Wal - Freebies - Macca

[spectoremg]

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1456877248' post='2993240']
Lightheartedness seems to be in short supply on here recently.

I bet Macca's ownership of a Wal had much less impact on their sales than the fleet of 80's pop bass gods playing them.

I for one appreciated the tongue in cheek element of the 'paid him to stop' comment, even as an appreciator of McCartney.

Bloody Internet.
[/quote]Like button.

[TrevorR]

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1456907495' post='2993321']


Yep, at the time of Wal's ascendency Macca was not really considered an iconic bassist in the way players like Mick Karn were. Funny thing is that those 80's Wal playing popsters probably set the vibe for Wal in the same way as Geddy Lee and Chris Squire did for Ricks, and both brands still suffer from being too strongly associated with a specific sound. Macca of course played both Wals and Ricks and sounded nothing like 80's popsters or 70 prog rockers. He probably did both brands a lot of good.
[/quote]

Funny thing thought... Both Geddy and Chris were also known for playing Rickys and Wals (a very particular one in Chris' case!).

Funny thing is, I've always suspected that in 1989 or thereaboutsGeddy would probably have sold more Wals for the company than Paul did!

On the original Q... Yes, Wal didn't do freebies for endorsees. The names who played them paid for them. Where they did give basses free it was more of a big personal thank you. Rob Burns who was a bit of an unpaid ambassador for the brand and a long term Wal user was given the prototype of the first Wal 6er as a surprise thank you gift for all he'd done for them. John G Perry was also given a lovely early MK 1 Custom specially built as a short scale bass. Again as a surprise thank you pressie.

[chris_b]

If you make a bass that is so good everyone is falling over themselves to play one then you don't need endorsers to sell them for you.

[12stringbassist]

Macca stopped using his (3) Rickenbackers and the Wal 5-er onstage because he has back problems and both irritate it.
They both get used in the studio.

[TrevorR]

Not so long ago Elvis Costello was claiming it was down to him...


"10 Things We Learned From Elvis Costello's Brilliant New Memoir
Songwriter's new book reflects on 'SNL' ban and infamous 1979 tirade, why he won't reveal who Alison is.


It's probably no surprise that Elvis Costello's memoir, Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink, out today, is thoroughly engrossing. Costello's gift for storytelling in song is without question, but like Bob Dylan's Chronicles, his book is truly remarkable in the way it presents a riveting, honest portrait of the author and the many A-listers he's tread the boards with, while ricocheting through the years at an almost breathless pace. In an era of ghostwritten — or, worse, self-serving — memoirs by rock stars at every strata of the pecking order, the nearly 700-page Unfaithful Music is a standout.

While the book is certainly worth of a leisurely, cover-to-cover dive, an even more surprising treat is the companion audiobook, in which the author himself acts out many of his most legendary incidents, delivering spot-on impressions of Dylan and many others, and often sending up himself in the process.

Either way, even the most ardent Costello fan will come away having learned more about the man than any of us ever dared hope to discover. Here are 10 key revelations.

...3. Elvis talked Paul McCartney into using his Hofner bass again and got him to embrace his Beatle-ness.
Costello recounts that when he first began collaborating with Paul McCartney, the former Beatle favored a "super-hi-tech custom" bass that his wife, Linda, had given him for Christmas. It had, much to Costello's horror, five strings. Costello inquired about the Hofner, trying not to sound too much like the Beatle geek that all of us would be in that moment. McCartney then pulled it out of storage, and has been using it as his main instrument ever since."

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/10-things-we-learned-from-elvis-costellos-brilliant-new-memoir-20151013#ixzz41ty4zrYI

Edited March 4, 2016 by TrevorR

[fleabag]

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1456934315' post='2993743']
I wasn't worrying. And I found it funny. As did a few others.

so, you know, lighten up...
[/quote]



IMO i think the Mac is a fine basser. He's not in yer face, true, but he's written some sweet bass lines. Paperback Writer is a killer. Wonder if that was on the Hofner ?

[AndyTravis]

[quote name='fleabag' timestamp='1457111438' post='2995524']




IMO i think the Mac is a fine basser. He's not in yer face, true, but he's written some sweet bass lines. Paperback Writer is a killer. Wonder if that was on the Hofner ?
[/quote]

I'm no expert but it's either the hofner or the Rick.

I love his basslines, and having played/sang 'All My Loving' for a 50th I have nothing but admiration for the guy as it was akin to rubbing your belly and patting your head.

[fleabag]

Ouch - playing and singing. Luckily i only have to cope with backing vox, praise the force. Even then, some stuff i cannot do, depending on the bass line i'm twiddling at the time.

Gotta respect the ability to do both simultaneously

And..i never knew the Mac played a Wal. I must have been living in a cave.

[guybrush threepwood]

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1457081322' post='2995046']
they all sound like 'dunk dunka dump dunk dump dump'
[/quote]
And what a lovely tone that is.

[AndyTravis]

[quote name='guybrush threepwood' timestamp='1457175114' post='2995989']

And what a lovely tone that is.
[/quote]

Nah! Should've played it on a stingray 🙄😂

[chris_b]

I'm with Meddle on this.

IMO great, creative playing but that Hofner is one of the least pleasant sounding basses on record.

[AndyTravis]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1457175957' post='2996002']
I'm with Meddle on this.

IMO great, creative playing but that Hofner is one of the least pleasant sounding basses on record.
[/quote]

I had a 61 cavern Hofner about 6/7 years ago, bought on a whim and as I got it cheap I thought I'd give it a go.

