bassplace

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='254181' date='Aug 4 2008, 05:08 AM']That is gorgeous!! When I looked at it in your avatar, I thought it was a custom.... Fabulous looking bass![/quote] Thanks. I think it is a bit of a "parts" bass in Wal terms and is possibly the only rear loaded ProIIe. It was completed in March 1981 right when they were switching to Customs. Even has a left over JG plate for the SN. The trans-white is a refinish though. It was fretless and had a serious ding next to one of the knobs when I got it so I had Greg Curbow fix that and refinish it. I had always wanted a trans-white since seeing a P-Bass with the finish when I was a kid. Definitely a bass I would never willingly sell!

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='254904' date='Aug 4 2008, 05:45 PM']Matt, It could be a number of things.. If the battery is going then there is a tendency for distortion to start creeping in to the sound as the battery loses it's charge.. However, the Pro basses have a very high output normally, so it might be that if you really pluck the strings hard, then it might be overloading your amp input.. I'm not sure if any degradation in the transistor(s) causes that to happen as it's not happened to any of my basses so far.. Regarding the faulty pot, it's quite a tricky repair as I understand it as the pot is wired direct to the PCB which is fitted underneath the scratchplate. It can also be a bit fiddly getting the scratchplate off as well.. There's often a lot of discussion about these issues on the 'walbassesnaturally' forum on Yahoo, so you could look there for more info.[/quote] I'll try to save you some digging although there's a lot of good reading over there. Not sure about the distortion. I would change the battery first. If you didn't change it when your friend pulled it out of the case for the first time in years, thats a good bet. Next I would lower the pickups slightly. The pots are soldered to the PCB. The original ones, by Radiohm, had spindles the plugged or snapped into the pot. These can sometimes break off where the connect and can be a pain to deal with. I was able to get some replacements from Pete (probably some of the last) and cleaned mine up. The pots are still made but I have not been able to find any in quantities that I could purchases. In recent years Pete was replacing them with a different brand but that required making the hole in the scratch plate larger. A good tech could certainly make this repair. All the other parts in mine look pretty good and certainly still sound good! What's the SN on that one? That's a great looking ProIIe btw. In my opinion, $3k USD would be a decent deal, $4k USD would be pushing it.

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='253659' date='Aug 3 2008, 06:15 AM']+1 I'm not in the position now of having a custom as well as a ProII, but for a while I did and I always enjoyed playing the Pro model more than the Custom which used to baffle me?? In the end, I decided that having the scratchplate made the difference to me as it makes the gap between the strings and the body of the bass smaller, which I find more comfortable when playing..[/quote] I've never had a custom, (although mine does have "Custom" on the headstock), but I had a ProI passive fretless for a while. It had an amazing amount of tight low end for just having a single bridge pick up. I couldn't get used to it not having the neck pickup to rest my thumb on. That and I was so good without frets! I'm getting the urge to try fretless again though.

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='250216' date='Jul 29 2008, 04:51 AM']Hi dunc, Absolutely - Trevor's site is a fantastic introduction to the Wal history and is full of really interesting and unusual info that surprises even old gits like me who've owned Wals for years.. I hear what you're saying about the Pro models and I do worry about what I'll do if /when the circuitry starts to go wrong in mine? And partly for that reason and partly because I get worried it'll get damaged, I've stopped gigging with it this year. Mind you; I was using it for the first time in ages yesterday and it sounded just amazing.. So I'm planning to give it a whirl at a couple of gigs next week just to remind myself how lucky I am [/quote] Trevor's site is a great compilation. All sorts of good stuff on the unusual Wals. I think I've seen pics of at least a couple of your Wals. My ProIIe can be both tough as nails and a little fragile at times. The electronics tend to come a bit loose after use so I have to go in a tighten things up, mainly the input jack. I don't gig much so I'm not afraid to use it though. I'm also amazed at the tone and feel every time I pick mine up. It the same as the first time I picked it up. It's also nice to have a variety of basses and to be able to come back to it. dunc

[quote name='mgauction' post='250128' date='Jul 28 2008, 10:04 PM']Great to see you over here, Dunc! [/quote] Glad to be here. I think this is the new "place" to hang out. I came hear out of interest for a ACG bass and thought I'd see if there was any Wal action. Glad to see there is.

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='245021' date='Jul 22 2008, 02:08 AM']Hi Jamie, It's not an exact science, but it goes something like this: The older Pro models started production around 1978 and continued until about 1981-2. The Custom models - with mahogany core bodies & multi-laminate facings, custom electronics and slimmed down headstock - appeared around 1982. But there are some hybrid models out there that have the old ash body and paddle shaped headstock but are fitted with the custom electronics.. The late 80's/early 90's Pro models vary; some have the custom electronics, some were completely passive and some had series/parallel switching that most other Wals were never fitted with.. So this particular batch is not easy to categorise. The custom electronics as a product in it's own right is almost impossible to get hold of and instal, as Wals have been out of production for at least 2 years now, hence the reason that s/h prices shot up! But the good news is that a deal appears to be close to completion whereby production is going to start up again under the control of one of the old Wal production team..[/quote] Very good summary. If anyone wants to dig more, try here... [url="http://www.trevorandthea.eclipse.co.uk/wal_history.htm"]Wal History[/url] I have a ProIIe which can sound very much like a MkI or, as some have described, a PBass on steroids. One warning... Pro electronics are aging and some parts may be impossible to replace. It wouldn't keep me from buying one but I wouldn't make it an everyday bass. dunc