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What is it about wals?


greyparrot
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I have seen lots of walscoming up for sale and going for £2500+ with no questions. Well i was in BM the other day, and they had in a wal bass. (now sold i think) It was very well made, and looked good. Anyway i was playing it, and although the electronics were very advanced, it seems to have a lot of sounds that were honky or that i would not use, and compared to a warwick or good jazz, it seemed had a fairly weedy slap sound. It seemed to me that you had to work the tone controls to get a good sound, where as a fender jazz, plug in and away you go! It was very mid to top. It is a great bass dont get me wrong but why so expensive? Is it cos they are rare like the old fenders? If it was between a warwick fender jazz or the wal of the same price, to me the fender would win hands down closely followed by the warwick. Dont mean to belittle, just cant see what makes them so expensive. Any of you guys tried them? what do you think?

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[quote name='greyparrot' post='429020' date='Mar 9 2009, 07:39 AM']I have seen lots of walscoming up for sale and going for £2500+ with no questions. Well i was in BM the other day, and they had in a wal bass. (now sold i think) It was very well made, and looked good. Anyway i was playing it, and although the electronics were very advanced, it seems to have a lot of sounds that were honky or that i would not use, and compared to a warwick or good jazz, it seemed had a fairly weedy slap sound. It seemed to me that you had to work the tone controls to get a good sound, where as a fender jazz, plug in and away you go! It was very mid to top. It is a great bass dont get me wrong but why so expensive? Is it cos they are rare like the old fenders? If it was between a warwick fender jazz or the wal of the same price, to me the fender would win hands down closely followed by the warwick. Dont mean to belittle, just cant see what makes them so expensive. Any of you guys tried them? what do you think?[/quote]


I dont get it either.

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[quote name='Happy Jack' post='429069' date='Mar 9 2009, 09:06 AM']A large part of it is because they're made of Unobtainium.[/quote]


Ha ha. I find Wals a bit ugh. I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder though. I think the 5ers looks pretty good... but the 4s just look ugly - especially with that spade of a headstock. God only knows why Enfield decided to draw inspiration from them.

I think the attraction of the Wal circuit is that you can get some sounds out of it that you couldn't get from any other bass at the time... however, with all it's usable sounds, there are as many unusable ones.

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Like any bass the look and sound of a Wal is down to each individual. Just like I don't get on with Fender-shaped basses, and haven't yet played a Warwick under £4000 that didn't to me feel horrible, the Wal basses aren't for everyone.

Current prices are as much down to the fact that they are currently (and have been for some time) out of production and that they have some fairly (in the bass world) high profile users who have distinctive tones. All goes to make them desirable and push up the prices.

It's been over 20 years since I last played a Wal and at the time my style of bass playing didn't really benefit from what the Wal had to offer. Since then what I want from a bass has changed plus one of the few bass players that I admire - Mick Karn - is a well-known Wal user. However it's worth bearing in mind that most of his signature bass playing in Japan was done before he got his Wal on a Travis Bean TB2000 and TBH there's not a massive difference in the recorded tone...

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I played one years ago when I used to work in a studio, the guy who owned the place had one from his touring days. It was nice, but it never blew me away, although that's probably as much to do with the dead strings and the fact I was about 17 and didn't appreciate it. He offered me it for £700 at the time though, so I kick myself now every time I see one sell for a couple of grand on here :)

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[quote name='BigRedX' post='429152' date='Mar 9 2009, 11:08 AM']Like any bass the look and sound of a Wal is down to each individual. Just like I don't get on with Fender-shaped basses, and haven't yet played a Warwick under £4000 that didn't to me feel horrible, the Wal basses aren't for everyone.

Current prices are as much down to the fact that they are currently (and have been for some time) out of production and that they have some fairly (in the bass world) high profile users who have distinctive tones. All goes to make them desirable and push up the prices.

It's been over 20 years since I last played a Wal and at the time my style of bass playing didn't really benefit from what the Wal had to offer. Since then what I want from a bass has changed plus one of the few bass players that I admire - Mick Karn - is a well-known Wal user. However it's worth bearing in mind that most of his signature bass playing in Japan was done before he got his Wal on a Travis Bean TB2000 and TBH there's not a massive difference in the recorded tone...[/quote]

Whats your axe of choice?

Personally i can see a wal making a great fretless bass, but in fretted form, it sounded to me too weedy, and no growl. Im a player that plugs right into a pa via a di box and a flat channel on the mixer, and my pa is an 800wat powered sub and 200watt tops. I try to keep the natural sound of the bass, and i have had many basses, and the fender and warwick sounds fantastic natural. I think in terms of the way i amp the bass, more electronics would get in the way for me. I recently bought the custom shop jazz, and its passive as we all know but it is magnificent. Marcus how did you ever part with it??

