Mark Dixon

Thanks to you all for your kind words of greeting.

Already I have spent a LOT of time looking at bass porn on the forum. Too many nice basses, too little time.. slobber slobber..

Mark

[quote name='barend' timestamp='1356828976' post='1914192']
Great collection! I guess you still own all 6? (judging from the same amp in all pictures)
two questions:
1) what do think of the pro I compared to the other basses?
2) how would you descibe the differences in sound between your two fretless basse MK1 and MK2?

the fretless MK1 looks really nice!
[/quote]
No, sadly, I don't own all 6, just the Pro I and flame maple Mk I fretted. The other 4 are now owned by my brother, and he brought them round for a reunion and to torture me with what I had owned but had to sell..

Now to try and answer your questions:

1) The Pro I may seem an illogical buy given that I have the Mk I, but it is the first ever bass I bought, so its more about sentiment than logic! It is cherry facing on ash body, with rosewood fingerboard. Bought from A1 Music in Manchester. It has a vey limited tonal range, because it is a passive bass with only one pickup. I can get the tone I like, but I'm relying upon the tone controls on my Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 amp to dig out the tone I want rather than the bass. It is very percussive, the attack and sustain is incredible. But I can get the same tone and a lot more from my Mk I, if I could afford it, I would have one of the fretless Wals as well.

2) Not a lot, to be honest as both have the same material specs, which is Ebony fingerboard, with Walnut facing on Mahogany core - as someone has already commented, the ebony fingerboard, combination with a soft facing wood on mahogany core is the way Wal specc'd fretless basses.

Now off to buy a lottery ticket and see if I can buy back the other 4..

Mark

Here are the six Wals that I have owned over the past 28 years:




The Pro I is the first bass that I bought in 1984

Mark

Hey there fellow bass players..

My name's Mark, and I must confess to playing bass (off and on) for 28 years.

I've still got my first bass (a Wal Pro I) that I bought in 1984.

I've bought and sold a lot of basses in addition to the Wal since 1984, and recently whittled the collection down to just 3 basses as I had got diverted into playing acoustic guitar.

Also not helped by the fact that I live in Cheshire but work in Edinburgh (long story). Doesn't make playing a bass regularly an easy task..

Those 3 basses are:

1984 Wal Pro I
2011 Overwater J series
2012 Status KingBass II

Bass amp, is Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 and SL112 (well, I am 50 years old, so can't be bothered with lugging a 100lb cabinet around any more..!)

From which you can probably tell, I like to meet my maker (of the basses I play, that is), so have stuck to English made basses as I like to visit the workshop where they are made.

Just recently I cracked and bought one of the Paul Herriman made Wal MkI basses. This was the bass I always meant to buy to go with the Pro I that I had owned for so long.

Sadly the Overwater and Status have to go to pay for the Mk I Wal, I'm sure you guys know that feeling when you see the dream bass you can't really afford, but just have to have...!

So I am pleased to join you all on the forum, I don't know much about basses other than Wals, but will do my best to chip in when I can!

Mark

[quote name='deepbass5' timestamp='1356804342' post='1913840']
Thought you said you picked up an Overwater at Walmart phew!!!
[/quote]
Heh heh, if only Walmart sold Wal basses..

Very very reluctantly I am selling my Status King Bass Mk II, as I have just picked up a Wal Mk I and cant afford to keep the Wal, plus this Status and the Overwater J-series I am also selling.




Specs are:

34" 24 fret carbon neck
Mahogany body
Flame maple facing
Amber sunburst finish
Status preamp
Hiscox case

Bass is in new condition, has spent all it's life in the case and is flawless. Sounds and plays superb.

Sorry, now SOLD

I'm reluctantly selling my Overwater J-series bass.

I've just picked up a Wal MkI and I can't afford to keep the Overwater or the Status KingBass that I'm also selling as well as the Wal.



The Overwater is brand new, originally built in Nov 2011, but after I got the bass, I changed my mind about the colour and I asked Chris May to make me a new body and therefore the bass spent most of its life at Overwater and the new body was finished in July and has lived in its Hiscox case ever since.

The bass has to be seen to fully appreciate the colours, it is hard to do the bass justice through pictures.

Specs are:

Birdseye Maple 34" neck
Ebony fingerboard, bound with ebony
Pearl block inlays
Hipshot ultra-lite tuners
Swamp ash body
Flame maple facing
Black/red/yellow sunburst
John East 4 knob pre-amp (side jack)
Hiscox case

To buy a bass like this with the options list above would cost about £2950, this bass cost me even more as I had to pay for the body to be swapped.

I'm looking for £1900 with free shipping. Any questions, send me a message. If you live in Cheshire or Edinburgh, you can come and try the bass.