funkle

@PLBre: pickups - I explain this at the beginning of the thread. You’re going to need to go back to the start of the thread and read from there…

4 hours ago, PLB said:

Hello I remembered that I had seen it in some threads. The spacing of the strings and the bridge is 19 mm on the Wal 4-string bass and 18 mm on the Wal 5-string bass

Wal nec specs.doc 25 kB · 0 downloads Wal nec specs.doc 25 kB · 1 download

That’s not right. I have a 4 string Wal Mark 1 right next to me and it’s 18mm string spacing. 

@PLB I have messaged you privately. 

Hello all 

Let me preface this review by saying I really have no need of buying a different type of cabinet to these. They are really excellent cabs. I might mess with effects more or amp heads more, but no change needed for cabinets for me. 
 

You can see the specs of the cabs here -   
https://www.lfsys.co.uk
 

The Silverstone

You may recall Stevie, the maker of LFSys cabinets, sending out flat packs for a semi-DIY kit for a brilliant 12” cab a few years back. I documented my build here - https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/347017-stevie’s-12”-frfr-cab-build-thread-basschat-cab-v3 . 
 

This cabinet has served me well since 2019 for all sorts of gigs/bands/rehearsals and I have never felt the need of a second cab for volume. 
 

Stevie sent me an upgrade kit for the cab to upgrade the crossover and horn even further, and this turned the cabinet into his Silverstone model (albeit with my paint work and aesthetics).  Here’s what it looks like without the grille on. 
 

All I can say is, this upgrade took an excellent cabinet and made it even better. The highs are now somehow even sweeter, the mids speak more clearly towards the upper mids, and it remains as light and easily handled as ever. The bass end is unchanged, but I was always happy with this. What goes in sounds like what comes out, every bass and effect speaks clearly, with little colouration. I do run a HPF to maximise efficiency of the driver, but I’ve never run out of volume…
 

When paired with my old GK MB800 or my new to me Berg B Amp mk1, it’s very loud and I’ve always felt myself to be heard clearly standing above the cab or standing far from it. This is with keys, drummers, horns, guitar, what have you. It’s just plain great. My only ask would be for a small 10” version to see if I can get away with an even smaller woofer. Lol. 

The Monaco
 

All that said. The Monaco that Stevie kindly sent me to test out takes everything I like about the Silverstone

and kicks it one notch higher, though it weighs more. 

The highs and mids sound the same to me. However the low end is tighter and just sounds really well formed and not boomy without needing any EQ. Stevie tells me there is a response in the low end slightly more like a sealed cabinet, and I love it. If I didn’t already own a Sliverstone, I would definitely buy this cabinet as my ‘ultimate’ cabinet. What goes in is what comes out, same as the Silverstone, and it sounds brilliant. It did great at the rehearsal I took it too in a confined and very loud little space where I was literally standing right in front of it. 
 

It does weigh a few lbs more than the Silverstone I have - just over 30 lbs. I understand this is because the woofer is even better quality and better power handling than the one I have in the Silverstone. 
 

I have said to Stevie that I plan to buy the first of his 10” cabs that he makes with these horns/compression drivers. (As long as they sound like either of the 12” versions!! He has promised this already, lol.) I think they sound fantastic; for the 12” variants I really don’t think you can go wrong with either option. I would stretch to the Monaco if I didn’t already have the Sliverstone, I do like the  slightly tighter low end though it’s not a deal breaker. 
 

If you’re already running a 1x12 non FRFR setup this is a big upgrade. If you’re running a 2x12 of low quality, it might do with one cab what you need 2 to do presently.  If you’re running a high quality 2x12, you’re likely to get less volume but a better sound, as the horn and compression driver are expensive and the crossover is smooth. If you’re running a Barefaced Big Baby cab, this would be a smaller cab delivering slightly less max volume but in a very appealing form factor, and with a horn that I prefer to the Big Baby. 

We live in a great era to be a bass player. I eagerly await the 10” LFSys cab…

Pete
 

10 hours ago, PLB said:

A long time has passed since this, about 15 years or more and thanks to this thread I found the files on an old hard disk... I thought I had lost it.

Today I would like to share it with all of you and also be able to count on your knowledge to make the necessary adjustments so that this model is closer to the original.

Once these adjustments are finished I will share the cad files with all of you.

The following images show the data that I would like to verify.

Great drawings! I posted earlier in the thread at various points about the pickup distances, and their variability between models and even between different basses of the same model. Could I suggest you read back earlier in the thread for this info? I have listed it quite painstakingly. 
 

I also measured the width of the mahogany neck strips - again you will need to search for the information earlier in the thread. 
 

I measured Wal Mark 1 body thickness as being 40.5 mm at maximum thickness, so you could add that to the drawing. 
 

Bridge spacing is 18mm, not 19mm. Nut width is indeed 42 mm. 
 

Neck depth is I think quite variable between models. The V shape to the neck is common, and depth can be as much as 24mm at the first fret. 

More teasers…

No idea…. @Chopthebass could perhaps answer that…

For interest. The body is progressing well. Ian ( @Chopthebass) doing sterling work. Some teaser pics - 

And some colour testing. Blue/aquamarine kind of burst. 
 

47 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

“I never quite cloned a Wal but ended up learning to make videos and now most my income comes from the YouTube channels I started”

One possible outcome!!! 😄

I’ve already shipped him the neck and some hardware for fitting. 
 

