Wal (bass)

Wal / Electric Wood

Type	Private
Industry	Musical instruments
Founded	1974
Founder	Ian Waller, Pete Stevens
Headquarters	Surrey, England
Area served	Global
Products	Bass guitars
Owner	Paul Herman
Website	http://www.walbasses.co.uk

Wal Mk II Fretless Bass

Wal is a brand of electric bass manufactured by Electric Wood Ltd., first in High Wycombe and later in Surrey, England. It was started in 1974 by electronics expert Ian Waller and luthier Pete Stevens. Wal basses are known for their exotic wood selection, custom electronics, superb playability, and excellent quality.

History

Wal 5-String Bass

Early custom basses were purchased by leading bass players from the London studio circuit, such as John G. Perry, who commissioned the first Wal bass. Another early instrument, a triple-necked bass, was purchased by Rick Wakeman for his bassist, Roger Newell, to use at the Journey to the Centre of the Earth concerts. The bass was later given to Chris Squire of Yes and is now on loan to the Hard Rock Cafe. Later, a short run of semi-custom models (designated the JG series after the owner of the first model, John Gustafson) featured hand-tooled leather scratchplates. Owners of these models included John Entwistle, Mark Davis, Stayton Heyward, Paul Simonon, Gary Tibbs, Alan Spenner, Justin Chancellor and Percy Jones.

The first full production range of Wal basses appeared in 1978 as the "Pro Series." These basses followed the basic design specifications of the JG series (solid ash body, maple, hornbeam and Amazonian hardwood neck and rosewood fingerboard) but replaced the leather scratchplate with a large plastic one. The Pro Series was superseded by the Custom Series in 1983. This introduced the laminated bodies now standard with Wal basses. Various woods such as American walnut, schedua/hydua, padauk and wenge were offered as standard thick laminates over a mahogany core. During the 1980s the range was expanded to introduce 5- and 6-string models and three distinct but similar body shapes, commonly referred to as Mark 1 (the original Custom 4-string style), Mark 2, and Mark 3. Other rare models were also available periodically, including a midi-bass (the MB4 & MB5) and a simplified passive model.

Death of founder, restart

In 1988, Ian Waller died of a heart attack at age 43, after which Pete Stevens continued running the business. Stevens worked as a sole trader with little or no additional workforce, causing Wal basses to become in very limited supply. Their scarcity, coupled with their high demand, makes the instruments notoriously difficult to obtain.

In the third quarter of 2007, it was revealed that Pete Stevens, due to health problems, would no longer personally build these basses. However, Stevens was optimistic about future production of Wal basses, seeking a luthier to resume production.

On August 20, 2008, it was announced that business would resume under luthier Paul Herman, who had already worked at Wal. Herman cleared backorders, completed pending repairs,^[1] and on October 5, 2009, began inviting new orders again.

On December 28, 2011, Pete Stevens died, shortly after his 65th birthday.^[2]

References

1. "Wal Basses". Walbassist.blogspot.com. 2009-10-05. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
2. "Electric Wood Ltd. Homepage". Retrieved 2012-02-01.

External links

• Wal company website
• A Wal Bass owner's site with images of a Wal Mk II bass and brochure
• A Wal history and information site
• A Wal owner's database
• The blog of a Wal fan