*PLEASE READ* - It's come to our attention that there are some commenters on our videos who are trying to scam our subscribers with offers of free gifts and message requests. None of these comments are official or from us. We will never reach out via the comments of a social media channel. We're doing our best to remove the comments and flag the accounts in question!
Everyone should bookmark, and archive this iconic video: Scott's final SBL appearance after his wife finds out he dropped $20,000 on that bass. I have always thought Wal basses looked so cool, and of course they were made even cooler to me when Geddy Lee played one for a few years. I think he mentioned in a Bass Player Magazine interview that they weren't great basses to tour with, because of some problems that were caused by humidity.
Never heard that - he used them for 4 tours without even a back up for 3 of those tours. Only things he said were that the larger neck helped him play faster, and that he didn't mess with adjusting the electronics much.
Congrats on your Wal acquisition, Scott. That bass is a beauty! As the only Wal dealer in the U.S. in the mid-80's through early 90's, we (The Bass Centre L.A.) sold many Wal's during this era. Jason Newsted bought his Wal Mk I from me (all black with gold hardware, just like Geddy's,) and I turned Flea onto the trans-blue Mk II he purchased and used on Blood Sugar Sex Magik - we even provided Geddy with a back-up Wal for a Rush tour back in the day. I still have a great photo of Flea's blue bass on the rack in the shop before he purchased it. Wal's are truly unique, and it's great to see they have gained so much value over the years.
So…. Basically…. It’s YOUR FAULT that Music Man basses are so popular…. 😂😂😂 and you are the reason half the people reading this comment slap harder than they need to, lmao😂
Here's a tip for using the filters: Play a harmonic with the filter knob pulled up. Then adjust the knob until that harmonic is accentuated. That way you know exactly which frequency is being boosted at the cutoff and you can set that frequency in a way that works best with what you are playing. It also works as a way to recall a setting precisely.
The Wal fretless he had is genuinely magical, I don't think a single other bass in the world has or ever will sound like it (that's ever been recorded, anyway). Were money not an object, I'd get a double neck for a Mk 1 fretless like Mick's, and a Mk 2 fretted for that Chancellor realness, for sure. Wals are unicorns, honestly
@@FeepYiked I was going to mention Mick Karn. When I think of the Wal bass sound I absolutely think Mick Karn's solo recordings, e.g. Thundergirl Mutatation, the first track from The Tooth Mother.
Awesome. I was hoping you'd do something like this. I have a black (Geddy Lee style) Wal Mk1, bought from the Bass Center in East London. Sadly, I now have multiple sclerosis and can't play any more. I sold my Ricky, my Jazz, my Aria pro II and my Ibanez fretless 5 string but I kept by Wal. I'll never sell her and I'll pass her on to a music charity when I go.
Got my BC Rich NJ series from the bass center in 1983. They had a fender jazz bass second hand at £275 that I wanted to buy but they persuaded me to get the BC Rich @ £345 I think it was. Looking back, they were right.
I have two of these series, both made for me by Ian "Wal" Waller in about'84. I have a fretted and a fretless and I have a spare neck - just beautiful workmanship from Ian and Pete in High Wycombe. I used the fretless on the Ozzy "Ultimate Sin" tour for the intro for Killer of Giants. Reading some of the comments - I never had any humidity issues, never had a neck issue, never had a single electrical issue, not even a pot crackle! I like that they used brass inserts for the neck bolts that allowed you to switch necks in a few minutes with no need for a setup and that they have a built in DI for studio. I have used the basses for many projects over the last 4 decades and love them dearly. These days the only reason they do not tour is the same reason that they are in secure storage... for safety! They are getting too valuable to take on the road or to keep sitting at home!
Btw. All Alembics (basses) have the same tonecontrols with the lowpass filters and switchable/adjustable Q (which is that 10db peak). IIRC, the Alembics use 6db and 18db (as well as off).
The late, great Mick Karn had played Wal basses, too! 😊 And I remember it had taken me aaages to get used to (and also _like_ ) Geddy Lee's Wal sound, after having loved the rather gritty Rickenbacker and JazzBass sounds from Rush's previous albums 😅 And I had just turned 15 when 'Do They Know It's Christmas' came out and had started playing the bass only half a year earlier; Still a great song today, as is that bass! Congratulations on the purchase, Scott! 😊👍
Somewhat belatedly, my discovery of the WAL bass was in the mid-1970s and it came from the amazing fretless player, Percy Jones. At that time, he guested on a couple of Brian Eno's solo albums (viz. 'Before & After Science' & 'Another Green World'). Jones broke the mould when it came to creatively using a fretless bass and a WAL enhanced that. Of course, Jones's 'regular band' was 'Brand X', where his distinctive technique & style played a defining role in their own 'jazz-fusion' composiions. I had the pleasure on two occasions, to see Percy Jones play with Brand X; and from a close vantage point. The bass players mentioned in this podcast all came after - some, well after - Percy Jones had taken up with WAL and their expertly-crafted, fretless basses. CHECK OUT PERCY JONES!
@@berndklein1477 The sadly deceased Mick Karn, a superb player, was similar in some respects to Percy. I'm pretty certain they were on different tracks on at least one album I had.
Using the harmonic filter sound can be heard on The Patient by Tool. Justin has that engaged and is rolling the tone knob back and forth while playing the bass line. Absolutely nuts and sounds killer.
That EQ filter is what a resonant low pass does on a synth. It's boosting the resonant frequency at the cut off point, but at a fixed amount. If you had a Mini Moog you could keep boosting the frequency and make it self oscillate at the cut off point. A very cool filter on a bass I must say.
Geddy Lee’s Wal history: when Rush was recording Power Windows (1985), British producer Peter Collins brought his Wal to the studio. Ged tried several basses and found Peter’s Wal sounded best. He recorded Power Windows with it, then got his own (black) one, and used it on the PW tour, the Hold Your Fire album and tour, and the Presto album and tour. He added a ‘rounder’ sounding (red) Wal for the Roll The Bones album and tour. Four albums/tours, Geddy played Wals!
Geddy recorded "Power Windows" but, toured with a Steinberger as he did for the "Grace Under Pressure" tour. ua-cam.com/video/DODm3ZWNfUk/v-deo.html The first tour Geddy used his Black Wal was on the "Hold Your Fire" tour. I've seen Rush every tour from "Grace Under Pressure" to their final tour "R40"
That bass definitely sounds awesome, I always liked Do They Know It’s Christmas? and the bass on the song sounds great so it’s really cool that Scott bought it. Happy holidays Scott and Ian, love the stuff you guys do and here’s to more great content in 2023
Not mentioning Mick Karn in the video is a massive oversight, one it seems the comments section is quite willing to call you on. He was such an awesome player and *the* name that comes to mind when Wal comes up.
