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Won the Wal pickup on ebay!!!

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#408
subbed! this thread has inspired me to take a crack at making my own wal based pickups. i already have a mk2 "clone" bass in the works so this will just be the icing on the cake. i built mine using sewing bobbins, allen head bolts for pole pieces, wire and flatwork from stewmac, covers and magnets from some old mm style pickups. i still have to make my keepers and finish putting it together so a test drive. i plan on using an acg eq02 preamp.
 
#411
i have thought about both pre's. im actually torn because davids pre may be more "wal-ish" so to speak, but at the same time i like the idea of having lp and hp filters like the acg. i dunno, i plan on making more basses if this one works out like i want so maybe ill have both. this is my first custom build so i guess ill just have to see how it goes. lots of "experimenting" to get over the learning curve.
 
#412
OPIETAYLOR said:
i have thought about both pre's. im actually torn because davids pre may be more "wal-ish" so to speak, but at the same time i like the idea of having lp and hp filters like the acg. i dunno, i plan on making more basses if this one works out like i want so maybe ill have both. this is my first custom build so i guess ill just have to see how it goes. lots of "experimenting" to get over the learning curve.
Click to expand...

My pre is going to be a cross between the Wal and an Alembic, without being a direct copy of either. I haven't seen the Wal filter preamp schematic, but the original preamp is very similar to the Alembic Series I and II preamps, but without the filter. They both have jfet buffers. The Wal preamp with the passive tone control is actually very cool. As you turn the tone control down, besides the cap rolling off highs, the input impedance is lowered. Very clever.

I'm a big fan of Alan Cringean. His basses remind me of mine, as do David King's. When I get rich I'm going to have them make me a Recurve and a Kingbass. :D

Alan's ACG/East preamp looks top notch. I like the idea of the high pass filter also, as I used to use one of those Craig Anderton Super Tone Controls (LP, BP. HP, and Notch). Much fun.

So, by us not competing ;) , you have two choices. An LP/HP set up, or two LP filters, one for each pickup. Also Alan's is available now, and mine wont b for maybe four months going on six at this rate... I've been backed up on pickup orders like 4 months because of a few technical issues like a two batches of bad epoxy that never fully cures... But I'm back on track now with the manufacturing side, and will be getting all the projects and pickups done. Or maybe teach my son to wind pickups! :hyper:

Choices are good, and frustrating.
 
#413
SGD Lutherie said:
My pre is going to be a cross between the Wal and an Alembic, without being a direct copy of either. I haven't seen the Wal filter preamp schematic, but the original preamp is very similar to the Alembic Series I and II preamps, but without the filter. They both have jfet buffers. The Wal preamp with the passive tone control is actually very cool. As you turn the tone control down, besides the cap rolling off highs, the input impedance is lowered. Very clever.

I'm a big fan of Alan Cringean. His basses remind me of mine, as do David King's. When I get rich I'm going to have them make me a Recurve and a Kingbass. :D

Alan's ACG/East preamp looks top notch. I like the idea of the high pass filter also, as I used to use one of those Craig Anderton Super Tone Controls (LP, BP. HP, and Notch). Much fun.

So, by us not competing ;) , you have two choices. An LP/HP set up, or two LP filters, one for each pickup. Also Alan's is available now, and mine wont b for maybe four months going on six at this rate... I've been backed up on pickup orders like 4 months because of a few technical issues like a two batches of bad epoxy that never fully cures... But I'm back on track now with the manufacturing side, and will be getting all the projects and pickups done. Or maybe teach my son to wind pickups! :hyper:

Choices are good, and frustrating.
Click to expand...

:confused:

*Nods head* I'm just going to assume that your pickup is going to sound good. :D
 
#414
more than likely ill end up with both preamps. bottom line is the best judge and decision maker is your ear. i really like the thought of having the pick attack switch espcially if its on a push/pull pot. whichever doesnt make it into my "wal" im sure will have a home in one of my other basses or builds.

once my hardware gets here sometime next week ill be able to test drive my pickup and see how she sounds.

any idea on the cost of your pre david?
 
