4000

But there are instances where that simply isn’t true. When I found my favourite bass, my main ‘72 Rick in 1993 - having had no expectations prior to picking it up - I took it home over the moon. And every time I take it out of the case, all those years later, I feel the same about it. I’ve had many, many basses in the meantime, just out of curiosity, but I don’t expect to find another that makes me feel like that. You appear to be assuming everyone will feel the same over time. Why? As to the “you always sound like you” comment, you evidently haven’t heard me playing a Jazz. 😉 And as one of my band mates once commented, “I don’t know why you bring all these other basses to rehearsal, that one (my previously mentioned ‘72) always sounds the best”.

I don’t see anything wrong with sticking to what you’re good at, but then my favourite basses are Rickenbacker and Alembic. Looking at the waiting list (they’re not accepting new orders until Jan 2022) and the fact that they’re currently only doing repairs on their own guitars, I’d say they’re doing something very right, from a business perspective. They happily cater to a niche market. Of course the time may come when that isn’t the case and they struggle, but you could say that about pretty much everyone. I still don’t really see what Wal are doing much different though. They have unique electronics, yes, but how long ago were they originally designed? And apart from a couple of tweaked body shapes (ditto JD) and an apparent slight upgrade in build quality, nothing has really changed. I’d say the difference in perception is probably mainly due to JD’s apparently unshakeable association - in most people’s mind’s - with the unfortunately ‘80s-locked Mark King/Level 42, whereas Wal have the more-recent Tool bringing them more up to date in the public consciousness, along with the unwavering and fairly timeless Rush fan base. Also, sad as it is, the deaths of first Ian and then Pete almost instantaneously made Wals far more desirable, because you couldn’t get them anymore. There was certainly a time not so long ago when a Wal was a pretty uncool thing, though. I sold my Custom around ‘96 for £550.

I remember taking mine to Fylde Guitars for a set-up (they were local at the time) and Roger - who knows a thing or two about making a decent instrument - had nothing but good things to say about John’s workmanship. Must admit I’ve never owned a Roadie as I always preferred a bit more bling, but thinking about it (particularly with custom narrower string spacing, which I’m sure they’d accommodate), it might be something worth considering in future, depending on the waiting list.

£159? 😳 Good grief! I’ve got two. And a pedal. They’re fab. I compared them to most of the other kit available and they were far more up my street.

They certainly used to, although there were variations requested (as with one of mine, which had a more MM-type wind in the rear humbucker cover and coil taps). Jaydee certainly used to make all the pickups and the standard electronics on the MK were active/passive with a 3 band eq and 3 way rotary selector.

As a kid I used to bite my nails all the time. As an adult I find that my nails are stronger than my teeth(!), so it’s clippers for me all the way.

I love early Purple but lost interest after Made In Europe (which is awesome). Even when RB came back, they were never the same for me.

Yeah. Although they’d sometimes appeared to have a bit of a mixed relationship, you could tell how cut up he was.

What a band. Having seen (and met) them a few times back in the day, it’s hard to believe they’re not with us anymore. With all due respect to the other incarnations, Motorhead will always be the Three Amigos for me.

Yes, this is a very good point. A full-blown Starchild with inlays & LEDs would be half the price of a new Wal, maybe even less.

To be honest, putting forward that one is better than the other is pointless. They’re different instruments and may suit different players, or work better in different contexts.

Jaydee also built his own pickups and electronics, although I don’t know if that’s still the case. The ‘rubbery’ necks were due to a bad batch of wood in the ‘80s, IIRC. I’ve never heard of it since. FWIW, I’ve had 2 Wals and 2 Jaydees, one of which did indeed have a ‘rubbery’ neck, but. FWIW my Wal Custom had a fingerboard that hadn’t been levelled properly, from new (although I bought it used). If anything, I’d have described the construction of the Wals as slightly more agricultural. The newer ones may be up there with the best of the best in terms of construction but mine were nowhere near. As I’ve said before, my custom Alembic made them look like I’d made them. Which did I like best? Dunno, maybe the Wal Pro (my other was a Custom which I didn’t like as much), but I’ve certainly played JDs as good. The last I heard Jaydee were only doing repairs to Jaydee instruments, due to workload.

I’d love to play Norway, and Iceland too. Never been to Norway, sadly, but Iceland is awesome.

Well I’d class a Stingray as coming into the “tight, back pickup” thing I mentioned. And no, a P won’t really do that. If you’re essentially craving that as an element of your sound, then a P certainly isn’t the best choice, but I don’t personally think that’s about “clarity”. “Tightness”, maybe. But I’m sure we all perceive (or at least describe) these things differently.

Well the Series 3 is smaller and lighter than the first two versions, albeit essentially more or less the same shape. And really, that’s all Wal have done, come up with three variations of the same thing. The difference is JD historically would build you pretty much anything if you asked. And may still, who knows. And if we’re splitting hairs they actually do more models than Wal, with potentially more options.

I haven’t listened to them but that’s about the highest praise I could give anyone!

The only new Fender (a Jazz) I ever bought needed the neck replacing straight off because the truss rod was maxed out and wouldn’t straighten the neck sufficiently. That’s one advantage of places like the Bass Gallery , or the old Bass Centre. I’ve often picked up a bass I was interested in in those shops and asked them to tweak the setup and they’ve been perfectly happy to do so. In fact a couple of times Martin has taken a bass off me and tweaked it anyway! I also remember buying my Dolphin Pro II from the Bass Centre; the action was enormous when I picked it up. I explained that I used very low action and was there any chance they could drop it, and lo and behold it came back from Chris 15 minutes later near perfect.

I’ve never understood the “dull P bass” thing. I play with a pick, which no doubt helps, and I tend to eq heavily, but I’ve generally had to turn the tone control down at least some of the way on mine when I’ve owned them, and bear in mind my favourite guys sonically include Chris Squire and Alembic-era Entwistle, so it isn’t like I don’t like brighter sounds. I could quite easily get way too much treble out of all the Ps I’ve owned. Not a refined, smooth treble mind, more Jean Jacques Burnel gone mad, but still. However if it’s the tight, back pickup burp thing you’re into (I’m generally not) then no, they don’t do that. Actually, one other thing; I tend also to not use cabs with tweeters. So assuming you put a P through a tweeter loaded cab with a decent amp you should be able to get as much treble/clarity as you like, although as Doddy says, the nature of the sound might not be what you’re after.

No problem with that, but I really don’t do big necks, personally. I’m just too used to my basses now.

Ditto. Only once, but once was enough. However I do sometimes test fate.......😳

I really like track, but I think Billie’s great anyway.

I think because the necks on my basses are pretty thin, front to back (more so than a current Rick), the depth of the neck surprised me. I’d still like one though. Although transport would still be an issue! 😉

The only thing I’d add is YMMV with the neck on the Vintage Pro. Whilst typically tapered and therefore narrow at the nut, the necks on those I’ve tried - which were pretty nice basses - are way rounder and deeper than what I’m used to, contrary to many of the comments here, and I found were a bit of a handful. It depends what you’re used to, of course. And how much time you spend on the first few frets; not a lot, in my case. 😉

I remember wondering how he got that vocal sound and then the first time I heard him speaking he sounded just the same. It was a real “doh!” moment.

I do definitely prefer the first, but I still think the second is a great album, has some great songs on it.