Walter Woods Amplifiers

[beanbass123]

I'm thinking about buying a walter woods amp. Everyone has one, they're loud and portable and sound great on upright and electric.

Does anyone have any info about it. ie. Where to buy? How much I should expect to spend? What speakers I should buy with it? Any maybe others experience with it.

I know it's gonna be alot of money and would like a little feedback before I make the plunge.

Thanks!

 

[One Drop]

There's a used Ultra in the classifieds.

New, you would have to buy directly from WW, and wait for it to be built.

I wouldn't exactly say everyone has one- they are quite rare, and I've only seen one other besides the one I owned briefly when I bought and imported a used one for a friend.

They are extremely well built and hold their value very well, but nowadays there are other very small powerful amps on the market that give them a run for their money, IMO, though they are built to a different price point and probably won't be running 20 years from now like his amps do.

I would do a bit more research before taking the plunge- there are a threads here that will pretty much answer all of your questions.

 

[Freddels]

I have one that I bought from WW back in '84 or '85. I could easily sell it for more than I paid for it back then. It still works great. You can only get new ones from WW and he doesn't have a website. I don't know the exact prices of the new ones but it's somewhere in the neighborhood of $2800.00. Maybe someone that has recently purchased a new one could tell you a more accurate price.

 

[Guest043]

youll wait a long time for one. (last i heard it was something like a 2 year wait. its probobly gotten longer since then.) they definately are world-class amplifiers, but i have spent a LOT of time comparing a walterwoods electracoustic back to back to a markbass little mark II and if thats the kind of amp your looking for, the markbass sounded equal if not better than the walter. (seriously. i diddnt believe it at first either.) i know of 2 local bass players that sold their walters for markbass heads...and the price was not what concerned them. disregarding the price differnce (a new walter will be somewhere around $2500) the only thing i can see the walter really being better for is that they last forever. markbass hasent been around long enough to judge that.

also the lightweight of a walter is nice; but markbass is just as small, too..something like 6 pounds. i seriously think you should try both of these amps before you buy a walter, and try them with the right cabinets. i use brickhouse cabinets, theyre kind of an unknown boutique kind of company, but something like bergantino will be in the same ballpark.

i cant stress enough that two local guys (disregarding price differnce!) sold their walter woods amps and switched to markbass. its worth giving them a try, for sure.

 

[Altitude]

I remember back in college (late '80s), some of the bass instructors at UT were playing Walter Woods amps. I bet those guys still have them! They really have stood the test of time. They are hand-made boutique amps, and the do last forever.

You might ping Tom Bowlus about cabinet compatibilty. He has an Ultra and about every cab on the market to compare it with.

As for the Markbass option. They are great amps - I have a LittleMark II and will never go back to a big amp. I think, though, if you have your intentions set on a Walter Woods, it would feel like having your car intentions set on a Bentley and having someone recommend a Honda as an alternative. Not that there's anything wrong with the Honda, and in many ways it may be a better car then the Bentley - but it has a whole different mojo.

Markbass has another amp, the slightly smaller and lesser known F1. It uses a different class of amplifier section (D versus A/B for the LMII IIRC), and most say it sounds slightly more midrange present and "quick", versus the LMII's "full and warm". The F1 is about $300 more than the LMII - still less than $1000.

Best luck!

 

[tombowlus]

You might ping Tom Bowlus about cabinet compatibilty. He has an Ultra and about every cab on the market to compare it with.

I have had good results with a variety of brands, but the two that stand out the most are being great fits are Bergantino and Glockenklang. What are your volume needs?

Tom.

 

[KJung]

Make sure you do your homework on small SMPS amps. Until a few years ago, Walter pretty much had the market to himself. Now, there are a number of heads that IMO sound wonderful and that can challenge the Walter Woods in size, weight, volume, tone at a fraction of the cost.

Of course, nothing sounds like a Walter other than a Walter, so if that's the very specific tone you are looking for, it's a great head. I always found even the Blue Light 1200 watt models a touch 'thin' sounding for EB in some cases, and no louder than the 500-600 watt SMPS competition out there right now.

IMO...


and... +1 to Tom's comments. The Berg HT cabs in general sound VERY nice with the Walter, especially the older HT line to my ear. I've never had the pleasure of trying the Walter with the Glock.

