I Really Really Really Really Really want a Wal

[4000]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1387293464' post='2310362']


A Wal is a bass that is worth really, really wanting . They are one of the few very expensive basses that are actually worth the money

However,despite the revered status they hold nowadays, they are pretty esoteric and individualistic instruments and definitely not for everybody, so don't necessarily assume that a Wal would be your Holy Grail. But it probably would be .
[/quote]


My second one is shortly on its way out of the door.

[leftyhook]

P bass? With a few adjustments panning more to the neck pup and a bit of Wal magic dust....hey presto! a pedestrian P bass sound !

[Marc S]

[quote name='Noisyjon' timestamp='1387302616' post='2310507']
Another wannabe Wal owner here!
I'm hankering after a fretted Mk.1 real bad
[/quote]

It's getting a bit like an AA meeting here!
Not that I've ever been to one, you understand....

[molan]

Of all the expensive basses I've played or owned a Wal has been my least favourite by a huge margin. Universally heavy (although I have played one lightweight one), quite a few have neck dive, generally uncomfortable to play and I've always struggled to get a decent sound out of one without fiddling for ages with the onboard tone controls.

I'd wanted one for ages having seen and heard Mick Karn with Japan and getting my hands on one for the first time was probably the biggest bass playing disappointment I've ever had

Maybe I've just been unlucky and only seen a bad batch of them. I definitely wouldn't buy one without spending a lot of time trying one out.

[Clarky]

I've owned a couple of lovely Mk 1 fretlesses (Happy Jack now has one of them) and these were a delight. I wasn't so impressed with a fretted Mk 2 I owned and quickly sold on as the neck was not for me (V-shaped and very deep) and it was too heavy for my dodgy back

[chris_b]

I owned a lovely Wal Mk3 5 string for years. I'm glad I had one (also had a Mk2 5 string at one point!) but I hardly played it for the last 5 years, so I guess however good it was I really didn't need it.

It sounded great in the studio (engineers loved it) and played with an occasional originals band, but I found I preferred my Lakland and Lull in the Blues/Soul/Funk and covers bands which are 90% of what I play in these days.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1387365848' post='2311072']
I'd wanted one for ages having seen and heard Mick Karn with Japan and getting my hands on one for the first time was probably the biggest bass playing disappointment I've ever had
[/quote]

What a lot of people don't realise is that only "Tine Drum" and the live album that followed it were done with the Wal. All the earlier albums the bass was supplied by a Travis Bean TB2000 and some creative overdubbing to enhance certain notes and phrases. Personally I prefer the sound of the Travis Bean as it's a bit more subtle than the Wal.

[leftyhook]

'Tin Drum' is his best work/tone.

[BigRedX]

Personally I think he sounds miles better on Quiet Life. And I prefer the songs.

Edited December 18, 2013 by BigRedX

[Dingus]

As I seem to have mentioned quite a few times on this site, I played Wal basses for ten years, and I have a great affection for them , but I have little desire to go back to playing them now, or at least if I did it would have to be a very specific custom order to satisfy my requirements. They are truly great -sounding basses and an enthralling design overall, but I couldn't say that overall I enjoy the more straightforward basses I play nowadays any less or that the end results are any less impressive. Wals were and still are great basses, but they do have their foibles as well as a lot of variation from one example to the other, so , especially at the prices they are now, you need to make sure you want one, and then get the [i]right[/i] one. for you. Overall I would say that Wals are basses with many virtues but with a few problems, too,

Wal basses have been given an upgrade in recent years , but that upgrade isn't in terms of hardware or construction . What has been added to them is an element of[u] mystique[/u], and that is very valuable commodity. To make it you need a lack of availability , coupled with desirability and prestigious endorsements . Wal basses have all these things , as well as being great basses besides, and as a result their legend has grown .

[Dingus]

[quote name='leftyhook' timestamp='1387377161' post='2311261']
'Tin Drum' is his best work/tone.
[/quote]

Big+1 on that .