Ian I love you for real. Just got SBL membership because I cannot afford lessons anymore due to gas prices, inflation and losing my student job. Just finished the beginner pathway and honestly watching you is so much fun, your enthusiasm is contagious. Even the lessons that would otherwise feel kinda boring were actually fun, and without you I probably wouldnt have done them properly but only half-hearted. BIG THANKS - of course also to the whole team.
I wish they had mentioned Leigh Gorman, he is such an underrated bassist. He still has his original one from the early 80's and I believe it previously belonged to Paul Simonon of The Clash. There is a list of serial numbers, not sure if it is currated by Wal or not, but it is a relatively "small" family tree of who's who in music and most basses they made can be accounted for. Another interesting thing they didn't go into is the construction of the pickups with each pole piece being a seperate pickup (magnet and coil). The significance of that construction is way above my paygrade but it must contribute to the unique sounds they are capable of.
I have had two MKI Wals; the first, a black painted 1981 signed by Wal himself, the second, a mahogany top made from the reclaimed steps from an English manor house. A Pete Stevens signed one, I think 1986? I wish I still had them. Paid $750.00 for the Black one in 1999/2000, maybe 1800.00 for the other. They all sound different, and all are amazing. I actually worked on some electronics for a few folks (minor repairs), Pete was kind enough to send parts for me to replace for folks. A lovely guy.
The online bass community is so awesome and tight! I love it. Im a guitarist since 30 yrs and what do we have? Steve Terreberry and Jared Dines? Just clowns with big heads. Im relearning from the beginning and try to learn how to play proper bass thanks to you guys on this channel along with your cool gang of friends like davie504, Charles Berthoud, bassbuzz etc. Thanks for a great channel and an even greater community!
at: 7:30 or so, The Wal tone circuit is the same idea as the Alembic tone circuit. You can make either sound extremely close to the other but differences are there due to the obvious things like the pickups, pickup placement, etc...
The sound of a Wal... - Thick - Rich - Poppy - Punchy - Thumpy - Twangy All in one -- whats not to love! You can hear all the notes no matter how fast or ghostly you play. The punch and twang it can hit on some simple notes can make boring into something thats just sick! I am not even a bass player and I think the Wal MK2 is simply the coolest and greatest sound on earth. Especially the Power Windows setting. Thanks for showing us your Wal! Cheers, Mate!
I would add it also has a very clean sound (no rattling, string vibrations, or other excess pickup) as well as more of a 'synthetic' sound compared to any other bass -- possibly due to the lack of picking up those imperfections; but it's NOT a bad thing -- it's simply different.
Percy Jones was the first player I knew of who played a Wal. The band was Brand X. The name of the record was Unorthodox Behavior. Which is also the definition of buying a bass guitar that costs 20000.- LOL
I can NEVER afford it, but yeah, Wal is one of those wet dream basses for me. For me personally, it was seeing John Illsey of Dire straits, Nick Beggs of Kajagoogoo and Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet toting Wal bass which made me become aware of them. And let's not forget the incomparable Mick Karn, who used his fretless Wal to such devastating effect.
Admittedly, I don't get it. To me, it sounds like something is being pushed to much and is giving a unintended distortion. It does not sound smooth or clean to me at all. Then again, I have a Ric 4003 and a Steve Harris signature model bass, so who am to judge on niche instruments?
Love the WAL basses! As for a connection to a bass guitar that I saw, for me it was the Ibanez MC924 after I saw Mike Porcaro of Toto playing one. Sting of The Police, Adam Clayton of U2 and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac also played the MC924 at one point. I loved the sounds it made! I saw one in a local music store in 1984 and traded my black 1980's era Rickenbacker 4001 for the Ibanez MC-924 in Polar White. The white color has changed over time to a creamy pearl with a gold/yellow tint. I still have it, though it needs some work. One of the tuners snapped and the electronics no longer work, and Ibanez doesn't offer any parts or helpful suggestions on this bass any more. One more thing, it's HEAVY! Weighs a ton! But I love it, and used the hell out of it in the bands I was in through the 1980's and into the 90's.
Great demonstration of the Wal bass tone spectrum. I'm happy for you getting the best bass you will ever own. My Wal Mk. 1 (Geddy Lee) arrived in July of 1993 and I love it ! Another great Wal bass player is Percy Jones of Brand X.
The top end sizzles in a laser-like way. It's got teeth, but like a bandsaw. Super cool, very iconic! Scott, if you need to justify this purchase just let Ian do the talking haha. I LOVE this video format BTW. It works well and the more you two work it the better it will get. Those little post-vid scenes are hilarious too. Cheers!
what an instrument ! It's very impressive how many sounds you can have with the Wal bass ! It's definitly a dream bass thanks for sharing that with us !
Had three Wals Mach 1's - they are truly epic... the last one Pete made for me - blue, ebony f'board with no markers but a bass clef in the 12th fret and LED's on the top edge... miss that bass so much!
Loving the new format Scott & Ian. And just wow I can see you making Lisa lots of cups of tea on demand for life now 😂. It is a marvellous bass with a wonderful history.
That is one of the best looking Wal’s I have seen and they all have that killer sound that is a Wal. Great buy and let us know how you like the feel and playability of it. Keep up these great videos.
I *LOVE* (or maybe I should say *LOUV*) the little vignettes at the end of these “bromance” vids!! Where Scott and Ian are just hanging in front of the “telly”. God, they’re GOLDEN. The lamenting-but-honest “I’d give anything for a mullet...” by two -bald- follically-challenged individuals. Righteous, brother! TESTIFY!!
Thinking about English luthiers building basses worth > 20.000 bucks only one came to my mind. And I knew I was right when I saw the case. 😊 But I did it the other way around this Christmas. I purchased a '75 Fireglo Rickenbacker 4001 for about 1/15 of the price of the Wal.
This was excellent!! Total trip down memory lane! I first fell in love with Geddy Lee on A Show Of Hands live album, so that black Wal was in my brain for my entire guitar learning youth and is still the sound in my head I associate with Rush!
