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Wal custom MK1


stu77

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In all sincerity I think you're missing my point. put it this way, if I posted "I just found a £50 note, it's pink and it's serial number is such and such" what's to stop anyone just saying "yeah, that's mine"? However, if I say I just bought a wal custom MK1 and if anyone can prove it's theirs by  telling me the details and what happened with it, without knowing any details of the instrument I have, then there's no way it could be anyone else's as only "they" would know the specifics. Does that not make sense? 

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Have to say, impressed with your attitude.  If I had picked up a bargain,  I'm not sure I could hand on heart say I would go to these lengths to check whether or not the item had been stolen or similar.  Fortunately, I am an excessively unlucky bugger and I will never find such things at a car boot! ;)

Personally though mate, I would take the approach of keeping the bass as you bought it fair and square and, other than its value being higher than what you paid, you don't seem to have any real suspicion of foul play. If someone comes to you claiming it was taken from them or similar, let them offer their proof and make a decision privately, but ultimately I would just enjoy some good fortune at a great find :) 

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I'm sure you've the best intentions, but to be honest not publishing any details just makes it look like you're concerned it's been nicked and worried someone will be able to identify it ... Then you'll have to give it back.

I'd be trying to find out if it was legit ASAP by putting all the info out there. Although I obviously wouldn't be handing it over to anyone without extensive proof that it belonged to them.

Anyway hopefully it all works out and you've got yourself a wonderful bass, none better in my book :)

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thanks kev, i appreciate that. it's never happened to me before either by the way and like you i never thought i'd get this lucky but i'm sure you'd do the same. i just thought i needed to do something just in case it was the "unaware relative" scenario as i have been there myself as i said. actually now you've got me thinking, maybe someone has been trying to track me down on some art forum somewhere? you know i never even thought to look!!!? 

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1 minute ago, CamdenRob said:

I'm sure you've the best intentions, but to be honest not publishing any details just makes it look like you're concerned it's been nicked and worried someone will be able to identify it ... Then you'll have to give it back.

I'd be trying to find out if it was legit ASAP by putting all the info out there. Although I obviously wouldn't be handing it over to anyone without extensive proof that it belonged to them.

Anyway hopefully it all works out and you've got yourself a wonderful bass, none better in my book :)

ah, i think i've just figured out how this reply thing works now, you have to hit the quote option yeah? 

yeah, i get you i just thought it's not like anyone would hold back for any reason in telling me the details straight away (though not a peep yet) but the clincher is ONLY they would be able to ID it. i gave paul at wal the serial number to check out but i asked that he please not divulge any build details for the very same reason but if anyone at all can throw some light on this then maybe he can at least tell me the original owner and see if they can add anything (or if recently deceased, though morbid perhaps,  at least that would be a clue). i'm getting new ideas to try everyday so i'll pursue it further and i may be wrong in my approach here but i'm just going by what i feel is best at the moment.

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23 hours ago, stu77 said:

yeah, i get you i just thought it's not like anyone would hold back for any reason in telling me the details straight away (though not a peep yet) but the clincher is ONLY they would be able to ID it. i gave paul at wal the serial number to check out but i asked that he please not divulge any build details for the very same reason but if anyone at all can throw some light on this then maybe he can at least tell me the original owner and see if they can add anything (or if recently deceased, though morbid perhaps,  at least that would be a clue). i'm getting new ideas to try everyday so i'll pursue it further and i may be wrong in my approach here but i'm just going by what i feel is best at the moment.

Maybe some partial information to encourage someone who might, just might have parted with it in ignorance to think again - the area of the country it was purchased in, perhaps; number of strings; colour of fingerboard, something which would still need an awful of dots joined to definitely ID it?

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1 hour ago, Bass Culture said:

Maybe some partial information to encourage someone who might, just might have parted with it in ignorance to think again - the area of the country it was purchased in, perhaps; number of strings; colour of fingerboard, something which would still need an awful of dots joined to definitely ID it?

Yeah, you're right, might help though I can't imagine anyone who actually played this bass would've got rid of it knowing what it was! As I've said before I think it was passed down to someone who had no idea, maybe a relative / landlord etc. Funnily enough, I was just in a charity shop earlier chatting to one of the staff about records etc and she told me she'd just given away a couple of banjos that belonged to her late husband that had been stuck under the bed for years. Didn't know what make, could've been anything, Gibson, Vega who knows?! Anyway, 4 string, fretted, rosewood board, South of England, made pre-2000. cheers.

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27 minutes ago, stu77 said:

Yeah, you're right, might help though I can't imagine anyone who actually played this bass would've got rid of it knowing what it was! As I've said before I think it was passed down to someone who had no idea, maybe a relative / landlord etc. Funnily enough, I was just in a charity shop earlier chatting to one of the staff about records etc and she told me she'd just given away a couple of banjos that belonged to her late husband that had been stuck under the bed for years. Didn't know what make, could've been anything, Gibson, Vega who knows?! Anyway, 4 string, fretted, rosewood board, South of England, made pre-2000. cheers.

You'd think everyone is capable of a quick Google nowadays..

