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Wal Bass Club.

#7,281
TrevorR said:
Ooooooh, I have to disagree with you on that... I've never found a single situation where my Mk 1 couldn't dial up a perfect sound to ace it! From punchy rock tones to plummy ballads, even to a sort of pseudo "upright"-suggestive tone. Perfect for the gig every time, whatever the gig! ;)

Mind you I do agree with every single other word you said! :) :D
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I sometimes need a tone like that phat p-bass with a pick punk tone. Round, wide, with tons of mids and a big booty. My Wal gives me all that, minus the big booty. The biggest plus is it's super crunchy yet focused tone. But wide and pillowy while still retaining enough mid crunch, it can't do that - or am I just not good enough with the onboard filters? I can get sounds that work i that setting, but not really satisfiying.
 
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#7,282
djaxup said:
I sometimes need a tone like that phat p-bass with a pick punk tone. Round, wide, with tons of mids and a big booty. My Wal gives me all that, minus the big booty. The biggest plus is it's super crunchy yet focused tone. But wide and pillowy while still retaining enough mid crunch, it can't do that - or am I just not good enough with the onboard filters? I can get sounds that work i that setting, but not really satisfiying.
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Yeah, I kinda know what you mean. One of the things I (and our old sound engineer) love about my Mk 1 Wal is that fact that however much bottom end you throw at it there is always a feeling like the bottom end is sort of compressed and controlled. Full but not flabby! My go to setting for the kind of tone you suggest would probably be something like Neck tone on 3-4 and pulled up, bridge tone around 7-8 not pulled up and the balance either on about equal (BT) or half way between B and BT (75% Neck/25% Bridge)... now, whether that gives enough bottom end "phat" is a matter of taste, but worth a try!!! I love how versatile the filters are and how even settings that sound like they should be ridiculous can hide amazing tones. For instance, my favourite dubby/reggae tone is Neck 2 (pulled)/Bridge 8 (not pulled), 50% Neck/Bridge or 75% Neck/25% Bridge...

PS Obscure Punk Factoid #47: Paul Simenon played a lot of the Give Em Enough Rope on a Wal bass (JG series, no JG1126)!
 
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#7,284
TrevorR said:
Ooooooh, I have to disagree with you on that... I've never found a single situation where my Mk 1 couldn't dial up a perfect sound to ace it! From punchy rock tones to plummy ballads, even to a sort of pseudo "upright"-suggestive tone. Perfect for the gig every time, whatever the gig! ;)



Mind you I do agree with every single other word you said! :) :D
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I’m with you. I’m hoping this bass will do all I need. I don’t really ask much in the number of tones in my arsenal. I just play in rock cover bands and usually just play what I want to hear. I’m sure the bass will sound great. All I need to hear is a few variations and I’ll be fine.

I should have the bass tomorrow as the the excitement builds. One week is a lot easier than two years that’s for sure.
 
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#7,286
Nightman said:
So, I have a question: Why are Wal 5'er basses hard to find for sale in TB? Are they that good or are you Wal owners stingy or found utopia with your Wal basses?
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I must say it was pretty hard finding any Wal bass for sale in general and not just 5 string Wals - at least that was my experience when i was trying to find a used 4 string Wal to buy. Wal basses are basses which generally remained sold - eg people don't resell them and they hold on to them. The way i managed to find one to buy was from the Wal FB page. However i spent a great deal of time looking everywhere for Wals for sale including eBay, Reverb, google searching the music stores etc etc until i found the one that i bought. It quite literally took me years of searching - finding a seller then trying to convince them to send it international to New Zealand (country i an from) + new CITES rules regarding rosewood were big hassles. I recommend that if you are trying to find a 5 sting Wal bass to buy, look everywhere and don't limit yourself just to Talkbass classifieds sections. They come up for sale every once and a while but are usually sold shortly after so you have to be ready to buy on short notice.
That was my experience anyways :)
Bronze
 
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#7,287
I'm stingy now...I'll admit that. Seems ever since that last couple of price hikes, the old ones are either being priced up as well and not as readily available as before.
I'm very happy with the ones I have and no need or desire to reduce the size of the fleet. It used to be that I simply sold one to buy one, but if I sold one now, I'll be paying more for its replacement and waiting longer to find one.

PS, yes they are that good! I used to play in a heavy originals rock, and currently play in a covers dance and r&b, and using the same amp and bass and am just blown away at the tones I can pull out of it. I dont roll much other than a few times filter some off the rear pickup, and if needed pan the blend knob a couple notches toward neck.
 