Thank you for invoking good memories for me. I owned a fretless and a fretted Wal in the 80s. The fretless had neck that was made for Percy Jones (had PJ decal on the headstock) but, he didn't take to the fingerboard I believe. Percy had a strong connection with Electric Wood in the early days I think. The wood was Ipe aka Paratecoma peroba. Body was Shedua aka Ovankol over Mahogany core. I then had one made by Ian and Pete using some Maple I had for the body facings and an Ebony fretted neck. The necks were swapped over at Electric Wood. The sound in the video is absolutely what I remember. You are spot on with the complexity of the top quality electronics, dolly mixtures as Pete called them. The bass was unusual for the time in being capable of being DI'ed without a DI box, you get a glimpse of the connector next to the standard jack socket in your video. One thing you did get wrong is that your instrument is a Wal Custom. It is the same shape as the original Mark 1 which had a plain Ash body and less complex electronics. The Custom was made with exotic wood facings over a mahogany core. The neck was a laminate of Maple, Mukulungu Afrikulu and English hornbeam in the centre. Another thing to note is that the pickups were/are quite sophisticated in having separate coils and magnets in pairs for each string in alignment with their respective string, not stacked, one reason why the pickups are so broad. Unfortunately being fairly young, foolish and short of money I sold both at different times, something I do regret. They are fantastic basses. I hope they are still being well looked after, being played and bringing joy to whoever has them now.
One of my lecturers at college bought a Wal fretless MK1 for the princely sum of £400 in the early 80s. He still has it and I briefly played it, the best bass I have ever touched by quite a long way.
1984 I was allowed to Touch the Walbass when I bought my first bass it had the Quader of the price Scott oaied now. My Choke Was between the Wal and a Warwick Thumb Custom for almost 4000, my pocket had online 1200 DM so I had to take a Hoyer P bass and went hitchhiking back home the guy from the store gave me an used Ibanez case to take it home for Nottingham, i still love it , and the Wal is still my favourite but too expensive. Nice Vlog you to!
There it is. The arbiter of my hopes and dreams. The object of my obsessions that will always remain just out of reach. Absolute artisan perfection in bass form. I hope you enjoy every second you have with it, you lucky bastard.
JJ Burnel used a Wal on the 1980 release of Bear Cage..... plus on some of The Meninblack album. He kept using it for a few years live until he went to a Yamaha BB2000.
The Meninblack, for me is the best bass tone iv'e ever heard on an album ! Often wondered wot he used on the album ? Doesn't suprise me now you've pointed it out ! Never knew JJ played a Wal tho ! Wot a bass.
Thanks guys great vid. Yes would love to see you two reviewing different basses together, also reflecting on different amp tones (a lot of variables). Also on hidden & not so commonly known tones of basses. Happy holidays to both & your families.
Yeah, Wal is on my list of all time definitive, indispensable bass contributions - along with Alembic and Ken Smith (and some others). Such coherence of vision actualized through superb craftsmanship. You could really form a deep emotional connection to a bass like that :)
First off, the bass player most associated (and quite rightly) with the Wal Bass is Mick Karn, then Percy Jones and maybe Gary Tibbs or Nick Beggs. Next, its strength is not "the top end", it is the mid range when using the quasi parametric eq on the tone controls, so evident in the duck quack sound it can produce. Finally, the closest sounding bass to a Wal is not the Stingray, it is the G&L L2000. I know because I have three Wal basses (fretted and fretless Mach 1 (not a typo, actual name in the 80's) , a 5 string fretless Mach 2 and 2 G&L L2000s (1 fretted and 1 fretless)). I also have an Ibanez bass that fails miserably to emulate a similar "Wal wah-wah eq" in its tone controls. I recorded a demo for someone, used the G&L fretted L2000 and the Wal Mach 2 fretless 5 string and they sounded almost identical apart from the glissandos on the fretless. Anyone with a Wal Custom, try this: Neck pickup, tone control pulled up, rolled back to 0, bridge pickup pulled up , between 4 and 5, blend slightly more in favour of the neck pickup and pick attack off.
I'd agree that for a brand name bass the L-2000 is closer than any Stingray. But now there are guys making wal shaped clones out there with Turner multicoil humbuckers and Lusithand low pass filter based preamps that are even closer sounding.
I get that initial feeling of “oh drat” when you finally get the thing you’ve been dreaming about. I begged and pleaded and finally got a Bass VI, and was so excited and nervous to try it out (I’d never even had my hands on one). I was immediately like, “oh my god it’s too weird!!!” A few adjustments to my technique, and now I friggin love that thing and am always so excited when it’s appropriate for a tune.
Worth every penny. I've been crazy for these since I saw Geddy play one. Had no idea what I was looking at. I've been playing 40 years and I've held 2 of them. Well done :)
Great video, guys! I have had a bucket list of instruments as a bassist that I have always wanted... I have owned the following on my list: Conklin Sidewinder Music Man Stingray Rickenbacker 4003 Curbow Alembic F Bass Warrior Dran Michael Spector Warwick Streamer Stage I Rick Turner The one bass I've Always wanted that has yet to be checked off my bass bucket list is a Wal... One day I hopefully will achieve that dream. As Ian stated, you can get close with a Stingray, but it doesn't quite get there...however I may have the answer. Back in the late 90s early 2000s Fodera came out with a preamp pedal with a butterfly on it called the Fodera 2000 preamp. If you use one in line with a Stringray, and boost the top end, (BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THE LOW END KNOB AS IT CAN OVERLOAD THE INPUT ON YOUR AMP) you can totally get that super, ultra clear top end similar to a Wal bass. If you get a chance to try it, I would love to hear your feedback. They are really great preamp pedals that are getting harder and harder to find. Also, if used on a guitar, it will give your guitar some amazing ultra high clarity much like the high end Alembic guitars. Just FYI. Hope to hear your thoughts if you get to try one out. Thanks for all you do for the magnificent bass and the low end world we reside in. Cheers!
This brings back memories for me, I had two wals, an early 80's 4 string fretless & bought a new 6 string fretless from Paul Herman when he restarting making them again, that pick attack almost adds frets to a fretless its so percussive & just sounds like no other bass, sadly I sold both some years ago but I've recently emailed Paul hoping he will build another fretless 6 for me 🤞 great video & that Is one beautiful wal you have there with such a cool history too 👍
My brother was a photographer. He made his living by taking pictures of artists and selling them. One day, he came with a picture he had taken of McCartney in concert in Paris, with this huge bass with perfect shapes. I had never seen such a beautiful bass. I had never heard of this luthier, I didn't even know what it sounded like, but I knew I wanted one! And then, one day, I found out how much such a bass would cost... Still my dream bass after forty years, in front of an Alembic Series I and a pink Jaydee.
Ok now Scott, you do not even know what you’re holding and playin.!!! Uwwwwhh!!❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥That is a true 70’s sound on bass made by masters for plain blokes who played beyond fab!!!! Wow guitar 🎸 like 🤩 wow 😮 like wow 🤩!
Mick Karn was my inspiration in getting a Wal. I couldn't agree more with Ian about the Wal mk1 aesthetic. It captulates "British restraint" in design. Nothing garish, a somewhat utilitarian but elegant form, that permits it to be visually acceptable in any genre while other boutique brands may look out of place. Ian makes the sonic comparison with the Stingray, but the G&L L2000 is a much closer fit, with its Hot, ceramic Pickups and pickup placement. On that note, Scott and Ian didn't even touch on the multicoil Wal Pickups.
