Walrus Mantle - The newest IMA gizmo.

[ezbass]

55 minutes ago, AngeR said:

Just for curiosity, in the opinion of the people that finds it too expensive, what would be a fair price for this?

It depends how it stacks up against other boutique pres. Nobles are crazy expensive, Caveman too. Origin Effects are less expensive at around £550, as is the Jad Freer (IIRC), which, given the similar pedal board nature of the Walrus, I think is where it should be pitched. For my own use, £250-£300 is going to be my top end and there are plenty of offerings up to that figure for preamps that do what I need/want.

[soulstar89]

2 hours ago, Musicman20 said:

Exactly my thoughts. The Sadowsky and Tech 21 pre amps have been used for decades. They aren't cheap. They are extremely well made and well renowned. 

 

This IMA chap is a great player, he seems extremely enthusiastic. But, he just seems like yet another online personality pushing product. Do we have any links to his bands or recordings?

 

 Ian Martin Allison is a session player. great personality. He is also a part of scott's bass lessons. The company probably thought it was a good idea to collab with Ian as his done things with mike lull, La Bella and dunlop. His signature Mike Lull is rather cool. 

 

https://ianmartinallison.com/

[Musicman20]

1 hour ago, AngeR said:

Honestly, I get the product and what they wanted to achieve. 
For me, the EQ on most pedals isn’t what it needs to be for a working bass player. 
As for the price, if the pedal does what it claims to do and the quality is top notch, it’s not out of this world. 
 

in my opinion, if you feel the need for something like that, makes a lot of sense but if it’s not your case can be difficult.

 

Just for curiosity, in the opinion of the people that finds it too expensive, what would be a fair price for this?

Walrus Audio are not established, IMO, in the bass world to warrant such high prices.

 

They refer to 'premium' components. I mean, they list transformers and a 'year of research', but what EXACTLY is premium. I want specifics. See how Thorpyfx approaches such claims, as they really are bulletproof high end pedals.

 

I've always thought they try to push their guitar pedals like the 'Apple' of pedals. I've not heard one that is that remarkable. 

 

This preamp doesn't seem to actually do that much at all. Ian's tone is from his playing and his bass. It sounds like a nice EQ pedal? There needs to be way more comparisons of dry/or a normal DI compared to this high end version.

[LukeFRC]

OEP transformer I saw in a gut shot on social media. 
 

maybe I should have done my plan of a diy clone of the hellborg preamp !! 

[Swaff]

I love Walrus pedals but this is going to be a tough price to justify. Will be interesting to see whether the price is adjusted if sales aren't what they expected.

[Kev]

On 14/01/2026 at 09:00, ezbass said:

Crazy money IMO

 

 

Madness.  An MXR bass synth success, this shall not be...

[AinsleyWalker]

18 hours ago, Musicman20 said:

Walrus Audio are not established, IMO, in the bass world to warrant such high prices.

 

They refer to 'premium' components. I mean, they list transformers and a 'year of research', but what EXACTLY is premium. I want specifics. See how Thorpyfx approaches such claims, as they really are bulletproof high end pedals.

 

I've always thought they try to push their guitar pedals like the 'Apple' of pedals. I've not heard one that is that remarkable. 

 

This preamp doesn't seem to actually do that much at all. Ian's tone is from his playing and his bass. It sounds like a nice EQ pedal? There needs to be way more comparisons of dry/or a normal DI compared to this high end version.

I think this is a good point. A lot of Walrus pedals are fine, but they don't have the history of being a particularly 'premium' brand so this seems a big jump. Brands who start off with some of their most expensive gear, and gradually bring the ranges down in price (thinking about Origin for example, going from expensive big box Cali to more affordable compact versions) seem to succeed/get away with premium pricing more than brands who start off as a pretty affordable/generic option and then try and hit the higher price ranges. They often end up alienating their audience/fanbase. 

[Jack]

I've just watched the videos and it certainly does sound great, although as mentioned it would have been nice to have a pedal on/off comparison because the signal chain seems to involve one of the best bassists of our generation, a beautiful custom Lull bass and apparently a proper recording studio's worth of other gear. I'll bet it sounded ok without the pedal too. The price is outrageous but this is clearly being positioned at the top of the market alongside things like custom basses and other boutique pieces so I'm not sure how much rational thought can be applied to the price tag. It's easy enough to think that you could probably get that kind of range of sounds by putting a nice eq pedal in front of any normal transformer DI. Or you could even get most of the way there with a cheap multi effects. Hell if somebody buys one who also owns a NAM profiler then anyone can have access to all of the sounds of this new gadget for the princely sum of £60 or however much the GP5 costs these days. But then that takes all of the fun out of it, doesn't it?

 

 

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Jack

[Kev]

On 15/01/2026 at 10:32, Kev said:

 

Madness.  An MXR bass synth success, this shall not be...

 

Theyve apparently just sold out of their first batch....

 

I'm going to assume it was a rather small batch, but still. Anything that fella touches turns to gold.