Double Bass Walter Woods? Or not...

[Ric Vice]

Yeah, but I imagine if you need two channels, they obviously don’t give two Fuchs.

(Sorry, I couldn’t resist)
The 9 o’clock show is totally different from the 7 o’clock. Tip your waitress.

I agree! Pardon my earlier post, I’m a father of 4 and can’t resist a solid pun - it’s a curse.

As time continues to change amplifier design, I've come to a simple conclusion. The original Ampeg B-15N's had two channel preamps so another instrument or microphone could be plugged into the amp. It was fairly common to be singing through your own amp in times gone past. FOH systems and monitors have eliminated the need for a second channel on a new amplifier for vocal support or your bandmates harmonica ( I love harmonica by the way). Two channel amplifiers are now used mostly by doublers playing shows or stage acts, but for the most part many of us only use Channel 1 if we have a Channel 2 available. Thus at present only a handful of bass amp builders even offer a dual channel amplifier. I have two dual channel setups. The last time actually doubled was last July.

 

[JBarz]

I’m one of the dudes that likes to sing and play bass out of one rig. I’m all happy with my AI series 2 focus 2R, though. Like - I never want to play anything else, done. Hopefully when/if it craps out, if it’s something I can’t figure out myself, hopefully the nice folks at Fuchs might be interested in reverse engineering these Acoustic Image amps too.

 

[FUCHSAUDIO]

Seriously, has Walter W indeed passed...:-? Anyone know for certain? Also, hello Fuchs Audio...do you have a web presence?

www.fuchsaudio.com

 

[FUCHSAUDIO]

Seriously, has Walter W indeed passed...:-? Anyone know for certain? Also, hello Fuchs Audio...do you have a web presence?

The phone no longer works, and letters come back as undeliverable, so I think yes. He's likely be in his 90's by now if he were alive.

 

[jazzwalk]

The phone no longer works, and letters come back as undeliverable, so I think yes. He's likely be in his 90's by now if he were alive.[/Q

The phone no longer works, and letters come back as undeliverable, so I think yes. He's likely be in his 90's by now if he were alive.

I wrote him a snail mail letter last March, and have yet to see anything in response, even as undelivered. He refurbished my MI 100-8 single in 2016, replacing its blown power supply...he also insisted on upgrading me with the extended side plates.

 

[Ric Vice]

That’s one of the things that always perplexed me about Walter. At times he was very generous and helpful. There are stories here on TB about him
not charging for repairs or charging vey little when someone needed their amplifier repaired and didn’t have much cash. What I can say about Walter is that in our dealings he always got back to me when I wrote him letters and most of the times when I called.

 

[crd]

That’s one of the things that always perplexed me about Walter. At times he was very generous and helpful. There are stories here on TB about him
not charging for repairs or charging vey little when someone needed their amplifier repaired and didn’t have much cash. What I can say about Walter is that in our dealings he always got back to me when I wrote him letters and most of the times when I called.

He was always great with me. I bought my mi-400 second hand and he always took care of servicing it. I think he must have passed. I tried really hard to reach him a couple years ago when I needed some work done on the amp to no avail. Luckily I was able to find someone here to fix it up and it is still going strong. I love this amp. I have and use a Felix / GSS power amp most of the time but there is something special about how the MI-400 distorts. It also seems to be more powerful than the GSS which is rated at a higher specs. (yes at 8ohms...) It has the sound of a very very high end piece of tube gear. It pushes back in a really pleasing way and the eq is just dialed in right for bass.

I can't wait to a/b it with a Fuch's amp sometime. I am very curious about them!!

 

[CryingBass]

IF in fact he passed, he passed as a legend and will be missed dearly.

Blue Light Guy

 

[Lee Moses]

IF in fact he passed

Yes. There is quite a bit of jumping to conclusions in this thread. If in poor physical health or mental deterioration, he could be in a nursing home or similar facility, or he could have moved in with children or other family members. I would expect someone of his stature in the bass community to receive some kind of public announcement at his death.

