wal

Well, he sounds good, nails the lines and has good timing and all but I couldn't help noticing that his right hand technique doesn't look very "healthy", if I were him I'd invest some cash in lessons instead of expensive equipment.

Not that he isn't decent but his fretting hand technique might cause him trouble later on.

 

Hey! He's a friend of mine, good player and has a rig to die for. Right hand technique... I go with whatever feels right to you.

 

I'm not sure why, but playing a Wal with a pick just seems to kill the magic.

 

I dig the tone in some of the clips, maybe because I´m a Wal fan.

BTW, didn´t Jonas Hellborg sometimes played his Wal with a pick ?

 

On the very rare occasion, yes. Some Shining Path stuff he played with a pick live. Most of it was done fingerstyle though, and he was on a real slap binge in those days so that saw a lot of use too.

 

What a waste of a perfectly good wal. Not to dis the guy, just not my thang I guess. The pick just ruins the wal tone, for me.

 

Damn! I actually meant left hand (fretting hand) technique, guess why this happened? Hint: it might be because I'm left-handed.

 

Where's the bass? Just doesn't do it for me.

Dan K.

 

When I think of Wal this is the sound I hear in my head - Mick Karn playing in the Midge Ure band at the '86 Princes Trust concert:

 

I dig his tone, but maybe it's just because I'm imagining that beaut in my hands being played fingerstyle and how sexy it would sound. I have to say that both his right and left hand technique look weird and uncomfortable.
-Alex

 

I agree, you loose most of the great wal character when you play one with a pick.

 

..and I think Rics gain character with one

 

Pick or no pick, there is still no bass like a Wal Bass

 

Why do people post bad bass karaoke on youtube so often??

BTW, I am not talking about Alvaro's "Portrait of Tracy" rendition(it was quite nice)

 

Hey guys,
I thought I might take some time out and perhaps defend myself here. I am the guy in the you tube videos posted here. I would like to address several things.

1.) I have been a long time member /mod of a board called Tooltabs.net in which we try to the best to tab out all of Tool's songs with as much accuracy as possible. We really try to take the tabbing beyond what one will find at other tabbing sites such as mxtabs. We even had the respect garnered from the band itself for they have a link to tooltabs on toolband.com

2.) I made these videos at the request of some of the people on tooltabs who wanted to see the songs played out on video to help with rhythm, etc.

3.) All Tool songs (except 1 on the new album) are played with a pick, so therefore I am playing with a pick.

4.) In no way am I condoning that I am the greatest player in the world and I am sure some of you are better. I am sitting in these videos like a robot in front of a camera and yes I am nervous. Therefore you will not see a whole lot of fluidity, etc.

5.) I have never taken an actual lesson in my life so maybe my fretting hand position and my plectrum grip are not perfect, however I do realize that investing in a lesson to learn proper freting techniques and grips would be beneficial for my future.

Anyways, for the record I actually can play with my fingers. When I post the song called 10,000 days you will see me play with my fingers...

Make no mistake, Wals are great basses and they do sound great with picks too! Yes fingerstyle has lots of options but so does playing with a pick. The Wal bass in one of the punchiest, midrange, percussive basses out there. I think there are plenty of great pick players who have been bass greats...

Anyways, sorry for the long post but I hope you guys understand. I am not doing "bad bass karaoke" but merely trying to help people out.

 

hey Walbassplayer, keep up the nice work. And don't even be bothered with the negativity that some people feel they have to spread. What you are doing is cool and a good service to people that want to see the stuff played out.
Hell if I had something like that when I was starting out, id probably know a lot more than I do.

who cares what you play and how you play it, as long as it sounds good to you then F*** everyone else.

we all know what opinions are like...

 

Thanks Bryan.

 

Hey WalBassPlayer, I was the dude that thought Aenima needed some work, but I commend you for taking the heat in a humanly manner.

As a big fan of Tool myself, it's nice to see someone with the same level of enthusiasm as me, and yes, I am also a pickstyle player(I played fingerstyle for 7 years before I discovered the joy of playing with a plectrum)

Keep rockin, and welcome to Talkbass.

 

Thanks for the warm welcome. Send me a PM on here or youtube and recommend some of the spots that are rough. I will admit it is not my best effort. But specifics would help me, then I will re-do the video. Besides ihate playing sitting down!

Thanks!