three

There are some superb instruments on here at present at very reasonable prices.  However, this has got to be one of BC's biggest bargains.  An absolutely stunning luthier/custom instrument for a bargain bin price 

@funkle Thanks very much indeed for an extremely enjoyable thread - it's great to see somebody with a refined vision and the energy, persistence and ingenuity to follow it through.  In this case, the vision was followed-through to a very positive conclusion in my view.  The Wal mystique/mytery has been well and truly nailed from what I can hear.  Indeed, the comparisons are excellent and the Walish sounds more Wal than the Wal.  I know that sounds ridiculous, but to me, the Walish sounds slightly thicker and sweeter than the Wal in some modes, and it's that thickness and sweetness that I find most attractive about the Wal electronics/overall recipe.  This sort of makes it more possible to achieve Wal-like tones without the compromises (to me) of having a Wal bass - I've had a few, and those compromises undermined the tonal goal.  My aim/daydream now is to try this with a short-scale bass.  Of course, a big compromise in itself and a short-scale is unlikely to sound exactly like a Wal, though I hope to be able to get close.  Thank you again, a tour de force 

sounds great to me - a really punchy P sound (as you'd hope).  The light weight makes this really attractive too.  Looks like a bit of a bargain and good luck in finding a J type that suits your needs

I'd be very interested to see what Martin (Gallery) says and can do to help here.  I have a very similar problem with a fretless four, though it's the E string, and to a lesser degree, the G string that are problematic.  Dead spots from B to E/F on the G, but the E is just generally lacking sustain.  A plucked open E dies much more quickly than A/D/G and it feels like there's something absorbing or countering the energy in the string (there's a peculiar sort of counter vibration that I can feel in the neck).  I suspect it's a truss-rod issue (or a loose components somewhere) so probably off to a good tech in the next week or two - I'll update when I know more, and good to hear the Gallery's opinion on the MM   

Excellent news - it’ll take a bit of time to adjust I’d imagine but it sounds like a good decision. I use a 7050 mainly for infill - my near fields roll-off around 60Hz. The only frustration for me with the Genelec was the link-through 85Hz cross-over that can’t be defeated - otherwise a classy sub and I’m sure the 7040 is the same. I just run full signal to the near fields and run the subs from  around 75 down. I hope it works out for you

2 minutes ago, Misdee said:

The Hellborg amp at Wal headquarters back in the day wasn't the Warwick-era version. It was a short-lived mid-1980's combo that I seem to remember was made in Italy.  Jonas' had a signature bass made by an Italian company at that time too, might well have been the same company.

Thanks, I'd made assumptions that I shouldn't have made!

On 10/02/2024 at 18:12, NickA said:

The stingray has a near overlap with a Wal.  We did a head to head between an old fretless ray and my Wal MK1 at the last em bass bash.  Pretty similar if we turned the Wal to bridge pickup.  So Wals can do stingray but stingrays can only do some Wal. There was also a fretted Wal pro2e there, which was different again.

 

Ps: I was in the Wal workshop a few years back; their test amp is a massive Hellborg one. The connection runs deep. Jonas still posts on the Wal Facebook page now and then too.

I’d no idea re: Wal and the Hellborg power amp. Fascinating and I wonder if it remains in place? I’ve had quite a few of these amps and still have one. Massively heavy and according to a well known studio tech, the most over-built power amp he’d seen. That said, they are not at all a transparent amp - there’s a gritty baked-in tone that surprised me initially, to the extent that I thought it was a fault. Four or five units later, it’s evident that the grit is designed-in. I wonder whether this has any influence on the calibration of contemporary Wal electronics? Back on topic, i’ve watched in awe at the stratospheric price increases. I’ve owned a few Wals and played a lot (I’m a fan of the tone and the v profile, especially on the earlier basses) but found them a little uncomfortable, and in some respects a bit agricultural. The prices in the ‘90s - relative to other basses - seemed about right to me

6 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Scale is not that important to me, however, I did try a short scale Stingray (one of the Joe Dart ones IIRC - not sure what the scale would have been) in a shop near Shuker HQ once and I really didn’t like it at all. The over-riding factor for me is neck width/depth. My one concession to less than 34” is a 33” scale Status Series 2 five string which I absolutely love.