Looking forwards to seeing the bass :)

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A long time ago I was introduced to another bass player at a party and we got talking all things bass. We had similar interests in music and he invited me round for a bass jam some time . 

On arrival there was a very nice Wal sitting there . It had an ebony fingerboard but the fret markers on the side were where they would be if it were fretless. An easy fix really.

He said he wasn't happy with it and was selling it for £300.00.   I stupidly didn't buy it because Warwicks had just come into fashion and we both really wanted one of those.

My point is the bass was genuinely owned but the seller had no interest in it and wanted to move it on. Which he eventually did for £300.00. He really wanted that Warwick Thumb!

So it could have been the best bargain of my life and if I saw a Wal at a car boot I'd have been in there like a shot.  If it had been recently nicked from a musician then I'm guessing the FB muso pages would be full of "stolen gear..."

To the OP. Its yours , you bought it in good faith. If it were me I'd be braggin about it at gigs...."yeah so got this for £50.00 at a car boot....amazing eh?...anyway so this is my EBS amp. Found it in a skip ect ect":biggrin:

 Show us a pic. If anyone claims it was theirs then they need to prove it. I have a catalogue of pictures of me playing my Jazz bass at gigs, rehearsal rooms, the occasional studio on FB, other social media like Youtube, its in family pictures at my house in the background. I mean it wouldn't be hard to prove it were mine but it would be very hard to make a claim if it wasn't.

I believe you bought this in good faith and think its above and beyond the call of duty to want to reunite it with the original owner so good for you. I personally wouldn't!

Show us a pic!!

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28 minutes ago, walbassist said:

I once bought a used Wal from a shop in London.

Took it to Pete at Wal HQ for a service and he said it had been nicked a few years earlier.

I gave it straight back to him, and he gave me a brand new Wal as a thank you :)

wow, that is cool, good for him. from all accounts he was a great bloke. i had a chat with paul at wal about this but he had no records of it being nicked or missing so this old wal will have to do for me i guess! 

Edited by stu77
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Yeah, Stu. You've already gone way above and beyond. Looking forward to the pics when you're ready to share and for your big "Tah-dah!" when you reveal what you actually paid for it. Lol.

Like @Highfox and @bassjim have said just don't disclose the serial number. If someone emerges who does want to claim it as their own the two pieces of proof needed would be "What was the serial number." "Can you show me a photo of you playing it so we can compare the wood, the grain, the figuring and any other identifying features."  You bought it in good faith, the burden of proof to show it is the bass that was stolen and not just a.n. other Wal rests on them.  Personally, I really can't see someone putting their hand up and claiming it's theirs.

In the meantime, enjoy your Wal...!!!

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Well as a U.S. Wal'er I have no idea what a "boot sale" is you all are talking about! :facepalm:

I havent heard of anyone over here missing a Wal. But like the others have said, just dont post the serial, but do let us see this bass you found! 

Edited by mikeswals
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Wals are pretty obviously wals. Very hard to fake I'd reckon (specific hardware and particular woods)like andve never seen a fake one.  Outside the bass world of course no one would know what one was or that it was special. But You have to wonder how the seller came by it.

It seems only fair to check the serial number, and maybe get a photo of the internal label and, if you don't want to post here then at least tell electric wood you have it in case anyone reported it lost.

For someone to claim it they'd have to provide proof of previous ownership and a crime report surely.

Hopefully it's all above board and you got lucky..

Edited by NickA
pressed post in error
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14 hours ago, NickA said:

Wals are pretty obviously wals. Very hard to fake I'd reckon (specific hardware and particular woods)like andve never seen a fake one.  Outside the bass world of course no one would know what one was or that it was special. But You have to wonder how the seller came by it.

It seems only fair to check the serial number, and maybe get a photo of the internal label and, if you don't want to post here then at least tell electric wood you have it in case anyone reported it lost.

For someone to claim it they'd have to provide proof of previous ownership and a crime report surely.

Hopefully it's all above board and you got lucky..

yeah I already contacted Paul at Wal but no reports there. I put the word out to a few specialist shops also but likewise, nothing reported. It is a mystery for sure!

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Hey post some pictures so we can share your joy! 

There's a wal facebook page too (wal bass lovers of the world), where a previous owner might shed some light.  Also a list of serial numbers and original owners for some of them at http://walbassarchive.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/archive-stephans-wal-database.html.

Enjoy ownership, they are a bit weird but very special.

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On 02/12/2017 at 23:03, NickA said:

Wals are pretty obviously wals. Very hard to fake I'd reckon (specific hardware and particular woods)like andve never seen a fake one.  Outside the bass world of course no one would know what one was or that it was special. But You have to wonder how the seller came by it.

It seems only fair to check the serial number, and maybe get a photo of the internal label and, if you don't want to post here then at least tell electric wood you have it in case anyone reported it lost.

For someone to claim it they'd have to provide proof of previous ownership and a crime report surely.

Hopefully it's all above board and you got lucky..

Absolutely. I’m going to sit here at home playing my absolutely genuine Custom Series Wal that I got brand new for just $400! What a classy piece of work by Paul, eh?

http://www.rareguitarheaven.net/mobile/goods.php?id=1018

 IMG_7254.JPG

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