Greg Edwards from Failure rocked a Wal back in the 90s. The story is that he actually turned Justin Chancellor onto the Wal, as the two bands toured together during that period. Love watching these vids - you guys are genuinely having a great time.
Failure used a Wal bass during the Comfort sessions, but I don’t think they owned it. You’d think Greg would have used one on either Failure or Puscifer. It’s something I’ve been wanting to know from Greg or Ken.
@@jacoj1 I saw them play a few times back then. He definitely "owned" it. It was originally fretless. At some point, he put the frets back in and covered it with a shiny chrome decal (criminal, I know).
Have to say the content you guys have been putting out recently has been amazing, not just the subjects but the way they're produced/delivered are perfect
I thought he started Bow Wow Wow with a different bass in 1980 and got the Wal around 1981. I thought I saw early footage of them and he was playing a Fender P or something.
Leigh is my favourite Wal player, in my top 3 of all time and a huge influence on me (and evidently on Flea who cops him totally on BSSM). I first saw BWW doing “Go Wild” in ‘82 (?) and he was using the Wal then. I have an email from him somewhere where I think he says when he bought it (really nice guy btw). His main one (and the newer back up) are both passive BTW. He said he had a Custom and didn’t like it as much. I had the same experience!
Great to see some love for Percy ! The first track you played from the Unorthodox Behaviour album was played on a P-Bass 😊 The Wal didn’t come along until the Masques album. After years of playing Ibanez basses I believe he has been seen playing the Wal again 😎
SN W2500 here.. Very interesting to hear all these other lads with the WAL's but for me, Mick Karn was a giant in the world of WAL fretless, and indeed fretless bass.. No one played like Mick, no one.. We then have Percy Jones.., he was the one who started it all, equally as great as Mick but very different style.. Don't forget the late John Giblin here too..
OK was I the only one waiting for the announcement of Mick Karn. Love the Wal Bass, loved all the examples used but you made my day with the Mck Karn track (so many to pick from) My biggest regret was not buying one when I could not afford it 😂
I was gonna be really upset if you hadn't included Mick Karn and the track you choose is a favorite. That album made a HUGE impression on me when I was a kid. Amazing stuff.
I just saw Tool two days ago with my band and they were absolutely insane, Justin Chancellor was the first guy I saw playing a Wal so to see him rock one live was just awesome. Also I’m sure that I’m going to get a lot of shit for this but another honourable mention that I’d like to give here is Blackened by Metallica, obviously there’s the overdone meme of you not being able to hear the bass on …And Justice For All but if you listen to the isolated bass tracks Jason Newstead is absolutely killer and plus Jason wrote that riff as well. Also another semi-fun fact is that Paul McCartney actually played a 5-string Wal during the recording of Free As A Bird from The Beatles’ Anthology 1 album from 1995 because you can hear him play a low C during George Harrison’s guitar solo
Great video and nice to see Percy Jones and Mick Karn featured again. However, a couple of clarifications/corrections, if I may. Bestial Cluster (1993) and The Tooth Mother (1995) are two separate albums, although they would later be re-released as a double album. The track you are playing is the title track from Bestial Cluster (not Bestiel Cluster). The really deep bass sound you hear in this track is the bass guitar distorted and doubling with a synth. The music isn't as free and improvised as it might sound. I saw Karn with Richard Barbieri (Keyboards), Steve Jansen (Drums) and David Torn (Guitar) in London in 1993 and it sounded pretty close to the record. There's actually a version live in a Dutch TV studio here on TH-cam (with Steven Wilson replacing David Torn on guitar) which shows they could do it live. Also, although Phil Collins was the drummer in the 'classic' line-up that made Unorthodox Behaviour and Moroccan Roll, he was not the original drummer; that was John Dillon. Props also need to go to Kenwood Dennard, Chuck Burgi and Mike Clark, who all played Drums in Brand X during the 70s.
Would really be great if you guys did a video on copping a Walk tone on other basses. Out of your normal wheelhouse a bit, but would be great fun. Stingray and L2000 are good starting points.
Hvge TOOL fan and L-2000 owner here. I didn't necezzarily get the L-2000 to emvlate the Wal, bvt I've definitely found that you can dial a sound that certainly is toe-to-toe.
Friendly reminder....the high and low pass filter electronics ( as well as active electronics) was first pioneered by ALEMBIC. The big difference between the two is that Alembics are almost exclusively neck thru ( there are a few set neck models, notably the Epic , also used by Flea in the studio.)
Also I've never heard an Alembic with the punch and fullness of a Wal. They're mostly there to look nice in grateful dead cover bands and for Stanley Clarke to strum on
@@ileutur6863 you definitely aren't speaking from playing experience..... which I am. I have one , purchased used , for the price of a new stingray. I can dial up anything from a '60s p to an '80s Wal . Just need to o understand the instrument.
Yet again another great video from you guys, love it. Seems a bit strange that the wood grain on the two bodies are in the opposite direction, but they sound awesome
If you have a jazz bass fit a John East J-RETRO 01. Active preamp. Fits right in, no mods req’d. Parametric mid and a pull treble knob just like The Wal for that pick attack sound. You’ll love it
Nostalgia alert...had my first one in 1987(!) Made by Ian and Pete...sold seven-ish years ago for some pitiful sum. Best bass (along with a fretless Pro 1 I picked up a couple of years later) I ever owned. Paired with Trace AH250, and the classic 4x10 and 1x15 stack for the full '80s effect :-)
What a great video on these amazing basses. i don't think Mick Karn ever used an ocatve pedal, but to get his studio sound you either got to double track or blend in a bit of Roland Dimension D. And be Mick Karn!! Other worthy mentions... "I Want Candy" by Bow Wow Wow with Leigh Gorman. And Nick Beggs used one on Too Shy by Kajagoogoo. (But so processed it could have been almost anything.) So glad to see Lawrence there - what an absoloute legend.
