Crisp, clear, bite-y, sounds like a piano string.
Like one other owner described "it fires like a cannon"
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Crisp, clear, bite-y, sounds like a piano string.
Like one other owner described "it fires like a cannon"
This song has a Wal 5 on it, if it gives an idea by the end of the song I had to play with the lightest possible touch to soften the attack.
It was recorded through a Telefunken scrive D.I. (85%) and a miked Ashdown LB30 all tube amp into a Mesa Subway 1x12” (15%)
both filters off
....and then there were two.
Got this redhead off of one of our fav Wal nuts a couple days ago.
This weekend should involve a lot of play time...be interesting to A/B them ...maybe there will be zero tonal difference(?) ...or just a glorified honeymoon ...I will post some better pix soon.
I'm pleased to announce the engagement of myself to W4266, born in 2018. It's going to be a lovely ceremony. She finally arrived in the mail today from The Bass Gallery in London and she's fantastic.
This is my first fretted Wal. When I first plugged it in the sound was... great but it lacked some zing. I thought perhaps the electronics needed to be tweaked so I adjusted the trim pots. A bit better. Raised the neck pickup a bit. More better... then...
For some reason I thought the shop changed the strings before they sent it off. Apparently they did not. I swapped them for some DR Lo-Riders and.... THERE IT IS!!! The TONE!!! AT LAST!
It's just fantastic. It's the sound I've wanted to hear my fingers make since I first picked up the instrument in 1988.
I can't wait to hear how it sounds with a full band at my next rehearsal.
Joy! Thanks to all of you who put up with my multitude of questions over the years!
This is my first fretted Wal. When I first plugged it in the sound was... great but it lacked some zing. I thought perhaps the electronics needed to be tweaked so I adjusted the trim pots. A bit better. Raised the neck pickup a bit. More better... then...
For some reason I thought the shop changed the strings before they sent it off. Apparently they did not. I swapped them for some DR Lo-Riders and.... THERE IT IS!!! The TONE!!! AT LAST!
It's just fantastic. It's the sound I've wanted to hear my fingers make since I first picked up the instrument in 1988.
I can't wait to hear how it sounds with a full band at my next rehearsal.
Joy! Thanks to all of you who put up with my multitude of questions over the years!
Okay, wait, ^^^there's another example of multiple veneer layers between the top and the core...so clearly it's an available option.
Yes! I just saw your earlier post. It doesn't happen often, from what I've seen, but some do have that! Because two stripes? Better than one!!
.. hope it's not considered as a spam
Wal porn is totally acceptable over here. Gimme some mo!
Is this the Live Aid bass?Finally some representative pics... Still very impressed by Wal - after uncountable number of basses of all kinds, different in so many aspects. I appreciate that they really do everything in their own way.. hope it's not considered as a spam
View attachment 4764757 View attachment 4764758 View attachment 4764759 View attachment 4764760 View attachment 4764761 View attachment 4764762 View attachment 4764764
Nah - identical - just the angle of the pic. I was just super excited and snapped a quick pic without being artsy. lol
Very nice playing Marco! Cool example of the Wal sound i like!
Also highly recommend their 2019 release:
Or, in this case...three!...because three is better than two!
If it's just preamps/electronics turnaround is typically quick. If it's a whole bass needing maintenance, typically only a couple months....
I think they call it 'double coaching', this would be 3 layers.
The earliest Custom series (aka Mk1) seemed to have the double coaching, as well as some had pin stripes down the center of the facings.
Seems they decided to simplify it a lot.
I havent seen any with only 2 layers, I've only seen 3. Kinda doesn't make sense with 2 when the layer has to contrast the faces.
But yeah, seems you can still order it.
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Let me know if this question is too far off base for the club and I'll delete...
I've little chance of being able to afford a real Wal, and probably less chance of tolerating the wait for a new one.
That said, I've accumulated a set of Rautia multicoil Wal clone pickups and a matching Lusithand preamp and am wondering what sort of donor bass I might find that would be an appropriate host for them that might get me in the general area.
I realize that nothing I can resurrect will be exactly the same, but I feel the urge to try.
I'm thinking '70s-'80s Matsumoko/Aria/Ibanez/Greco or similar
Lighter weight would be nice but not mandatory. Medium scale. fatter neck, unlined fretless.
Any pointers to a specific instrument for sale would be great
Thanks
I've little chance of being able to afford a real Wal, and probably less chance of tolerating the wait for a new one.
That said, I've accumulated a set of Rautia multicoil Wal clone pickups and a matching Lusithand preamp and am wondering what sort of donor bass I might find that would be an appropriate host for them that might get me in the general area.
I realize that nothing I can resurrect will be exactly the same, but I feel the urge to try.
I'm thinking '70s-'80s Matsumoko/Aria/Ibanez/Greco or similar
Lighter weight would be nice but not mandatory. Medium scale. fatter neck, unlined fretless.
Any pointers to a specific instrument for sale would be great
Thanks
Claudel, this is exactly the sort of project I am working on over on Basschat. Here’s a link to it with its great extensive research and many pages of work, as well as a recent schematic we have worked out for the Wal Mark 1 preamp (the only diagram that I am aware of existing anywhere).
https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/458042-building-a-walish
Short answer, if not making one from the ground up bit by bit as I am, I would use a Yamaha TRBX504 as it has a multilaminate neck of similar construction with a rosewood fretboard, a mahogany body, and already has the electronics and battery cavities routed out. You’d need to carve it up for your own pickups and make it look nice, but it’s a lot of the way there otherwise.
