If you’d ever heard me play fretless you’d know exactly why all my basses have frets!
LOL! Awesome! Yeah, fretless isn't for everbody. That's for sure.
I like it because it's so expressive....but it really does your ears.
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LOL! Awesome! Yeah, fretless isn't for everbody. That's for sure.
I like it because it's so expressive....but it really does your ears.
I've changed my mind, I really need to keep my 1988 MK2 5. Of all my basses, I've owned it the longest and it's such a great instrument that is virtually irreplaceable. I waited a long time to get it and haven't saw another one like it since. I lost a really nice bass to get it too. It came all the way from Hong Kong.
I am not too loyal to any one string but I prefer a low tension medium or medium light gauge string.
I go between brands but like to use low tension medium to medium light gauge strings. I have been playing high beams and sun beams a lot lately. They are great though in my experience the G strings are prone to breaking.
I also like D Addarios (forgot which are low tension) and Dunlop Super Brights. I’ve also had pretty good results with slinky’s although I need to use the lighter gauges because those tend to be a little bit stiffer in my experience.
Question for the Club:
What strings are you using these days on your Wals?
I'm not sure what's on my 88 MK2 5, they're definitely long dead....but I much prefer the added thump!
Has anyone used something crazy like flatwounds? Those could be interesting....especially on a fretless Wal.
Oh how I miss my '87 fretless MK2 Wal 5! Well, it wasn't really a true fretless....it was converted.
But man are they ever fun! I never tried that bass with flats. Could have been very interesting!
I go between brands but like to use low tension medium to medium light gauge strings. I have been playing high beams and sun beams a lot lately. They are great though in my experience the G strings are prone to breaking.
I also like D Addarios (forgot which are low tension) and Dunlop Super Brights. I’ve also had pretty good results with slinky’s although I need to use the lighter gauges because those tend to be a little bit stiffer in my experience.
Anyone have any experience/thoughts with with rosewood vs. ebony fingerboards specifically on fretless Wals? I know they generally use ebony but I also love Mick and Percy's sound and my understanding is theirs were rosewood.
Ebony is a harder wood than rosewood therefore better suited for fretless fingerboards on bass guitars. Dont worry about if there is or isn't any sound difference between the two woods - most would argue that there isn't any sound difference at all once the bass is plugged in
Rosewood sound a bit warmer and ebony a bit brighter for fretless in general.
I owned a 1987 Wal Fretless 5 with a rosewood board. I believe it was technically converted from fretted.
Indian rosewood is of course the warmest of all Rosewoods. It’s softer than Brazillian Rosewood which is actually closer to ebony on the Janka hardness scale. But ebony is hardest in general. I own two fretted Wal 5s with one of each. They’re both different and awesome in their own right.
Remember, how many years have upright basses used ebony as fretboard material? There’s a reason for that for sure! It sounds awesome without frets!
Hers another Schedua-top Mk2 fiver, this one in Colorado... and it's $1,000 more spendy than the one I posted last week:
Wal Mk2 5 String Bass Guitar 1990 Schedua w Original Wal Hard Case
At first glance I thought this was the same bass... but it doesn't appear so.
Wal Mk2 5 String Bass Guitar 1990 Schedua w Original Wal Hard Case
At first glance I thought this was the same bass... but it doesn't appear so.
Its everyone's favorite reverb seller too.......
yep. The horses ass who sold me an “all stock Modulus” that ended up being a fretless converged to fretted. And badly at that. Dude tried to argue it wasn’t. Amateur hour. I had to eat shipping back to him which wasn’t cheap but it was worth being able to trash him here whenever he tries to gouge on something.
Sale must have fallen through... it was just relisted and price dropped by 10%.
Hi everyone, I'm a newbie here. Joined ages ago, but this is my first post. Hope you don’t mind me jumping in on this thread with a question?
I’ve been a sound engineer most of my life and have played bass on & off since I was 15 - time allowing. I bought a used 1984 Wal Mk1 lined fretless in the mid 90’s, which I still own. When I got it the fingerboard had been badly lacquered (a DIY job), so I got the guys at the Bass Gallery in Camden to re-lap it and set it all up. They really know their stuff and did a great job, but since then, I haven’t used the bass very much - I’m not a very good fretless player and I’ve only kept it for sentimental reasons (having grown up in the 80’s as a fan of Mick Karn, amongst others)
Fast forward to now. I’ve booked the bass in at the Bass Gallery to have a couple of jobs done (new battery clip and a full service) with a view to selling it. While I was there, they mentioned that it was an easy job to put frets on it if I wanted to. I would LOVE to have frets on this bass - with them it would be a keeper for me, no doubt! The Bass Gallery said the fret cuts are already there and the job isn’t particularly expensive at £180.
My immediate thought was, what will it do to the value of the bass? They said that they wouldn’t recommend doing this to say a vintage fretless Fender, but the custom nature of Wals makes them different and he didn’t think it was a problem. Besides, if I didn’t like it, it would be an equally easy job to remove them again and put the neck back how it was - another £75 I think he said.
I gave them go-ahead to fit the frets, but now I’m wobbling and have sent an email asking them to just do a service instead, but I’ve sent it with a slightly heavy heart. I don’t really want to sell the bass and I would really love to own a fretted Wal, but I’m worried that this work might trash the value. What do you guys think? All options gratefully received!!
I’ve been a sound engineer most of my life and have played bass on & off since I was 15 - time allowing. I bought a used 1984 Wal Mk1 lined fretless in the mid 90’s, which I still own. When I got it the fingerboard had been badly lacquered (a DIY job), so I got the guys at the Bass Gallery in Camden to re-lap it and set it all up. They really know their stuff and did a great job, but since then, I haven’t used the bass very much - I’m not a very good fretless player and I’ve only kept it for sentimental reasons (having grown up in the 80’s as a fan of Mick Karn, amongst others)
Fast forward to now. I’ve booked the bass in at the Bass Gallery to have a couple of jobs done (new battery clip and a full service) with a view to selling it. While I was there, they mentioned that it was an easy job to put frets on it if I wanted to. I would LOVE to have frets on this bass - with them it would be a keeper for me, no doubt! The Bass Gallery said the fret cuts are already there and the job isn’t particularly expensive at £180.
My immediate thought was, what will it do to the value of the bass? They said that they wouldn’t recommend doing this to say a vintage fretless Fender, but the custom nature of Wals makes them different and he didn’t think it was a problem. Besides, if I didn’t like it, it would be an equally easy job to remove them again and put the neck back how it was - another £75 I think he said.
I gave them go-ahead to fit the frets, but now I’m wobbling and have sent an email asking them to just do a service instead, but I’ve sent it with a slightly heavy heart. I don’t really want to sell the bass and I would really love to own a fretted Wal, but I’m worried that this work might trash the value. What do you guys think? All options gratefully received!!
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There are loads of fretted-converted Wals floating around, especially done by the Bass Gallery. Do it of it makes all the difference. Sure didnt affect their selling prices when they got moved on.
Is that kinda high? I thought Wals from this era (like mine) are more in the 5k range.
Maybe just a scosh high... I've seen fretless Wals go around 5k and lately fretted Wals seem to have been going for between 6k and 7k.
Interesting, I'd think the fretless may be worth more because of scarcity, but if the fretteds are more in demand, that makes sense. Makes no difference to me, as I'll be buried with mine. Other than my dogs, it's the only thing I'd rush into a burning house to save.
