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Wal Bass Club.

#7,241
....well, here she is! Some of you have seen this already on facebook - so my apologies.

Mahogany core, rippled ash face, rocklite fretboard....neck, (i assume) is maple and mahogany stringers(?)... what can i say. I took a chance having never seen or played a Wal - the mystique entranced me so much so, that i had even tried listing my beloved Dingwall as a deposit for a new build - luckily, the PM's and offers weren't quite what i was lookin for and then THIS was found and posted by a great TB'er (SiberianKhatru), the rest...is history.

Initial impression: Was PAINFUL..TB'er and good buddy Toolmybass, enlightened me on temperature acclimation time...from Italy to Toronto..although the weather was warmer here in TO, i wasnt sure about humidity etc and toolmybass told me to waaaaait to open it. THAT was the painful part. lol (thx Dean)

Once i let it sit for (what felt like a year) - but i think it was barely 24 hours lol...i opened it and was like a kid at Christmas. I couldn't BELIEVE the how nice it looked - waaaay better than even the pics from Reverb (they did NOT do it justice)...nor do my crappy phone pics here. I picked it up out of the brand new looking Wal case and it just FELT like pure quality. The neck was amazing, the weight was great (im guessing a hair over 8.5lbs)....i sat there holding it in awe. I looked for flaws of any kind - marks, dings, swirls - nuthin!! It was showroom, brand new condition. It oddly had even been in three other guys possession for a one year old bass! (THAT made me nervous a bit)...

After spending some time admiring it for her beauty, i FINALLY plugged it in.

OMG!! This thing BLEW me away!!! I cant describe the tone, the grit, the depth this bass has..( i know you guys already know all of this! LOL) ...i am in AWE! I dont think i've EVER been this blown away by ANY bass i've had or currently have! (and trust me, i have some stellar gear)...

Honeymoon phase: YES, it is the honeymoon phase, i get that....so i am a tad excited - but of all the honeymoons i've had to date - this is in its own league!
I called my wife after i plugged it in, told her all about it...she said "GOOD!! - FINALLY!! Are we DONE now??!!" ....and we laaaaaughed.
I told her (albeit a tad prematurely - but im setting the stage a bit)... i told her that once i've had this for a bit, i may start selling off some of my stuff to get a custom one built - i am SURE i heard her wimper...mehh...maybe not, prob just a bad phone connection. LOL

Anyway, here she is - absolutely estatic with it....i will take a family photo of it (once my house is built) with my other gear - before they get sold off. LOL.

Thanks to each and every one of you guys for helping me and guiding me with this endeavor - (i am sure, my wife hates you all)..,..i can still hear her whimpering softly. ha

Cheers fellas!!

scott

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#7,243
bassballs27 said:
Oh my nice bass! I know that Wal! Almost bought it when the previous owner had it!
The Rocklite fretboard is definitely interesting. Not many made with that fretboard.
Welcome to the world of Wal Scott!
Click to expand...
thanks Chris - my next one will be Rocklite as well. That'll be two! hahaha... its almost like a black rosewood. Not as grain-less as ebony (or at least the two ebony ones ive had in the past)...I was trying to order a Wal with BEM but Philip said they don't use that wood for FB's. Must have had issues? or....
Once my house is all built, I was gonna get ahold of a few of you guys to meet up at my place and have a small get together and try each others gear. :) Thanks again - cheers
 
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#7,244
graphics1988 said:
thanks Chris - my next one will be Rocklite as well. That'll be two! hahaha... its almost like a black rosewood. Not as grain-less as ebony (or at least the two ebony ones ive had in the past)...I was trying to order a Wal with BEM but Philip said they don't use that wood for FB's. Must have had issues? or....
Once my house is all built, I was gonna get ahold of a few of you guys to meet up at my place and have a small get together and try each others gear. :) Thanks again - cheers
Click to expand...

Very cool. I think there is at least one Wal in existence with a BEM or Maple board. It's definitely a different sound and maybe they didn't really like it. Why mess with a good formula, right? Indian or Ebony, keeps it simple.

Sounds good buddy. Keep me in the loop. Good luck with the house :)
 
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#7,245
graphics1988 said:
thanks Chris - my next one will be Rocklite as well. That'll be two! hahaha... its almost like a black rosewood. Not as grain-less as ebony (or at least the two ebony ones ive had in the past)...I was trying to order a Wal with BEM but Philip said they don't use that wood for FB's. Must have had issues? or....
Once my house is all built, I was gonna get ahold of a few of you guys to meet up at my place and have a small get together and try each others gear. :) Thanks again - cheers
Click to expand...
Paul is pretty firm, rosewood or ebony... not maple for FBs...

Any maple boards will probably be late Pete-era builds, 1998-2006ish.
 
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#7,246
got a chance to do a little bit of TLC; cleaning pots, minor adjustments, etc.

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the heal of the neck dates 79 but also days MOT'd '82??!? @Trevor any guesses??

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for either being a 79/82 it is in like new condition! there are only three imperfections that I found, but all minor.

I'm planning to eventually send back the electronics to Paul/Phil sometime in the future, but love having a Pro back in the stable again. I strung her up with black tapes and love it!!! thanks @Erkindanger!

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#7,247
kulit17 said:
the heal of the neck dates 79 but also days MOT'd '82??!? @Trevor any guesses??
Click to expand...

