Peak Wal?

[Russ]

13 hours ago, Chris2112 said:

 

I'm sure he could have had one with a graphite neck if he had wanted. It must be the case that he preferred wooden necks, although that odd semi-hollow six string he had made had a graphite neck and he never seemed to do much with it. That one ended up on sale on this forum and was around for a while before it sold. There were a few Hellborg basses made with graphite necks in later years although none with the 36v preamp as far as I know.

 

The semi-hollow Status signature bass was pretty much the template for the bass he ended up making with Warwick, with the pickup right up against the bridge, etc. I wasn't that much of a fan of it, to be honest. It had quite a harsh tone, all high treble and low bass, and not much in the middle. 

[Misdee]

I think Jonas is one of those exceptional players who has very definite ideas about what he wants, but his choices and preferences are not necessarily that suited to the mainstream.

[bartelby]

On 08/02/2024 at 21:36, chriswareham said:

 

In an interview, Justin Chancellor says he switched from a Stingray to a Wal when he joined Tool and started to record the Aenima album. The weird thing is, the bass sounds on the demos for that album recorded with Justin's predecessor Paul D'Amour sound almost identical to me tone wise - and that was all Stingray.

 

D'amour playing his Ovation in early days also sounds like every Tool bass sound.

[Russ]

34 minutes ago, bartelby said:

 

D'amour playing his Ovation in early days also sounds like every Tool bass sound.

D'Amour wasn't nearly as fond of effects as Chancellor. Clangy Ricky/MM/Magnum bass sound, lots of high mids, and just a touch of reverb. 

[NickA]

On 12/02/2024 at 14:38, Cairobill said:

On a personal note I'm rather ambivalent about fretted Wals but I love the fretless Wals.

I have one of each and quite agree.  The fretted one is a 5 and has the best b string of any bass I've tried but it's not "special" the way the 4-string fretless is ( also quite hard to play as it's a big heavy body, the neck is chunky and the neck joint chunkier).

 

NB: there is no "calibration" of the Wal electronics.they make the exact thing they've made since the 80s and a "service" involves swapping out a couple of capacitors.  When I took my whole bass in, Paul plugged it into the massive Hellborg, played a few notes while twiddling the knobs and declared "that's all working then"...

[Bass Culture]

On 13/02/2024 at 09:08, three said:

I’d no idea re: Wal and the Hellborg power amp. Fascinating and I wonder if it remains in place? I’ve had quite a few of these amps and still have one. Massively heavy and according to a well known studio tech, the most over-built power amp he’d seen. That said, they are not at all a transparent amp - there’s a gritty baked-in tone that surprised me initially, to the extent that I thought it was a fault. Four or five units later, it’s evident that the grit is designed-in. I wonder whether this has any influence on the calibration of contemporary Wal electronics? Back on topic, i’ve watched in awe at the stratospheric price increases. I’ve owned a few Wals and played a lot (I’m a fan of the tone and the v profile, especially on the earlier basses) but found them a little uncomfortable, and in some respects a bit agricultural. The prices in the ‘90s - relative to other basses - seemed about right to me

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one around here who likes the Wal-type V profile!  I see it decried quite frequently but it absolutely made sense when I played a friend's Mach* 1 fretless back in the 80's and I've had all my Zoot Customs made with it since.

 

*I seem to remember Mach being the correct designation from an old marketing leaflet some decades ago, but it's not beyond the realms of possibility I'm misremebering...or have simply dreamed it!

[NickA]

On 14/02/2024 at 09:47, Bass Culture said:

the Wal-type V profile!

Not sure mine have that or if I'd be able to tell. Feels like "a neck" to me.

 

The 5-string gives me rsi tho.