I haven’t got any other electronics to play with yet, though I may once the new body is here. 
 

In the meantime I am working on learning how to light my room better (so now I know about 3 point lighting setups, better late than never), edit video a bit more tightly, and of course practicing. I didn’t really intend this when I started this project, but I might now be able to get something more going on with YouTube. Who knows?

Not sure. Might be a couple of months; finishing takes a while…

51 minutes ago, Tom Stafford said:

Alright we’ll see how that turns out!

 

I am now in need of a neck!! It will have to be Stingray shape (and left handed). Annoyingly MM don’t sell official parts otherwise would just go down that route.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good builder in the UK? Preferably London area?

 

Here’s a couple of good threads on that topic:

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/26654-recommended-luthiers/

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/472145-top-buildersluthiers-in-the-uk/

I wonder if it might be helpful to start your own build thread? I would very much like to see your progress. 

Sold!

If you bought with a credit card, it’s time to phone them and make a claim. 

Drop to £200.

Drop to £300.

9 hours ago, Ian Ramsay said:

MARUSZCZYK INSTRUMENTS posted a new video.

 

Turner Multicoil + Lusithand Double NPF Special - Maruszczyk Jazzus 4a 34"

 

Very cool. Not a million miles away from the Wal-ish at all! 
 

I actually did talk to Adrian at the beginning of all of this about a custom Jazzus with Turner pickups but I wasn’t ready to commit to a final build at that point, too much experimentation to do. But he was very accommodating and would build pretty much whatever I asked for. 

Good question. Unfortunately, I play how I play…so it sounds like me. Lol

That said I may try and teach myself to use a pick again, it wouldn’t hurt…

11 hours ago, JPJ said:

Great video, and some nice playing. In all honesty I prefer the sound of the Wal’ish 

I have found myself leaning to the Wal-ish too. Other bass players I have had come over who have listened to it say they love the sound. I’m pretty happy with what I have achieved in it so far. I haven’t even demo’d single coil mode, which is really cool sounding. I’ll have to do it some time. 
 

However, I appreciate what the Wal does, and now I’m starting to understand the design elements better over time, I also appreciate how far ahead of its time it was too. If I can get nearer it sonically, I think it would be very cool. And I’m certain it’s possible, as I continue working with Chris Turner and others behind the scenes. 
 

It’s probably only become economically viable to consider a ‘Wal-ish’ as a proposition since Wal prices have gone up so stratospherically and the wait list is so long. But here I am, right place right time, so let’s do this…

A quick update re: filter ranges from another friend working on the schematic:

‘Neck filter for a Wal is 85hz to 2700hz
Bridge 225hz to 2700hz. 

According to the resistors and capacitors that are in it. 

It will vary depending on how close the actual values are to what they’re supposed to be. 

Your take on the scope was pretty close’

Next video is up! I actually had to learn a lot more about video editing for this one....

Drop to £325.

Drop to £250.

58 minutes ago, bornleft said:

I wish I could offer... not in my wheelhouse...

But if you have a schematic with parts listed, what you need is someone in the electronics field, not in the "pre-amp" world.

Someone outside of this industry....  follow the directions, etc.

In terms of "discontinued parts", you need to look at one of recent pre-amps, where the parts are not old.  I would be

willing to bet since they only build something like 100 basses per year (just a wild donkey guess) that they can not commission

proprietary components.  They are not Fender...  Someone is supplying their parts off of the shelf.

 

So many falsities on the internet that reverse engineering would eliminate...

 

I have done my utmost to ask people to produce schematics. We have one here in the thread, a few pages back. There is another possibly coming from another interested party, I await that. 

They definitely have hard to find components - not proprietary, but limited supplies/out of stock and by modern standards, outdated components. I suspect Wal bought a huge supply of these older ICs and are just working through them slowly. Their production rate is so low that they probably have a lifetime supply. 

I have looked a couple of times at getting someone off the internet to make a custom preamp from the schematic, but I'm not sure they can get all the parts... I may yet try to go down that path, but Lusithand (Nuno) makes it so easy to just buy his that I haven't bothered.  

15 hours ago, bornleft said:

I am curious to know if now that you have an accurate diagram of the Wal electronics, why someone couldn't just reverse engineer the

amp and pickups?  Instead of using someone else's approximation you could have exactly what you want.  The Chinese reverse engineer fighter planes,

why not some electronics...

If you are offering, I am game. 
 

No one is willing so far to make an exact copy of the preamp, at least that I can find. I may have one person who is looking at this presently, but I haven’t heard from them in a bit. Plus a few of the parts are very hard to find for making an exact clone. Nuno is definitely the closest I have found so far. 
 

The Wal pickup, well, I haven’t found anyone yet making an exact clone. Herrick use neodymium pickups, Rautia just closed up shop, Aaron Armstrong can do them but it’s £720 a set, and Chris Turner is using his own ‘near Wal’ formula which sounds great but is not an exact clone either. (Although that may change. Watch this space). 
 

I have no idea how close the Bass Culture Walbuckers are to the real deal either. 
 

Furthermore, I have recently found out that the ‘well known’ specs for the wire used in Wal pickups may be wrong. So it may be that those who have been making clones have been very slightly off. 
 

I had always found in searches that is was 42 AWG, but in fact it seems it is 0.06 metric, or 42.5 AWG equivalent. This makes a big difference when winding 10,000 winds per coil. And it’s probably another reason why people using the ‘well-known’ formula have been slightly off.