Shipping damage apparently. The orginal case looked like it was a casualty as well.
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Shipping damage apparently. The orginal case looked like it was a casualty as well.
TrevorR said:
A pm I received indicated it got mangled during shipping. It had changed hands here several times and had a gray lined Hiscox case originally, and now looks to have a new red lined case, so my guess is something stabbed and destroyed the original case and made it far enough in to crush the pickup.
That poor bass.
I really hope the person who bought the MK3 can save the neck, $3800 is a lot of money if the neck is shot!
Everything I read says “Don’t buy a bass unless you’ve played it first as they’re all different, even in the same model family.” Good advice. Can’t argue. But with the used Wal market it seems like if you want one, you damn well better grab it immediately or someone else will. So you’re buying a VERY expensive instrument that you’ve not played. What’s the track record with Wals when it comes to this? Has anyone ever bought one on TB or elsewhere without having played it first, only to find that you spent $5-7k on a lemon? “Lemon” is relative, I know but ... you get my drift. A Wal that wasn’t as good as others you may have played. Just wondering how reliable the used market has been to TBers over the years? Thanks!
I bought a brand new Wal sight unseen back in the early 90s. Turned out I didn't like it, couldn't get the tones I wanted, so traded it for a vintage Jazz.
Man I was *so* hoping you were gonna say you traded it for a microphone...
Just curious and truly not being snarky with this follow up question ... did it not give you that Classic Wal tone that one would expect from it, or did it give you that but not the additional versatility of other tones you hoped might also be able to come from it?
I'm going to have to highlight this phrase right here for the sake of expectation...
What is "classic Wal tone"?
To me "classic" is what I heard in Kaja, Spandau, Siouxie, and Bow Wow Wow.
Sure. Whatever tone you expected from it when you bought it specifically for being a Wal.
had three, two Mk1 and one Mk2. All three sounded without a doubt like a Wal bass, with the Mk1s being a bit more on the honky, middy side. The Mk2 had more metallic grunt to it and sounded meaner. With heavy finger plucking near the bridge pickup it still honked and quacked like nobodys business.
Wal Basses playlist on YouTube
Folks talk about the “Wal sound” and often mean Tool or 80s Rush but while Wals can make a pretty distinctive punchy, bark they are also hugely versatile basses. There are a huge number of brilliant tones in them. Listen to the playlist above. You’d never accuse Bruce Thomas from The Attractions, John Illsley from Dire Straits, Macca, Martin Kemp from Spandau Ballet, Failure or Flea of sounding like Geddy or Justin! Or for that matter Mick Karn, John
Giblin or Percy Jones from sounding like each other!
Personally I love their versatility. But like with any bass a Wal may not be to everyone’s taste. Some just won't like or get them. Personally I hate Stingray 4 string and Warwick necks, love the look and sound of Rickys but hate (everything about) playing them - they’re still all great basses, just not for me.
So, yes, “try before you buy” is a very good maxim and great advice. But it’s not always practical, especially once you get into luthier built, higher end basses. Want a second hand Ritter or, of course, any custom build then TBYB probably isn’t on the cards. Then again these basses will have had more care taken in building them and ensuring they sound great than your average factory built bass churning out 1000 units a day. And if you’re looking to get a Wal, Fodera or Ritter hopefully you’ve put more thoughts into what and why you want one (beyond “because Geddy/Victor/Les play one” LOL!). So with high end basses you may have to take a little leap of faith. Up side is that if you buy second hand you’re unlikely to lose much, if any, money reselling a Wal Bass. You may even turn a small profit (not that this is a good reason to buy one!!!).
As others have said, Wals all have a certain characteristic to their core sound by the different basses, models, woods etc can all slightly modulate that so they are also all slightly individual. Either way, they’re still wonderful basses.
As a postscript to the above, I’m always astonished that many people don’t seem to really explore the power of the Wal circuit. It’s so powerful but, once you get to know it, so very intuitive at the same time. You see conversations on line that go... “Tried a Wal once, wasn’t impressed. Cool enough sound but bit of a one trick pony and if you don’t want to sound like Geddy pretty useless...” “Really, surprised.” “Yeah, we’ll I never really played with the tone crontrols. Just left them on 10 and put the pickup control at 50/50. Never bothered pulling up the filter things.” #facepalm
If you ever do get a Wal it’s really worth exploring the filters and the hugely wide range of killer tones available and finding your fave half dozen or so! #tonemachine
If you ever do get a Wal it’s really worth exploring the filters and the hugely wide range of killer tones available and finding your fave half dozen or so! #tonemachine
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Woah, I never noticed before that Bruce is hitting some low C#s in there. During the 2nd & 3rd verses when he plays the regular C#, he drops to a very low one.
But great bass playing all over the album. This one has alot of the character of the bass on it.
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That is true, don't be afraid to pull the knobs, it might sound a bit exaggerated played at home but it really stands out in a band situation, especially under difficult situations!
How appropriate "Isn't this the greatest thing"
The Wal sound is all over Nik Kershaw's first and second albums, it was that tone along with Geddy Lee's Wal tone and some of the others listed above that made me hooked on the Wal bass. I'm pretty sure I need to blame producer Peter Collins for this, and I still don't know who played bass on those early Nik Kershaw albums.
