CamdenRob

Mass produced instruments are by definition more popular because there are so many of them... They wouldn't be mass produced if there was no market for them and as basses like the P, J and Ray have been responsible for the vast majority of recorded bass over the years, when most people think of bass they think of that sort of tone and the instruments that produce it. The only time an esoteric bass like a Wal is any use is if you have the freedom to be using something that sounds a bit different. It wouldn't be any good for dad rock pub covers and neither would it be any use if you joined an established band with a certain image and sound they wanted you to continue. I only play bass in bands where I have total control of what I am playing and how it sounds, so I can get away with having a different tone to the extablished norm. I just play what I like with a tone that I think works for my style of playing. As for manufacturing you could argue that a machine is more precise than stuff built by hand... however i did mention on another thread the other day that asides from quality of materials, I can't see there being a huge difference in the manufacturing process in the Fender and Harley Benton factories... Mass produced instruments will always retain their value as there is a greater demand for them.

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1444837330' post='2886557'] Well I've checked Fender's website, but no mention of a model called the 'Schmender'. Has it gone out of production? And is it any good for metal? [/quote] More importantly how heavy is it

This is something I have never done... I sometimes have to work out the key etc by ear for some new idea another band member has posted me, to help me when I'm writing my bass parts - but never in all my time playing have I listened to a track and learned the bass line... So based on never having done it I assume I'd be crap at it.

“CUSTOM BUILT BASS:+ oak toilet seat, [u][b]was brown & worn[/b] [/u]- now refinished in white+ maple neck+ transducer pickup under bridge+ chrome hardware+ low action -- plays great !” Lovely...

Not that it needs justification, but I'll have a go at explaining why I play a Wal. This is a bass forum afterall and disscussing these things is the main reason we're here... well that and the fact that if I wasn't here I'd actually have to be doing something productive at work. I first heard a Wal when I was 17 in the hands of a much better player than me, I remember the unmistakable growl. I wasn't really interested at the time as I was playing in metal bands and I was all about slapping the s**t out of a status. When I came back to playing a couple of years back the one bass tone I could remember was that of the Wal... I've tried just about everything since I started playing again until a chance encounter with another Wal at the bass gallery, after that I knew I had to have one. I play six string most of the time and they never seem to come up used so I ordered a new one, on an 18 month build time. About a week after ordering it one came up here in the BC classifieds! So I bought it with the intention of moving it on when the new build arrived. When the new build did eventually arrive I contacted the buyer (arranged from about a week after I bought it) and he mentioned he was selling a 2014 fretless mk1 to fund the exchange... as i needed a fretless we ended up doing a trade instead and I couldn't be happier with the pair of basses I've ended up with. Wals are not for everyone... They are not perfect. Aesthetic issues are always a matter of taste and you can never convince someone who doesn't like the look of a Wal that it's a beautiful instrument. The major objective issue is weight obviously - my MK3 sixer is 10.4lb and my MK1 is about the same (haven't actually weighed it yet). Schaller have recently brought out a lightweight set of the MK1 tuners that would shave half a pound off the weight and if I could find a single set in stock anywhere I'd be putting them on my MK1. I am also not going to wax lyrical about the filter preamp. I like it, i've got used to it and I'm happy I can dial in the tones I want, but I wouldn't say it's a vast improvement over a BMT set up. I also like the DI out, but again carrying a sansamp et al. is not really a huge issue if I didn't have the DI built in. So... with these niggles why would I be happy to pay twice as much as an equivilent quality bass from another builder? The answer is that other builders do not use Wal pickups. Wal basses have a unique sound that I have not managed to find in any other bass. Whether that is to your taste is obviously subjective but those pickups give a jazz bass on steriods tone... growly and punchy but without any loss of bottom end. Other basses also have a unique tone obviously, the P bass, the ray, warwick basses etc. but they do not have the Wal bark and if that is what you want you must buy a Wal. As for the price, yes they are expensive there is no escaping that, but as has been said, Wals hold their value so if you were to decide its not for you you can just move it on easily. The Wal tone has become the major component of my sound. I no longer use any pedals and run my amp flat. I also generally leave both filters wide open letting everything through. Wals will not work for everyone and I'd never try to convince anyone otherwise, but it works for me

Yeah they're rubbish... Wouldn't catch me posting about them.