I have a Mark I and II that is fretless. I've noticed that the "plug in" area, on both WAL's have developed a crackling sound. Looks like just a simple electronics issue. Interesting that both basses have come down with the same issue. I have a few basses that are over 20K. The Chantay's Warren Waters' 1964 Fender Jazz, Warwick's 1984 004 Streamer Stage I NT Masterbuilt Spector NS. This is the bass that Stuart Spector sued Hans Peter Wilfer for copyright infringement, 1964 Gibson Thunderbird II and a 1962 Fender Stacked knob Jazz bass. BTW great video!
Bruce Thomas from The Attractions was also a Wal player in the 80’s, sounded totally killer on it. His signature tone for ever before was his pink P Bass, which was also a killer tone, but you can clearly hear the point when he switched to the Wal. I had a (also 1984) Vigier Passion with a filter based preamp which had that wah-wah thing going on. Also later had one of Johnn East’s ACG influenced filter based preamps on a Jazz Bass. I was the same as you with it when you first played the Wal, it was super flexible, in fact it was too flexible and a bit of a nightmare to use, especially live. Lovely and historic bass you have there, though!
I got a quick meet and greet with Geddy Lee when he was promoting his big Book Of Bass. This first thing I did after getting the book home was to flip directly to the Wal page, lol.
Greg Edwards of Failure crushed on one of these in the early-mid 90's. Justin Chancellor was undoubtedly influenced by this, as the bands toured together. Great video!
There was a thread on TB a few years ago, where I posted a design for a simple onboard LPF with resonance switch. It works well and is easy to build. All wound magnetic pickups have a resonant frequency with a 12db/octave roll off. Roughly speaking, the height of the resonant peak depends on the Z loading and the frequency depends on the capacitive loading. Using a resonant LPF to move that frequency around is a way to (sort of) emulate the treble response of many pickups. I think that's what Wal (and Alembic) were going for with this type of preamp.
@@PjRjHj I can't post a link, but I just found it. If you go to Pickups and Electronics, then do a thread title search on "Different Kind of Low Pass FIlter", that should get you there. You can probably skip the first 2 or 3 pages...
Great demo! Another cool tone is setting the filters for that dub sound like you did and turning on the pick attack. Pretty unique, was hoping to see you demo that too. Also if you open the back panel up there are 4 trim controls. There are 2 trim pots for each pickup that are kind of like a low shelf control. You can kind of tune the low end to get rid of some of the boominess, I think it's advertised as a control for 5 strings. Then there's the volume output. I think Factory setting is cranked all the way. If you're overloading whatever you're plugging into, you can trim that back. Then there's the pick attack trim. That controls the level of the pick attack. I think factory default is set in the middle. If you want to make it even more subtle you can trim that back or make it really accentuated! With the regular front control and those trim controls, you can really customize the tone a great deal on this bass! With distortion you can find so many cool zones depending on the mid frequency you accentuate!
Another cool thing is the output section is isolated with a transformer! It isolates both the regular 1/4 output and the XLR line out to go directly to the board
I've been playing bass (very avergely) for nearly 30 years - but have always wanted to get better - to be able to solo like you Scott - I downloaded the free soloing course and have just spent 30 minutes practising the C Major Sequenced Sevenths exercise!!! Looking forward to keeping going!
*PLEASE READ* - It's come to our attention that there are some commenters on our videos who are trying to scam our subscribers with offers of free gifts and message requests. None of these comments are official or from us. We will never reach out via the comments of a social media channel. We're doing our best to remove the comments and flag the accounts in question!
I saw that on other channels and was wondering about that. Thanks for the heads up!
Yeah, those are popping up everywhere these days. This or a similar message is on many channels now.
You're not the only one it's happened to. I got fooled a few months ago by a Rick Beato scam.
Everyone should bookmark, and archive this iconic video: Scott's final SBL appearance after his wife finds out he dropped $20,000 on that bass. I have always thought Wal basses looked so cool, and of course they were made even cooler to me when Geddy Lee played one for a few years. I think he mentioned in a Bass Player Magazine interview that they weren't great basses to tour with, because of some problems that were caused by humidity.
You just resell it for 30000
Justin Chancellor has toured with them for ages
Never heard that - he used them for 4 tours without even a back up for 3 of those tours. Only things he said were that the larger neck helped him play faster, and that he didn't mess with adjusting the electronics much.
The reason Mark King chose the Jaydee over a Wal was due to the neck issues
😂🤣
Congrats on your Wal acquisition, Scott. That bass is a beauty! As the only Wal dealer in the U.S. in the mid-80's through early 90's, we (The Bass Centre L.A.) sold many Wal's during this era. Jason Newsted bought his Wal Mk I from me (all black with gold hardware, just like Geddy's,) and I turned Flea onto the trans-blue Mk II he purchased and used on Blood Sugar Sex Magik - we even provided Geddy with a back-up Wal for a Rush tour back in the day. I still have a great photo of Flea's blue bass on the rack in the shop before he purchased it. Wal's are truly unique, and it's great to see they have gained so much value over the years.
I've seen this photo. Amazing!
So…. Basically…. It’s YOUR FAULT that Music Man basses are so popular…. 😂😂😂 and you are the reason half the people reading this comment slap harder than they need to, lmao😂
The only member of Metallica I'd want to spend any time with.
Here's a tip for using the filters: Play a harmonic with the filter knob pulled up. Then adjust the knob until that harmonic is accentuated. That way you know exactly which frequency is being boosted at the cutoff and you can set that frequency in a way that works best with what you are playing. It also works as a way to recall a setting precisely.
Genius tip!
Mick Karn is the reason I have 2 Wals! Super instrument, tone machine!❤❤❤
The Wal fretless he had is genuinely magical, I don't think a single other bass in the world has or ever will sound like it (that's ever been recorded, anyway).
Were money not an object, I'd get a double neck for a Mk 1 fretless like Mick's, and a Mk 2 fretted for that Chancellor realness, for sure.
Wals are unicorns, honestly
@@FeepYiked I was going to mention Mick Karn. When I think of the Wal bass sound I absolutely think Mick Karn's solo recordings, e.g. Thundergirl Mutatation, the first track from The Tooth Mother.
@@JamEWalsh or "Canton" with Japan
Mick Karn's tulipwood Wal was gorgeous. He also had a Travis Bean. Two cool basses played by one of the best to pick up the instrument.
@@JamEWalsh that might be his zon bass.
I love Wal basses because of Mick Karn, he got the mwahest of mwahs from his fretless Wal.
