mikeswals

[quote name='Stance' timestamp='1349227447' post='1823669'] Hello Here´s mine 83 Stingray - transred with rw board. Bought it with OHSC (rectangular case in white with red interior) "Strange" things on this bass, though they look totally original One more dot marker All of them seem to be mother-of-pearl Flush battery cover (i think that´s the correct word) The hole for the screw immediatelly behind the pickguard isn´t drilled Again, I have no reason to believe that they aren´t original and that the bass isn´t 100% stock. [/quote] I see another oddity on your preEB StingRay.....a fretboard dot inlay at the 21st fret. That's the 1st time I've sen a preEB with that dot.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1349441287' post='1826371'] Have you considerd the option of buying back your old MK1 and buying a new fretless neck for it from Wal ? Paul could make you one , lined or unlined according to your preference, and send it to you and if neccesary you could have someone local like Mike Lull fit it for you.[/quote] That's what I'm thinking of doing now. I have priced just a neck, but it still may take up to a year for Paul to deliver. My white Wal in my profile pic used to be a fretless, and Mike Lull did the fretted conversion on it. But it cost more than an arm and leg to have it done, so I won't have that neck defretted, but I may just put a feeler out for a used spare fretless neck to swap on that bass.

[quote name='oli@bass' timestamp='1349420863' post='1826012'] Yeah... and then a green one popped up [/quote] Yeah, tell me about it! That green MkII came out of nowhere, and in the States too! If only it had popped up a day or two sooner. I just agreed to a trade+cash deal for my old violet MkI back. So a fretless is going to have to wait.

Thanks Dingus. Yes it is a factory unmarked freltess. But since it's a Pro, I thought they only used ash on them, no? The price is very reasonable to me. But while pondering over that bass, someone just offered me back a former fretted MkI I used to own that I wished I never let go. Ahhh, decions-decions!

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1349367703' post='1825393'] If you have got a Custom ( as I know you have) I can really see very little point in owning a single pickup Pro bass as well. [/quote] The Pro I was considering is fretless, where all my Customs are fretted basses. My very first MkI was fretless, but no longer, and I do miss having that sound. So that's the reason.

Being in the US and I have shipped many basses overseas....insurance limitations will depend on who the shipping comany is. 95% of the basses I sent have been through the Postal Service, it's the cheapest company, but they limit the insurance value to around $675 to $700 dollars (US) per box. So If I sold a valuable bass with a bolt on neck that needed absolute coverage, then I would split up the bass and ship in two boxes, insuring each for the maximum allowed value: ie, $675 each. But they make it impossible to collect on the value if it's more than that, and will only pay the insured. On UPS or Fed Ex, it's different. The declared value is the insured value. But both of these companies charge about double the shipping rate of the Postal Service, and most of the time the receiver gets charged a brokerage fee in addition to the Customs fee. But with that said, the main thing I've been running into now is Customs in most countries have been asking that an invoice to be put on the box. A couple of countries in Europe I did not include invoices for have had me fax/email invoices to them before they would release the bass to the receiver. So in other words, the invoice they're asking for better match the value being declared. As someone in another post mentioned; these Customs offices are not stupid, and getting smarter at it every year.

Thanks, that helps. Yeah I've been listening to all of your youtube videos as well as Wombatboter's videos.

I have a question for anyone who has owned a single pickup Pro in the bridge position. What is that like? I'm considering the passive rear-single Pro, but I've never seen or heard one in person. Is it at all like soloing my Custom's rear pickup? Or since it has the series switch, does it make it have more lowend than hearing a Custom soloed. I'm trying to figure out if it has enough lowend that I can keep up in a rock band mix.

So the 2009 bass Bobpalt was selling now is mine, and someone snapped a pic of last weekends gig doing its' thing.

Oli, The five string basses do have wider pickup spacing than the 4 strings. But, if you look through the Wal database, at least from the instruments submitted to that list, there have been folks who requested closer spacing. Oddio's MkIII 5 has the pickups stacked pretty close together.

Since I'm on the other side of the pond, over the years it has been difficult to find them or let alone hear/see anyone playing these in any old club in downtown USA. The Bass Centre in Los Angeles had new ones of course. And back in those days -pre internet- they were always very expensive and you just never knew where used ones were. I surely don't remember them being uncool here, but how could they when they were very scarce to begin with. But hey, I sure remember Fenders being uncool, and anything 4 string as well! I've been using them pretty exclusively for the past four years now, and wether it's a recording session or gig, I'm always met with the same comments from engineers; "wow- what clarity and perfect sound balance it has". But still, I go most gigs without anyone knowing what it even is. I still love my Jazzes and Musicmans dearly, but these Wals take tone and ergonomics to a whole other level. The weights of my various Wals are no different than my various StingRays. I absolutely love the electronics in that the filter preamp keeps the volume constant no matter where you set tone knobs (in click-down positions), or set the pan/blend knob. I can't say that for traditional boost systems where you can suck the volume right out of a bass rolling down the tone knobs, or soloing a bridge pickup usually makes a regular bass thin and weak. Not a Wal, you get bridge pickup sound but kept at consistant volume. As for ergonomics; the body contouring and balance has been superb. The bass feels like it was made to fit me. Yes they're very expensive. But over here on my side, the same comparison can be made of US Spectors (awesome basses too). Back in the day they were a typical high end priced bass, about $2k. But same thing today just like a Wal they're $5-6000 dollars new.

Hmmm, it could be. I like the way it looks! I was just looking at the Wal database, and PB1580 is solid Shedua. So I wonder what else in that batch is solid body, and what kinds. Really neat!

I just noticed your 'new' MkI has a non-laminated body, being natural and all. Is it solid mahogany? [quote name='wombatboter' timestamp='1327853142' post='1517652'] And he did.. Got a Wal MKI Custom bass which appears to be made around 81-82 and was a custom model made for Roxy Music bassplayer Gary Tibbs if I remember correctly..? Bit of dings and dongs but it sounds great and it has all the nice Wal-ingredients. [/quote]

Wow, that sure is a nice plank Clarky!

I had a 79, loved it. The sound was very hi-fi, very Spector like, really brilliant, really high output too. I'm still kicking myself for selling it.

And a couple preEB's: feb '78 StingRay. [IMG]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/Negative7bass/DSC02149.jpg[/IMG] apr '80 Sabre. [IMG]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/Negative7bass/DSC01367.jpg[/IMG]

And the Precisions: '05 Custom Shop 55 single coil P in very rare shell pink. [IMG]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/Negative7bass/DSC04370.jpg[/IMG] '82 Precision Special, white turned into the nicotine queen. [IMG]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/Negative7bass/DSC02868.jpg[/IMG]

My two current Jazzes: the keeper, holy grail '69 all orginal. [IMG]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/Negative7bass/DSC07987.jpg[/IMG] the '02/'03 MIM 60's Reissue limited run with matching headstock. [IMG]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/Negative7bass/DSC07914.jpg[/IMG]