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[quote name='mike257' post='429161' date='Mar 9 2009, 11:16 AM']I played one years ago when I used to work in a studio, the guy who owned the place had one from his touring days. It was nice, but it never blew me away, although that's probably as much to do with the dead strings and the fact I was about 17 and didn't appreciate it. He offered me it for £700 at the time though, so I kick myself now every time I see one sell for a couple of grand on here :)[/quote]


Dont feel to bad, i sold MAny years ago, a 1974 sunburst jazz for £500. And iv heard worse on here than that! Still have this jazz now, so the pain has gone!!

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[quote name='greyparrot' post='429211' date='Mar 9 2009, 11:39 AM']Whats your axe of choice?[/quote]

My main fretless bass is a Sei Flamboyant Offset with the ACG pre-amp. Tone-wise I pretty much told Martin that mick-Karn's TB2000/Wal sound was what I was after.

Fretted I play Gus G3s.

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[quote name='BigRedX' post='429227' date='Mar 9 2009, 11:51 AM']My main fretless bass is a Sei Flamboyant Offset with the ACG pre-amp. Tone-wise I pretty much told Martin that mick-Karn's TB2000/Wal sound was what I was after.

Fretted I play Gus G3s.[/quote]


Nice!

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[quote name='BigRedX' post='429152' date='Mar 9 2009, 11:08 AM']It's been over 20 years since I last played a Wal and at the time my style of bass playing didn't really benefit from what the Wal had to offer. Since then what I want from a bass has changed plus one of the few bass players that I admire - Mick Karn - is a well-known Wal user. However it's worth bearing in mind that most of his signature bass playing in Japan was done before he got his Wal on a Travis Bean TB2000 and TBH there's not a massive difference in the recorded tone...[/quote]

I thought all basses sounded the same with a chorus and octave pedal on them ? :)

Seriously , the Wals I have played (4) all seemed to suit mid range A to G playing as it seems the electronics are tuned to this range. The bottom end seemed lacking compared to other basses of a similar price but that could have been strings or amplification.
I went out in 1980 to buy a brand new Wal and came home with my Hofner S7B instead !
Spoombung's fretless Wal is superb to play and has one of the best fretless tones I have come across but it isn't to everyones liking.

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I've owned three in my time, mkII 4 string, mkII 4 string fretless and a Mk III 5-string. I know that the preamp is capable of a wide variety of tones, but I always thought the basic sound is too thin and weedy - and the same goes for a lot of the well-known users. I am a little mystified why a lot of people here seem to hold them in such high regard. Well made and finished, but heavy as hell in a lot of cases, unergonomic and with 75% mushy unusable tones. Of course each to their own!

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Allo

I too played the Wal at the Bass Merchants yesterday! I've had Wals in the past and for certain things, they are spot on - very fruity sounding - there are (as already noted) certain `dodgy' sounds available too but they are unique instruments and very well made. I wish I'd kept one in the collection; I worked in a shop at weekends in '87 and we had nine in stock - all different woods etc - would be worth a fortune these days. Awful slappers (pullers) though (imo!) - too much space under the strings for me.

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[quote name='doctor_of_the_bass' post='429248' date='Mar 9 2009, 12:15 PM']Allo

I too played the Wal at the Bass Merchants yesterday! I've had Wals in the past and for certain things, they are spot on - very fruity sounding - there are (as already noted) certain `dodgy' sounds available too but they are unique instruments and very well made. I wish I'd kept one in the collection; I worked in a shop at weekends in '87 and we had nine in stock - all different woods etc - would be worth a fortune these days. Awful slappers (pullers) though (imo!) - too much space under the strings for me.[/quote]


Glad im n ot the only one thinking they are weedy! I thought i was gonna be in for some stick! :)

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[quote name='greyparrot' post='429020' date='Mar 9 2009, 07:39 AM']I have seen lots of walscoming up for sale and going for £2500+ with no questions. Well i was in BM the other day, and they had in a wal bass. (now sold i think) It was very well made, and looked good. Anyway i was playing it, and although the electronics were very advanced, it seems to have a lot of sounds that were honky or that i would not use, and compared to a warwick or good jazz, it seemed had a fairly weedy slap sound. It seemed to me that you had to work the tone controls to get a good sound, where as a fender jazz, plug in and away you go! It was very mid to top. It is a great bass dont get me wrong but why so expensive? Is it cos they are rare like the old fenders? If it was between a warwick fender jazz or the wal of the same price, to me the fender would win hands down closely followed by the warwick. Dont mean to belittle, just cant see what makes them so expensive. Any of you guys tried them? what do you think?[/quote]
If a Warwick or Fender was handbuilt to the same extent as a Wal -- i.e. completely -- they'd be just as expensive, probably more so.
OK so yes, I'm a Wal owner and a tad biased -- but if it was my choice between a Warwick, a Fender J and a Wal at the same price I wouldn't even fart in the general direction of the first two. Yes, you have to work at the tone controls. No, it's definitely not plug and play like a J bass. But the rewards are there to be had, and how. If the filter preamp was such a bad idea, the same basic idea wouldn't also have been used by Alembic or ACG for theirs, true? :)