Awesome. I was hoping you'd do something like this. I have a black (Geddy Lee style) Wal Mk1, bought from the Bass Center in East London. Sadly, I now have multiple sclerosis and can't play any more. I sold my Ricky, my Jazz, my Aria pro II and my Ibanez fretless 5 string but I kept by Wal. I'll never sell her and I'll pass her on to a music charity when I go.
Very sorry that you have Multiple Sclerosis 😔. God bless to you
Got my BC Rich NJ series from the bass center in 1983. They had a fender jazz bass second hand at £275 that I wanted to buy but they persuaded me to get the BC Rich @ £345 I think it was. Looking back, they were right.
Man... That sucks. You don't know what life will throw at you.
God bless & stay strong
Jesus Can cure you brother, belive
@@ronjames6128 Thank you
I have two of these series, both made for me by Ian "Wal" Waller in about'84. I have a fretted and a fretless and I have a spare neck - just beautiful workmanship from Ian and Pete in High Wycombe. I used the fretless on the Ozzy "Ultimate Sin" tour for the intro for Killer of Giants. Reading some of the comments - I never had any humidity issues, never had a neck issue, never had a single electrical issue, not even a pot crackle! I like that they used brass inserts for the neck bolts that allowed you to switch necks in a few minutes with no need for a setup and that they have a built in DI for studio. I have used the basses for many projects over the last 4 decades and love them dearly. These days the only reason they do not tour is the same reason that they are in secure storage... for safety! They are getting too valuable to take on the road or to keep sitting at home!
Wow, 3 likes for Phil Soussan. Remember kids, if you want to be famous...play guitar.
Btw. All Alembics (basses) have the same tonecontrols with the lowpass filters and switchable/adjustable Q (which is that 10db peak). IIRC, the Alembics use 6db and 18db (as well as off).
Was just commenting that. And the series 2 which has the cvq (continually variable Q)
Yep I also wanted to add this comment, but you beat me to it!
The late, great Mick Karn had played Wal basses, too! 😊 And I remember it had taken me aaages to get used to (and also _like_ ) Geddy Lee's Wal sound, after having loved the rather gritty Rickenbacker and JazzBass sounds from Rush's previous albums 😅 And I had just turned 15 when 'Do They Know It's Christmas' came out and had started playing the bass only half a year earlier; Still a great song today, as is that bass! Congratulations on the purchase, Scott! 😊👍
Somewhat belatedly, my discovery of the WAL bass was in the mid-1970s and it came from the amazing fretless player, Percy Jones. At that time, he guested on a couple of Brian Eno's solo albums (viz. 'Before & After Science' & 'Another Green World'). Jones broke the mould when it came to creatively using a fretless bass and a WAL enhanced that. Of course, Jones's 'regular band' was 'Brand X', where his distinctive technique & style played a defining role in their own 'jazz-fusion' composiions. I had the pleasure on two occasions, to see Percy Jones play with Brand X; and from a close vantage point. The bass players mentioned in this podcast all came after - some, well after - Percy Jones had taken up with WAL and their expertly-crafted, fretless basses. CHECK OUT PERCY JONES!
has anybody played bass like Percy Jones ?
@@berndklein1477 me
@@berndklein1477 The sadly deceased Mick Karn, a superb player, was similar in some respects to Percy. I'm pretty certain they were on different tracks on at least one album I had.
so when should you have disovered wal..in the 60s????
“Dance of the Illegal Aliens”. Some of the best of Percy’s playing from his Wal days.
Using the harmonic filter sound can be heard on The Patient by Tool. Justin has that engaged and is rolling the tone knob back and forth while playing the bass line. Absolutely nuts and sounds killer.
Here this whole time I was thinking that was a wah pedal. Crazy. I can totally hear it now that I've heard the knob.
@@As_Asa_PhD It was recorded that way, but live he uses his Jim Dunlop wah pedal which was made to imitate that effect.
That EQ filter is what a resonant low pass does on a synth. It's boosting the resonant frequency at the cut off point, but at a fixed amount. If you had a Mini Moog you could keep boosting the frequency and make it self oscillate at the cut off point. A very cool filter on a bass I must say.
Such an iconic bass! I remember that bass from the video back when I was about 13. It looks and sounds fantastic! Great purchase!
Geddy Lee’s Wal history: when Rush was recording Power Windows (1985), British producer Peter Collins brought his Wal to the studio. Ged tried several basses and found Peter’s Wal sounded best. He recorded Power Windows with it, then got his own (black) one, and used it on the PW tour, the Hold Your Fire album and tour, and the Presto album and tour. He added a ‘rounder’ sounding (red) Wal for the Roll The Bones album and tour. Four albums/tours, Geddy played Wals!
Geddy recorded "Power Windows" but, toured with a Steinberger as he did for the "Grace Under Pressure" tour. ua-cam.com/video/DODm3ZWNfUk/v-deo.html
The first tour Geddy used his Black Wal was on the "Hold Your Fire" tour.
I've seen Rush every tour from "Grace Under Pressure" to their final tour "R40"
I thought most of Presto was on the jazz bass
@@jacobsmith1877Nope it was on the Wal, although you can approximate a Wal by favoring the bridge pickup on a jazz bass.
You and Ian are a perfect pair….I loved this. I watch most of your podcasts too. 🤘🏻👀🤘🏻
Get a short guy with mid-long hair and you make the next Top Gear Trio
They duplicated him
That bass definitely sounds awesome, I always liked Do They Know It’s Christmas? and the bass on the song sounds great so it’s really cool that Scott bought it. Happy holidays Scott and Ian, love the stuff you guys do and here’s to more great content in 2023
Not mentioning Mick Karn in the video is a massive oversight, one it seems the comments section is quite willing to call you on. He was such an awesome player and *the* name that comes to mind when Wal comes up.
I read 'Iconic English Bass' and though Please let it be a WAL! Wow! Fell in love with WAL's listening to Mick Karn.
Ian I love you for real. Just got SBL membership because I cannot afford lessons anymore due to gas prices, inflation and losing my student job. Just finished the beginner pathway and honestly watching you is so much fun, your enthusiasm is contagious. Even the lessons that would otherwise feel kinda boring were actually fun, and without you I probably wouldnt have done them properly but only half-hearted. BIG THANKS - of course also to the whole team.
Percy Jones
Mick Karn
Flea got one because of Leigh Gorman - Bow Wow Wow
Jonas Hellborg had an incredible double neck
John Giblin - Wal to Wal w/PJ
And Power Windows and Hold Your Fire/Presto-era Geddy Lee
Nick Beggs, Martin Kemp, John Ilsley, Bruce Thomas, Jason Newstead, Justin Mendal Johnsen, John Gustafson...
