one southpaw a happy thumper.

 

[Janforth]

Is that a flame maple top with a birds eye back? If so, I didn't know that any were made that way.

 

[bdgotoh]

I really like how my MkI sounds with an ebony board. I had two with rosewood before and like this one better. It might just be bass-to-bass variation, who knows.

 

[BWorm]

So many Wals becoming available lately... here is a Unique 5 string Wal:
Wal Bass | eBay

 

[Janforth]

That solid ash looks nice.

 

[ColonelZulu]

That's some price!

 

[kulit17]

So many Wals becoming available lately... here is a Unique 5 string Wal:
Wal Bass | eBay

Second pics looks rather suspicious and kinda strange this guy thinks Wals are still out of production.....its only been what 6 years?!?? If it is legit, that's one smokin price!

 

[BWorm]

I was just thinking the same thing...a steal really. Based on price it looks way too good to be true.

 

[FrankChurchyard]

How about this one:
1985 WAL MK1 CUSTOM FRETLESS - OLIVE ASH FACINGS - ANDY BAXTER BASS | eBay
Not really a steal but beautiful none the less.

 

[Maedros]

Really figured neck on that 5 string for sale, don't think I've ever seen that before on a Wal.

 

[Hopper]

The Wal gets a big outing on this track:

 

[lordradish]

Hey, all, I posted this a while back, but I'm sure some of you missed it. I did a re-cap job on my MkII a few weeks ago (SUCCESS!) and I still have 6 4.7uF 35V capacitors left (I bought em in a 10 pack). I don't see having to use these again in the near future, and would hate to waste 'em. If anyone needs a pair for their Wal, please message me your name/address and I'll pop 'em in the mail to you. It's only a stamp, so I'm not expecting postage or anything, just want to help out my fellow Wal-nuts.

 

[Maedros]

Hey, all, I posted this a while back, but I'm sure some of you missed it. I did a re-cap job on my MkII a few weeks ago (SUCCESS!) and I still have 6 4.7uF 35V capacitors left (I bought em in a 10 pack). I don't see having to use these again in the near future, and would hate to waste 'em. If anyone needs a pair for their Wal, please message me your name/address and I'll pop 'em in the mail to you. It's only a stamp, so I'm not expecting postage or anything, just want to help out my fellow Wal-nuts.

Lordradish was kind enough to send me a set of caps, I appreciate it, thanks so much!

 

[coldcashandcolderhearts]

Another Wal on Ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1982-Wal-Pro-Bass-Guitar-Passive-With-Original-Case-Used-/181677965127?pt=Guitar&hash=item2a4cd9bf47

 

[FrankChurchyard]

In addition to all the new parts, equipped with a whole new neck as well.

 

[oli@bass]

Second pics looks rather suspicious and kinda strange this guy thinks Wals are still out of production.....its only been what 6 years?!?? If it is legit, that's one smokin price!

I was just thinking the same thing...a steal really. Based on price it looks way too good to be true.

That's typical German/Austrian pricing. You'll find a Wal in the local ads or bass fora for quite below 4k every now and then. Got lucky, once.

Really figured neck on that 5 string for sale, don't think I've ever seen that before on a Wal.

That neck really has some lovely flames in the maple strips. I drooled over it a couple of times.

 

[Jansson]

New Member at Talkbass

Hi Wal-people. I just joined this forum, and very recently I finally bought a Wal bass. So I thought I should check in, introduce myself, and present the bass and ask a few questions about it and its condition. I figured this would be a good, if not the best, place to do this!

Name's Thomas Jansson (from Stockholm, Sweden). I guess I've been a bassplayer for twenty years now. I play all sorts of music, depending on what comes up, but have mainly been fiddling with doom and progressive metal the last few years, along with some softer music (see bands "Griftegård" and "Wolverine" in case you happen to be interested and care to listen to some doom and progressive tracks – you find stuff on Spotify, YouTube and other sites I suppose).

***

Ok, to the important part – the Wal bass. In fact I've been looking to buy a fretless Wal, but ended up getting hold of this fretted old Pro II (probably 1979?, serial no. PB1270).

I would argue that the condition of this bass is quite good. The neck is straight as can be, the body is aged but has basically no dents whatsoever. Sound is obviously great, but the electronic components have probably seen better days, as have other parts of the bass. I can post more pictures of the bass in case anyone is interested in taking a closer look.

To those of you who own or have owned a Wal Pro Bass – in what kind of condition have your instruments been when you got hold of them? I would appreciate if you could get back to me with some opinions and thoughts about the possible "downers" with my own Wal.

So, here are the "cons"...

Electronics
Quite a bit of scratchy noises when turning each and every knob (bass is completely silent however, when you don't bother it).
The pickup phase-switches work ok, but one of them seem to have a "glitch" as the pickup signal dies in a certain position when you fiddle with it.
Input jack a bit "glitchy".

Frets
These are quite worn and flat, but there seems to be nothing wrong with tone or weird or faulty sounds/notes (thankfully).

Body
Very neat in my opinion, but has these long crack-looking marks in the coating, mainly backside.


*** Any other Pro owners who recognize the things listed above?
(Oh yeah, of course a couple of the knobs are not in original condition!)


One final question
If you have worn/flat frets on any of your instruments – have you experienced difficluties to intonate the instrument because of this?



Sorry for the long and neverending post.


Cheers,
Jansson

 

[Maedros]

Electronics
Quite a bit of scratchy noises when turning each and every knob (bass is completely silent however, when you don't bother it).
The pickup phase-switches work ok, but one of them seem to have a "glitch" as the pickup signal dies in a certain position when you fiddle with it.
Input jack a bit "glitchy".

Cleaning the pots with Invalid Link Removed will likely help with the scratchy noises.

 

[Jansson]

Cleaning the pots with Invalid Link Removed will likely help with the scratchy noises.

Cheers Maedros. Yes, I suppose that sort of spray is what one normally will use in order to be rid of these noises. My ambition is to hand the bass over to a bass/guitar shop in order to get some proper service from people who know what they are doing, instead of me making a mess of an old bass like this. Before that however, I might get some of that spray. Have you used this specific spray yourself Maedros? Satsified with the results?

I just hope these pots will work a few more miles before they need to be replaced. And this is partly why I am posting – to hear about other people's experiences with the old Pro – if the electronics have lasted in spite of giving you a feeling of going "downhill", so to speak.

 

[bassplace]

Cleaning the pots with Invalid Link Removed will likely help with the scratchy noises.

I just had my pots replaced with ones I got from Wal a decade ago. (long story) DeoxIT might work but it didn't for me. They're just old. I would send to Wal if at all possible for a check up and see what they say. The switches are still scratchy. I don't change them much. I've wondered it it would make any sense to ask Wal to replace with the current electronics. Of course it's no longer a Pro then.

The rest of your description is familiar. These have the most solid neck I've encountered. I think it's the hornbeam stringers at the center. And it amazes me how well the finish on the hardware holds up. On my other basses the finish just corroded.