Are you sure all the songs on those two Nik Kershaw albums are Wal bass? I wouldn't have recognized it as Wal. Which songs specifically you mean?
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Are you sure all the songs on those two Nik Kershaw albums are Wal bass? I wouldn't have recognized it as Wal. Which songs specifically you mean?
My apologies, clearly not all the songs, I used the term "all over" a bit loosely, but I'd say the songs drum talk, bogart, gone to pieces, shame on you, cloak and dagger, faces, the riddle, know how, wild horses, city of angel's, roses. Though, I could be wrong.
Ok, so setting aside tone expectations... has anyone purchased a Wal without having played it first only to end up with a sub-par instrument as a result? Also setting aside the idea of “I just don’t like Wals”. Are there lemons floating around out there? Starting to save for a used one (whenever one might hit the market) and wondering how safe it is to purchase such an expensive instrument without having played it first. I know that the resale values are good but then I wouldn’t even be comfortable with passing one on to someone else if I ended up with one that wasn’t up to par. Experiences to share? Thanks!
I bought one that had a previously repaired laminate separation that was not disclosed, I wouldn't say that it was a lemon, however, I would say that it wasn't what I expected. I decided to sent it to Wal HQ and get a new body.
I've bought 3 previously owned Wals all without trying them first. Each one is amazing and better than I expected.
I've seen a couple of 80s models that had a thin ebony strip between the book-matched top/back sections that had uneven shrinkage, but never any examples of full delamination.
I should add that the 2nd previously owned Wal that I bought was a was a great transaction. I still own both. The fretless is the one with the new body, I also had HG Thor epoxy the the fingerboard.
Yes, I once bought what supposed to be a excellent condition Wal at full going rate. Only to discover the neck had previously been broken in three spots, and one part was still broken. So I had it fixed and sold it at a loss.
I had another arrive with electronics not working. That bass was my crash course in preamp repairs and updates. Had it up and running in less than a week
All in all, have had 17 Wals come thru here.
No dissapointments in any sound.
I had another arrive with electronics not working. That bass was my crash course in preamp repairs and updates. Had it up and running in less than a week
All in all, have had 17 Wals come thru here.
No dissapointments in any sound.
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Good to hear what you've all shared so far! Mostly good experiences... Encouraging me to sell more gear to embolden my "Used Wal Fund"!
Happy to hear more used purchasing stories! Thanks!
Bought mine second hand and had to replace the caps in the preamp. A known issue in older Wals. It was a cheap fix and i find myself more and more wanting to use my Wal over my other basses.
I've only ever seen one really bad delamination of the sort you're referring to but that had spent something like 10+ years sitting in a leaky garage before some kind soul rescued it and nursed it back to health.
I guess that the usual "buyer beware" restrictions apply but these are high end beasts, beautifully made and seem to be usually well cared for by their owners. All of which bodes well.
That said, they are collections of wood and electronics and bits of mechanical engineering... so there is always the possibility of entropy, some individual instruments being less resonant than others or having developed faults over time. Then again, I suspect that if you're buying a 10-20 year old Wal the chances of getting a lemon are lower than buying a similarly aged mass market bass - but that may just be snobbery! Lol!!!!!
Hmmm, wiki says Nik recorded all the bass parts on 1st album except for one song. So maybe he used Peter's bass? The one song "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" credits Paul Westwood on bass, I tried a search and saw an ancient instructional video and he an old modded Jazz and Ibanez, so likely he wasn't a Wal player.
2nd album says Dennis Smith, which a quick youtoob search shows him playing a Mk1.
Just listed this Wal Mk2 MIDI Bass in case anyone is feeling wild...
Some have queried my selling my Wal. I purchased it before the advent of Youtube, bass chat forums etc. All I knew was the bass magazine said they were good. At the time I was heavily into the Fender Jazz (read Jaco) sound, and I could not achieve that at that time. 25+ years later and things change. I'm sure I would love a Wal now.... but now of course I could not afford one.
I am intrigued - what kind of problems does one get with old caps?
The old paper capacitors can start to fail and leak electrolyte as they're now older than their design life probably ever envisages - 30 years in some cases. It's a pretty common fix/preventative measure for older Wals. A lot of folk have it done as a standard thing even if there's no obvious problem. It's a well known thing. The caps Wal used in the 80s were top quality, industry standard grade at the time but technology has moved on since then
ah alright. I guess my MK1 has those older caps then? It has the older circuit without the 'low end trims'
Doesnt matter if its the 2 or 4 trim, they all have old caps once they're old enough. The least that usually happens is weak signal, distortion, sqeals. And the worst thing to have is the silver tracers being eaten off the circuit board from the leaking acid.
