Wal Basses

[Marcus]

Why is it...... ?

nearly every Wal bass for sale is either a fretless or a left hooker ?

There may be a reason for this...... but what is it ?

[Buzz]

No-one is daft enough to sell a normal Wal as they know they won't get it back ever and the prices keep going up?

Also if were to take stock of all the players on the forum, probably around 90%-95% own a righty fretted bass(es).

[WalMan]

[quote name='Buzz' post='209261' date='May 29 2008, 11:32 PM']No-one is daft enough to sell a normal Wal as they know they won't get it back ever and the prices keep going up?[/quote]
I reckon that's about the size of it

[thisnameistaken]

When I was growing up there were two guys in my town who owned Wal basses, and they were both fretless. I think - as a result - for the last 15 years I've always assumed that "Wal" means "fretless".

I've wanted one for about that long, too, but I can't bring myself to spend so much money on a bass. It would be a walnut-faced Mach I, though, if I ever did buy one.

Edited May 30, 2008 by thisnameistaken

[chris_b]

Ebay emails me every time a Wal come up. They seem to be going for around £2000. A new Wal was a bit more than that, so a lovely, well made instrument, sounding good, with a great reputation and always in short supply will always keep the price up.
I wish I had a collection but I can't afford them these days, although I would get a bank loan if a good 6 string came on the market!

Edited May 30, 2008 by chris_b

[Bilbo]

I think there is another factor in that many of the early exponents of the wonder of Wals were fretless players; Percy Jones, John Giblin, Mick Karn etc. For a LONG time in teh late 70s and 80s, Wal was THE fretless bass to have - still is for me. I have never played a fretless I like more than my own.

Never played a BASS I like more than my Wal, come to think of it.

[dub]

I bought a second hand fretless Wal in the 80s, which I soon discovered had a very uneven fingerboard.
At the time I was playing slap bass on a lot of funk tunes on the fretless, but realised I would be better off with fretted neck.
I phoned up Ian at Wal and asked if he would replace the neck with a fretted if I sent it to him. He only charged me £80, which just goes to show what a great bloke he was.
The Wal was beautifully made and a great bass to play, but after a couple of years I stared comparing it to some other basses and sold it to buy an old musicman.
So that's one less fretless out there (or maybe not if that neck ever got a new fingerboard)