Mick's style really matured on that album , and that is when he really came into his own and started sounding like something special , which he was.

[leftyhook]

why can't I get the 'quote' option to work?

Indeed, his playing had more distinction with both choice of notes and sound. my opinion, of course.

[CamdenRob]

My love of Wal comes from a bass tutor we used to have at collage.... As part of a joke music collage course I did when I was 16 to keep us off the streets, we had to take lessons on our chosen instrument.

We all sat there plugged straight into the desk of a standard education establishment PA. There were Fenders, loads of Ibanezes, a couple of Warwicks, a few squires and I had a Status Stealth at the time. None of us expected anything from the lesson as we all 'knew it all already' what hell could this old geezer with the timid character and weird looking bass teach us.

Well... he had a Wal... I've never heard anything sound so good. The guy could play some serious bass but I'd never before appreciated the value of a good bass sound. At the time for me it was all about playing in ridiculous time signatures and coming up with the most complex stuff possible. This guy was the absolute antithesis of that, his Wal brought the simplest of lines to life... A great player and a great bass.

Ever since I've been going through every type of bass possible thinking that I would find something as good and in truth I never have.

So this morning I placed my order... Summer 2015 I'll have what I should have ordered 15 years ago...

[Dingus]

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1387334682' post='2310890']
I now want a Mk 1 quite badly - I always loved the sound Alan Spenner and Percy Jones got from theirs.


But the Wal is in different league and is most definitely on my GAS radar now........bloody expensive though - but fantastic basses.
[/quote]

Nice to hear someone namechecking Alan Spenner, dr T. I have always loved the sound he got on those late'70's / early '80's Roxy Music tracks , too. He was a brilliant bass player who gets criminally overlooked nowadays .

A Wal would be a great addition to your collection , not least of all because of the contrast between that and your Stingray, ect, like chalk and cheese. Looking back , when I was 21 years old I had a Wal Custom and a pre -EBMM Stingray (and a 30 inch waistline) . And I still used to complain that life wasn't fair . That will probably be because of the mullet hairstyle , though.

Edited December 18, 2013 by Dingus

[leftyhook]

congratulations Rob. We don't put off having a baby saying, " naah.... it takes nine months, cant wait that long!" when you could have produced the most important thing in your life. I rest my case

[artisan]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1387378260' post='2311286']

So this morning I placed my order... Summer 2015 I'll have what I should have ordered 15 years ago...
[/quote]
excellent,good man
I'm glad i started this thread & i'm excited for you too.

P.s. Please leave me it on your bucket list

Edited December 18, 2013 by artisan

[artisan]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1387378345' post='2311287']


Nice to hear someone namechecking Alan Spenner, dr T. I have always loved the sound he got on those late'70's / early '80's Roxy Music tracks , too. He was a brilliant bass player who gets criminally overlooked nowadays .

[/quote]
damn right he is one of my all time favourite players & one of the reasons i want a Wal.

[CamdenRob]

[quote name='artisan' timestamp='1387384136' post='2311370']
excellent,good man
I'm glad i started this thread & i'm excited for you too.

P.s. Please leave me it on your bucket list
[/quote]

Ah it's been coming for a while... this thread just pushed me over the edge.

[chris_b]

Veering OT for a moment....

Alan Spenner first got my attention in the Grease Band and then up close and personal in the sweaty pubs and clubs he used to play with Kokomo. I feel blessed to have seen that band as often as I did.

Back on topic, I believe he was asked to play the Wal by Bryan Ferry.

Edited December 18, 2013 by chris_b

[EMG456]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1387365848' post='2311072']
Maybe I've just been unlucky and only seen a bad batch of them. I definitely wouldn't buy one without spending a lot of time trying one out.
[/quote]

Knowing the care and attention to detail that goes into them, I can't imagine Pete (or Paul) turning out a bad instrument, let alone a batch of them, so it is probably that the specific combination of design elements in the Wal bass just doesn't suit you personally. Nothing wrong there- we all like different things.