Who wouldn't want "The Shaggster" written on the headstock of their bass?

What I find the most bizarre and amusing about that attitude is a seeming inability to believe that different people might like different things... Personally I wouldn't buy a ric but that doesn't make them crap... it just means they are built for a different kind of player. if someone came to me saying they we're a traditional P bass through SVT guy looking for a lightweight rig, I would suggest an Aguilar, Orange or Ashdown setup. I wouldn't tell them that their sound was crap and they should go out and buy a Status bass and GK rig instead. I met Mark at the London Bass show a couple of years back and we got chatting about basses, he then told me totally straight faced that I should cancel my Wal order and buy a Roscoe instead... I still have a little chuckle about it every time I remember. Good range of stock though and alot of stuff not available elsewhere.

[quote name='donslow' timestamp='1444721199' post='2885239'] It's a fair point, maybe I've been a little misleading when I say custom, what I really meant is, buy a body (think I already own the one I'm gonna use on one of my existing basses) buy a neck, buy hardware, throw it all together, not EXACTLY custom but still works out that I'll pretty much get what I want! Just can't decide what neck "finish" to go for [/quote] Well that makes perfect sense... I thought you we're talking about having the whole thing built from scratch. There is another thread where a guy had a bass collection P bass built. He specified colour, neck wood, picups etc. and I seem to remember it was very resonably priced. Not sure how much control he had over the inlays etc though. I totally get the buying various bits and putting it together yourself thing though... it'd be like you've created a bass from nothing.

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1444719431' post='2885224'] I think that he meant pedal>power amp>cab [/quote] Oh I see... sorry I haven't had any coffee yet this morning. as you were then...

[quote name='Naetharu' timestamp='1444667874' post='2884939'] Out of interest, would anyone recommend skipping a proper amp and simply using a pre-amp pedal into a PA/Power-Amp? [/quote] I do this for 99% of my gigs, don't even bother talking an amp. As long as the PA is full range and there is decent monitoring (nearly always the case with metal venues) you're just lugging an amp and cab around to basically have it as a prop on stage.

At the risk of sounding a little controversial, If your ultimate bass is a P bass I wouldn't bother going custom unless you wanted an otherwise unavailable colour combo. I think you'd be paying a premium for a bass you could easily buy off the shelf. Having said that it's your money and you don't have to justify it, just buy what you want

I have two bands on the go at the moment, both new start-ups so neither is gigging yet (probably both be ready around christmas time) I have a more serious project on bass and I have a shouty metal band on the side in which I'm playing guitar. I do all the organising for the latter so it's easy to avoid any schedule conflict.

Surely a bad singer stands out more than everyone else? The vocals are all 99% of people are interested in anyway...

As above really, try what you can Also when you say "metal" it really depends what sort... there are so many vastly different sub genres of metal that they shouldn't even really fall under the same catagory.

You're only as good as the weakest member of the band really...

At the risk of simply listing my own gear (which is essentially what we're all doing) I've not heard a bad word about Glockenklang.

I'm very lucky in London... No shortage of projects of every conceivable genre. A quick gumtree ad offering my services typically yields 20 odd replies in a week, 4 or 5 of which are usually worth persuing

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1444604430' post='2884517'] Look for long grooves in the fingerboard where the strings have worn the wood away. Some marking from strings might be okay, but if there are actual grooves I wouldn't buy it. In your position I would consider a new Harley Benton. They are good quality for their price, and you should be able to get an idea of what a fretless should be like without spending a lot of money on it. [/quote] This... sound advice.

Sold a guitar to Alex and it couldn't have been any easier Nice chat about bass gear as well. Top chap, top BCer, deal with confidence.

Look like a good offer to me... Ideal for someone looking to upgrade from their first bass to a gigable setup

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1444555396' post='2883962'] Wal basses have never comprommised and it remains a small operation with it's reputation based on the quality of it's products. Same with Alembic, Fodera and Ken Smith. I am sure there are dozens of others. [/quote] [quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1444592886' post='2884395'] Wal are certainly top of my list. There are no doubt numerous smaller builders about whom the same could be said, it would appear however that the greater the size, the greater the chance of compromise. [/quote] Perhaps unsurprisingly I have to agree with these gentleman.