I wish they had mentioned Leigh Gorman, he is such an underrated bassist. He still has his original one from the early 80's and I believe it previously belonged to Paul Simonon of The Clash. There is a list of serial numbers, not sure if it is currated by Wal or not, but it is a relatively "small" family tree of who's who in music and most basses they made can be accounted for. Another interesting thing they didn't go into is the construction of the pickups with each pole piece being a seperate pickup (magnet and coil). The significance of that construction is way above my paygrade but it must contribute to the unique sounds they are capable of.
I saw Bow Bow Bow in Seattle ‘83. They were crushing. Walls of Boogies and Marshalls as I recall. Leigh is the guy I always associate with WAL too
I have had two MKI Wals; the first, a black painted 1981 signed by Wal himself, the second, a mahogany top made from the reclaimed steps from an English manor house. A Pete Stevens signed one, I think 1986? I wish I still had them. Paid $750.00 for the Black one in 1999/2000, maybe 1800.00 for the other. They all sound different, and all are amazing. I actually worked on some electronics for a few folks (minor repairs), Pete was kind enough to send parts for me to replace for folks. A lovely guy.
RIP Scott. Love this format btw. Killer Wal.
I love the format. Scott’s reaction was like watching my kid’s Christmas morning. Happy holidays to you all.
The online bass community is so awesome and tight! I love it. Im a guitarist since 30 yrs and what do we have? Steve Terreberry and Jared Dines? Just clowns with big heads. Im relearning from the beginning and try to learn how to play proper bass thanks to you guys on this channel along with your cool gang of friends like davie504, Charles Berthoud, bassbuzz etc. Thanks for a great channel and an even greater community!
You just found the wrong guitar guys. We have tons of cool people
at: 7:30 or so, The Wal tone circuit is the same idea as the Alembic tone circuit. You can make either sound extremely close to the other but differences are there due to the obvious things like the pickups, pickup placement, etc...
The sound of a Wal...
- Thick
- Rich
- Poppy
- Punchy
- Thumpy
- Twangy
All in one -- whats not to love! You can hear all the notes no matter how fast or ghostly you play. The punch and twang it can hit on some simple notes can make boring into something thats just sick!
I am not even a bass player and I think the Wal MK2 is simply the coolest and greatest sound on earth. Especially the Power Windows setting.
Thanks for showing us your Wal! Cheers, Mate!
I would add it also has a very clean sound (no rattling, string vibrations, or other excess pickup) as well as more of a 'synthetic' sound compared to any other bass -- possibly due to the lack of picking up those imperfections; but it's NOT a bad thing -- it's simply different.
Percy Jones was the first player I knew of who played a Wal. The band was Brand X. The name of the record was Unorthodox Behavior. Which is also the definition of buying a bass guitar that costs 20000.- LOL
That was a fretless precision on "unorthodox"
@@Bornlivedie2 I did not know that.
Percy first used the Wal on the Brand X release, 'Masques'.
I can NEVER afford it, but yeah, Wal is one of those wet dream basses for me.
For me personally, it was seeing John Illsey of Dire straits, Nick Beggs of Kajagoogoo and Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet toting Wal bass which made me become aware of them. And let's not forget the incomparable Mick Karn, who used his fretless Wal to such devastating effect.
Admittedly, I don't get it. To me, it sounds like something is being pushed to much and is giving a unintended distortion. It does not sound smooth or clean to me at all. Then again, I have a Ric 4003 and a Steve Harris signature model bass, so who am to judge on niche instruments?
Love the WAL basses! As for a connection to a bass guitar that I saw, for me it was the Ibanez MC924 after I saw Mike Porcaro of Toto playing one. Sting of The Police, Adam Clayton of U2 and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac also played the MC924 at one point. I loved the sounds it made! I saw one in a local music store in 1984 and traded my black 1980's era Rickenbacker 4001 for the Ibanez MC-924 in Polar White. The white color has changed over time to a creamy pearl with a gold/yellow tint. I still have it, though it needs some work. One of the tuners snapped and the electronics no longer work, and Ibanez doesn't offer any parts or helpful suggestions on this bass any more. One more thing, it's HEAVY! Weighs a ton! But I love it, and used the hell out of it in the bands I was in through the 1980's and into the 90's.
love this format!
Great demonstration of the Wal bass tone spectrum.
I'm happy for you getting the best bass you will ever own.
My Wal Mk. 1 (Geddy Lee) arrived in July of 1993 and I love it !
Another great Wal bass player is Percy Jones of Brand X.
The top end sizzles in a laser-like way. It's got teeth, but like a bandsaw. Super cool, very iconic! Scott, if you need to justify this purchase just let Ian do the talking haha. I LOVE this video format BTW. It works well and the more you two work it the better it will get. Those little post-vid scenes are hilarious too. Cheers!
what an instrument ! It's very impressive how many sounds you can have with the Wal bass ! It's definitly a dream bass
thanks for sharing that with us !
Had three Wals Mach 1's - they are truly epic... the last one Pete made for me - blue, ebony f'board with no markers but a bass clef in the 12th fret and LED's on the top edge... miss that bass so much!
Love the format guys. Really enjoyed the vid
Loving the new format Scott & Ian. And just wow I can see you making Lisa lots of cups of tea on demand for life now 😂. It is a marvellous bass with a wonderful history.
Lol
That is one of the best looking Wal’s I have seen and they all have that killer sound that is a Wal. Great buy and let us know how you like the feel and playability of it. Keep up these great videos.
I *LOVE* (or maybe I should say *LOUV*) the little vignettes at the end of these “bromance” vids!! Where Scott and Ian are just hanging in front of the “telly”. God, they’re GOLDEN. The lamenting-but-honest “I’d give anything for a mullet...” by two -bald- follically-challenged individuals. Righteous, brother! TESTIFY!!
At Live Aid it was a Steinberger. MY exact Steinberger.
:)
Thinking about English luthiers building basses worth > 20.000 bucks only one came to my mind. And I knew I was right when I saw the case. 😊 But I did it the other way around this Christmas. I purchased a '75 Fireglo Rickenbacker 4001 for about 1/15 of the price of the Wal.
You deserve it Scott. You are the right person to own that bass to be sure.
I personally think the wal body and headstock shape is the MOST appealing I've ever seen. Just gorgeousssss
🧡🧡🧡
This was an enjoyable format. I love people geeking over the stuff they love. That it's something I enjoy as well just makes it so much nicer.
Like the format! Bass geeks! Love it!
This was excellent!! Total trip down memory lane! I first fell in love with Geddy Lee on A Show Of Hands live album, so that black Wal was in my brain for my entire guitar learning youth and is still the sound in my head I associate with Rush!