I have a similar reaction to Warwicks. I have heard them played and sound fantastic. I have looked at them closely and liked what I saw but every time I have tried playing one, I have hated it. I know they are really well made and are top notch instruments but no matter how hard I try, it seems I will probably never own one.

So yes, all who hanker after a Wal but haven't tried one- try before you buy. Also bear in mind that unless you've played an Alembic or an ACG bass, the preamp controls will take a bit of getting used to.

All this talk now has me gassing for a Pro II fretless or early custom with the old paddle style headstock! Thanks BC!

Camdenrob, what options have you gone for?

Cheers

Ed

Edited December 18, 2013 by EMG456

[leftyhook]

Of course not everyone will like a Wal. BUT. I have tried about 6 Wal's since buying mine, and all have been consistent in construction/feel/sound. Unlike a Fender bass. One ( Usa v Usa etc) compared to another can feel like night and day. It never ceases to amaze me how a Fender is said to be the Mecca ( ok original electric bass, hats off) of basses, yes there is so much trepidation from potential owners when it comes to finding on that feels like a good one.
So, a Wal may not be your bag, but the only way it could be a ''bad one' is if someone has tampered with it in a careless way. Absolute craftsmanship cannot be denied.

Edited December 18, 2013 by leftyhook

[Icunningham]

This thread is so bad ! I consider a wal as a dream bass of mine now,only recently over the past few years of being on this forum have I noticed them, I love the look of them and the sound. One day I hope to own one, congratulations rob I'm insanely jealous and I'm sure it'll be worth the wait

[thisnameistaken]

I decided I wanted a Mk1 fretless when I was growing up in Wakefield and a local player had one. I'd never heard of anyone famous playing one, I just loved the sound this one local guy got.

The other bass I always wanted was a Thumb like Norwood from Fishbone and I found one in 2001 and it hasn't disappointed, and in the end it was a total bargain. Really my bass wish-list only ever extended to two basses and the missing one is the Wal fretless. If you asked my partner - who remembers very little bass-related nattering - what is the one bass I'd like to own, I'm sure she'd tell you it's a Wal fretless, even though I haven't mentioned it for years.

[drTStingray]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1387385862' post='2311395']
Veering OT for a moment....

Alan Spenner first got my attention in the Grease Band and then up close and personal in the sweaty pubs and clubs he used to play with Kokomo. I feel blessed to have seen that band as often as I did.
[/quote]

Shamefully off topic - but I was also blessed to see him play with the Kokomo line up towards the end of the 70s at the Roundhouse - I'm pretty sure he played the Wal - my abiding memory of this gig was them playing one of Rose Royce's 10 minute high production disco funk songs - what you waiting for - in which he did a couple of phenominal bass solos, one of them slapped! Criminally overlooked as Dingus said - this guy really had the funk - he's also the bass player on the original soundtrack of Jesus Christ Superstar - sounds like Jamerson on steroids!

Back to the Wal - I was given a talk through of the controls on the Mark 1 and I found no problem using them and getting great sounds out of it - the one thing I found a little disconcerting was the neck and fretboard - I found it reminiscent of a Warwick - basically not what I'm used to but at the same time it didn't hinder me - the frets seemed a little closer together than I'm used to.

I really would love one of these basses.

[drTStingray]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1387378345' post='2311287']
A Wal would be a great addition to your collection , not least of all because of the contrast between that and your Stingray, ect, like chalk and cheese. Looking back , when I was 21 years old I had a Wal Custom and a pre -EBMM Stingray (and a 30 inch waistline) . And I still used to complain that life wasn't fair . That will probably be because of the mullet hairstyle , though.
[/quote]
30 inch waists are very much a thing of the past for me as well - Dingus you were making serious money to have a Wal custom at 21!

Rightly or wrongly I've always viewed the Wal sound as a development of a Stingray type sound but the basses themselves are totally different as you say. I really was surprised how natural the bass felt for me to play and the sounds produced are just brilliant. Even slap sounds great . So yes a definite must have for me.