NickA

Last seen bearing a fretless mk2 ( and a face mask)....but I doubt he's short of basses.

Chancellor could be playing anything behind all that processing. Kahn sounded the same (better maybe) on a JJbean. Gorman was playing a pro series (?) which is a significantly different beast. Some people are convinced flea and Geddy Lee are the ultimate Wal players. For me it's Percy Jones .. and I can do a decent impression on my MK1 fretless ... But in brand X he was playing a pro2. What is this "Wal sound" of which we speak. All very different.

Practically perfect in every way ;-).

I've never understood the logic behind that It's about getting a clean sound and clear changes of pitch by ensuring the string leaves the fret at a good angle, so doesn't hit any other frets between finger and bridge. You can then play quiet or loud without getting fret buzz. Of course if you WANT fret buzz it's counterproductive. Our man Joe here is nevertheless playing with what he says is a low action and still getting great articulation and no buzz ... so if you're good enough... and the rest of your setup is perfect.... ..anyway, my question was about string height for max slappability. Might have a mess with my dolphin as a height change is only a couple of screws to turn. But I'm no Mark King or Max Miller and was hoping for an expert opinion. Plus I guess a bass that CAN have a low action, even if you don't want it, means it's otherwise well made & set up. So, back on topic... nice one JD!

Well, I play jazz mostly. Not especially fast. I Read a John Pattituci article, also repeated by Janek Guizdala, where he said a high action is better for tone and articulation, which makes sense. I bought a Warwick dolphin a few years back that arrived with an action so low I found it hard to play (spooky) so settled on about 1/16" ( or a bit less) at 12th fret. Certainly higher than flea or John entwhistle (I really don't want fret buzz) But is that too high for good slap tone? ...only slap for fun btw. The band would have a fit.

Do you want that for slap? Genuine question not any criticism btw.

Those realist copperhead pickups go under the bridge foot and aren't supposed to alter the sound. So putting some slips of veneer under the feet to raise the whole bridge should work ok. Then reduce the height of the other strings. More complicated would be to joint in another bit of wood beneath the low string. I've noticed violins with a little ebony insert under the E string. But you'd need to be a very good woodworker to do it. Bridge adjusters are quite expensive to have fitted, but a really good thing to have. My bass is much improved since I can adjust the bridge height ... raised up = better tone and louder; dropped down = more mwah and easier to play ( good for Eddie Gomez impressions). Ideally I guess I'd have the perfect bridge height for body tone and volume then raise up the fingerboard for the mwah and light action. .... this level of tuning gets expensive. Anyway a higher action works better for bowing.

Why veneer the headstock? The stripes are part and parcel of the construction and workmanship.

...plus I got a free consultation with the country's top Wal fettler. 😁

I'd tell you, but don't know what to measure. Pop across to my house and you can measure mine yourself. Only across Derby. 🙂

It was indeed very samey. Norway and Moldova were the only ones I remember as standing out in any way from the generic pretty person in fancy robes wailing in a language that was probably english. Oh and Iceland who had a version of the Coors. Our Sam had pretty hair, expensive looking white teeth and a nice enough voice, but I can't recall what his song sounded like. Kind of air guitar bit at the end? Played by a good session player who will get no credit I guess.

...and the rest. No prices published at present. Delivery time undefined as they're not taking new orders. *** Please note that the demand for our basses continues to exceed our production capacity, and our delivery time has now stretched to over four years. At this moment we are no longer accepting new orders until the backlog has reduced. Please let us know if you would like us to add you to our list to contact once when we are accepting orders again. *** Prices don't, it seems, put off the people who MUST have a "Geddy" or a "Justin" look alike ...

Maybe see a physio? Might need some stretching exercises. I had a right hand cramp problem a few years back ... Nothing to do with bass playing, it was ulnar neve damage from the way I used my computer. It was just that bass playing made it hurt. Also what GUYL says. Breathe, don't forget to breathe!

"Fast neck". what is that?

Wow. Very lovely. Looking forward to hearing a head to head with funkles walish. Meanwhile ... it looks better made than my actual Wal. Timescales aside ..... comparative cost to a new Wal?

Depends on how accurately your bass was made and what's been done to it since. My bass and cello were knocked up in factories in the late 19th century and much messed with since. Cello sounds better with the bridge nearer the tailpece, bass sounds better with it a few mm closer to the fingerboard. Tim Batchelar set it up for me... and I don't doubt he got it right.

I recognise that headstock shape And then, when it still doesn't sound exactly like a Wal ... Will he want a different shaped one? 🙂

Good practical fix. I guess you tried moving the bridge around a bit and are sure that's the ideal location. If not it's worth moving it up and down the strings till you find the best sound, then shape the bridge to fit that bit of the belly. Something I realised recently is how bridge height affects sound as well as action. Low action = easy to play and lots of mwah but a high bridge = more tone and volume. Ideally you want to raise the bridge to get the best sound then have the fingerboard raised up to the strings to get the action right! My bass had the board raised when I bought it, but maybe still too low. Now have an adjustable bridge ( down for jazz up for classical ). Trouble is, I'm now hankering after the sound and response of high strings AND the mwah of low strings! There is no end to this 🙂 .

Now THAT one has "no dings or missing finish". Though I guess Trujillo paid more than £3.5k

No one here going to buy it then? 😂. I just wonder what stage of the bass of doom's life it's supposed to replicate. If after he chucked it down the concrete steps then I hope it's been accurately broken to pieces and reassembled. More amusing still: here's Jaco's son Felix holding what HE says is the bass of doom. Seems it had a refin 😂🤣😂

"bought new in 2021 in immaculate 10/10 almost new, unplayed condition with no dings or missing finish" !!!! ....according to bass direct. What does a badly damaged one look like? £3500 for a badly damaged basic jazz bass ... why?

Wot! No hornbeam? My 1986 Wal is maple, mahogany, hornbeam, mahogany, maple. My 1991 Wal has no hornbeam. They sound quite different. Does funkle want an 80s Wal sound or a 90s Wal sound? 😁😁😁😁 Ok, so the 1991 has more strings, frets and different pickups.... but the neck wood must make as much difference as the manufacturer of the potentiometers! ( ie probably none )

Yes, for the occasional note. Some stuff just needs to go down there ( Maxwell Davies' Orkney wedding, Vaughn Williams London symph, Elgar Sea Pictures. ). I remember trying to play Bach magnificat without down tuning and all the string crossings made it too tough... had to go CGDG.

That stentor would be £3900 new. Why go laminate when you can have a real one in your price range. Having said which a lady in my orchestra has a modern laminated Eastman from bassbags and it sounds fine; quiet and a mite thuddy but ok. And someone brought a 1960 (?) Czech laminate to the last double bass bash that was really rather nice (£1500 I recall). Personally I'd not be inclined to buy a new one ( unless I could afford a T&G Martin or a Martin Penning 😉 ) The double bass rooms seem to have a few interesting older basses at the low to middle price range. Get to Hastings and try a few? https://www.thedoublebassroom.com/basses-for-sale/#.YlSFDijMLiM