fretless Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Elderly bass player has passed me a WAL 4 string, lined fretless to check out - pictures attached. He purchased Bass "second hand" in 1999 from Manson’s in Exeter - invoice to hand, WAL case. No on heel plate is PB 1287 Body looks to be solid ash Seems to date back to 1978/79 (?) - which will make it a very early model ? Confirm ? Condition of body/neck is excellent - Intonation seems spot on and set up is good, plays all the way up the neck without problems. Lots of pots and switches - would be helpful to know what each is supposed to do so that I can assess if they are all functioning OK ? ie 3 way toggle switch on lower horn, five rotary pots and three mini switches below the pickup surrounds ? Advice please ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 (edited) That's a Wal Pro 2. How much does he want for it? Advice? Buy it. Now! Then send it off to Paul Herman at Wal for a service and overhaul. ps That looks like an original case. Even better. pps corrected name Edited April 17, 2019 by chris_b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Cor! You've hit gold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 PS. Trevor will know about the controls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Blank Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 😍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretless Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 Who is Trevor ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franzbassist Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, chris_b said: Then send it off to Paul Turner at Wal for a service and overhaul You're getting your Paul's mixed up Chris, it's Paul Herman at Wal, not the Jamiroquai bassist! 37 minutes ago, fretless said: Who is Trevor ? That would be our resident Wal expert and all round good guyTrevor Raggatt @TrevorR An excellent find if the price is right! Edited April 17, 2019 by franzbassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 (edited) 28 minutes ago, franzbassist said: You're getting your Paul's mixed up Chris, it's Paul Herman at Wal, not the Jamiroquai bassist! Bother. . . Paul Herman. Of course! Edited April 17, 2019 by franzbassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevorR Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 (edited) Well she’s a beut. It say she was built something like August or September 1979. My Pro IIE is PB1291 and it’s dated to September. First question is whether the bass is passive or active - both use the same scratchplate so the you’ll need to look under the battery cover and see. The switches have different functions for each. Going through the controls... toggle switch is pick up selector. The top row of knobs going neck to bridge (strings) are Master Vol, Neck Vol and Bridge Vol. each Volume knob has its own tone knob directly below. The little switches have different functions on passive and active variations. Passive: Pro II - two pickups, series/parallel switching under each pickup Active: Pro IIE - two pickups, active tone circuit, pick attack switch in middle, low-mid boost switch for neck pickup, upper-mid boost/bass cut switch for bridge pickup under the pickup surrounds The pick attach adds a small peak in the upper middle range to sort of simulate a pick sound when playing fingerstyle - I think of it as an extra cut through switch in busy mixes. On is towards the neck on the sliders. One thing - The shafts on the knobs can become a bit brittle over time (they are removable and attach into the pots with little plastic tines). Wal replaced mine with fixed shaft pots about 10 years ago. Price wise I’ve seen Pro 2s going for 2k and 2Es going for a bit over 2.5k. Wonderful basses, I love playing mine. If you can, grab it! More info here... http://walbasshistory.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_9226.html Edited April 17, 2019 by TrevorR 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevorR Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 PS yes, two piece solid ash body. Maple, hornbeam and mukulungu neck laminates. Rosewood fingerboard with carbon fibre stiffeners. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretless Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 Thanks Trevor Very helpful, will look at electrics asap to confirm passive/active, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 It's a great club to be in and that looks like a belter. Here's PB1533. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 That bass is the nuts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazBeen Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Holy smokes, this is a solid find....... BUY IT NOW! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LewisK1975 Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 (edited) Nothing like this ever happens to me! Pah! As others have said, buy it! Edited April 17, 2019 by LewisK1975 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 (edited) @LewisK1975 Lewis dear chap - I have a home made bitsa just up the M4 I can bequeath to you for a small sum - in years to come, it may not lose its value torrentially and should not disintegrate Edited April 17, 2019 by Cuzzie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Rich said: It's a great club to be in and that looks like a belter. Here's PB1533. Nice! Btw - is 'Rich' short for 'Richard' or just signifying the fact that you can afford a Wal?! 😀 Edited April 17, 2019 by Al Krow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMG456 Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 That’s a beauty with the old style paddle headstock too. Colour me jealous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretless Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 Battery present so it's an active version bass ......... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 1 hour ago, Al Krow said: Nice! Btw - is 'Rich' short for 'Richard' or just signifying the fact that you can afford a Wal?! 😀 The former certainly not the latter! It only cost me £330 anyway... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 7 minutes ago, Rich said: The former certainly not the latter! It only cost me £330 anyway... Result! 1 hour ago, LewisK1975 said: Nothing like this ever happens to me! Pah! As others have said, buy it! Not going to make you feel any better though Lewis...😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 7 hours ago, fretless said: Advice please ? If you have heard of any grail or similar, she is it. Make her yours. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 For anyone who, like me, enjoys the nerdy stuff... 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 I had one like this about 15 years ago. Lovely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevorR Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 3 hours ago, fretless said: Battery present so it's an active version bass ......... Excellente! Fabulous basses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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