I used to play Nuclear Burn with my drummer back in the day. Well, I should say “tried” and today it’s still one of my favorite fretless riffs to bust out. Had the great pleasure of seeing Percy in a little club live in Baltimore ages ago. Great to also see Mick called out and of course Geddy’s Wal riffs are some of my favorite Rush bass lines. The tone of the Wal is monster.
The bass player who played with a prog band Camel on the live album Pressure points used a Wal MK1 fretless. Got to be one of the most unique fretless sounds ever.
I’m not schooled on a lot of guys you mentioned, but thank you for turning me on to different players. that Nick Carn clip gave me like aSnarky Puppy vibe. but too be fair i don’t know their whole catalog but i’ve been digging them from what i’ve heard. that interview you guys did was awesome.
3 secrets of Wal tone: both pickups near the bridge, multi-coil pickups for max tone capture, active filter preamp instead of traditional active EQ pre.
I legit thought Flea used a Stingray on BSSM with just some kind of a tube saturated mid scoop! I can't stop thinking now about how similar a Wal and a Stingray can sound :D
Thanks guys, so cool ! A few tracks on here I hadn't heard before but love ! Yes Wal basses are mean machines, love the Flea tone on Funky Monks also! As an aside, can we expect any Bass Grannies outros ? 😜😀
Percy jones played a precision fretless (only a fender precision can sound like that)on this track and switched after this album to a wal. Great videoa scott/ian Mick and percy got much more appreciation for their work. Both are the reason for me to play fretless. Jonas Hellborg played also wal(for good reasons)!!!! You should give him also a mentioning for his work( especially for his wal-years) These 3 players (percy,mick,jonas)inspired a whole generation to play bass. Thanks scott/ian
if you cant afford a wal bass , try e.g. a modern gb by cort bass with the nordstrands and put a wah pedal in the signal path...has become one of my fav. basses instantly and doesnt cost a fortune, but is made with great craftmansship.
Hello Twins! Again! This will come first although it was written second, so my advice to you is to read the first one first. I thought it best because Windows just crashed on me and I had to write it all again, and the more time I spend writing, the more long-winded I become, More things you didn't do, despite being inspired by my comment a few weeks ago. Appropriate for this would have been Pino's riff for G Numan's "We Take Mystery to Bed" which endlessly fascinates me. In fact, all of Pino's work on G Numan's "I, Assassin" - apart from Rust - is the supreme example of how to play a fretless Wal. Apart from being brilliant it showcases the scale usage on a fretlless Wal that is shared by Percy, Pino, Mick and Andy (Coughlan). So far as I know you haven't delved into this aspect of my comment, how these guys to use the scale in such a particular way. You could also have used Percy Jones' amazing fretless Wal sound (perhaps treated by Eno?) on B Eno's "RAF",and what a riff it is, too. Incidentally, you mentioned the Dorian scale with the b5. The dorian scale is essentially the minor pentatonic blues scale with the 2nd and the 6th added back in, so it's not a surprise to add in the b5. Both Carlos Santana and Gregg Rollie used the Dorian mode all the time but I never listened out for b5s. My favourite band - the Soft Machine when Rober Wyatt was in it - used plenty of Dorian I'm pretty sure without the b5. This is probably the problem with thinking in modes - once you're in the Dorian mode you don't think of using the b5 becaue it'snot in the dorian mode. But if you think in notes - minor pentatonic blues plus 2 and 6 - then you'd be more open to the b5 as anything but a passing note in a chormatic lead in to the 5th. My favourite chromatic lead-in is 2,b3,3, but I hate the major scale so I rarely get to use it. Another musical comment is if you like the sax parts you drooled over, perhaps go back in history to Greg Osby's title track of Man Talk for Moderns (this looks rather like Man Talk for Modems, perhaps I'll write a track called that), which has a great bass line as well. In fact, much of the M-Base collective stuff, e.g. Steve Coleman. LoveLifeGoodness&Freedom, Andy
Percy was using the original JG Series basses in the mid-70s (but from the Masques album onwards). They were the ones with the leather scratch plates (named after the brilliant and underrated John Gustafson) - this later morphed into the Pro Series with the plastic scratch plates in 1978… they only made a few dozen JGs. Other well known users included JG, Gary Tibbs, Alan Spenner, John Entwistle, John Glascock (Jethro Tull), Paul Simenon (The Clash - yes really!) Nigel Griggs (Split Enz) and Dave Markee (Clapton)
Love a bit of Mick Karn. I had a Mk1 for a few years but it was just a back up for my Stingray. Never really happy with tone in a live band situation. It had to go in the end. Think I traded it but can't remember what for.