 

[Ric Vice]

Yes. There is quite a bit of jumping to conclusions in this thread. If in poor physical health or mental deterioration, he could be in a nursing home or similar facility, or he could have moved in with children or other family members. I would expect someone of his stature in the bass community to receive some kind of public announcement at his death.

We'll never know until we do.

 

[Ric Vice]

He was always great with me. I bought my mi-400 second hand and he always took care of servicing it. I think he must have passed. I tried really hard to reach him a couple years ago when I needed some work done on the amp to no avail. Luckily I was able to find someone here to fix it up and it is still going strong. I love this amp. I have and use a Felix / GSS power amp most of the time but there is something special about how the MI-400 distorts. It also seems to be more powerful than the GSS which is rated at a higher specs. (yes at 8ohms...) It has the sound of a very very high end piece of tube gear. It pushes back in a really pleasing way and the eq is just dialed in right for bass.

I can't wait to a/b it with a Fuch's amp sometime. I am very curious about them!!

The MI-400-8 used MOSFET' Transistors in the power section, I had one and loved it and you are correct in observing that the MI-400-8 preamp sounds quite different from the Grace Designs Felix. I
can attest to that as I owned both of them at the same time. The Grace is very clean while the Woods MI-400-8 is (for lack of better words) warm and gooey. Now some folks hate that in the lower
frequencies. I kinda liked it. I didn't know the Baby Sumo was rated at 8 ohms, but then I've never owned one. The Monique M700 Power amp I have hung on to really has lots of headroom to spare.
Just my take though.

 

[Tom Lane]

We'll never know until we do.

A bit ghoulish, no? I mean, no matter how "challenging" someone might be, I still don't wish them ill.

 

[james condino]

As time continues to change amplifier design, I've come to a simple conclusion. The original Ampeg B-15N's had two channel preamps so another instrument or microphone could be plugged into the amp. It was fairly common to be singing through your own amp in times gone past. FOH systems and monitors have eliminated the need for a second channel on a new amplifier for vocal support or your bandmates harmonica ( I love harmonica by the way). Two channel amplifiers are now used mostly by doublers playing shows or stage acts, but for the most part many of us only use Channel 1 if we have a Channel 2 available. Thus at present only a handful of bass amp builders even offer a dual channel amplifier. I have two dual channel setups. The last time actually doubled was last July.

I always bring a two channel amp to gigs. It is almost never for myself, but it seems like 50% of the time, someone else has equipment issues and they drop in on my channel two. 'Similar thing for 2 ohm capability; I rarely need it for my equipment, but every time I blow a cab and mix in some random leftovers out of the back room or from the house options, it is very nice to have that capability. I sold a couple of my heads from the lack of 2 ohm; fine at home or in the studio, but chaos abounds at gig time.

 

[Ric Vice]

Walter is a very private person. He lives in a gated community in Palm Desert California. His wife of many years has passed on. My reason for positing that statement was not meant to be “ghoulish” so forgive me if it sounded that way.

 

[macteacher]

I can't confirm this, but through the grapevine from someone who was tight with Walter a few years ago that Walter moved upstate and was no longer living in Palm Desert, so any mail sent there wouldn't get to him and the phone numbers are out of service.

He was great and generous with me, servicing, (cleaning), my blue light AND replacing the power cable for FREE!

 

[dylanjohnson]

The last contact I saw for Walter via the forum was from TB member @Goooler , who spoke to him in late 2022. He called him and caught up with him, as he put it. Therefore, he may very well be just fine. Maybe Goooler will chime in here. As someone who has been very happy with a WW Electroacoustic, I'm happy to hear that there is another person in the states that can repair these, and it is my hope that we see a two channel version of this new amp, because although there are lots of preamps and switching boxes that can accommodate doublers, being able to just bring the head and two cables to the gig is much easier for many of us. Now that AI and EA are gone, there is a hole here that could be filled for two channel amps.