Thank you for invoking good memories for me. I owned a fretless and a fretted Wal in the 80s. The fretless had neck that was made for Percy Jones (had PJ decal on the headstock) but, he didn't take to the fingerboard I believe. Percy had a strong connection with Electric Wood in the early days I think. The wood was Ipe aka Paratecoma peroba. Body was Shedua aka Ovankol over Mahogany core. I then had one made by Ian and Pete using some Maple I had for the body facings and an Ebony fretted neck. The necks were swapped over at Electric Wood.
The sound in the video is absolutely what I remember. You are spot on with the complexity of the top quality electronics, dolly mixtures as Pete called them. The bass was unusual for the time in being capable of being DI'ed without a DI box, you get a glimpse of the connector next to the standard jack socket in your video.
One thing you did get wrong is that your instrument is a Wal Custom. It is the same shape as the original Mark 1 which had a plain Ash body and less complex electronics. The Custom was made with exotic wood facings over a mahogany core. The neck was a laminate of Maple, Mukulungu Afrikulu and English hornbeam in the centre.
Another thing to note is that the pickups were/are quite sophisticated in having separate coils and magnets in pairs for each string in alignment with their respective string, not stacked, one reason why the pickups are so broad.
Unfortunately being fairly young, foolish and short of money I sold both at different times, something I do regret. They are fantastic basses. I hope they are still being well looked after, being played and bringing joy to whoever has them now.
Now try and buy the one Martin kemp played at live aid gig. It's probably the most beautiful bass wal ever made. Stunning instrument.
Call me weird. But it’s the Vox or Red Special of the bass world. That crispy top end!
15:11 "I'd give anything for a mullet" LMFAO.
One of my lecturers at college bought a Wal fretless MK1 for the princely sum of £400 in the early 80s. He still has it and I briefly played it, the best bass I have ever touched by quite a long way.
They're awesome!
This is a great format, I love to see all these basses.
So much fun watching you guys totally geek out over a gorgeous new bass!
😁😎🤓🤓🤓
1984 I was allowed to Touch the Walbass when I bought my first bass it had the Quader of the price Scott oaied now. My Choke Was between the Wal and a Warwick Thumb Custom for almost 4000, my pocket had online 1200 DM so I had to take a Hoyer P bass and went hitchhiking back home the guy from the store gave me an used Ibanez case to take it home for Nottingham, i still love it , and the Wal is still my favourite but too expensive. Nice Vlog you to!
Push the bass aside. That jumper WINS THE INTERNET!
A jumper worth 21k, not worth mentioning
Wow I did not expect this bass to sound like that! What versatility! I'd be totally intimidated by the options!
Definitely like this format
I'm a month into Scotts bass lessons and I LOVE IT!! I've always played by ear and it's opened so many new avenues
There it is. The arbiter of my hopes and dreams. The object of my obsessions that will always remain just out of reach. Absolute artisan perfection in bass form. I hope you enjoy every second you have with it, you lucky bastard.
JJ Burnel used a Wal on the 1980 release of Bear Cage..... plus on some of The Meninblack album. He kept using it for a few years live until he went to a Yamaha BB2000.
The Meninblack, for me is the best bass tone iv'e ever heard on an album !
Often wondered wot he used on the album ? Doesn't suprise me now you've pointed it out ! Never knew JJ played a Wal tho ! Wot a bass.
Thanks guys great vid. Yes would love to see you two reviewing different basses together, also reflecting on different amp tones (a lot of variables). Also on hidden & not so commonly known tones of basses. Happy holidays to both & your families.
Yeah, Wal is on my list of all time definitive, indispensable bass contributions - along with Alembic and Ken Smith (and some others).
Such coherence of vision actualized through superb craftsmanship.
You could really form a deep emotional connection to a bass like that :)
Classic! The low pass filter with knobs pulled was also done by Alembic in the 70’s 😉
First off, the bass player most associated (and quite rightly) with the Wal Bass is Mick Karn, then Percy Jones and maybe Gary Tibbs or Nick Beggs. Next, its strength is not "the top end", it is the mid range when using the quasi parametric eq on the tone controls, so evident in the duck quack sound it can produce. Finally, the closest sounding bass to a Wal is not the Stingray, it is the G&L L2000. I know because I have three Wal basses (fretted and fretless Mach 1 (not a typo, actual name in the 80's) , a 5 string fretless Mach 2 and 2 G&L L2000s (1 fretted and 1 fretless)). I also have an Ibanez bass that fails miserably to emulate a similar "Wal wah-wah eq" in its tone controls. I recorded a demo for someone, used the G&L fretted L2000 and the Wal Mach 2 fretless 5 string and they sounded almost identical apart from the glissandos on the fretless. Anyone with a Wal Custom, try this: Neck pickup, tone control pulled up, rolled back to 0, bridge pickup pulled up , between 4 and 5, blend slightly more in favour of the neck pickup and pick attack off.
I like
I'd agree that for a brand name bass the L-2000 is closer than any Stingray. But now there are guys making wal shaped clones out there with Turner multicoil humbuckers and Lusithand low pass filter based preamps that are even closer sounding.
The dial up wah sound is pretty cool. Plus the John Taylor connection is super cool.
💯💯💯
Great format, amazing bass. Thank you
Very cool format!
This is so enjoyable and entertaining to watch!
I get that initial feeling of “oh drat” when you finally get the thing you’ve been dreaming about. I begged and pleaded and finally got a Bass VI, and was so excited and nervous to try it out (I’d never even had my hands on one). I was immediately like, “oh my god it’s too weird!!!” A few adjustments to my technique, and now I friggin love that thing and am always so excited when it’s appropriate for a tune.
Great format Scott
Mick Karn......A master of the WAL tone from Tin Drum onwards !
Worth every penny. I've been crazy for these since I saw Geddy play one. Had no idea what I was looking at. I've been playing 40 years and I've held 2 of them.
Well done :)
$20k 😮 gumph! Beautiful bass that Scott, and historic too, you must have an awesome collection now 👌🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Great video, guys! I have had a bucket list of instruments as a bassist that I have always wanted...
I have owned the following on my list:
Conklin Sidewinder
Music Man Stingray
Rickenbacker 4003
Curbow
Alembic
F Bass
Warrior Dran Michael
Spector
Warwick Streamer Stage I
Rick Turner
The one bass I've Always wanted that has yet to be checked off my bass bucket list is a Wal...
One day I hopefully will achieve that dream.
As Ian stated, you can get close with a Stingray, but it doesn't quite get there...however I may have the answer.
Back in the late 90s early 2000s Fodera came out with a preamp pedal with a butterfly on it called the Fodera 2000 preamp.