If ever I think of somebody trying to get their hands on a bass guitar like these who isn’t in one of those acts but might think they need something like it to play those songs, it puts me in mind of a situation I probably already mentioned here. From the summer of 2008 to the following March, I was trying to play in this quintet with these guys who were very gifted but somewhat amateurish. The other guitar player was often getting his hands on new instruments he was not likely to play and resisting the idea that he should take formal lessons. He kept talking about how we only had a four channel PA system and that we weren’t going to get better as a band until we got a bigger one. I told him that we shouldn’t be waiting around for something like that to fall in our laps and thinking it was going to make us suddenly become a professional band. We hadn’t even chosen a name by the time I left, and the one they came up with after I moved on (Lunch Among Cannibals) was pretty ridiculous. A couple of months after I moved on, I went to see them play live as a quartet just to check out how they were faring. That other guitar player rubbed it in that they were getting gigs when I was convinced it wasn’t going to happen. When they played, the drummer had left behind a crucial piece of his kit. Instead of adapting and trying to play without it, the drummer, bass guitar player who was still a teenager at the time and the best guitar players father all went back to the best guitar players house to seek the single piece of gear, that’s jamming up the schedule for the night.
I didn't even know of such a bass before I watched the video... Wow! So much great music and new names (for me), now I have tèrra incognita to dive into for next couple of hours 😂 Thanks Scott!!!
This is just an awesome line-up. And a special set of kudos to the team, who work on production of videos and PDFs. Although, there is a typo in this one's PDF, and the tabs from Tool took the place of Janek's "Darkness". Nevertheless, this is a tremendous work, thank you!
I don''t understand. Limp Bizkit's album "The unquestionable Truth Part 1" is ALL COMPLETELY recorded with a Wal Mark 3 and the bass sound is ABSOLUTELY MINDBLOWING !!! Check it out if You haven't yet.
Mick's first solo album was called "Dali's car" if I remember rightly. One scathing NME critic said "one surrealist vehicle that won't get started". Cruel. Fantastic bassist.
I think you guys should swap, with the obvious stipulation to never give away/sell/lose the bass and to swap back if one of you so desires. It's a unique position you're in with two (!) Wals and it'd be something cool that binds you as well.
Scott, I’ve got to correct you on the Percy Jones piece you play in this video…. Percy still played a Fender Precision fretless on the unorthodox behaviour album…. And that stained Sycamore top on your Wal….. MANNN!!! ❤
That Laurence Cottle line, I learned it from this video and in 1hour solid practice got it to 140bpm pretty reliably (jazz bass, high action) - it starts to sound a little bit like the line at that speed. On the actual track it’s…. 240bpm TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY Beats per minute Hats of the Scott for getting that under his fingers for a one off 20sec video segment, on demand. Phew!!! Edit: day 2 in a Specter (my father’s) with low action: 170bpm, starting to sound like the actual line, it makes my head and hands get hot… Edit: day 3 (gigged last night (party band) so a bit tired) 180bpm - solid! 185bpm falls apart… the little finger string crossing to the E on the A string is my undoing. I noticed last night that my fluidity felt very comfortable, even for the flamboyant moments. I think this is my new favourite exercise as it’s building left and right hand speed in a non-artificial way. Edit: day 4 200bpm on the jazz bass. 170bpm now feels very easy.
The Wal is my most obsessive dream on bass thanks to Flea and Justin. I had a unique opportunity to get one in 2019 but I lost the chance - I’ll haver to live with this pain until make the money to buy one. And it’s not fair: MK1 and MK2 are amazing and they have all this woods… Look the maple one from Justin C., or the black one from Geddy… or some ones with walnut and other fancy woods…
You "know Justin used a stringray on the first Tool record" Is that short hand for "Paul D'Amour used a Chris Squire Signature Rickenbacker 4001CS on the first tool record, and Justin didn't join tool until later and was first heard on the 2nd Tool album, where he used a Wal MKII" ? Just curious?
Man I had no idea that many players were using Wal... especially the Give It Away Now riff... I totally thought that was his Music Man! When I first saw the title of the video my response was "so... all Geddy stuff from A Show Of Hands yeah?!" ;p. Great list!
This was a great video. I also love that you guys stressed that you don’t need to buy a Wal to get close to these sounds. I can attest to that comment. I recently installed a Lusithand filter preamp into my Valenti J bass. And it has completely changed the instruments sonic abilities. Does it sound exactly like a Wal? No it doesn’t. But it does sound like a J Bass and a Wal had a child. And I absolutely love it. I can highly recommend to any players out there looking for something different to look into the Lusithand preamp if they want to bring a new life to their J bass.
Reassuring to hear you love that preamp. I'm having the lussethand double nfp special put in Wal style custom bass. Pairing it with multicols hopefully I'll get really close. About another three months to wait!
@@jamesnell7224 Yes that’s the one I installed the double NFP. I really do love it. Good luck with your custom build. I would love to hear this pre with multi coil pups.
@@devinebass a friend had told me about the pickups that Rautia made. The same as in the Zoot. Unfortunately the shop is closed. And I don’t think you can have them made anymore.
@@devinebass you guessed right that's exactly what I've ordered! 5A birds eye maple top quilt maple back flamed maple and mahogany neck with a 4A Brazilian rosewood fretboard! He's copying the Wal neck profile but on a 38 mm nut width.
The Big Money is an illustration of how Geddy's vocals accent the bass line, making it easier to play and sing at the same time despite the complexity.
