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I've never noticed this but maybe I'm not bending strings as much
I don't do crazy bends, so I haven't really noticed. But I think that rather than the size of the poles (which may still be a factor), it's more likely because each pole has its own coil, which leaves spaces between the poles with no magnets or coils. Most other non-Wal pickups have magnets & coils that span the whole width of all the strings, so they may be better at picking up vibrations between the poles. Does this sound plausible?
I confirmed my Wal MK2 5 doesn’t loose volume. Even with a heavy bending technique. I might post a video. Are you able to post a cell phone video of what you’re experiencing?
Yes very much. That is what I was thinking myself. The distance between the pole pieces of each string is fairly large. So when you bend a string your string will come between the pole pieces so it looses a bit of volume there and than regaining volume when your string returns to the basic position. You hear it the best with the neck pickup soloed.
I tested it on my three Wals and they all have that. Also noticed it on the Wal basses I had before.
Here is how to test:
-solo the neck pickup.
-First play a tone unbend, listen to the volume. Then bend the G or D string a half step up and play it while holding the bend, listen to the volume.
-Then release the bend, pick it again and listen to the volume.
-you can also first bend the string (pre bend) then pick it while in up position and release the bend without picking. You will hear it gaining volume when the bend is released.
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Rics and Wals necks are two different beasts - i do know what you mean about neck profile on 80's Rics though....i have an 82 4001, 86 shadow, and an 87 4003s and they got awesome slim necks that make playing with ease. As far as Wals go - most Wals has a soft v profile. there are some out there that would have hard v profile, while others may have a C shape profile - depending on how it could've been spec'd. personally i love the neck profile on a Wal especially the ones with a harder V profile.
if you didn't let the beast go yet, i'll also say give er a chance. bouncing between Rics and Wals neck for me at least ain't too bad.
the only neck profile on a bass that i hated was a Warwick Corvette standard i had which had a typical baseball bat neck and a Status KB Artist headless bass i couldn't jive with.
The Mk1 is staying! I've seen the light lol!
So, I should call the lady friend in off the streets, then??? She'll be happy to hear that although it did take us a while to get her into her old college outfits.
I mean, with everyone inside these days I wasn't expecting a sudden windfall but at least I was willing to go to great lengths...
Congrats, friend. Continue to share your new experiences with us!
ok, here is the quick video about the slight volume drop when bending a string. It is very hard to hear because of the phone recording and the Youtube compression. But it sure it is there. You hear it the best from 0:19 to 0:25. Maybe it is less on a 5 string but it sure is there on Mk1 basses. I will remove the video from Youtube in a few days.
Great video! Thanks so much for posting it.
I definitely hear what you're experiencing and it's exactly as you described it.
All I can think of in my comparison is that 4's have a slightly wider string spacing than 5's I believe.
I'm hoping that a 4 string Wal owner can chime in with some feedback.
I did notice in the video that the strings are shifting away from the pole pieces a fair amount right at the pick-ups so there must be narrower range to how the pick-ups actually transfer or transduce the string movement into sound coming from your amplifier. Can anyone else test this out with their 4 stringer?
I can hear it. I replaced the every single pole piece (20 total) on my MK3, because I beat the holy f&%k out of my PUs. Per each pickup, there are two solid magnet strips that run the entire length of the ABS cast casings below the coils (pic#1). I can attest the Gauss Field is strong AF on mine. My point is the magnetic flux should be plenty strong between each pole piece as to conduct an equal volume level from any given string at any given point on the fretboard as they interact through the magnetic flux. Unless, you're running into some weird Lenz or Faraday Law phenomena—which brings up pic#2. Notice in Box C, the undulation while traveling through the Y-axis (your pitch bend). X-axis will be your pole pieces, coils, and magnetic strips. So, maybe experiment on the pole height(s). I haven't read through all that was hypothesized; so forgive redundancies, but you may check fret heights and condition, strings, etc. Also to consider, string tension is changing when bending, but that shouldn't matter (at least to my intuition). Good luck. And last but not least, Paul et al at Leatherhead will help!
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Oh, I didn't know the magnets were full width underneath all four strings, I was thinking that the separate coils also had their own separate magnets (per my previous theory). I still think that having separate coils for each pole piece with no coils between the strings could possibly be a contributing factor, of course it's just a theory.
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Plek Your New Guitar | Sweetwater
i didn't either, until i googled around. was gonna take it down to Glaser Instr in Nashville. i'm undecided how flat i want the fretboard. i want it to as flat as an Ibanez Jem. for real. ha! i remember one guy on this thread customized a 16" WAL from Paul back when, but haven't heard about it. i'm assuming i'll have to shim after?......MIKE!? haha!
Ok thanks. As said this is not specific for my Wal. It doesn't need any servicing. Every mk1 has this slight volume drop when doing bendings. It's just the nature of the Wal pickups and the way they are build. At least the 4 string ones. I don't have a Wal 5 or 6 string Wal to test. Every Wal mk1 that I have owned or played has this. It's not a major thing but if you do a lot a string bending you will notice it.
Same one as two weeks ago, buyer backed out because he found one much closer.