Greg would have Modified it in '82, would be my guess. Does the neck feel any different?. Maybe it was reshaped or V'd, and then re-sealed.
Beauty bass Jose. I imagine the seller approached you? ....cause this listed would last about 10 minutes lol
Happy for you. Thats a keeper
 
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#7,249
Toolmybass said:
Greg would have Modified it in '82, would be my guess. Does the neck feel any different?. Maybe it was reshaped or V'd, and then re-sealed.
Beauty bass Jose. I imagine the seller approached you? ....cause this listed would last about 10 minutes lol
Happy for you. Thats a keeper
Click to expand...

That is a great bass. Though I doubt it was modded at all. What Greg has written is... MOT'd...

That's a British phrase you've probably not come across. It refers to the "Ministry of Transport" test that all vehicles over three years old have to undergo annually. It provides a check to ensure that all vehicles are still in a fit state to be driven on the roads. If you fail it you can't use the vehicle until you've had any remedial work done to fix any problems and bring it up to a standard where it can "Pass its MOT".

So it's passed into general parlance as slang for any sort of check up... "I'm going to the doctors on Monday." "Oh dear, nothing serious I hope!" "Nah, just popping in for my MOT."

So my strong suspicion was that it came back to the workshop in 82 for a full service and tweak and Greg just decided record it like that.

In fact I had my Aria SB700 MOT'd just yesterday by a tech I know... ;)
 
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#7,251
TrevorR said:
That is a great bass. Though I doubt it was modded at all. What Greg has written is... MOT'd...

That's a British phrase you've probably not come across. It refers to the "Ministry of Transport" test that all vehicles over three years old have to undergo annually. It provides a check to ensure that all vehicles are still in a fit state to be driven on the roads. If you fail it you can't use the vehicle until you've had any remedial work done to fix any problems and bring it up to a standard where it can "Pass its MOT".

So it's passed into general parlance as slang for any sort of check up... "I'm going to the doctors on Monday." "Oh dear, nothing serious I hope!" "Nah, just popping in for my MOT."

So my strong suspicion was that it came back to the workshop in 82 for a full service and tweak and Greg just decided record it like that.

In fact I had my Aria SB700 MOT'd just yesterday by a tech I know... ;)
Click to expand...

Yep, we have a MOT here too (Ministry of Transportation) and don't have to get a "check up" until a new vehicle is 7 years old, and then EVERY 2 years there after. It is called "Drive Clean" here. It makes sure your vehicles emissions are up to our standards and not polluting the air. If we are selling/buying a used car, then we have to get what is called a safety. That tells the MOT that the car is "fit" to be sold/bought....protecting all parties against the scammers who buy a car that has been neglected or been in an accident, and then just fixed up a bit to make it look/run ok....BUT not safe.

I was guessing it was modified because we don't use the same terms here lol....and that is the first time i have ever seen that written on a Wal backplate. Maybe Greg was a friend of the owner and wrote that in there as a funny for the chap who brought it in.

Thanks for the post Trevor.
Cheers
 
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#7,254
Toolmybass said:
Greg would have Modified it in '82, would be my guess. Does the neck feel any different?. Maybe it was reshaped or V'd, and then re-sealed.
Beauty bass Jose. I imagine the seller approached you? ....cause this listed would last about 10 minutes lol
Happy for you. Thats a keeper
Click to expand...

Thanks Dean, ya the neck doesn't feel any different from my other Pro Necks i had. Also i had contacted the original owner a couple years ago and the stars finally aligned, i was getting kind of bummed since i've regretted off'ing my other two Pro's and I struck out three time with other Pro's i had a line in.....

TrevorR said:
That is a great bass. Though I doubt it was modded at all. What Greg has written is... MOT'd...

That's a British phrase you've probably not come across. It refers to the "Ministry of Transport" test that all vehicles over three years old have to undergo annually. It provides a check to ensure that all vehicles are still in a fit state to be driven on the roads. If you fail it you can't use the vehicle until you've had any remedial work done to fix any problems and bring it up to a standard where it can "Pass its MOT".

So it's passed into general parlance as slang for any sort of check up... "I'm going to the doctors on Monday." "Oh dear, nothing serious I hope!" "Nah, just popping in for my MOT."

So my strong suspicion was that it came back to the workshop in 82 for a full service and tweak and Greg just decided record it like that.

In fact I had my Aria SB700 MOT'd just yesterday by a tech I know... ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks Trev, ya i google'd it up after i saw the neck and suspected it may be a british UK term and did see it referenced car inspection - so i had assumed it "might've" meant something along that lines but found it peculiar in why it would be found on the heal of the neck.

mikeswals said:
You should ask Glen on the facebook page, he should have an idea if anyone since he was there building them.
Click to expand...

will probably mention it to Glen on FB, thanks for that advice!
 
#7,255
kulit17 said:
Thanks Trev, ya i google'd it up after i saw the neck and suspected it may be a british UK term and did see it referenced car inspection - so i had assumed it "might've" meant something along that lines but found it peculiar in why it would be found on the heal of the neck.

will probably mention it to Glen on FB, thanks for that advice!
Click to expand...
LOL, probably because there's no rear cavity plate to stick a bit of masking tape to!
 
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