You guys talking about Janek is like the best comic book crossover of all time. xoxo
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Great episode. Also check out the wonderful Alan Spenner on late 70s/early 80s Roxy Music albums, along with Gary Tibbs. The equally wonderful John Gustafson (he of the JG series basses) also rates a mention …
Please do a video with Colin Moulding. He rocked a Wal through a lot of XTC history. He also played some short scale basses including the Mustang, MusicMaster, and Epiphone Newport
been mainly on guitar and know the basics (no pun intended)of bass but man for months idk there is sum abt this damn beautiful instrument i just bought a fender jb td im dipping my waters into this fully im soaking all the knowledge ive never had so much fun just thinking abt studying this wooden stringed beaut😅
Viger made a preamp for their Passion series that had an eq sweep that was same as WAL, but with the pups make the deal. 2 Wals... at the same time... guys, im green with envy.
John Giblin and Percy Jones, ‘Wal to Wal’ on Brand X ‘Product’ album. Also John Giblin on John Martyn’s ‘Grace and Danger’. Check out ‘Some People are Crazy’. 😎
You can get a preamp with that Alembic/Wal circuit, look up Lustihand, I have the single NFP version in my Sire v5 its a fantastic preamp, highly recommended.
I used to have a Wal Pro 2E - like the one Percy Jones plays on here, but fretted. A wonderful instrument. If I win the lottery I will buy a Wal Custom (or Mark 1, as you would call them!) You had to have Mick Karn on there. Although he never used an octave pedal, I don't think. One other classic bassline on a Wal? 'Too shy' by Kajagoogoo. The band took a lot of stick but Nick Beggs can really play.
I have a lusithand NFP single on a peavey millenium BXP with EMG pickups and its like a tone knob on crack (I highly suggest replacing the standard active tone control in an EMG system with a lusithand NFP single because it goes so much further than the standard tone control)
Thank you for mentioning Mick Karn. My favourite player. I still have and use my Wal fretless that I bought in 1982.
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Greg Edwards from Failure rocked a Wal back in the 90s. The story is that he actually turned Justin Chancellor onto the Wal, as the two bands toured together during that period. Love watching these vids - you guys are genuinely having a great time.
Failure - criminally underrated
know and love Failure but did not know that!
Failure used a Wal bass during the Comfort sessions, but I don’t think they owned it. You’d think Greg would have used one on either Failure or Puscifer. It’s something I’ve been wanting to know from Greg or Ken.
@@jacoj1 I saw them play a few times back then. He definitely "owned" it. It was originally fretless. At some point, he put the frets back in and covered it with a shiny chrome decal (criminal, I know).
@@Airplane_Noise thanks for that clarification. It’s to hear that bass is still around. Maybe Greg will bust it out on tour Sessanta tour.
Another classic Geddy Wal bass line is Show Don't Tell - he rips an awesome solo in the middle section
Yesss and Turn the Page as well!
Geddy's Wal era is my favorite tone!
Roll The Bones, Hold Your Fire, and Power Windows all featured the Wal bass.
@@CluelessSheepNazi4270 Correct and Presto as well
@@pmxevious Of course!,....Who couldn't forget 'Scars' on 'Presto'?
Have to say the content you guys have been putting out recently has been amazing, not just the subjects but the way they're produced/delivered are perfect
It's a synth-pop song, but Kajagoogoo's "Too Shy" has some great bass lines. Nick Beggs played a Wal for that album.
Leigh Gorman, played with Bow Wow Wow and Adam and the Ants - played WAL's his entire career, laid down some nice thumping grooves!
I thought he started Bow Wow Wow with a different bass in 1980 and got the Wal around 1981. I thought I saw early footage of them and he was playing a Fender P or something.
Leigh is my favourite Wal player, in my top 3 of all time and a huge influence on me (and evidently on Flea who cops him totally on BSSM). I first saw BWW doing “Go Wild” in ‘82 (?) and he was using the Wal then. I have an email from him somewhere where I think he says when he bought it (really nice guy btw). His main one (and the newer back up) are both passive BTW. He said he had a Custom and didn’t like it as much. I had the same experience!
Can't speak enough about Mick Karn. Just such a dominant and unique Bassist
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I first heard of him when he played with Steven Wilson. Phenomenal bass player!
Mick Karn is totally underrated. His playing is so inspiring❤️🔥
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he is highly rated, not underrated....every fretless player knows him
@@barendtromp I think if you look at the bass players in general, not just the fretless group.
Mick was never underated ! He was regarded as the best in the buissness, by both Pete Townshend, and Elton John, amoungst others.
@@stephenbennett1643 totally agree. The word underrated is used too much on bass forums and channels...underrated by whom?
Didnt know Big Money was on a Wal but now I hear it it makes sense. One of my favorite Rush basslines for sure
@ProgGeekPresto and Roll the Bones too (the red one later on)
Presto and Roll The Bones was the Reed Mk II
@@bobrouse8634Just Roll the Bones was the MKII.
He was using really thin strings too, 30-90 I think.
Great to see some love for Percy ! The first track you played from the Unorthodox Behaviour album was played on a P-Bass 😊 The Wal didn’t come along until the Masques album. After years of playing Ibanez basses I believe he has been seen playing the Wal again 😎
SN W2500 here.. Very interesting to hear all these other lads with the WAL's but for me, Mick Karn was a giant in the world of WAL fretless, and indeed fretless bass.. No one played like Mick, no one.. We then have Percy Jones.., he was the one who started it all, equally as great as Mick but very different style.. Don't forget the late John Giblin here too..
The reason i fell in love with bass and Rush. Was my first introduction to Rush was A show of hands. And that wal cut through the tiny TV speakers.
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When Geddy plays “YYZ” on Show of Hands… 😮 OMG, that Wal bass tone on that song!
OK was I the only one waiting for the announcement of Mick Karn.
