The wal factor

[Dingus]

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1375647670' post='2163906']
Nothing sounds like a Wal. I only ever mourn one bass that that I have sold/traded & it was my Wal. I was all set for a Sycamore faced MK1 just after Paul took over until fate intervened & I was left broke. Ah well, one day!
[/quote]

Isn't that what life is like ? I thought about ordering one myself when they started making them again , but then the prices and the waiting times went up , and ,on balance , maybe some things are best left as a beautiful memory . They are still great basses , but I think playing one again myself would make me too nostalgic for those days . Always best to keep looking forward . That said , I still can't think of any bass at any price you can plug in and get a great sound with as easily as a Wal .

[4000]

Ironically that's exactly what I couldn't do with the Wal Custom I had, plug in and easily get a great sound. I guess it depends on how you play and what your definition of a great sound is. I'm hoping my incoming Wal Pro will be different, otherwise that will be up for sale pretty sharpish...

[throwoff]

A Wal is the bucket bass for me.

Black lefty Mk1

I have never in my life played a bass as good as a Wal Mk1

[White Cloud]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1375720432' post='2164735']
Isn't that what life is like ? I thought about ordering one myself when they started making them again , but then the prices and the waiting times went up , and ,on balance , maybe some things are best left as a beautiful memory . They are still great basses , but I think playing one again myself would make me too nostalgic for those days . Always best to keep looking forward . That said , I still can't think of any bass at any price you can plug in and get a great sound with as easily as a Wal .
[/quote]
This is wisdom! You are on the money.

[mikeswals]

[quote name='4000' timestamp='1375624077' post='2163545']
I've just bought an old Pro IIE (which I'm yet to get my mitts on) and Paul answered a phone call straight away, emails within a couple of days, and was very helpful. He's on the pricey side though; for a basic set-up and electrics check he quoted me approx £200 which is 3 times what I'd expect from the Gallery.
[/quote] I'd bet his setups and maintenance are better. I received a Wal 5 not long ago that sold from The Gallery twice in very recent times, and the bridge saddles were completely stripped out and locked into rediculously-high position. Dirty output jack and the frets needed recrowning. You'd think for a bass they threw on the wall and priced at high market of 3k £, the thing should have been put in top notch condition. And the strings on it were from at least four years ago. I wasn't impressed.

[Mokl]

To be fair could that have been a commission sale?

[mikeswals]

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1375529078' post='2162532']
but when i played one a few years ago, the tone was a very uninspiring thud. [/quote] I've had 8 Wals pass through here, and they are definitely not a thud type sound. Best basses I've played. Very growly, 3-dimentional, and can absolutely tear your face off.

[4000]

[quote name='mikeswals' timestamp='1375764303' post='2165253']
I'd bet his setups and maintenance are better. I received a Wal 5 not long ago that sold from The Gallery twice in very recent times, and the bridge saddles were completely stripped out and locked into rediculously-high position. Dirty output jack and the frets needed recrowning. You'd think for a bass they threw on the wall and priced at high market of 3k £, the thing should have been put in top notch condition. And the strings on it were from at least four years ago. I wasn't impressed.
[/quote]

Ditto what Mokl said about a commission sale. Just out of interest, did you ask them to set it up and specify strings etc? I don't know what it's like in Seattle but I don't know of any shop in the UK who would recrown the frets etc on a used bass without you specifying (and you'd usually have to pay extra too).

FWIW I've used many of the best known luthiers in the UK for setups at one time or another and have never found anyone who does a better job for my tastes than Martin.

Edited August 7, 2013 by 4000

[mikeswals]

[quote name='4000' timestamp='1375877077' post='2166765']
I don't know what it's like in Seattle but I don't know of any shop in the UK who would recrown the frets etc on a used bass without you specifying (and you'd usually have to pay extra too)..[/quote] Oh obviously a recrown is not part of a commission sale. But at least the infamous bass store here in Seattle does take a few minutes to make sure a commissioned bass is at least playable with a quick setup, and doesn't cut out when plugged in, since people do walk in and want to try them out. My main point was the sky-high action was not even adjustable because the bridge saddle screws were all stripped out (which you'd think they'd mention, but didn't), and the jacks so dirty it easily cut out just as you move around. That's what I couldn't believe, especially for a bass that was sold twice there.

[steviedee]

Absolutely loving my Wal at the moment. I've pretty much turned up the volume on and rolled back the tone on every bass I've ever had for the past twenty odd years. But I spent a little bit of time playing with the eq on the Wal and I'm just knocked out by the range of sounds I can get. Anything from that barky midrange vibe to a full on pick attack. Really cool.

[bassatnight]

I remember contacting Wal back in the mid eighties when I had recently purchased a Mk1, in those day's E-mail was something off Star Trek so it was the old fashioned phone or letter. They were magnificent and I ended up visiting the small workshop, building them was a real labour of love and I like to think this is still the case. Would you prefer that a large guitar corporate took them over and we started seeing cheap production line models?

Hand built loveyness and for me the best all rounders on the planet, if there is a better fretless than a Wal I have not seen it in my 35 years of playing!

They can be slow in responding but they are not a big factory set-up, it's part of the charm!

Edited August 9, 2013 by bassatnight

[witterth]

if you want prompt, efficient and personal customer service Rob and Dawn at Status Graphite are the ones to call (What?? just saying!)

[4000]

[quote name='witterth' timestamp='1376037755' post='2168784']
if you want prompt, efficient and personal customer service Rob and Dawn at Status Graphite are the ones to call (What?? just saying!)
[/quote]

The exact opposite of my - and a friend's - experience. He wanted to order one and eventually gave up!

[mikeswals]

[quote name='Mokl' timestamp='1375632320' post='2163663']
Paul did an amazing job in refinishing my Mach 25 string a couple of years ago. He always responded quickly to my emails and answered his phone - and this was when he had just taken over and things at Electric Wood must have been chaos. It was bloody expensive though, but the results were stunning. From this:
[url="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/mokl/media/IMG_3114.jpg.html"][/url]

To this:
[url="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/mokl/media/IMG_3435.jpg.html"][/url]
[/quote] Mokl, was this the bass Dean Garcia sold a couple of years ago?

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='witterth' timestamp='1376037755' post='2168784']
if you want prompt, efficient and personal customer service Rob and Dawn at Status Graphite are the ones to call (What?? just saying!)
[/quote]

Nearly ... Dawn does the excellent customer service, Rob makes the basses.

Incidentally, Rob may not be the most user-friendly luthier on the planet, but he delivers on time and on target.

And his basses are awesome.