#416
here are some updated pics of my pickup. im still waiting on the hardware to get here for the pole pieces. the ones i have now i got from work and are stainless. i only used them for fitting and to see how it looks. i have chrome on the way. the case and magnets came from some seymour duncan MM ceramic pickups that i have. its all wired in series (19.9K) pro style. i have to order more wire and im gonna make one wired the newer style and compare. the nuts on the poles are for testing. im gonna make keeper bars later.
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[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

i had another preamp thought (i hate my mind btw!). its was spawnd from the filter for each pickup design. has anyone ever used 2 3band pre's, 1 for each pickup?

for instance. take 2 3band modules (one for each pickup) and wire them to concentric pots (i.e. upper knobs for the bridge bass/mid/treble and the lower for the neck pickup bass/mid/treble, then the output of the pre's to a blend pot and then volume and out to the jack.

just a thought i had so i thought id see what others think. something i might try while i want on david to finish his pre.
 
#417
gpnut said:
I am sure what you are saying is correct but it does not make it right. Reverse engineering the guys work so you can acquire it without paying or even asking is morally and ethically pretty poor in my book.
Click to expand...

This is the first time I looked at this thread and I gotta say... this is pretty messed up stuff. I mean, I know it's way too late to start lecturing now, but it just feels wrong. I hope the guys at Wal know about this and have some kind of agreement going on, because otherwise this is borderline thievery.:hmm:

Edit: Just to clarify, I'm referring more toward the OP than anyone else.
 
#418
Muaguana said:
This is the first time I looked at this thread and I gotta say... this is pretty messed up stuff. I mean, I know it's way too late to start lecturing now, but it just feels wrong. I hope the guys at Wal know about this and have some kind of agreement going on, because otherwise this is borderline thievery.:hmm:
Click to expand...
I have to disagree. If you think this is thievery, then all those other than Fender J- and P-pickups are thievery as well. WAL does not have patent for individual coil pickups and as long as one does not sell pickups labeled as WAL I see no problem. Luckily Ric does not use this pickup configuration:)
Perhaps my opinion is this because I have my own version of an 8-coil pickup on my bass as well.
Marko
 
#419
MPU said:
I have to disagree. If you think this is thievery, then all those other than Fender J- and P-pickups are thievery as well. WAL does not have patent for individual coil pickups and as long as one does not sell pickups labeled as WAL I see no problem. Luckily Ric does not use this pickup configuration:)
Perhaps my opinion is this because I have my own version of an 8-coil pickup on my bass as well.
Marko
Click to expand...

This is exactly right. The Wal pickup is not patented, and was not the first pickup to use multiple coils. I think I posted pictures earlier in the thread, but Gibson made the EB-4 pickup, Ovation had the Magnum, and the early Bartolini Hi-A pickups had a coil per string.

Now clearly I am making a pretty exact copy of the Wal, but as Marko mentioned here, no one seems to mind exact copies of Fender pickups, including Music Man. You see jazz and MM pickups on everything from Carvin to Warwick. Same deal with he Jazz bass design in general. How many basses are copies of Fender basses?

Now even if Wal had a patent, it would be expired by now. The reason patents exist, and expire, is to give you a head start over your competition. You have 15 to 20 years to get your product to market, and make money off it. After that time, anyone is free to copy your product. As can be seen from all the P and J pickups, which were at one time patented, and the Gibson humbucker, which was patented too.
Even Fender makes copies of Gibson's humbucker design!

Rickenbakcer is a different issue. The patent on the horseshoe pickup is long expired. But to try and stop people from copying it, even though they no longer make a proper version of it, was to get a copywrite on the look of the pickup. Same thing with the toaster. So you can make a working copy of either as long as they look different. And their trademark on the horseshoe is probably not valid because you cant trademark the look of something when it once had a patent.

So all this stuff is perfectly legal, and based on how many Fender bass copies are on the market, it's well accepted.

Even Wal started by copying the Fender Mustang shape. And their preamp is pretty much a copy of an Alembic Series II.
 
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