Love the Wal Bass, loved all the examples used but you made my day with the Mck Karn track (so many to pick from)
My biggest regret was not buying one when I could not afford it 😂
And mine was selling one, in around 1985....
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I was gonna be really upset if you hadn't included Mick Karn and the track you choose is a favorite. That album made a HUGE impression on me when I was a kid. Amazing stuff.
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Glad to see big money included here. I've been a fan of Rush since I was 7.
We had to show Geddy some love! 🔥🔥🔥
I just saw Tool two days ago with my band and they were absolutely insane, Justin Chancellor was the first guy I saw playing a Wal so to see him rock one live was just awesome. Also I’m sure that I’m going to get a lot of shit for this but another honourable mention that I’d like to give here is Blackened by Metallica, obviously there’s the overdone meme of you not being able to hear the bass on …And Justice For All but if you listen to the isolated bass tracks Jason Newstead is absolutely killer and plus Jason wrote that riff as well. Also another semi-fun fact is that Paul McCartney actually played a 5-string Wal during the recording of Free As A Bird from The Beatles’ Anthology 1 album from 1995 because you can hear him play a low C during George Harrison’s guitar solo
Wait! I know about the turning down the bass on Justice for All, but they did that to a Wal??
@@hayzeephantayzee Yeah, it was a Wal Mk 5 and that's the same bass he used in the video for One
Yes, you had to include Percy indeed! :D
But it would have been fun to include 'Wal To Wal"! (from the 1979 "Product" album)
Yes! I was thinking the same thing.
Thank you for the Mick Karn! I love his music. It's what I was listening to in the 90s. Bestial Cluster and The Tooth Mother are brilliant albums!
He was a real one-of-a-kind!!
Great video and nice to see Percy Jones and Mick Karn featured again. However, a couple of clarifications/corrections, if I may. Bestial Cluster (1993) and The Tooth Mother (1995) are two separate albums, although they would later be re-released as a double album. The track you are playing is the title track from Bestial Cluster (not Bestiel Cluster). The really deep bass sound you hear in this track is the bass guitar distorted and doubling with a synth. The music isn't as free and improvised as it might sound. I saw Karn with Richard Barbieri (Keyboards), Steve Jansen (Drums) and David Torn (Guitar) in London in 1993 and it sounded pretty close to the record. There's actually a version live in a Dutch TV studio here on TH-cam (with Steven Wilson replacing David Torn on guitar) which shows they could do it live. Also, although Phil Collins was the drummer in the 'classic' line-up that made Unorthodox Behaviour and Moroccan Roll, he was not the original drummer; that was John Dillon. Props also need to go to Kenwood Dennard, Chuck Burgi and Mike Clark, who all played Drums in Brand X during the 70s.
Would really be great if you guys did a video on copping a Walk tone on other basses. Out of your normal wheelhouse a bit, but would be great fun.
Stingray and L2000 are good starting points.
Hvge TOOL fan and L-2000 owner here. I didn't necezzarily get the L-2000 to emvlate the Wal, bvt I've definitely found that you can dial a sound that certainly is toe-to-toe.
Friendly reminder....the high and low pass filter electronics ( as well as active electronics) was first pioneered by ALEMBIC. The big difference between the two is that Alembics are almost exclusively neck thru ( there are a few set neck models, notably the Epic , also used by Flea in the studio.)
Also I've never heard an Alembic with the punch and fullness of a Wal. They're mostly there to look nice in grateful dead cover bands and for Stanley Clarke to strum on
@@ileutur6863 you definitely aren't speaking from playing experience..... which I am. I have one , purchased used , for the price of a new stingray. I can dial up anything from a '60s p to an '80s Wal . Just need to o understand the instrument.
@@amber799damn, big fan ot Chucky Panozzo from Styx and his alembic. How much do they run these days?
@@ileutur6863 Er….Listen to Jimmy Johnson, dude!
We may welldo something on Alembic at some point!! Stunning basses!!
You guys are so fun to watch. As a drummer learning bass these lessons are priceless!
I really love watching your videos, the enthusiasm is contagious. Keep up the good work!
Appreciate that!!
Yet again another great video from you guys, love it. Seems a bit strange that the wood grain on the two bodies are in the opposite direction, but they sound awesome
If you have a jazz bass fit a John East J-RETRO 01. Active preamp. Fits right in, no mods req’d. Parametric mid and a pull treble knob just like The Wal for that pick attack sound. You’ll love it
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Great Video 😊 I'd love to see a vid of best Rickenbacker bass lines including Anything by The Damneds Paul Gray? 😉
Scott's Wal bass looks incredible...I'll start saving my money 😊
dude that tone is magical!
Your videos just keep getting better and better. I look forward to seeing these and listening to your podcast every week. Great work!
Cheers!! 🧡🧡🧡
Thank you guys, you’re the best duo ever 🙏
Chers, glad you enjoyed the video!
Nostalgia alert...had my first one in 1987(!) Made by Ian and Pete...sold seven-ish years ago for some pitiful sum. Best bass (along with a fretless Pro 1 I picked up a couple of years later) I ever owned. Paired with Trace AH250, and the classic 4x10 and 1x15 stack for the full '80s effect :-)
What a great video on these amazing basses.
i don't think Mick Karn ever used an ocatve pedal, but to get his studio sound you either got to double track or blend in a bit of Roland Dimension D. And be Mick Karn!!
Other worthy mentions... "I Want Candy" by Bow Wow Wow with Leigh Gorman. And Nick Beggs used one on Too Shy by Kajagoogoo. (But so processed it could have been almost anything.)