Took it to rehearsals, couldn't hear anything I was playing and then a guy dropping off posters and tickets for a gig said "oh, alright Macca?" So that was that. Sold it to a mate.

Went to see said mates band and he was playing the Hofner.

Never heard anything like it - full, warm, supportive and the room shook when he played. Gutted.

He still gigs it regularly.

[spongebob]

Funny how some basses sound superb with one player, but just don't suit another.

[mikeswals]

I had read long ago that Macca showed interest in a 5 string Wal because he'd admired the one Trevor Horn played. So Linda had commissioned to have it built, it was a gift from her.
In more recent years, a Wal enthusiast said he went to the Wal factory around that same time, to either order or pick up a bass and saw a few new completed 5 strings, all identicle for Macca.

And yes, we can thank Costello for turning Paul back to the Hofner.
I also can't help but think since Bruce Thomas played one toward the end with Costello, Elvis probably had a predetermined sour for anyone afterwards using such a fancy custom.

Edited April 30, 2016 by mikeswals

[Rich]

I've read in several interviews that Macca stopped using the Wal live because it was so heavy. In those same interviews I've never seen any mention of it being down to Mr McManus' geeky nose-poking.
As for "It had, much to Costello's horror, five strings", this just makes him even more of a complete tit AFAIC.

[spectoremg]

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1462005048' post='3039437']
I've read in several interviews that Macca stopped using the Wal live because it was so heavy. In those same interviews I've never seen any mention of it being down to Mr McManus' geeky nose-poking.
As for "It had, much to Costello's horror, five strings", this just makes him even more of a complete tit AFAIC.
[/quote]I heard that the forming Oasis included a 5-string which Noel Gallagher ordered the banishment of. Odd that Up In The Sky had an Eb bass note in it. I like Noel but he clearly has Costello credentials.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1462053760' post='3040013']
Phew! I don't want to sound like a philistine here. I love McCartney's basslines, and he is probably one of the first guys that had me thinking about bass at all. Those runs in 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)' made me want to play bass at least some of the time....

...but I don't get the endless archaeology to figure out what basses he used on what songs. He EQ'd both instruments (Rick and Hofner) to sound pretty much the same, and it is a fairly basic tone that you can cop elsewhere.
[/quote]

... and sometimes it's a Jazz.

[Delberthot]

I used to laugh over at the Rickresource. Could've been playing anything but they were so anal retentive and could've been playing a Spector for all we know

[sblueplanet]

I was told that Macca got his Wal from Sound Control music store when it was based in the Saltmarket in Glasgow. The store is long gone and his Wal prob lives in a flightcase somewhere.

[spectoremg]

[quote name='sblueplanet' timestamp='1462108538' post='3040298']
I was told that Macca got his Wal from Sound Control music store when it was based in the Saltmarket in Glasgow. The store is long gone and his Wal prob lives in a flightcase somewhere.
[/quote]Sound Control. I remember the 'catacomb' shop in Brum. The tears are welling up. At the expense of hijacking my own thread, does anyone know the demise of Sound Control story?

[drTStingray]

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1462005048' post='3039437']
As for "It had, much to Costello's horror, five strings", this just makes him even more of a complete tit AFAIC.
[/quote]

Singer/songwriters - you gotta love em eh? I remember many years ago watching some sort of late night BBC4 documentary where that exact moment with Costello and McCartney was shown and when asked why he didn't use the Hofner, he said it was a problem because for instance, it didn't play in tune (or stay in tune - I can't remember the exact words) - presumably this sort of issue is not a problem for the vintage loving officianado as they can digitally correct any recordings made......maybe they're not too bothered about playing absolutely in tune live anyway?

Edited May 1, 2016 by drTStingray

[Chiliwailer]

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1462134157' post='3040569']
At the expense of hijacking my own thread, does anyone know the demise of Sound Control story?
[/quote]

Story goes that Royal Bank of Scotland leant them a huge sum of money (I've heard exaggerated claims of 20 million). SC wasn't too well though, spread themselves thin and lost a lot of money from the London flagship store on Oxford Street, it bled money from day one.

Then one day, as banks do, they called in the money. Game over.

So I was told by a few people in the industry anyway, who knows what else was going on behind the scenes, I wouldn't want to speculate.

[spectoremg]

[quote name='Chiliwailer' timestamp='1462169789' post='3040686']
Story goes that Royal Bank of Scotland leant them a huge sum of money (I've heard exaggerated claims of 20 million). SC wasn't too well though, spread themselves thin and lost a lot of money from the London flagship store on Oxford Street, it bled money from day one.

Then one day, as banks do, they called in the money. Game over.

So I was told by a few people in the industry anyway, who knows what else was going on behind the scenes, I wouldn't want to speculate.
[/quote]Cheers for the reply. I managed to find a dit about it after they asked from 2008 when it says they closed around 3/4 of the shops. I visited the one in Brum in '09 (I think) before they shut that down and they had US built Spector NS2's for less than a grand which seemed suspiciously cheap. Bristol was a good shop too.

[W1_Pro]

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1462005048' post='3039437']
I've read in several interviews that Macca stopped using the Wal live because it was so heavy. In those same interviews I've never seen any mention of it being down to Mr McManus' geeky nose-poking.
As for "It had, much to Costello's horror, five strings", this just makes him even more of a complete tit AFAIC.
[/quote]


This.

[12stringbassist]

Macca only used the Wal for a couple of songs on the 'Flowers in the dirt' tour - 'Figure of eight' and 'This one'. The rest of the time was the Hofner.
That was when all the Beatles songs made their way back into the stage show.