Wal Mark II 4-String

Mine is a 92 Wal MKII 4 string fretted with a walnut top and and rosewood fretboard. The body is quite stylish with a long upper horn that lets it hang well balanced. The bridge is custom made for Wal as are the knobs. The neck has Schaller tuners and is wider than a jazz and narrower than a precision and is a little V shaped. Overall it is comfy and fast.

The electronics are active and always on. There are 4 knobs - 1 volume with pull out for pick attack, 1 pickup blend, and 1 "filter" control for each pickup with pullout that changes frequency. The filters vary the sound quite widely from bright, cutting to mellow and dub like. If thats not enough there are some pots under the control plate for adjusting some other stuff. I've never touched them though.

The Wal's sound is very distinctive with a midrange punch that is almost always present. You can get a wide variety of sounds though not all of them are useful. The ones that are useful can be pretty amazing; from a deep mellow boom to a punch in the throat mid filled wallop. It's definitely not a bass that sits quietly in the mix in my opinion. You will be heard with this thing!

The only criticism I've got is that reproducing tones live is difficult. Little tweaks can make a big difference and there is a lot of control twiddling possible on this bass. Live, its best to set and forget. I tend to turn the front pickup filter knob to a deeper, less in your face, setting and the back pickup mostly wide open and use the blend to change sound on the fly.

Made very well and is stable as rock. I've never tweaked the truss rod and it plays perfectly.

I've used it in rehearsals and live no problem. I wouldn't worry about a backup even without a passive mode. Batteries last forever in this thing.

Never had to repair anything on it. Probably a real pain if I had to since Wal is not being made at the moment.

Luckily, I was inspired by Colin Moulding of XTC to get one years ago before they became outrageously priced. It's a unique bass and it fits pop and rock and jazz well. I'm currently playing more roots and country and this bass is a bit too in your face for this music in my opinion. I'll still keep it around forever though.

1994, made in High Wycombe, Bucks, UK

Two octave unlined fretless four string. Mahogany body with American Walnut facings.

Pick up pan, volume (with pull up pot for pick attack), two tones with sweepable quasi-parametric eq. Two Wal humbucking pickups with individual adjustable polepieces - jack and DI out. Active electronics with adjustable pick attack (high band).

Wal cast bridge with quick change features.

Schaller machines plus Hipshot D-tuner.

Neck with custom string spacing (slightly narrower) and custom brass nut. Neck made of maple, hornbeam and mahogany with ebony fingerboard.

Schaller straploks. Hex key and truss road tool included.

All specified at time of order.

Truly individual instrument, with the ability to get an astounding range of sounds. The tone system takes a bit of time to get used to but once you do, more traditional systems seem to lack control and subtlety.

The electronics are designed so that you can get an even volume level even as you change tones radically. And what tones! Everything from very mellow (a great fretless sound) to much more aggressive, sounding like a fretted bass - versatile - all the bass you need.

It's possible to go from a twangy crunch (on a fretless) to deep dub all with loads of character.

Very silent bass in the studio and live - unaffected by noisy lighting rigs.

Most important of all, it gets my tone.

The bass was built for me by Pete the Fish at Electric Wood. Everything adjusted to suit my playing style. Really couldnt be better. The only flaw came from the Hipshot D-tuner (not made by Electric Wood) which fell to pieces - Pete fixed that quickly (dont get me wrong, D tuners are superb bits of kit fitted to all my basses).

The bass has been toured throughout Europe and the UK. It's been flown and even taken to pieces to get it into the overhead compartment in planes. It's build like a rock. Everything seems very durable.

Pretty resistant to humidity and temperature changes too - playing through monsoon-like rain then baking heat in France then nighttime chill - all in one day - no problems.

I've used it on countless gigs without a backup.

I couldnt imagine a better customer service. Pete the Fish is friendly and always keen to find out how things are with the bass (and with his customers).

Regular visits to his workshop have kept the bass in top condition, and the chance for a beer and a sandwich at the nearby snooker hall too.

I've been playing for nearly thirty years, with the last fifteen as a professional. My other main bass is a Yamah frettted but it hasnt been out gigging for years - the Wal does the job almost all the time.

If it were stolen, I'd order a replacement straightaway. The great thing about the bass is that it was built for me, and has done a great job with total reliabilty and quality.

The only other basses I've been impressed with and might consider are by Martin Petersen (SEI basses). Quite superb instruments too.

Having seen the quality of factory-made basses (and the cost), Wals do represent staggering value for money, especially with the top notch after sales service that Pete provides.