Wal MkII Fretless 5 string, 1986, Pete "the fish" Stevens, excellent condition, OHSC £7275 Karbach, Germany

[dyerseve]

For sale is my 1986 Wal MkII Fretless 5 string. This bass was built in 1986 by the legendary Pete "the fish" Stevens it features gorgeous African Shedua facings over a mahogany core and chrome hardware. The bass is all original except for the strings and it functions perfectly including the hardware, electronics and the truss rod.The fretboard is perfect and the bass has just been setup with a brand new set of Ernie Ball flats.
Weight is 5,25KG / 11,57lbs
Despite the fact that this bass is 38 years old it is in near perfect condition. There are some very minor signs of wear as you would expect. However I would be very confident in saying that you are very unlikely to find another bass of this vintage in as good a condition as this bass. I have made an effort to provide photos from as many angles as possible so you can clearly see exactly what you are buying. I believe that my perfect feedback is a great reflection of the honesty and thoroughness of my descriptions.
This sale includes the original Wal hardcase - the case is functional and is in fair condition but shows plenty of signs of wear.
If you have any questions please let me know.

 

Price is 7275GBP or 8500€

Shipping to UK and within the EU is is 225€ - fully tracked and insured with UPS

[FunkyDude]

Hi, any idea on the string spacing at the bridge? Thanks.

[velvetkevorkian]

One of the few birth year basses I would actually like to open. Beautiful. Glwts.

[dyerseve]

46 minutes ago, FunkyDude said:

Hi, any idea on the string spacing at the bridge? Thanks.

Hi, thanks for the question. Spacing is 17mm

[Piers_Williamson]

What a stunning bass.  Do you know why the back-plate serial number, and the written number inside the electronics cavity are very slightly different?

[dyerseve]

1 hour ago, Piers_Williamson said:

What a stunning bass.  Do you know why the back-plate serial number, and the written number inside the electronics cavity are very slightly different?

Wow, I never even noticed that! Maybe it was a Friday afternoon when they were sorting the serials out...?

[Piers_Williamson]

18 hours ago, dyerseve said:

Wow, I never even noticed that! Maybe it was a Friday afternoon when they were sorting the serials out...?

The description written by Pete exactly matches the bass, so it most likely is W2727.  That might make it a couple of days older

 

It is a beautiful bass, deserving of a good home.  GLWTS. 

[philw]

23 hours ago, Piers_Williamson said:

What a stunning bass.  Do you know why the back-plate serial number, and the written number inside the electronics cavity are very slightly different?

Non-matching label and neck-plate serial numbers is, I seem to remember, not unheard of. Call it a Wal quirk.

 

P

[99ster]

On 03/02/2024 at 15:49, Piers_Williamson said:

What a stunning bass.  Do you know why the back-plate serial number, and the written number inside the electronics cavity are very slightly different?

I've got a Wal Custom from 1987 that I bought new - it has a mis-match between the serial number on the plate & the one written in the control cavity.  I asked Pete about this some years later when he was doing a re-fret for me & he shrugged and said "It happened sometimes...".

[admiralchew]

Lovely bass! I bought a fantastic Wal bass from @dyerseve about 15 months ago and if I had the money I wouldn't hesitate to deal with him again.

 

Good luck with the sale!

Edited February 5 by admiralchew

[Bass Of Spades]

Ah, the Nigella of the bass world - stunning, but can’t imagine I will ever get my hands on her...

 

GLWTS!

 

 

[andydye]

that Wal is unbelievably beautiful sir!

[paul_5]

Agreed. My dream bass, just a shame I'm unbelievably broke.