So glad to see Lawrence there - what an absoloute legend.
You're right!
He double tracked each of his lines,so he got his chorussy sound
I used to play Nuclear Burn with my drummer back in the day. Well, I should say “tried” and today it’s still one of my favorite fretless riffs to bust out. Had the great pleasure of seeing Percy in a little club live in Baltimore ages ago. Great to also see Mick called out and of course Geddy’s Wal riffs are some of my favorite Rush bass lines. The tone of the Wal is monster.
So glad you included Mick Karn.
The bass player who played with a prog band Camel on the live album Pressure points used a Wal MK1 fretless. Got to be one of the most unique fretless sounds ever.
Seeing love for both Mick Karn AND The Big Money makes me so happy
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The video we all needed. Been trying to learn a simplified version of big money ready for when my Wal style custom bass finally arrives!
thank you so much for the musicians that you shared in this video! so much new music for me! :)
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I’m not schooled on a lot of guys you mentioned, but thank you for turning me on to different players. that Nick Carn clip gave me like aSnarky Puppy vibe. but too be fair i don’t know their whole catalog but i’ve been digging them from what i’ve heard. that interview you guys did was awesome.
Scott casually holding the bandaid bass. Christmas is just around the corner!
Laurence Cottle and Mick Karn ❤️👍
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What would I do without this channel! Thanks for another great vid
Glad you enjoyed it!!
3 secrets of Wal tone: both pickups near the bridge, multi-coil pickups for max tone capture, active filter preamp instead of traditional active EQ pre.
I plan on building my own from scratch. For about 1/4th the cost. You're exactly right
@@kylemundy8871 me too!
I legit thought Flea used a Stingray on BSSM with just some kind of a tube saturated mid scoop! I can't stop thinking now about how similar a Wal and a Stingray can sound :D
Canton on Japan's live record Oil on Canvas shows the fretless Wal in all it's glory. That sound has always stuck with me.
Thanks guys, so cool ! A few tracks on here I hadn't heard before but love ! Yes Wal basses are mean machines, love the Flea tone on Funky Monks also!
As an aside, can we expect any Bass Grannies outros ? 😜😀
Percy jones played a precision fretless (only a fender precision can sound like that)on this track and switched after this album to a wal.
Great videoa scott/ian
Mick and percy got much more appreciation for their work.
Both are the reason for me to play fretless.
Jonas Hellborg played also wal(for good reasons)!!!!
You should give him also a mentioning for his work( especially for his wal-years)
These 3 players (percy,mick,jonas)inspired a whole generation to play bass.
Thanks scott/ian
Thank you very much for recognizing Mick Karn. RIP.
We couldn't leave Mick Karn out of this one 🧡🧡🧡
Love "Bestial Cluster." I've been a Karn fan for thirty years-- since I heard him on David Torn's "Lion of Boaz."
There is an awesome "live-in-studio" version of that with a very young Steven Wilson on guitar!
@@devinebass Very nice! I will have to look that up.
Scott's Wal looks gorgeous, but for tone Ian's takes the cake... that axe sounds so good.
if you cant afford a wal bass , try e.g. a modern gb by cort bass with the nordstrands and put a wah pedal in the signal path...has become one of my fav. basses instantly and doesnt cost a fortune, but is made with great craftmansship.
First fragment is in black & white. It is bloody gray. Ah, this will be the GRAYEST tracks video.
Hello Twins! Again! This will come first although it was written second, so my advice to you is to read the first one first. I thought it best because Windows just crashed on me and I had to write it all again, and the more time I spend writing, the more long-winded I become, More things you didn't do, despite being inspired by my comment a few weeks ago. Appropriate for this would have been Pino's riff for G Numan's "We Take Mystery to Bed" which endlessly fascinates me. In fact, all of Pino's work on G Numan's "I, Assassin" - apart from Rust - is the supreme example of how to play a fretless Wal. Apart from being brilliant it showcases the scale usage on a fretlless Wal that is shared by Percy, Pino, Mick and Andy (Coughlan). So far as I know you haven't delved into this aspect of my comment, how these guys to use the scale in such a particular way. You could also have used Percy Jones' amazing fretless Wal sound (perhaps treated by Eno?) on B Eno's "RAF",and what a riff it is, too. Incidentally, you mentioned the Dorian scale with the b5. The dorian scale is essentially the minor pentatonic blues scale with the 2nd and the 6th added back in, so it's not a surprise to add in the b5. Both Carlos Santana and Gregg Rollie used the Dorian mode all the time but I never listened out for b5s. My favourite band - the Soft Machine when Rober Wyatt was in it - used plenty of Dorian I'm pretty sure without the b5. This is probably the problem with thinking in modes - once you're in the Dorian mode you don't think of using the b5 becaue it'snot in the dorian mode. But if you think in notes - minor pentatonic blues plus 2 and 6 - then you'd be more open to the b5 as anything but a passing note in a chormatic lead in to the 5th. My favourite chromatic lead-in is 2,b3,3, but I hate the major scale so I rarely get to use it. Another musical comment is if you like the sax parts you drooled over, perhaps go back in history to Greg Osby's title track of Man Talk for Moderns (this looks rather like Man Talk for Modems, perhaps I'll write a track called that), which has a great bass line as well. In fact, much of the M-Base collective stuff, e.g. Steve Coleman. LoveLifeGoodness&Freedom, Andy
Percy was using the original JG Series basses in the mid-70s (but from the Masques album onwards). They were the ones with the leather scratch plates (named after the brilliant and underrated John Gustafson) - this later morphed into the Pro Series with the plastic scratch plates in 1978… they only made a few dozen JGs. Other well known users included JG, Gary Tibbs, Alan Spenner, John Entwistle, John Glascock (Jethro Tull), Paul Simenon (The Clash - yes really!) Nigel Griggs (Split Enz) and Dave Markee (Clapton)
So obvious that Scott is a jazzer which is just fine. Ian is more of the pop/rock guy and gets the sounds spot on.
