Fun fact - I used pics of that very bass for samples of facings I like for Paul to find me something.
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Fun fact - I used pics of that very bass for samples of facings I like for Paul to find me something.
@dhagopian That is awesome!! I too think that it has some of the best facings I have ever seen on a Wal. Mike Lull plek’d The Bass before his passing and said it was the best crafted Wal he’d laid his hands on. It requires very little effort to pull of certain passages that tend to be difficult on other basses. The Mk2 is a friend of mine’s... he ordered one three years ago after playing mine...
On a different note.... does anyone have any Wal memorabilia or brochures they might consider parting with?
On a different note.... does anyone have any Wal memorabilia or brochures they might consider parting with?
Looking for stuff like this...
Or anything for that matter....
Or anything for that matter....
So it's American walnut? The wood looks really different from my fretless mk1 American walnut and also other American walnut wals that I have seen. Really love the darker walnut and that type of grain!
@BWorm: did you sell it at time or do you still own it?
It is labeled in the control cavity as American Walnut... the heavy figuring and three dimensional appearance is synonymous with “crotch Walnut”. The original owner spent the day going through Paul’s stash of woods when he finally came across this one. It was signed off in February of 2014 and then I purchased it from the original owner in 2016. I only parted with it later that year, to fund a purple heart six string Wal. The sixer was then sold to someone who offered more. Lucky for me, the guy who I sold this Mk1 to, agreed to contact me if he ever decided he did not want it. I just brought it back home with me about a month ago..
ok great that you got reunited with this beauty!! Too bad about the six string...
Anyone need an area rug?
I've got the shoes.
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From the looks of this piece on Bworms MK1 I think its Claro Walnut it grows in California. The figure and the colors in the top are known as crotch and marbling Im such a wood geek!
I'm going with Zebrano facings on my build, but have always loved Koa.
There's a guy in England who sells spectacular Hawaiian Koa tops. I thought of asking Paul if I could order the Koa from this guy and he could ship directly to Paul.
I know it has been mentioned in the past about people sending facings to Paul since the wood is in England, and it would have a few years to acclimate in the shop before using it wouldn't be an issue.
I'm going with Zebrano facings on my build, but have always loved Koa.
There's a guy in England who sells spectacular Hawaiian Koa tops. I thought of asking Paul if I could order the Koa from this guy and he could ship directly to Paul.
I know it has been mentioned in the past about people sending facings to Paul since the wood is in England, and it would have a few years to acclimate in the shop before using it wouldn't be an issue.
I agree but I love the Flatsawn Zebrano facings so much I'm going to stick with my plan. The store I mentioned has some incredible Koa but very pricy the top I was interested in was $380.00 then I also would have to get one for the back of the bass. I guess an option would be to go for a non charge facing like Wenge for the rear but I don't know how great that would look.
I remember seeing an image of a Wal for sale where they placed the bass in the case, pointing the opposite direction as intended. Thought I'd recreate it.
Probably Andy Baxter. He always makes his ads that way.
About week ago I picked up two of my Wals from a local luthier from having brass nuts installed: a 5 and a 4 string.
The 30 yr old 5er had a crooked and mis-cut nut from the factory, so that one was a given.
However the 4 string was my 'new' 2018 that I completely forgot during the build to spec a brass nut. By the time I realized it was 6 months well-into ownership when I was doing my first string change.
It finally bugged me enough this year, so earlier this summer I asked Paul to sell me a brass nut, and he said no, to have a local fit one. Boy am I glad I did...I'm loving the tone even more so from this bass! That last ounce of "kraaaanggg" that was not quite there before, is now there.
I'll probably take my future Mk3 build to the luthier and have him do that too, since it won't be built with one either.
But for me the result was worth it.
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Funny story about the brass nut on my 5'er...
The bottom of the nut did not match the cut in the board. Meaning, it was glued into place and was in fact mostly glue. It has since been replaced by a new custom brass one.
Not so funny story: I broke the truss rod the other night.
In a way, this isn't so bad. I mean, it's bad and I feel bad but this was the right time to do it. I am having the fretboard replaced anyway so that will be the ideal time to replace it. Far better now than *after* the new board is installed, right?
Speaking of boards.... my initial thought is an ebony board without face dots. But it can be anything! Well, maybe not Brazilian Rosewood but you get the idea.
So - what do you fine folks suggest for a new fretboard? Here's an overly bright pic of the bass with Shedua facings. Doesn't really show off the figure but that's the color.
The bottom of the nut did not match the cut in the board. Meaning, it was glued into place and was in fact mostly glue. It has since been replaced by a new custom brass one.
Not so funny story: I broke the truss rod the other night.
In a way, this isn't so bad. I mean, it's bad and I feel bad but this was the right time to do it. I am having the fretboard replaced anyway so that will be the ideal time to replace it. Far better now than *after* the new board is installed, right?
Speaking of boards.... my initial thought is an ebony board without face dots. But it can be anything! Well, maybe not Brazilian Rosewood but you get the idea.
So - what do you fine folks suggest for a new fretboard? Here's an overly bright pic of the bass with Shedua facings. Doesn't really show off the figure but that's the color.
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Aw man! Sucks to hear.
I would go with a maple board, since that seems to be unobtanium.
I would go with a maple board, since that seems to be unobtanium.
I agree with Mike - maybe a roasted bird's eye maple ---ohhhh...ahhhhhh. Beauty Wal - sorry to hear of the truss rod.
Non sarcastic question- How does this happen to a truss rod? Flaw in the metal? Too aggressive of adjustments? I hear about this from time to time - just like to dodge the bullet ahead of time if possible. Thanks
What a choice! I do like the Birdseye idea. My first choice was wenge but that's just because I like the way it feels on my Cirrus' board. The more I look at your Shedua, the more I think a lighter, contrasting shade would look really nice too. Then again, a "natural" striped ebony might look pretty nice, or even Eucalyptus like Taylor has been using.
I'm a big fan of what an ebony board brings to the Wal sound, but I've never played a Wal with a maple board!
