Clarky

Sad news indeed. I just agreed a deal (I think) on a 1981 fretless today which will undoubtedly have passed though his hands. At least his legacy lives on in the beautiful instruments being made by Wal under Paul Herman.

So would anyone like a reassuringly heavy, minty condition German made fretless Corvette for a mere £400 (the bargain price I paid)?

Many thanks for the link. It appears the bass in question was one of the last handful of Pro Bass series made. Visually it looks identical to a Mach 1 with the surface mounted controls. I'm still not 100% certain the electronics are the same as for a standard Mach 1 or 2, though - albeit it seems likely

I have been offered a rather nice looking Wal fretless from 1981. The owner has stated that the bass (which has a serial beginning PB18xx) is "a full grown Mach 1 nonetheless, one of the early ones with the volume pot switching “off”)". I am awaiting clarification as to what this means along with additional pictures. In the mean time do any of the Wal experts on BC know if the early Mach 1 basses had essentially the same electronics as those found in later Mach 1 and then Mach 2 basses? This is vital to me as its the electronics that are the main tonal factor that distinguishes these basses from all others. Thus all thoughts gratefully received.

Haha Jack! I was typing my reply to Gareth as yours popped up!

I will be sorted once I have the Wal fretless I am after (and sold the way heavy Corvette fretless that does my back in). If anything I will have too much gear. Whether I hang on to all of it depends on band circumstances (eg, if the acoustic quartet spin-off project of Rattlin Bone ever takes off).

Feedback in a live situation is a real pig with acoustic bass unless you really pay up for something like a Takamine B10 with its sophisticated feedback-controlling preamp. Electric is simpler all round. If you want a near DB sound buy a cheap fretless (eg Squier VM Jazz), bung some flats on and playfingerstyle over the end of the fretboard.

Who are you and what have you done with Gareth?

Paul was online on BC only a few days ago according to his profile http://basschat.co.uk/user/3436-prosebass/ I presume you've tried sending him a PM? Lots of people seem not to notice PMs immediately as - unless you have email notifications set up - the only alert is a tiny red digit in the top right hand part of the screen. For example I PM'd someone earlier today and though he's been online since he has not read my PM, so I assume he hasn't seen it.

House insurance wouldn't cover the damage to the floor

I know you have no intention of selling the Wal, Jack! Best if I don't indulge in any Wal-sniffing as it makes me sweat and have palpitations

The irony Jack is I had rather a nice letter from the taxman yesterday informing me I had in fact overpaid tax last year (this after they had sent me a demand a month or two back which seemed rather large to me but which I duly paid) ... so I needn't have sold gear to raise money after all, following car theft and tax demand

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1324730383' post='1477393'] That's heavier than the t40 I just shifted! It was just a bit to heavy to be enjoyable [/quote] Yep - and as if to hammer the point home - I've strained my dodgy lower back again and can barely even pick up this bass now. Definitely for sale in the new year. Shame as its a beauty and sounds superb ...

This is the bass concerned. Played it again this evening with a fresh set of Status Hot wire half-rounds on. Plays fantastically and sounds great and in near mint condition. But I just don't think I can cope with the weight, so this will probably end up being moved on in the new year http://basschat.co.uk/topic/160973-fs-2008-warwick-corvette-standard-fretless-4-gone/page__p__1460342__hl__bubinga__fromsearch__1#entry1460342

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1324637241' post='1476451'] Looks pretty heavy to me..... [/quote] Probably weighs less than my Corvette!

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1324587161' post='1476082'] Oddly enough when I saw your thread title I knew it was gonna be about a Warwick bass! The Warwick Thumb has a tiny body but still clocks in at 9lb+ everytime... Bubinga is the 'black hole' of the bass world [/quote] Shame, as the figuring and coloration of bubinga really is quite beautiful. Unfortunately my glass back does not have such aesthetic sensibilities and instead yells "WTF"!

[quote name='bassace' timestamp='1324586092' post='1476062'] Very nice, but no. [/quote] You and me both, Roger! Thats a lot of moolah for what is, after all, an EUB ... even if a very high quality EUB. I flagged it up as there may be someone who is itching for one of these, given their rarity value

I recently picked up a s/h fretless Warwick Corvette on BC, made in Germany in 2008 (as a cheap Wal alternative, having downsized recently). It plays beautifully (lovely thick ebony unlined board) and is immaculately made but jeez is it heavy! 5.3kg or about 11.5 pounds, despite having a not-very-large body footprint and relatively skinny horns. Bubinga is clearly nature's organic equivalent of lead. And I thought late 1970s Fenders were heavy ....

The first Alembic Classico upright bass ever made, being sold through the Gallery. Ex-John Giblin (John Martyn, Kate Bush, SImple Minds etc) http://www.thebassgallery.com/product_details.cfm?ID=2102&type=Bass%20Guitar

Here's the great Larry Taylor (Tom Waits and Canned Heat bass player) playing a $200 Jay Turner Jazz copy. Its good enough for him [attachment=95714:5845573338_82e3fa1b59_z.jpg]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1324460258' post='1474353'] [DIGS BIG HOLE] There [i]is [/i]a [i]slight [/i]resemblance.[/DIGS BIG HOLE] [/quote] I think you need to go to Specsavers too! If Paul Weller ate an entire pie shop, maybe from half a mile ....! [attachment=95664:bognor_gig_014.JPG]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1324456057' post='1474313'] [NOT PC] You should have done her on the strength of it. [/NOT PC] [/quote] Bit tricky as I was standing with Mrs C at the time [PC]whom I worship and adore[/PC] Weller and Adele [attachment=95658:02182217290_2.jpg] Clarky and Mrs C [attachment=95657:P1040331.JPG]

Just back from the Apollo where Joe Brand was on great form, Tim Minchin was terribly intellectual (and I thought not in the least bit funny, but then I was clearly in the minority), Graham Coxon performed his new-wave-mixed-with-Syd-Barrett-psychedelia stuff and Paul Weller closed with lots of his latest stuff and very few nods to populism as is his wont (biggest cheer of night for Town Called Malice, the only Jam song he played, will probably have irked him ...) All in all not a great evening of entertainment IMHO - the music didn't do it for me, although both bands were very polished - but clearly a decent amount of money raised for a worthy cause Highlight for me was a woman with thick glasses coming up to me and saying she thought I was Paul Weller

I have decided to get Max at sfx to build me a custom pedal incorporating the Micro Red Dragon [url="http://www.sfxsound.co.uk/mainpage.asp?page=micro_red_dragon"]http://www.sfxsound....icro_red_dragon[/url] with an XLR out. Decided I wanted solid state, so no risk of valve failure/fragility, but with ability to emulate valve sound. Plus his pedals are teensy so very gigbag friendly!

How are you going to fit that rig (pictured below) in a pub, Jack? [attachment=95587:rock-music-pictures-grateful-dead-5-17-74-pechner.jpg]