Mokl Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 My 5 string Wal Mach II from May `88. It was refinished in the 90`s in black poly by a previous owner, although the control cavity informed me that it originally had schedua facings. I finally decided to take the plunge and sent it to Paul Herman for a strip down and refinish. I was a little nervous, not having any idea what it would look like underneath, but I was confident that Paul would make something decent of it even if he found horrible repairs or marks. About 12 weeks later I got the bass back, and I was amazed with how it turned out! Needless to say I'm very happy with the result. I also asked Paul to slightly shave the neck down and finish it in satin as opposed to gloss. I'm glad I did, it feels great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Good move, it looks much better now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Result! Looks like new now, whoever chose to paint it black needs a stern talking to methinks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walplayer Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 [quote name='lemmywinks' post='842955' date='May 20 2010, 11:37 AM']Result! Looks like new now, whoever chose to paint it black needs a stern talking to methinks![/quote] That's excellent Matt !!! So glad you stuck with it and i bet you are too now!! probably sounds better too now without all the lacquer/paint? Bet you were wondering/dreading what'd be under the black yeah the guy that finished it black i think may of been influenced by geddy or maybe newstead from metallica ,it was done in the 90's. nice sap lines in middle and headstock looks about a thousand times cooler now too with the proper logo!! Is one of the last few signed by Ian about a month before he sadly passed away iirc. looks great!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetera Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Wow! Paul has done amazing work there.....! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorick Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 I quite like the black poly finish, but those woods deserve to see the light of day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 That is such a big improvement. I absolutely [i]detest[/i] black basses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Whoever refinished it in black was clearly a bit of a Jean-Luc Retard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Rich Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Looked nice before. Now it looks stunning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charla Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 I have a 4 string in shedua, can't think of why anyone would have it refinished in black? Gorgeous bass and I would love something like your 5 string to match with the 4. Cheers Charla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbassist Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 Wow! Gamble paid off! Great bass :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 Some gorgeous wood there, nice one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackElan Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 Only reason I could think that one would refinish a Wal in black is because they are a Metallica or Jason Newsted fan and they really wanted to have the bass from the "One" video. I once contemplated painting a natural Wal fiver black for this very reason but don't tell anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mokl Posted May 21, 2010 Author Share Posted May 21, 2010 Thanks for all the comments. To be fair it didn't look bad in black, I was just keen to see what was underneath and get the bass fully up together. Plus, I have always wanted a schedua-topped Wal, so I just couldn't resist getting it done forever. I don't know if the refinish has affected the tone, although it definitely sounds richer than it did before. This could be due to different strings, Paul re-setting the pickup heights, anything I guess. Gigged it last night and I couldn't be happier with the sound - it always had a nice low mid growl, but it seems fuller across the whole frequency spectrum, if that makes any sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toddy54 Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 That is [u]nice[/u], whoever painted it black needs a good slap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiritchaser Posted May 22, 2010 Share Posted May 22, 2010 cool decision! Did the same with my battered black poly fiver some time ago - also a weight issue. The laquer had been about 3 mm thick so you can imagine. It was 1/2 kg of paint! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanbass1 Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 Well worth it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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