Guys have a listen to Bow Wow Wow's 'Go Wild In The Country' for some Wal magic.
Leigh Gorman is a beast of a bassist. Great Wal tone on his ash bodied ProEii
Incredible overview and sounds ! Cheers guys !
Appreciate that!!
Nick Begg's "Too Shy" was also cut on a Wal i believe, awesome bass line.
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Yup, played by Nick Beggs on his black Pro Series bass. Hey, that actual bass is up for sale at The Bass Gallery right now… tempted @devinebass ? 😉🤣❤️
Jonas Hellborg! Jonas Hellborg!!! JONAS HELLBORG!!!!!! Doubleneck Wal, anyone? Midi-Neck Wal anyone? JONAS HELLBORG!!!!!!!!!!! Come on guys:-)
Love a bit of Mick Karn. I had a Mk1 for a few years but it was just a back up for my Stingray. Never really happy with tone in a live band situation. It had to go in the end. Think I traded it but can't remember what for.
If ever I think of somebody trying to get their hands on a bass guitar like these who isn’t in one of those acts but might think they need something like it to play those songs, it puts me in mind of a situation I probably already mentioned here. From the summer of 2008 to the following March, I was trying to play in this quintet with these guys who were very gifted but somewhat amateurish. The other guitar player was often getting his hands on new instruments he was not likely to play and resisting the idea that he should take formal lessons. He kept talking about how we only had a four channel PA system and that we weren’t going to get better as a band until we got a bigger one. I told him that we shouldn’t be waiting around for something like that to fall in our laps and thinking it was going to make us suddenly become a professional band. We hadn’t even chosen a name by the time I left, and the one they came up with after I moved on (Lunch Among Cannibals) was pretty ridiculous.
A couple of months after I moved on, I went to see them play live as a quartet just to check out how they were faring. That other guitar player rubbed it in that they were getting gigs when I was convinced it wasn’t going to happen. When they played, the drummer had left behind a crucial piece of his kit. Instead of adapting and trying to play without it, the drummer, bass guitar player who was still a teenager at the time and the best guitar players father all went back to the best guitar players house to seek the single piece of gear, that’s jamming up the schedule for the night.
I didn't even know of such a bass before I watched the video... Wow! So much great music and new names (for me), now I have tèrra incognita to dive into for next couple of hours 😂
Thanks Scott!!!
Enjoy!!!
This is just an awesome line-up. And a special set of kudos to the team, who work on production of videos and PDFs. Although, there is a typo in this one's PDF, and the tabs from Tool took the place of Janek's "Darkness". Nevertheless, this is a tremendous work, thank you!
Thanks for the warm words! PDF has now been corrected! 👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻
Should have given Kev Hopper a mention. Very unique talented bassist. Can't understand why he doesn't get more love?
I don''t understand. Limp Bizkit's album "The unquestionable Truth Part 1" is ALL COMPLETELY recorded with a Wal Mark 3 and the bass sound is ABSOLUTELY MINDBLOWING !!! Check it out if You haven't yet.
Mick's first solo album was called "Dali's car" if I remember rightly. One scathing NME critic said "one surrealist vehicle that won't get started". Cruel. Fantastic bassist.
Aw yeah! Love some funk and fusion! 😎👌🏻
Watching you guys trying to headbop to Schism was hilarious!
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I think you guys should swap, with the obvious stipulation to never give away/sell/lose the bass and to swap back if one of you so desires. It's a unique position you're in with two (!) Wals and it'd be something cool that binds you as well.
Got to give Kev Hopper an honorable mention!
A Fierce Pancake indeed!😊
Scott, I’ve got to correct you on the Percy Jones piece you play in this video…. Percy still played a Fender Precision fretless on the unorthodox behaviour album…. And that stained Sycamore top on your Wal….. MANNN!!! ❤
That Laurence Cottle line, I learned it from this video and in 1hour solid practice got it to 140bpm pretty reliably (jazz bass, high action) - it starts to sound a little bit like the line at that speed. On the actual track it’s…. 240bpm
TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY Beats per minute
Hats of the Scott for getting that under his fingers for a one off 20sec video segment, on demand. Phew!!!
Edit: day 2 in a Specter (my father’s) with low action: 170bpm, starting to sound like the actual line, it makes my head and hands get hot…
Edit: day 3 (gigged last night (party band) so a bit tired) 180bpm - solid! 185bpm falls apart… the little finger string crossing to the E on the A string is my undoing. I noticed last night that my fluidity felt very comfortable, even for the flamboyant moments. I think this is my new favourite exercise as it’s building left and right hand speed in a non-artificial way.
Edit: day 4 200bpm on the jazz bass. 170bpm now feels very easy.