 

[sixway]

Played a large benefit yesterday with my Walter Woods Stereo head (1000 watts @ ohms), and used my Accugroove El Whappo Jr cabinet,and got lots of compliments on sound, andband balance. No DI out to the PA, and the combo sounded huge! That's the combination I've been using for the past couple of years, and for smaller gigs I use an Accugroove Tri-112 cabinet. Two great cabinets that work great with the Woods.

There are a lot of great, small heads out there, and a ton of great cabinets these days to choose from. It just depends on your circumstances... what you're willing to lug, what kind of music/gigs you play. I play mostly classic rock and blues, and go for more of an "Old School" warm kind of sound, but I can get an edge if I want.

There are some good and in-depth threads on Water Wood heads.If you have the money, they are certainly worth considering, although they are hard to come by....

 

[Visirale]

I
As for the Markbass option. They are great amps - I have a LittleMark II and will never go back to a big amp. I think, though, if you have your intentions set on a Walter Woods, it would feel like having your car intentions set on a Bentley and having someone recommend a Honda as an alternative. Not that there's anything wrong with the Honda, and in many ways it may be a better car then the Bentley - but it has a whole different mojo.

Pshh ignore the prices. Since it's Italian made, I like to pretend that it's the Ferrari of bass amps .

 

[KJung]

Pshh ignore the prices. Since it's Italian made, I like to pretend that it's the Ferrari of bass amps .

+1.... that's what is so amazing about the MB stuff. Being a boutique 'spendy snob' myself, I stayed away from the LMII for a while, thinking it was a 'nice low end' piece of gear.

Well, the F1 and LMII is still here, and the very nice but very expensive Walter is gone... and I don't miss the Ultra for one second of one day

 

[Freddels]

Pshh ignore the prices. Since it's Italian made, I like to pretend that it's the Ferrari of bass amps .

Or the FIAT (Fix It Again Tony)

 

[Freddels]

I find my WW M-100 a great match with the Wizzy 10 for my Mouse 30.

 

[KJung]

I find my WW M-100 a great match with the Wizzy 10 for my Mouse 30.

I bet that sounds great. Actually, the old Walters like you have are more similar to my ear to the AI amps (Clarus/Focus)...darker and fatter... than the newer electracoustic models, which are very modern and bright sounding to my ear.

I REALLY like the AI amps with the Rob Allen stuff, especially through an organic sounding cab like the Wizzy or the Acme cabs (wonderful for that application).

I am much less impressed with the newer Walter Woods amps relative to the amazing, powerful micro's that have come out recently, like the MB F1, etc.

 

[beanbass123]

I have had good results with a variety of brands, but the two that stand out the most are being great fits are Bergantino and Glockenklang. What are your volume needs?

Tom.

As for volume needs, I need to fill a room on upright or eletric of no bigger than 500 people. Every room I play has a PA to hook up to too. A lot of cats use bergantino amps, I'm thinking about getting one of those, or maybe augilar.

 

[Munjibunga]

Make sure you do your homework on small SMPS amps. Until a few years ago, Walter pretty much had the market to himself. Now, there are a number of heads that IMO sound wonderful and that can challenge the Walter Woods in size, weight, volume, tone at a fraction of the cost.

Of course, nothing sounds like a Walter other than a Walter, so if that's the very specific tone you are looking for, it's a great head. I always found even the Blue Light 1200 watt models a touch 'thin' sounding for EB in some cases, and no louder than the 500-600 watt SMPS competition out there right now.

IMO...


and... +1 to Tom's comments. The Berg HT cabs in general sound VERY nice with the Walter, especially the older HT line to my ear. I've never had the pleasure of trying the Walter with the Glock.

Ken, I've never had any perception that my Ultra sounded "thin." We hooked it up to a couple of ubone's Bergantino HT115s at the San Diego GTG, and everyone agreed that the "thin-sounding WW" myth had been decisively busted. It compares very favorably in tone and volume to my Glockenklang Heart-Rock. I'll have to try it through my Quattro. I usually play it through a Bergantino HT322, and it sounds just bitchen.

