Bass guitars
I am lucky enough to be the owner of two bass guitars from one of Britain's most respected builders... Wal Basses by Electric Wood. These are a "Pro series" bass from around 1978-1979 and a "Custom series" bass from 1985. My other British bass is a custom built acoustic bass made by Tony Revell.
Custom series bass - W2601:
My first Wal was bought
second-hand in 1992. It's a Custom series bass built in September 1985
and, when I bought it, was a "closet classic", having spent the intervening
seven years sitting in a cupboard unplayed. The previous (and original)
owner was an jazz upright bass player who had wanted to try out a good quality
bass guitar. He purchased the Wal and soon discovered that he simply
didn't get on with the playing position of the bass guitar and put it away
unused.
The
bass has, what's known as, the "Mark 1" body style (a development from the body
shape of the previous "Pro Series"). The specs are as follows: the body
has a core of mahogany with exotic wood facings made from schedua or hydua - a
figured relation to ovangkol; the neck is a six
piece laminate of hard rock
maple, mukalungu and hornbeam with a 21 fret Thai rosewood board. One of
the characteristics of Wal "Custom series" basses are their unique pickups and
active circuitry which is both versatile and simple to use. This
bass can cover just about any style of music you can throw at it and pass with
flying colours. Perhaps not naturally a slapper's bass... but that's not
necessarily a bad thing! A great punchy, growly bass sound. The
basses even have a balanced XLR output - yes, an inbuilt DI box!
Pro series bass - PB1291:
My
Pro bass is a "Pro IIE" made around 1978 or 1979. This was Wal's first
production series bass (hence "Pro") and the IIE signifies two pickups and
active circuitry. Another beautifully built bass with a translucent
(strawberry) red finish over a solid ash body that the photos simply do not do
justice to. The body shape and size is similar to the "Custom Series"
basses and the neck is much the same construction although with a larger
"paddle" style headstock. However the neck profiles are quite different -
the "Pro" has a comfortable and fast C
shaped
neck while the "Custom" is rather more "V shaped". The bass is dominated
by it's large scratchplate on which the pickups and controls are mounted.
The sound is very different from the "Custom series" bass - much more of a 70s
rock 
vibe
although when both pickups are used together it has a huge round bottom end that
you just don't find on the "Custom" basses!
This bass was picked up second hand in a local guitar shop in 2001 after a haggling session which lasted over a year and a half! When I first saw it in the shop it was priced the same as a new "Custom" bass. Well, after I had popped in about once every other month to offer a sensible price for well over a year the owner eventually relented and it was mine!
Custom built Tony Revell Acoustic bass
I
ordered this bass in 1992 after seeing a review of
Tony Revell's guitars in
Guitarist magazine. Tony, an ex-employee of respected UK builder
"Overwater", is an independent luthier based in South Wales. Although he
specialises in blues and rag-time guitars he also makes a mean range of other
instruments including mandolins, electrics and basses.
My bass has a flamed maple back,
side and neck with a spruce top, rosewood headstock facings, fretboard, bridge
and finger-rest. The sound is amazingly deep and resonant with an amazing
sustain - not that annoying dull thud that a lot of acoustic basses give you.
The neck is based on my Aria SB700 (see below) which was my main bass at the time. So, it has a really comfortable neck which is a pleasure to play on. However, the most unusual feature of the bass is the neck joint which is completely without a heel. Amazing access but with a rock stable neck - on an acoustic bass! Tony Revell, the man's a guitar-making genius!
Aria
Pro II SB700 bass
An exception on this page and on this site but a fantastic little bass nonetheless! This Aria SB700 was my first ever bass guitar and I still love it! Passive electronics and one pickup but a thru-neck and ash body wings, this bass plays beautifully!
The
bass was an 18th birthday present in 1982. From then until I bought my
first Wal it was my main bass, playing in college bands, church, rock musicals
and my old folk-rock band, Tintagel. Here are a few a few shots of it in
action around 1991 (gosh, did I ever look that young?).
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Wal
basses (or "Electric Wood" as its parent company is called) was set up in the
early '70s by electronics guru Ian Waller and luthier Pete Stevens with a single
mission - to make the world's best bass guitar. Early custom built basses
included the monster triple neck Wal (originally built for Roger Newell of Rick
Wakeman's English Rock Ensemble) played by Chris Squire form Yes.
Consulting the needs of top British bass players of the time (including the
likes of John Entwistle, Percy Jones, John G Perry and Pete Zorn) they settled
on a design specification for their basses. These "JG Custom Series" basses
(named for bassist John Gustafson - Merseybeats, Big Three, Gordon Giltrap, Roxy
Music) were still built on a semi-custom basis and are distinguished by their
unique leather tooled
scratchplates!
Only a few of these basses were built before, in 1978 Wal launched their first
production bass - the aptly named "Pro Series" bass. In 1982 the first
basses of what was to become the "Custom Series" were created. These
dispensed with the scratchplate - surface mounting the pickups and controls -
and replaced a solid ash body with a mahogany body core faced with a selection
of exotic woods. The Wal Custom became a staple of studios and stages
throughout the eighties finding favour with artists as diverse as Paul
McCartney, Dire Straits, Spandau Ballet and Rush (at least two Wals even
appeared on stage
at "Live
Aid" in Wembley Stadium). The bass lines on the original "Band Aid" single,
"Do they know it's Christmas" (one of the biggest and most influential singles
of all time) was powered by Wal.
The original "Custom Series" design (Mark I) of "Custom series" electronics and a mahogany/exotic wood laminate body has since formed the template for all further developments and versions of the Wal Bass.
In early 1986 Wal introduced a 5-string bass with a 24 fret neck and a revised body shape (Mark II) which was also applied as an option to the 4-string basses. Tragically, Ian Waller died suddenly of a heart attack in 1988 and his passing was marked across the music industry. Despite this irreplaceable loss, Pete Stevens was determined to carry on Ian's legacy and continue building world beating basses. The late '80s saw the development of a relatively short lived Wal MB4 Midi bass - in conjunction with Australian electronics designer Steve Chick. Production of the MB4 (a bass midi controller that actually worked) for only a few years when US giant, Peavey, bought the rights to the technology on which the midi controller was based. In 1995 the Wal underwent a further design development with the introduction of a 6-string bass and a new body and headstock shape (Mark III).
For the last few years Pete has continued building Wal basses as a small, often one-man, operation offering these fine instruments in three body styles, faced with a range of beautiful woods and in 4, 5 and 6 string incarnations to the discerning bassists of Britain and the world.
For information on how to contact or order Wal basses please click on the Wal emblem below:
For a more detailed account of the history of Wal basses please click on this link
Text © Trevor Raggatt 2004