Intriguing! I didn’t know Status had produced a 33” scale SeriesII. Does the bass have a bendwell (probably not, I think the latter takes the scale down to 32” - it did on my Streamlines… I think)?

22 frets on a 30.5" (actually 30 and 3/8" on a Spector Shorty) scale is my preferred configuration, though 24 frets on 30.75" works very well too

Just the type of esoteric preamp exotica that gets me very hot under the collar.  Very lovely indeed.  Love the design ethos and I'm sure the execution is superb

I thought of Ned too and there’s much more than a nod. The Callan official (?) marketing seems to indicate 22 frets but all the images I can find show 20. I rather like the look of these and was a fan of the basses that inspired them, though haven’t owned one. I’ll be making efforts to try the new version

Absolutely no use to me, but the case is worth the entry fee on its own

8 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

Nope. I specced this and ordered from Lakland. Pickup cover was sprayed with the same paint as the body at my request to make it look more like a regular P. 
 

I sold it to @Platypus. I note it was in The Gallery for a while too.

 

I’ve got a clip of it with these strings on (presuming they are the ones I sold it with).

 

 

Thanks for this - I looked pretty closely at the grain pattern on the back of the head and it looked the same (maybe close in terms of blanks?) I notice subsequently that mine had the longer posts on the tuners. Still, a beautiful bass (I like the pickup spray idea) and first class seller

I think this used to be mine (though it had a black pick-up cover on the J pickup?).  If it was mine, it's an absolutely staggeringly good bass.  Undoubtedly, the finest Fender type necks I've played - the J necks are super-slender and feel fabulous in the hand.  One of Basschat's finest sellers too!

Unbelievable - wow! I’ve never seen such a beautiful top on an Essence 

I’d have a look at the GSS Sumo range - simple and simply superb in my experience

3 hours ago, SurroundedByManatees said:

Dan Smith era Fenders are actually 10 steps up from their late 70s counterparts in terms of build quality. And cheaper because not '70s

Is that a P Special I see in your avatar?  One of the best basses Fender have ever built IMO.  The Dan Smith era involved an incredible leap in quality as far as I can see... and yes, generally less expensive than mid-late '70s Fenders - all of the latter that have been in my ownership have been crazily heavy 

Wonderful to see something so different, and to me, very beautiful.  

It could be an illusion but it doesn't appear that the dots on the board align with the side-of-neck markers.  Is this something to do with intonation of the higher strings, an illusion or something else?

Again, a really lovely looking instrument and the carving looks fabulous

I have the 210 version and it’s by far my favourite 210! I can imagine the 410 just offers more of everything - utter bargain IMO

I've admired this bass for a long time - an absolutely staggering work of art.  I recently bought a fretless so have no need and no money.  However, I can still dream - beautiful (and for me, OTL LEDs on a fretless are a very useful addition)

I was sort of looking for a similar solution but ended-up with a lead with a Neutrik silent jack (Designacable).  It seems to work very efficiently and I haven't had a problem - a really quick change-over between basses.  That said, both the pedals above look like a good bet

Superb amp, superb seller. I had the preamp version of this and it was brilliant - I really shouldn’t have sold it. That pre mated (via Mesa’s extraordinary implementation) with a very high-quality class D power unit results in a brilliant, versatile and practical package

1 hour ago, Brucegill said:

Have a Noble coming. 🤞I prefer it lol. Or I’ll be buying another one of these! 

I hope you'll love the Noble!  I sold mine as, though it was subtly impressive with passive basses, I couldn't really find a use for it with actives (and I play the latter almost exclusively).  The Noble is a very nicely designed and built unit that just reeks of quality and prestige.  Back on topic, I have no use for the Caveman (I have a Millennia that I'm pretty sure does much the same thing) but I have an inexplicable desire to acquire it.

8 minutes ago, rwillett said:

The gentleman in question was very fair in his pricing. I have no complaints at all.

 

Rob

We have some very wonderful basschatters!

Hmm... alarm bells all over here.  I'm by no means a vintage Fender expert but I can see that the bass and description don't match.  I wouldn't be surprised if the bass was red originally.  The 5 indicates that the neck is a P bass spec (not that the bass was made or finished on 5th September).  It could be a lovely player and nice that there's some history.  However, it's an awful lot of money for a bass that looks to have significant mods (let's face it, it's just an awful lot of money!)