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='429137' date='Mar 9 2009, 10:44 AM']Ha ha. I find Wals a bit ugh. I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder though. I think the 5ers looks pretty good... but the 4s just look ugly - especially with that spade of a headstock. God only knows why Enfield decided to draw inspiration from them.[/quote]
My Wal thinks your GBs look ugly too :rolleyes: :D

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[quote name='Rich' post='429271' date='Mar 9 2009, 12:37 PM']If a Warwick or Fender was handbuilt to the same extent as a Wal -- i.e. completely -- they'd be just as expensive, probably more so.
OK so yes, I'm a Wal owner and a tad biased -- but if it was my choice between a Warwick, a Fender J and a Wal at the same price I wouldn't even fart in the general direction of the first two. Yes, you have to work at the tone controls. No, it's definitely not plug and play like a J bass. But the rewards are there to be had, and how. If the filter preamp was such a bad idea, the same basic idea wouldn't also have been used by Alembic or ACG for theirs, true? :)


My Wal thinks your GBs look ugly too :D ;)[/quote]
Don't like Alembics and have no experience of ACG - two small manufacturers is hardly conclusive proof that a filter/sweep preamp works on bass though is it? If you record in a studio any software or hardware eq unit, or decent effects box will be more versatile anyway, and having boomy/mushy tones available to hand isn't very useful live. If I had £20K I wouldn't fart in the general direction of a Wal, having given them a chance a number of times - the last one I owned - mk III 5-string - had a naff boomy bottom B and tipped the scales at just over 12lbs. Still at least I got it cheap and made a small profit :rolleyes:

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[quote]two small manufacturers is hardly conclusive proof that a filter/sweep preamp works on bass though is it?[/quote]

You can take my word for it (not just me as a whole host of people on Talkbass will attest) the ACG pre amp 'works' on a bass.

Peter

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[quote name='XB26354' post='429295' date='Mar 9 2009, 12:57 PM']Don't like Alembics and have no experience of ACG - two small manufacturers is hardly conclusive proof that a filter/sweep preamp works on bass though is it? If you record in a studio any software or hardware eq unit, or decent effects box will be more versatile anyway, and having boomy/mushy tones available to hand isn't very useful live. If I had £20K I wouldn't fart in the general direction of a Wal, having given them a chance a number of times - the last one I owned - mk III 5-string - had a naff boomy bottom B and tipped the scales at just over 12lbs. Still at least I got it cheap and made a small profit :)[/quote]
Fairy nuff. It's horses for course really at the end of the day. You don't like 'em, but enough people [i]do[/i] like them enough to make them valuable enough to draw big prices (and yes I am fully aware of the appalling 'enough' abuse in that sentence :D). Personally I struggle to understand £1k+ price tags on Stingrays, but there y'go. :rolleyes:
I reckon Alembic would be probably be quite amused that after 40 years of instrument manufacture and customisation, they are still a "small manufacturer" ;)

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I remember playing one at the bass center about 20 years ago. they had about 5 on a stand, all around £700 I did want to buy one cos i liked how it looked, but When i played it the other day, i felt the same now as i did back then. It would not offer me what i need for the gigs i do. I bought an 87 squire jazz.

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[quote name='Rich' post='429336' date='Mar 9 2009, 01:27 PM']Personally I struggle to understand £1k+ price tags on Stingrays, but there y'go. :)[/quote]

Like-wise I couldn't imagine spending over £300 on any Fender-shaped bass and even then I'd probably feel cheated. It's all about what speaks to you as an instrument and what doesn't

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[quote name='BigRedX' post='429429' date='Mar 9 2009, 03:00 PM']Like-wise I couldn't imagine spending over £300 on any Fender-shaped bass and even then I'd probably feel cheated. It's all about what speaks to you as an instrument and what doesn't[/quote]

+1 on that. The main thing with any instrument is that its just an extension of your own voice , and a means of expressing whats in your own head, a lot of bassists seem to forget that.

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