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#7,288
TrevorR said:
My go to setting for the kind of tone you suggest would probably be something like Neck tone on 3-4 and pulled up, bridge tone around 7-8 not pulled up and the balance either on about equal (BT) or half way between B and BT (75% Neck/25% Bridge)... now, whether that gives enough bottom end "phat" is a matter of taste, but worth a try!!!
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That wat a great tip. I had to dial the neck PU down to about halfway 2-3 (pulled) before the goodness startet to emerge. Just the right frequency for my speaker/amp to give it the needed amount of oomph for the pick playing. The bridge PU frequency set the tone in the mids, and just a tad below 8 was right. The overly metallic sound was barely gone, still very present in the mix. A different take on that classic punky P-Bass tone, but it worked better than ever.

I am amazed how intuitively easy the controls are. It reminds me a bit of my old Rickenbacker, where the neck PU dials in the broadness and warmth, and the bridge PU controls the grit and teeth of the bass tone. I also have to tone down the tone pot on the bridge PU there, to kill off the abrasive sounding high mids that sound too metallic.

Once you understand what each PU stands for it becomes much easier to dial in good tones. And still there are so many good combinations that you can't come up with every good one yourself :)
 
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#7,289
Havent posted in here in a bit but, just wanted to share. I have a MKI (from 1984), and to be totally honest, I was fighting with the playability. The neck has a very pronounced V shape, and even though I have pretty good technique, it was harder for me to play than my other basses. I got an idea (nothing Nobel prize worthy but still...) to go full Geddy and put on some Rotosound Funk Master strings on it. Wow. Completely changed this bass for me! I used FMs back in the 80s but eventually settled on a slightly heavier DR Hi Beams and have used them ever since. I think on my other basses they would be too thin and loose, but with the Wal they work perfectly. Even the tone is better (my opinion of course). Took it to practice last night and it slayed. Thank the bass gods.
 
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#7,294
Rev. Cornelius said:
Could someone please provide the following measurements from their Wal?

Distance from the 12th fret wire to:
1. The middle of the bridge pickup and
2. The middle of the neck pickup?
Thanks
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As Mike mentioned...all 3 models will have different measurements you asked for. Which one are you building (or having built) a copy of?
BTW unless you have Wal electronics it will NOT have the Wal tone/grit/growl/sound etc
Your better off just getting a MM and a modded ProCo Rat pedal. That's as close as your going to get

TMB
 
#7,295
So, I found previous classified posts for sold Wal basses and the weight on these 5'ers are 10 pounds or more! Much too heavy for my preference. I sold two beautiful Spector NS5XL because of their weight. My light weight Roscoe's are sounding/playing pretty good right about now!! :thumbsup:
 
#7,296
Nightman said:
So, I found previous classified posts for sold Wal basses and the weight on these 5'ers are 10 pounds or more! Much too heavy for my preference. I sold two beautiful Spector NS5XL because of their weight. My light weight Roscoe's are sounding/playing pretty good right about now!! :thumbsup:
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Yes, most 5 string Wal will generally weigh a good solid 10-12 lbs especially if its an Mk2 since they tend to run a bit heavier. I have one 5 String Mk2 and if i remember correctly it's at 10.5 lbs.

It'll be tough, if not impossible, to find a used 5 string Wal that weighs less than 10 lbs, since it would definitely need to be a Mk3 model - and those don't pop up too often....
 
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#7,297
Nightman said:
So, I found previous classified posts for sold Wal basses and the weight on these 5'ers are 10 pounds or more! Much too heavy for my preference. I sold two beautiful Spector NS5XL because of their weight. My light weight Roscoe's are sounding/playing pretty good right about now!! :thumbsup:
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A 3.5" Levy's leather strap will take 3 pounds off the Wal instantly.
My Wal with that strap feels the same as my 8lb Fender with a "normal" skinny strap.

So quit your whining and grab that cheque book. HA
Just bustin' your balls.
 
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#7,299
Nightman said:
So, I have a question: Why are Wal 5'er basses hard to find for sale in TB? Are they that good or are you Wal owners stingy or found utopia with your Wal basses?
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I have to confess, I am being stingy as well. I've sold maybe about 6-7 Wals over the years and have regrets with selling 3 of them.... The price hikes and the cost to replace or find another one comes into play too... so ya - bass hoarders we all!!
 
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#7,300
kulit17 said:
I have to confess, I am being stingy as well. I've sold maybe about 6-7 Wals over the years and have regrets with selling 3 of them.... The price hikes and the cost to replace or find another one comes into play too... so ya - bass hoarders we all!!
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He is obviously a "tire-kicker" anyways. First complains that they dont come available, and the second one does......."Ohhhh they are too heavy" lmao

Again Nightman....just bustin' balls. That bass will be long gone before your CITES paperwork is half complete anyways.
 
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