If you use one in line with a Stringray, and boost the top end, (BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THE LOW END KNOB AS IT CAN OVERLOAD THE INPUT ON YOUR AMP) you can totally get that super, ultra clear top end similar to a Wal bass. If you get a chance to try it, I would love to hear your feedback. They are really great preamp pedals that are getting harder and harder to find. Also, if used on a guitar, it will give your guitar some amazing ultra high clarity much like the high end Alembic guitars. Just FYI.
Hope to hear your thoughts if you get to try one out. Thanks for all you do for the magnificent bass and the low end world we reside in. Cheers!
i have so much respect for wal knowing they donated this to live aid. that’s incredible !
I first learned about Wal in an interview with the bass player for Bow Wow Wow. His bass had a leather pickguard. Loved nerding out with this video.
Awesome dude! 🙌🏻
This brings back memories for me, I had two wals, an early 80's 4 string fretless & bought a new 6 string fretless from Paul Herman when he restarting making them again, that pick attack almost adds frets to a fretless its so percussive & just sounds like no other bass, sadly I sold both some years ago but I've recently emailed Paul hoping he will build another fretless 6 for me 🤞 great video & that Is one beautiful wal you have there with such a cool history too 👍
Yep! This format works. Keep it going!
My brother was a photographer. He made his living by taking pictures of artists and selling them. One day, he came with a picture he had taken of McCartney in concert in Paris, with this huge bass with perfect shapes. I had never seen such a beautiful bass. I had never heard of this luthier, I didn't even know what it sounded like, but I knew I wanted one! And then, one day, I found out how much such a bass would cost... Still my dream bass after forty years, in front of an Alembic Series I and a pink Jaydee.
Omg!! The sould of thise wal basses are amazing! Fell in love since i started listening to Tool years ago!
That last RHCP tone demo will almost always elicit a face-melt reaction. Great video Scott and Ian. Cheers and ❤️ from the Philippines‼️🤘😎🎄
Really dig the format too!!
Ok now Scott, you do not even know what you’re holding and playin.!!! Uwwwwhh!!❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥That is a true 70’s sound on bass made by masters for plain blokes who played beyond fab!!!! Wow guitar 🎸 like 🤩 wow 😮 like wow 🤩!
Mick Karn was my inspiration in getting a Wal.
I couldn't agree more with Ian about the Wal mk1 aesthetic. It captulates "British restraint" in design. Nothing garish, a somewhat utilitarian but elegant form, that permits it to be visually acceptable in any genre while other boutique brands may look out of place.
Ian makes the sonic comparison with the Stingray, but the G&L L2000 is a much closer fit, with its Hot, ceramic Pickups and pickup placement.
On that note, Scott and Ian didn't even touch on the multicoil Wal Pickups.
I know this is an old video, but I can't stop watching it. I'd about sell a vehicle or two and purchase a Wal bas.
Holy shit. Can you let Ian make a Justin Chancellor moments video with the Wal. The man does such a good job at that series!
I have a Mark I and II that is fretless. I've noticed that the "plug in" area, on both WAL's have developed a crackling sound. Looks like just a simple electronics issue. Interesting that both basses have come down with the same issue. I have a few basses that are over 20K. The Chantay's Warren Waters' 1964 Fender Jazz, Warwick's 1984 004 Streamer Stage I NT Masterbuilt Spector NS. This is the bass that Stuart Spector sued Hans Peter Wilfer for copyright infringement, 1964 Gibson Thunderbird II and a 1962 Fender Stacked knob Jazz bass. BTW great video!
Bruce Thomas from The Attractions was also a Wal player in the 80’s, sounded totally killer on it. His signature tone for ever before was his pink P Bass, which was also a killer tone, but you can clearly hear the point when he switched to the Wal.
I had a (also 1984) Vigier Passion with a filter based preamp which had that wah-wah thing going on. Also later had one of Johnn East’s ACG influenced filter based preamps on a Jazz Bass. I was the same as you with it when you first played the Wal, it was super flexible, in fact it was too flexible and a bit of a nightmare to use, especially live.
Lovely and historic bass you have there, though!
I got a quick meet and greet with Geddy Lee when he was promoting his big Book Of Bass. This first thing I did after getting the book home was to flip directly to the Wal page, lol.
Brilliant as always both and well done on the Wal mate !!!
🔥🔥🔥
Greg Edwards of Failure crushed on one of these in the early-mid 90's. Justin Chancellor was undoubtedly influenced by this, as the bands toured together. Great video!
I would love if you guys did more of this format
Loved the format
Always loved the sound of the fretless Wal on Pressure points, by Camel
I LOVE my Wal. Best bass I've ever owned. Nice seeing one in the hands of a true master!
9:32 I was blown away when I found out that's how Chancellor plays the intro to "the patient"
There was a thread on TB a few years ago, where I posted a design for a simple onboard LPF with resonance switch. It works well and is easy to build. All wound magnetic pickups have a resonant frequency with a 12db/octave roll off. Roughly speaking, the height of the resonant peak depends on the Z loading and the frequency depends on the capacitive loading. Using a resonant LPF to move that frequency around is a way to (sort of) emulate the treble response of many pickups. I think that's what Wal (and Alembic) were going for with this type of preamp.
Cool, I'll have to have a dig for that thread.
@@PjRjHj I can't post a link, but I just found it. If you go to Pickups and Electronics, then do a thread title search on "Different Kind of Low Pass FIlter", that should get you there. You can probably skip the first 2 or 3 pages...
@@RobMods Awesome, thanks for that 👍
Great demo! Another cool tone is setting the filters for that dub sound like you did and turning on the pick attack. Pretty unique, was hoping to see you demo that too.
Also if you open the back panel up there are 4 trim controls.
There are 2 trim pots for each pickup that are kind of like a low shelf control. You can kind of tune the low end to get rid of some of the boominess, I think it's advertised as a control for 5 strings.
Then there's the volume output. I think Factory setting is cranked all the way. If you're overloading whatever you're plugging into, you can trim that back.
Then there's the pick attack trim. That controls the level of the pick attack. I think factory default is set in the middle. If you want to make it even more subtle you can trim that back or make it really accentuated!
With the regular front control and those trim controls, you can really customize the tone a great deal on this bass!
With distortion you can find so many cool zones depending on the mid frequency you accentuate!
Another cool thing is the output section is isolated with a transformer! It isolates both the regular 1/4 output and the XLR line out to go directly to the board
Another little fact, the source of the narrow frequency for the pick attack only comes from the neck pickup
I've been playing bass (very avergely) for nearly 30 years - but have always wanted to get better - to be able to solo like you Scott - I downloaded the free soloing course and have just spent 30 minutes practising the C Major Sequenced Sevenths exercise!!! Looking forward to keeping going!
Yes dude! Great to hear! Enjoy the journey 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
Loved this guys thanks.