The Wal is my most obsessive dream on bass thanks to Flea and Justin. I had a unique opportunity to get one in 2019 but I lost the chance - I’ll haver to live with this pain until make the money to buy one. And it’s not fair: MK1 and MK2 are amazing and they have all this woods… Look the maple one from Justin C., or the black one from Geddy… or some ones with walnut and other fancy woods…
There's a video somewhere on TH-cam where Mick plays Bestial Cluster in a live session and the band includes a young Steven Wilson on guitar!
Indeed! th-cam.com/video/0_ER2AADsWg/w-d-xo.html&pp=ygUZTWljayBLYXJuIGJlc3RpYWwgY2x1c3Rlcg%3D%3D
You "know Justin used a stringray on the first Tool record"
Is that short hand for "Paul D'Amour used a Chris Squire Signature Rickenbacker 4001CS on the first tool record, and Justin didn't join tool until later and was first heard on the 2nd Tool album, where he used a Wal MKII" ?
Just curious?
Man I had no idea that many players were using Wal... especially the Give It Away Now riff... I totally thought that was his Music Man! When I first saw the title of the video my response was "so... all Geddy stuff from A Show Of Hands yeah?!" ;p. Great list!
This was a great video. I also love that you guys stressed that you don’t need to buy a Wal to get close to these sounds. I can attest to that comment. I recently installed a Lusithand filter preamp into my Valenti J bass. And it has completely changed the instruments sonic abilities. Does it sound exactly like a Wal? No it doesn’t. But it does sound like a J Bass and a Wal had a child. And I absolutely love it. I can highly recommend to any players out there looking for something different to look into the Lusithand preamp if they want to bring a new life to their J bass.
Reassuring to hear you love that preamp. I'm having the lussethand double nfp special put in Wal style custom bass. Pairing it with multicols hopefully I'll get really close. About another three months to wait!
IIRC The Zoot Boudica uses that Lusithand filter pre, paired with multi coil pickups!
@@jamesnell7224 Yes that’s the one I installed the double NFP. I really do love it. Good luck with your custom build. I would love to hear this pre with multi coil pups.
@@devinebass a friend had told me about the pickups that Rautia made. The same as in the Zoot. Unfortunately the shop is closed. And I don’t think you can have them made anymore.
@@devinebass you guessed right that's exactly what I've ordered! 5A birds eye maple top quilt maple back flamed maple and mahogany neck with a 4A Brazilian rosewood fretboard! He's copying the Wal neck profile but on a 38 mm nut width.
Mick Karn grew up in Catford, South East London.
The Big Money is an illustration of how Geddy's vocals accent the bass line, making it easier to play and sing at the same time despite the complexity.
Definitely love the Star Wars references in all your videos🤣 You guys are great and thank you for all the awesome Bass Content!
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You guys talking about Janek is like the best comic book crossover of all time. xoxo
Great episode. Also check out the wonderful Alan Spenner on late 70s/early 80s Roxy Music albums, along with Gary Tibbs. The equally wonderful John Gustafson (he of the JG series basses) also rates a mention …
Not to forget Jonas Hellborg who also played some crazy stuff on (double-necked) Wal basses
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Please do a video with Colin Moulding. He rocked a Wal through a lot of XTC history. He also played some short scale basses including the Mustang, MusicMaster, and Epiphone Newport
Many guys use a G and L L2000 to get close to the Wal sound with Labella strings.
Thank you for making me want a Wal even more than I thought possible. 😂
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Fantastic video! It'd be great to see a similar one with Alembics - the preamps are so similar!
Who knows, maybe we'll do an Alembic video in the future! Incredible instruments, and the OG when it comes to the custom boutique bass!
Colin Moulding's playing on "Greenman" is pretty Wal-tastic.
been mainly on guitar and know the basics (no pun intended)of bass but man for months idk there is sum abt this damn beautiful instrument i just bought a fender jb td im dipping my waters into this fully im soaking all the knowledge ive never had so much fun just thinking abt studying this wooden stringed beaut😅
Viger made a preamp for their Passion series that had an eq sweep that was same as WAL, but with the pups make the deal.
2 Wals... at the same time... guys, im green with envy.
All of the players here are absolute guns. Great list.
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You should try and get an interview with Donny Benet while he tours the UK in march, he is playing at the brudnell
John Giblin and Percy Jones, ‘Wal to Wal’ on Brand X ‘Product’ album. Also John Giblin on John Martyn’s ‘Grace and Danger’. Check out ‘Some People are Crazy’. 😎
You can get a preamp with that Alembic/Wal circuit, look up Lustihand, I have the single NFP version in my Sire v5 its a fantastic preamp, highly recommended.
I used to have a Wal Pro 2E - like the one Percy Jones plays on here, but fretted. A wonderful instrument. If I win the lottery I will buy a Wal Custom (or Mark 1, as you would call them!) You had to have Mick Karn on there. Although he never used an octave pedal, I don't think. One other classic bassline on a Wal? 'Too shy' by Kajagoogoo. The band took a lot of stick but Nick Beggs can really play.
I have a lusithand NFP single on a peavey millenium BXP with EMG pickups and its like a tone knob on crack (I highly suggest replacing the standard active tone control in an EMG system with a lusithand NFP single because it goes so much further than the standard tone control)
You should really do a video on styles that connor green from haken uses. He is honestly amazing. Criminal he isnt more known
Cmon Ian we need that best Tool riffs video with the Wal and HX Stomp.
I'm going to Walmart right now to get one! And then I'll practice some Walking bass lines...
I have a squier jag bass, with a stingray type humbucker, and I think I wanna put a high pass filter in it now, instead of the standard tone knob