 

[sixway]

My WW is a 2003 1000watt stereo model, and these days I play it through my El Whappo Jr, or an AccueGroove Tri-112. Through either cab, or through my whizzy 12, or EA 210, it always sounds full and rich, especially with the El Whappo Jr. All of my bass buddies who sit in and play through that combo come off the stage with big s**t-eating grins, and talk about ways to start saving to get a WW of their own. One of them got lucky not too long ago, and actually bought a new one from Walter, that someone had reneged on. Needless to say, my friend is very happy, and been playing it through two Ea single 10's. It's a small, portable rig of doom.

That being said, everyone has their own preference on sound etc, and there will always be a level where good quality gear sounds great. Over the years I've tried to come up with a system that has a good clean, full sound, has the power to project and fill any room with great tone, has the ability to be adjustable according to the style being played, and above all, is lightweight and easily portable. This setup fills all of those requirements for me.

A friend of mine has a new GenzBenz 600, and it sounds very good. I get GAS occasionally, as we all do, but if anything, I'm in the market for a new bass or two, as my sound concerns have been met. Of course, a pedal now and then seems to end up in my room.... and I'm not sure why.......

 

[KJung]

Ken, I've never had any perception that my Ultra sounded "thin." We hooked it up to a couple of ubone's Bergantino HT115s at the San Diego GTG, and everyone agreed that the "thin-sounding WW" myth had been decisively busted. It compares very favorably in tone and volume to my Glockenklang Heart-Rock. I'll have to try it through my Quattro. I usually play it through a Bergantino HT322, and it sounds just bitchen.

Hey Munj!

Again, the Walter Ultra's are fine amps, and they sound great. Also, I've had similar experience as you in a 'solo' GTG setting. The Walter's are probably the best sounding amp in a solo setting I've heard. They are clean, articulate and have a very nice 'airy' sort of top end (especially with the older Berg HT cabs, which are my favorites with the Walter).

However, in using one Walter or the other over the last 20 years and literally thousands of gigs, I find that, compared to today's SMPS amps that cost a fraction of the amount and have half the power rating, the Walter, if anything, does not sound better, and to my ear, lacks some of the 'meat' in the low end when you get that amp into a mix.

Do the Walter's suck? Of course not, and to my ear, they compare favorably to other 500-600 watt amps of more recent design. Would I pay $2,500 for one given the other options out there over the last couple of years? Absolutely not. IMO and IME.

 

[Boombass76]

...Now, I don't want to claim expertise on the WW amp - I have only tried it once. It was paired with 2 Epifani UL112's and I tried it with a wide range of high-end basses (Foderas, Celinders, vintage Fenders and CS Fenders). Pretty much all the basses you can find here: Link Removed

So this is very subjective, and based on approx. one hour of playing through that amp... Unfortunately, I didn't like it one bit, but that doesn't mean that I want to diss WW in any way. It may well be perfect for others, of course.

I have also tried the MB F1 on a gig, and this one I liked a lot. So much that I decided to order one of the new F500's - and guess what? I am picking it up today! (will probably post pics later if I can find the time to "shoot")!

 

[KJung]

...Now, I don't want to claim expertise on the WW amp - I have only tried it once. It was paired with 2 Epifani UL112's and I tried it with a wide range of high-end basses (Foderas, Celinders, vintage Fenders and CS Fenders). Pretty much all the basses you can find here: Link Removed

So this is very subjective, and based on approx. one hour of playing through that amp... Unfortunately, I didn't like it one bit, but that doesn't mean that I want to diss WW in any way. It may well be perfect for others, of course.

I have also tried the MB F1 on a gig, and this one I liked a lot. So much that I decided to order one of the new F500's - and guess what? I am picking it up today! (will probably post pics later if I can find the time to "shoot")!

Many of us who are very familiar with the Walter's feel that the match-up of the Walter with the Epifani UL cabs is not a good one. The weakness in high bass and low mid punch in the Walter voicing is magnified by the bit of a low mid hole in the UL cabs. IMO and IME.

That being said, I'm with you. When I got the MB F1, the Walter was out the door.

 

[Tekken]

I've sold one month ago my father's '75 WalterWoods MI-100 (150W @ 4 Ohm) and buyed an Aguilar AG500sc: this don't sound like the WW (that, after comparing, is very close to the DB 750 but, obviously, with less volume) but, as I need more volume in live shows, is the best choice liking price, quality, volume and headroom (choosing between Markbass, Ampeg, Mesa, ThunderFunk and ATS).