 

[FUCHSAUDIO]

The last contact I saw for Walter via the forum was from TB member @Goooler , who spoke to him in late 2022. He called him and caught up with him, as he put it. Therefore, he may very well be just fine. Maybe Goooler will chime in here. As someone who has been very happy with a WW Electroacoustic, I'm happy to hear that there is another person in the states that can repair these, and it is my hope that we see a two channel version of this new amp, because although there are lots of preamps and switching boxes that can accommodate doublers, being able to just bring the head and two cables to the gig is much easier for many of us. Now that AI and EA are gone, there is a hole here that could be filled for two channel amps.

Don't doubt there will be other amps on this same compact, lightweight, hybrid platform. At-least right now, the current chassis and boards are designed as a single channel system. A two channel amp would require another chassis. I've already been asked if we can do the tube and solid state preamps in one package etc. There will be two solid state and two tube models, plus preamp versions of each. We've been asked about guitar amps in this platform too, and I've ruled nothing out at this point.

 

[FUCHSAUDIO]

That’s one of the things that always perplexed me about Walter. At times he was very generous and helpful. There are stories here on TB about him
not charging for repairs or charging vey little when someone needed their amplifier repaired and didn’t have much cash. What I can say about Walter is that in our dealings he always got back to me when I wrote him letters and most of the times when I called.

Agreed: I've spoken with player/owners who said exactly that. When I wrote to him, I mentioned a few people that knew him, who suggested I offer to buy the brand, schematics, intellectual property etc. I wrote a nicely worded letter, and even offered to meet him when in California for a NAMM show. I heard nothing back. I didn't send certified or anything, as I didn't want to come off that way, but rather a casual "hey look, you won't live forever, and perhaps I can help keep your legacy alive" approach. It took awhile, but we've unraveled the preamp (the easy part), and have mostly unraveled the power amp part too. He was a pioneer of the switch mode style amp, at a time when it simply wasn't being done. Much of what he did is in use today in a number of designs, but he was doing some groundbreaking things at the time. I don't expect we will replicate the power amp, especially with so many choices like ICE power out there that get the job done. I do totally get why he removed part numbers from chips and transistors.

 

[CryingBass]

Agreed: I've spoken with player/owners who said exactly that. When I wrote to him, I mentioned a few people that knew him, who suggested I offer to buy the brand, schematics, intellectual property etc. I wrote a nicely worded letter, and even offered to meet him when in California for a NAMM show. I heard nothing back. I didn't send certified or anything, as I didn't want to come off that way, but rather a casual "hey look, you won't live forever, and perhaps I can help keep your legacy alive" approach. It took awhile, but we've unraveled the preamp (the easy part), and have mostly unraveled the power amp part too. He was a pioneer of the switch mode style amp, at a time when it simply wasn't being done. Much of what he did is in use today in a number of designs, but he was doing some groundbreaking things at the time. I don't expect we will replicate the power amp, especially with so many choices like ICE power out there that get the job done. I do totally get why he removed part numbers from chips and transistors.

Being in a similar situation outside of hardware, I have often said that "Emulation is the most Sincere form of Flattery!"

I think you will have a lot of fans around here if you can pull all that off. It's not like you don't have competition ( eh? ), but for us to have another "Near Walter" option that will take us through the next decade(s) would be great.

Good luck with the build!

 

[FUCHSAUDIO]

Being in a similar situation outside of hardware, I have often said that "Emulation is the most Sincere form of Flattery!"

I think you will have a lot of fans around here if you can pull all that off. It's not like you don't have competition ( eh? ), but for us to have another "Near Walter" option that will take us through the next decade(s) would be great.

Good luck with the build!

Interestingly enough, I've loaned a few sample amps to guys who's Wood's are here for an extended period of time for repair. The feedback has been extremely positive. "My Woods never sounded this good", "this thing is a beast", "6 f*cking lbs ! ?" (and) "when can I get one !!". Many are talking about selling their Wood's once-fixed and pocketing the difference.

Literally just wrapped up the last of the tweaks to the tube preamp and awaiting what should be the last of the pre-production samples of that PC board before we commit to making a batch. Solid state one is complete and awaiting metalwork, front and rear panels, and such.