If you’re building a walalike and are mad enough

[MJJS]

I saw this today, no personal association.

 

https://reverb.com/uk/item/87791567-baldly-demolished-wal-bass-mk1-body

 

 

[mikebass456]

😲🤬😭😭😭😭

[Owen]

All kinds of special. But maybe done in the 80s when Wals were just another bass.

[Hellzero]

That's quite expensive for firewood...

 

And I totally agree with you @Owen.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Jeebus!

[Pea Turgh]

I reckon a scalloped neck from a 5 string (but only put 4 strings with a wider spacing) would go great with that.

[Doctor J]

Not a million miles away from the Lace Helix

 

 

Edited April 3 by Doctor J

[BassApprentice]

@Andyjr1515 fancy a challenge? The AJR Phoenix?

[Alanko]

"Baldly Demolished" is an interesting turn of phrase.

[LeftyJ]

12 hours ago, Pea Turgh said:

I reckon a scalloped neck from a 5 string (but only put 4 strings with a wider spacing) would go great with that.

 

I've got a great idea for a headstock logo too! Quick, where's my sharpie...

[bloke_zero]

"it hurts my eyes everytime i see it" - I can't un-see it! There should be a warning on the link for us more sensitive BC people 😵‍💫

[NickA]

Firewood.  What a shame.

[Andyjr1515]

On 03/04/2025 at 20:11, BassApprentice said:

@Andyjr1515 fancy a challenge? The AJR Phoenix?

I’m afraid I’m all phoenixed out 😀

[RonC]

Haha, that’s mine…(and I didn’t do this!)

Long time ago I traded my MK3 fretless 5er for an MK1 fretless plus an extra fretless neck with British bassist Ian.

the MK1 had a rosewood fretless fretboard and the extra neck was ebony. 
I swapped the necks because I prefer ebony for fretless. 
After the swap I contacted Ian again to ask where this neck came from. He also had the rest of this bass, the demolished body, electronics, pickups and bridge. He got this bass from some punk bassplayer who found it to heavy… so this guy cut it up..😬😳.

I finally bought the parts together with the body and in 2011 I send all the parts plus the rosewood neck to Wal and had Paul build me a new body for it and had the rosewoodneck fretted. So now I have 2 MK1 basses. 

All this time this poor body is lying in my room and i can’t look at it.

So i thought I’d give it a try and see if there’s someone brave and crazy enough to buy it and make something out of it…

 

I have no idea if there’s someone who wants to pay for it anyway so I just started high … why not?

Edited Thursday at 08:51 by RonC

[RonC]

The 2 MK1’s that are now forever connected!

[RonC]

Well, the demolished body is finally sold.. still got a nice price for it, money i can use for my new build!

Very curious what the new owner is gonna do with it! Hopefully he can make something nice out of it. 

[KevSpurs]

Congratulations. Will be interesting how they will put it to use. 
Any clues on the new build?

[RonC]

My new build will be a fretless, headless 5 sting neck through. 

5 piece neck: 3x wenge, 2x padouk.

Swamp ash body with padouk top.

Black hardware (not decided yet which) and one Lace Aluma Bass Bar PU at the stingray position.

Model will be inspired by the NS Design radius bass, still have to work that out..  .

[TrevorR]

Will be interesting to see if it does get resurrected. I must confess that every time it’s surfaced I have winced but wondered what I would do if I was any good with woodworking tools (which I absolutely am not). I’d be tempted to cut off the sides leaving a wide central rectangular core with the neck and pickup cavities. Then get some wings of a contrasting wood added - either something pale like a figured sycamore or dark like wenge or cocobolo. Make a kinda thru-neck plus wings kinda look.

 

Wonder if anyone will eventually manage to make something of it.

[Andyjr1515]

11 hours ago, TrevorR said:

Will be interesting to see if it does get resurrected. I must confess that every time it’s surfaced I have winced but wondered what I would do if I was any good with woodworking tools (which I absolutely am not). I’d be tempted to cut off the sides leaving a wide central rectangular core with the neck and pickup cavities. Then get some wings of a contrasting wood added - either something pale like a figured sycamore or dark like wenge or cocobolo. Make a kinda thru-neck plus wings kinda look.

 

Wonder if anyone will eventually manage to make something of it.

 

On 06/04/2025 at 00:20, Andyjr1515 said:

I’m afraid I’m all phoenixed out 😀

 

Yes - I'm definitely phoenixed out nowadays for doing this sort of stuff (spirit willing, hands not) but the fantastic and innovative ideas folks come up with with modding still fascinates me.

 

 

And I know how I would tackle the back wing if I was doing it.   I would probably need to draw a sketch, but basically I would recreate the general shape and visual effect of the two beauties that @RonC pasted above by:

 

- routing the top rear bout from the back of the body, halving the thickness.

- shaping the existing edge to the shape of the transition I wanted.

- cutting a piece of contrasting wood and route a mirror step so that it would slot in at back that I'd removed and shape that to the 'correct' shape of the rear bout

- I would add a sliver of contrasting light maple for the witness line

- Glue it in

- Carve the bout to the correct profile

 

No idea at the moment what I would do to correct the 'SG' spikes of the front cutaways...

 

 

[RonC]

15 hours ago, TrevorR said:

Will be interesting to see if it does get resurrected. I must confess that every time it’s surfaced I have winced but wondered what I would do if I was any good with woodworking tools (which I absolutely am not). I’d be tempted to cut off the sides leaving a wide central rectangular core with the neck and pickup cavities. Then get some wings of a contrasting wood added - either something pale like a figured sycamore or dark like wenge or cocobolo. Make a kinda thru-neck plus wings kinda look.

 

Wonder if anyone will eventually manage to make something of it.

I've thought about that too but not only the horns are cut off, the upper- and end part of the centre piece (below the armrest) is also partly cut off, that makes it difficult... i think you can only use is when the body is fully covered with lacquer.. so i think its easier to build an entire new body....

 

Edited 1 minute ago by RonC