4000

The ‘80s Wal Custom I owned wasn’t that heavy. I’m pretty sure it was comfortably under 10bs, which is pretty unusual for an ‘80s Wal. It was much lighter than the Jaydees I owned and I’d say a bit lighter than my Dolphins, which were also noticeably lighter than my Jaydees. The Pro IIE I owned was quite a bit heavier than my Custom. FWIW I too hate heavy basses. Prolapsed discs will do that.😉 Although TBH I tend to prefer the sound of lighter basses anyway.

That’s interesting as both the Jaydees I owned, and the majority of the many Jaydees I’ve played, were very heavy; 12lbs or so. I take it yours is much lighter?

I’ve also played many original Wals - and owned 2 - and none of them have been particularly outstanding in terms of build quality or playability IMO. In fact they were bordering on agricultural compared to the Alembics I’ve owned. But they have all had variations on a distinctive tone and if that’s what you want, then that’s what you want. I haven’t played any of Paul’s so can’t comment on them.

I asked Wal if I could buy a set of pickups and electronics back in the early ‘80s. They said yep, no problem. They weren’t even that expensive. For various reasons I didn’t go ahead but I really wish I had.

I’ve read in an interview that his biggest influence - or possibly favourite bassist - was Chris Squire.

Blimey! 😳

Well Karn plays fretless for a start, so he’s not really going to sound the same. From the little I’ve heard of Chancellor he seems to use a lot of effects (please correct me if I’m wrong), so that’ll be a factor as well. 😉 Gorman sounds pure Wal to me.

It’s all completely subjective. I can’t slap with high action at all (not that I really do anymore) but YMMV. Of course it doesn’t just apply to slapping either. There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to what’s comfortable. As for tone, I like to have a bit of fret buzz in my sound and find the higher the action, the further away it gets from the tone I like, so whether higher action is better for tone Is also entirely subjective IMO.

He did indeed, but I like his sound on Demons & Wizards and Magicians Birthday best. So sweet & plummy. Love Gary, one of my favourites.

I originally played rock and metal and always preferred as low an action as possible, although I do generally play very lightly. Flea uses pretty low action considering how hard he plays: 3/64ths 12th fret E string 2/64ths 12th fret G string 5thou relief centre of neck when string fretted at both ends And then of course there’s Entwistle and his famous “I like my strings on the other side of the frets” quote. And this one I read recently- “When a bass mag interviewer asked if, because of his super low action, if it bothered him if he got fret buzz in a few spots, John said "Yes. I want them all to buzz evenly."😂

To be honest that action looks noticeably higher than mine!

This. They’re arguably my favourite band (along with Yes and Genesis) and I never got to see them live. This is as near as I’ll ever get, so I’m looking forward to it immensely.

I’ve always boiled my strings (although may no longer be doing so quite as much as I’m slowly moving over to the dark side and TI flats). It started because I had no money - I was at college, then on the dole for nearly 3 years, then only working part-time for about 3 years after that - and I couldn’t afford to keep buying new strings. In terms of time, I had plenty of that!😂 And contrary to the experiences of some, I’ve always found it worked really well on my preferred Rotos (not so well on other brands and nickels IME) although it didn’t last as long as actual new strings, obviously.

Physically, for me, they’re now one of the most uncomfortable basses out there. Which is a shame, because I would quite like one with flats for that Gary Thain vibe.

That looks epic!

In an interview I have, Steve Howe suggests the issue was that he just improvised every time whereas they needed more fixed parts, something to latch onto, so they mutually agreed there wasn’t any point continuing.

Gutted. He was a genius. This is my favourite; reduces me to tears every time:

Do you mean the comments about supporting Theresa May? If so, she clarifies here: https://www.katebush.com/news/clarification She was supporting having a woman in power, not the Tories. If that’s what you’re referring to, it’s not exactly “a bit far right”. Not questioning your experience, but everything else I’ve ever read or heard from anyone who has worked with or encountered her in person says she’s lovely and completely backs up Mark Radcliffe’s comments. Which isn’t to say she always will be of course.

You know, as great as that looks, I think I prefer the gold with that top wood.

That’s gorgeous. Congratulations Mark! FWIW I like the gold bridges, but I don’t mind gold hardware. Black would be fine too, but either way, it’s stunning. Food for thought; I want one! I’d be interested to know what it weighs….

I’m amazed to see how little time this took. I always imagined it’d take some serious time whittling away at hard maple. I’ve watched a few luthiers working in my time but have always managed to miss neck carving.

My two favourite bassists, in context. Chris openly admitted to The Ox being his main influence, early on, although they were very different in many ways. Chris is my favourite, but I love them both. And Squire’s tone and Entwistle’s Alembic tone are probably my two favourite bass tones, again in context.