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Wal Bass Club.

#841
MC1970 said:
mesajoe,

do you own any of the "new-run"? yr Wals are amazing!!!!!
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Thanks, they are amazing.

5 of the 6 are new run Wals, Paul's craftsmanship is outstanding, best made basses I have ever owned. No imperfections, all faultlessly made. Dare I say it, better made than my Pro I! But then given Paul worked for so long at Electric wood, serving his apprenticeship, you would expect nothing less.

I live in the UK, so easy for me to visit Paul in his workshop.. Next time I visit, I will see if Paul is happy for me to photo his workshop and post here..
 
#842
kulit17 said:
I love the color of the Pro I! Sweet collection bro!!
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Thanks! There is not enough time in the day to spend playing my Wals, I'm sure you know what I mean..

I bought the Pro I from a music shop called A1 Music in Manchester in 1983. I still have the receipt. Peter Hook from New Order was talking to the Lady shop owner at the time and told me I was buying the right bass.. Can't say fairer than that! I was a student at the time and had to forgo a lot of nights out and meals to pay for the bass..
 
#845
iuserneim said:
bigsnack, the sound in the signature sounds GREAT.
is it that, how i should imagine the typical wal sound ?

i know, the tool stuff, blood sugar sex magic, some rush stuff... but those are "overproduced" stuff. that's why i'm asking
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Thanks for listening! To answer your question, more or less yes. :) Here are some notes about the tone:

1. I have the filter for the front pickup in the "up" position, and the filter on the backup pickup is in the "down" position.
2. Both filters are wide open.
3. I am also favoring the front pickup a bit over the back one with the blend knob.
4. That tone is direct with a bit of an amp simulator blended in as well to add a bit of grit.
5. As a note, although my Wal is fretted, I think it has an ebony fingerboard. A Wal with a rosewood fb may even have even a bit more overtones than mine. :bassist:
 
#847
iuserneim said:
I don't even know what the filters on a Wal do.... haha (never had a Wal, with i did...)
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There is one tone knob per pickup:
In the 'normal knobs down' position, it changes (reduces) the highs out of the pickup without changing the volume of the bass. Which is different than conventional boost band eq's.

If you pull up on the knob, it gives a slight db boost of the frequency you set the tone knob at. So if you turn a tone knob all the way down and pull up, it's dub city. Or turn it all the way up it's treble grind. Set in the middle, it's mid sweep. You can swell the knob back and forth and get a wah-wah effect. Remember, you're only using one knob!
 
#849
iuserneim said:
I don't even know what the filters on a Wal do.... haha (never had a Wal, with i did...)

What amp-simulator did you use ?

Rosewood has more overtones ? I would say, ebony has more, because it sounds much brighter. No ?
Click to expand...

I go back and forth between two Amp Sims. I use Studio Devil Virtual Bass Amp (the first one, not the Pro version), and the Gallien-Krueger amp simulator from Audiffex. This tune has the GK amp sim on it.

As far as the fingerboard wood is concerned, I know that can be a subjective thing. My comment is only based off of the fingerboard wood descriptions that Roger Sadowsky has posted on his website, not from my own personal experience :) I'm actually a maple guy myself!
 
#854
What would you do? Is it a sin?

The MkI I have came with an original brown Wal case but it is very used condition. The original handle (using a cloth type handle from previous owner) is gone and I think only one out of three of the latches are original but the two that aren't original function ok. Case itself as usability goes is good, but as far as looks goes..,,, eh!. I may be sending out my MkI to get some maintenance work on it and was thinking of getting a new case from Paul when he ships it back.

Would it be a sin to try to sell my original case? Or should I keep it around for collectors sake?
 
#856
Ya i spoke to Paul couple weeks ago about what he'll do for maintenance work, price seems fair i suppose for Wal standards and also a new case. Beings its a 20 year old bass, i figure she needs a good look over under the hood and some TLC. I do get a little bit a noise from my tone and volume knobs while making adjustments. Also a little while back i noticed the output would intermintently cut out too, but what i found was because the output jack touching one of the pots. I put electrical tape to prevent it from making contact, which worked, but that seems rather eh, for a fix.
 
#858
Hello all!
This has probably already been discussed but didn't not find much information on the topic.
I've played a 1983 MK1 Bass. sounds beautifully! The only thing I noticed is that the neck is somewhat thick, probably compared to a Precision bass.
Does anyone know if this has changed throughout the years? Do all Wal basses have the same neck profile?

Any guidance is greatly appreaciated.
 
#859
Yes, more or less the neck shape in MkIs and MkIIs is a "hard V" one, while on MkIIIs is a little softer.
Two weeks ago I collected my new MkII from Paul Herman at the Wal workshop, and so I know for sure that Paul offers a softened neck profile on new Wals at no extra charge, although I chose the usual V on mine. I suggest you to play that bass for a little more time, in order to decide whether it suits you or not.

Marco
 

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