Product: Wal Custom 5-String Mach 2
Price Paid: sterling (1,800 price now 2004 is about 2,800)
Submitted
09/12/2004
at
09:49pm
by
John Hester
Email: johnhester at apexsoftware<dot>co<dot>uk
Features
:
10
Manufactured, no, CRAFTED 1990 in England.
Two octave, lined fretless.
Mahogany body with schedua (African Olive) facings.
Volume, blend and two tone controls. One for each pickup.
2 Wal soap bar pickups.
Active electronics, each tone control has a quasi parametric function when pulled up, produces a 10db boost to a variable frequency. Sounds like a wahwah when you twiddle them.
34" scale neck. Ebony fingerboard. Fret marks are slivers of maple.
Gold plated hardware including Schaller tuners, one of which is a bit tight.
Fitted case included, but unlike the bass it is crap. Bass is too heavy for the case and the water tight seal opens when being carried to let in the rain. I live in Scotland, it rains here a lot, so not too good.
Sound
:
10
I play blues, Jazz and funk. The Wal is perfect for them all.
I have fretted and fretless Jazz basses and use an alesis midiverb and compressor on both. But with the Wal I use neither, the sound is that good. Amp is a peavey pro1000 preamp, power amp and 1810 cab. But you can plug it in to a biscuit tin and it still sounds great. Has a regular jack socket and a balanced XLR for the studio. Plugs straight into the desk, no need for a DI box. The variety of sounds from this bass cover everything from Mick Karn type duck quacks to a a really nice upright sound. Rich full sound? Yep it does it. Dark sound? Oh yea! Warm sound? Very toastie. Bright sound? Totally. Only sound I can't really get is the Jaco tone, but that's probably my playing rather than the bass.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
Pickups were set up perfect.
Came with a set of picato strings and the action just a tad too high for me. New set of D'addarios and a tweek by local luthier and the setup was perfecto.
Fit and finish are also perfect,should be though, this puppy was not cheap.
Reliability/Durability
:
9
Had this bass fourteen years, you could stick a price tag on it and it would pass as new. Had the truss rod adjusted ONCE in 14 years. One of the tuners is a bit sticky now.
Customer Support
:
9
Really nice friendly guys, but they never answer the phone.
Overall Rating
:
9
Been playing on and off for 25 years. Have fretted and fretless Fender Jazz basses (4 strings) and a Crafter acoustic.
If this bass was lost or stolen, I would be straight on the phone to Wal to order a matched pair of fretted and fretless 4 strings, as I dont use the B string that musch and I have wee stubby fingers. The only thing I hate about this bass, and I do hate it, is the case. Not only does it have the fault mentioned above, but it is ugly as well. I did not compare this bass to any other as I had previously owned a matched pair of 4 strings, so knew exactly what I was getting.
Favourite feature is the electronics, the parmetric type eq is the dogs dangly bits. I wish it had a lower price tag so I could buy some more. Oh and it is very, very, very heavy! So if I could, I would change the weight.
Four things I would like to share all you other bass players:-
1. Don't run when carrying scissors.
2. Don't eat yellow snow.
3. Buy an acoustic bass. I did last year, and my playing has improved immensely. Why, cause you can play whilst watching T.V. As I watch way too much T.V. that's good and you can play when in the toilet having a dump rather than reading a newspaper.
4. Buy a Wal bass or at least try one out.
