Congrats you have a awesome wife! I have read your posts mentioning Geddy's bass that would be killer OR Geddy specs in a MK3 can't go wrong either way.
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Tremendous low B string. I can make that low B string sound like an 808 and get house engineer's eyes to light up.
imo one of the many great aspects of a Wal is that the inherent tone is super controlled, never muddy or overpowering in the low end.
I get plenty of dub/reggae tone when pulling the neck tone and dialing it down really low. Just dial in a good frequency that works in the room and with your amp, then mix that to your liking with the bridge pickup.
That dubby reggae tone is not what I am talking about when I meant low.Those are sub lows. That's a tone I never use in my music. I just mean when you have find a nice bridge pickup tone and want to have just some extra low. My solution is to dial in a bit of the neck pickup but that also changes the character of the sound. On most other active basses you can just dial in the lows with a separate knob. That simplicity is missing on a Wal.
Not complaining here since I love my Wals but that simplicity of dialing in some extra low or treble without changing the character of your sound is missing. But instead of that we get plenty of other nice things with the filter knobs. That's also something that sets a Wal or an Alembic apart from other active basses and what makes them more characteristic.
Well, of course, I quoted that as an extreme sub bass setting! I do get what you mean, though. I've got a Frankenjazz with a conventional 3 band Audere preamp and (much as I love that preamp) I never miss that simple roll-up-the-bass control on the Wal. I've been playing the Wal so long now that the preamp is just really second nature and intuitive to me and small shifts in the tone and blend work as well for me without necessarily fundamentally changing the sound. Just a different approach with both basses.
Yes I agree. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Nothing wrong with either. Or passive is also great. I like the passive fretless Pro I have for that reason. It's just plug and play and sounds great without any knob fiddling. Sometimes all the knob options can distract you from playing.
Howdy y'all. Touching base. Hope everyone has been healthy. Been too long.
Q: Does anyone know the fretboard radius of my '96 MK3 5str? To me, it looks compound.
BTW, they do spell WAL in all caps. Check it:
Q: Does anyone know the fretboard radius of my '96 MK3 5str? To me, it looks compound.
BTW, they do spell WAL in all caps. Check it:
Mike, may I please have a number? I just welcomed home my very first Wal Mk1 Bass. I am on cloud 9! Thank you @4eyed4stringer for the very smooth transaction!
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THIS folks, is why sleeping is over-rated! GREAT SCORE!!!! Wal perfection right there!!! Congrats and welcome to this awesome club.
curious, you get her on a scale yet? my 2002 is a hefty 10.5 lbs. i love her all the same though!
I haven't yet, But I have to say I was expecting way heavier honestly. It feels like 8.5-9 to me. Maybe I'm just feeling strong today lol
Is anyone looking for a Mk1?
The one at Ayr Guitar in Scotland has been reposted. But they're not much on Int'l shipping, so they were over $400 if trying to go to US.
Wal MK1 Bass 1985 Natural | Simon's Music Gear | Reverb
The one at Ayr Guitar in Scotland has been reposted. But they're not much on Int'l shipping, so they were over $400 if trying to go to US.
Wal MK1 Bass 1985 Natural | Simon's Music Gear | Reverb
What do you guys think about this MK1? Wal MK1 Bass 1985 Natural | Simon's Music Gear | Reverb. The only
What do you think about the bridge setup? The saddles are all set very close to the same position toward the inner limit. It makes me wonder if there are any issues with intonation. The condition overall looks slightly better than the '85 MK1 Wenge which was posted last week by Andy Baxter for a similar price, but it's impossible to really assess the neck and fretwork from pictures alone.
I actually made an offer on this one figuring it would make a nice stop gap until my order comes in (or the world ends).
What do you think about the bridge setup? The saddles are all set very close to the same position toward the inner limit. It makes me wonder if there are any issues with intonation. The condition overall looks slightly better than the '85 MK1 Wenge which was posted last week by Andy Baxter for a similar price, but it's impossible to really assess the neck and fretwork from pictures alone.
I thought I'd weigh my Wals as well, approx. units.
Mk2 MIDI 8.5lbs
Mk2 Zebrano 9.8lbs
The Zebrano Wal is the heaviest bass I've owned so far. It might be because of the neck reinforcement, Paul let me hold some graphite rods at the workshop and they are a bit hefty. However, the stability overshadows weight for me.
Mk2 MIDI 8.5lbs
Mk2 Zebrano 9.8lbs
The Zebrano Wal is the heaviest bass I've owned so far. It might be because of the neck reinforcement, Paul let me hold some graphite rods at the workshop and they are a bit hefty. However, the stability overshadows weight for me.
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I actually bought Simon's '85 Mk1 last Friday. I ended up backing out due to having to pay some additional shipping ($200), and I was concerned about customs. My decision became really easy when I found my 2017 Mk1 on the classifieds. Simon is a very good seller. His FedEx shipping label had already been created and it had the bass being picked up in the UK this past Monday, and it was getting to me the next day in Chicago.
Here's a video of the Mk1 in action! Power Windows anybody 
