Wal spotting.

[NancyJohnson]

Look, I know we're not supposed to post Gumtree links, so I won't, go look yourself, but there's a very nice, decently priced 1985 one up for £8k in Hounslow.  Save yourself a few £££.

 

Look for it yourself.

 

 

[Piers_Williamson]

It's not yours by any chance is it?

[NancyJohnson]

1 hour ago, Piers_Williamson said:

It's not yours by any chance is it?

 

Bwahaha.

 

The seller always seems to have a bundle of decent kit on sale!

 

[Bagman]

Hi ,does Wal rhyme with Ball? or is it more like wishing "well" ?

 

I can't recollect hearing the word 

[Piers_Williamson]

1 hour ago, Bagman said:

Hi ,does Wal rhyme with Ball? or is it more like wishing "well" ?

 

I can't recollect hearing the word 

I think that might depend on whether one has a plum in ones mouth (while playing one's Wal, naturally).  Or there may be an Aussie interpretation of this too.....

[cetera]

1 hour ago, Bagman said:

Hi ,does Wal rhyme with Ball? or is it more like wishing "well" ?

 

I can't recollect hearing the word 

More like rhyming with 'hole'

[Piers_Williamson]

11 minutes ago, cetera said:

More like rhyming with 'hole'

As in: I am a Mal and I live in a Hal

 

[Bagman]

Thanks lads 

[NancyJohnson]

Say the word 'wally' and leave off the lee.  

Edited Monday at 16:29 by NancyJohnson

[ped]

Just adding the obligatory comment about being offered one for -£300 in the 80s

[Misdee]

If people are willing to pay £9 grand for a vintage Wal then good luck to them, and well done to whoever is managing to sell them at that price.

 

I  would love to buy a Wal but I don't want an old one and all the associated problems for that kind of money. I'd much rather have a new one made by Paul Herman, but last I heard it was a six year wait. When you get to a certain age six years is a maybe rather than a when. I'll just have to make do with something else.

Edited Monday at 20:26 by Misdee

[Misdee]

10 hours ago, Bagman said:

Hi ,does Wal rhyme with Ball? or is it more like wishing "well" ?

 

I can't recollect hearing the word 

Waller, but without the "ler" at the end. From Ian Waller, co-founder of the company.

[Mrbigstuff]

1 hour ago, Misdee said:

If people are willing to pay £9 grand for a vintage Wal then good luck to them, and well done to whoever is managing to sell them at that price.

 

I  would love to buy a Wal but I don't want an old one and all the associated problems for that kind of money. I'd much rather have a new one made by Paul Herman, but last I heard it was a six year wait. When you get to a certain age six years is a maybe rather than a when. I'll just have to make do with something else.

Plenty of other fantastic basses out there for much less!

[Misdee]

11 hours ago, Mrbigstuff said:

Plenty of other fantastic basses out there for much less!

I know, but nothing sounds like a Wal. A proper Alembic would be an acceptable substitute, I suppose. That's a whole other can of worms.

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 08:53 by Misdee

[Rich]

23 hours ago, Bagman said:

Hi ,does Wal rhyme with Ball? or is it more like wishing "well" ?

 

I can't recollect hearing the word 

Rhymes with "doll".

 

14 hours ago, ped said:

Just adding the obligatory comment about being offered one for -£300 in the 80s

Paid £330 for mine in '86.

[snorkie635]

Have posted about this a while ago, but following on from Rich, I thought I'd re-state my first Wal cost £50 (fifty), in 1989, and, no, it wasn't stolen.

[HeadlessBassist]

I've never seen the attraction, personally. Played a couple and wasn't particularly impressed. And now at £8k? Nah. The rich collectors are welcome to them.

[snorkie635]

3 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

I've never seen the attraction, personally. Played a couple and wasn't particularly impressed. And now at £8k? Nah. The rich collectors are welcome to them.

Agree wholeheartedly.

[mikeswals]

On 07/10/2025 at 01:42, Misdee said:

I know, but nothing sounds like a Wal. A proper Alembic would be an acceptable substitute, I suppose. That's a whole other can of worms.

 

 

Alembics sound nothing similar to a Wal.

[Misdee]

20 minutes ago, mikeswals said:

Alembics sound nothing similar to a Wal.

I know the don't, but I could console myself with one.🙂

Edited 6 hours ago by Misdee

[Kev]

Sometimes I miss my Wal MK2.  Sounded incredible, looked fantastic.

 

But it was one of the most uncomfortable basses I've ever played.  Horrible neck profile, horrible pickup thumb anchoring, horrible distance between strings and body.  If I was rich enough to order one, I'd change almost everything about it (though I think the 5 string version solves a lot of it), but the sound is my favourite raw bass sound by a country mile.

 

For the price?  Nah, they're just daft now, and many owners are toxic AF about protecting their value as well (the FB group was a horrid place when I left), I've heard of some actively messaging people selling Wals "cheaply" to tell them to ask for more, so as not to damage their investment.  

 

It's a very shrewd move to continue to refuse to sell the electrics separately, as without that exclusivity, I don't think the market would be there.