Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

WooooHoooo.....I finaly closed the deal on the Wal I've been after. It's a MK-II 5 string with walnut facings. It appears to have a few minor finish issues but is otherwise in excellent condition. It should be here Wednesday and I can't wait.....it will be the first time in a while that I'll have a non-Ric in the stable. My "mini-collection" will soon consist of only my LK and this Wal. (woe is me)

Congrats Brian, welcome to the fold, man. That is essentially my own bass, except it's a 4-string and has Schedua facings.

You got a beauty of a bass there!!! When was is made...?

OH YEAH!! Way to go, Brian! Can't wait to hear your impressions on it.

Wow, that's a lot of walnut you got there between that and the Lemmy. You know that's going to weigh a little bit more than a Laredo.... ,so you better start working out(your back). I bet the B strings on those are nice. There's a guy on Youtube that goes by "availablelight" and I was watching him do "analog kid" from rush, nice growly tone out of his Wal four string, I can see why some people pursue those. I hope "Darth Laredo" goes to a good home, it sure would make a great five string... .

Like I've been saying to you, Brian -- great acquisition, my friend! You will be very, very happy.

Nice score ...congrats!

Thanks ya'll!

I forget the year. The seller emailed it to me but when I thought the deal was falling through I tossed the info and I've also looked at a few others so info is mixed up in my near empty head at the moment.

As far as hearing my impressions on it....that may be difficult for a little while. The only amp I have is a small practice combo and I'm selling just about every piece of gear (wireless, effects, etc.) that I have to help finance the purchase. The only thing I am not selling is the LK. So my impressions will be less than real world....practice amp and straight into my Mac. Nothing on the band front for the near future either (I'm hitting the books for a promotional exam at work so time is tight). I just wanted to secure the Wal before prices got even worse (with my luck they'll drop like a rock now) and since my time is limited it will be nice to have it on hand to "bond" with it.

I played one a few years ago and was instantly hooked. The B string is excellent and the tone (and variations of tone) is amazing. I love the tone from my Rics (er, I mean Ric) but since I have started writting more I have found that my BEAD tuned 4004 just wasn't cutting it anymore and I really needed a 5 string for what I want to accomplish. Since Ric doesn't offer one I decided that a Wal would be the best compliment to my LK. Plus maybe it's time for something different for me....something to help shake me from my playing/tone rut.

Nice bass Brian!

I played a Wal 6 string about 10 years ago. It was at a jazz club and the bassist had the 6 string. After the set I asked if I could play it a bit.

Bearing in mind that I don't normally like 5 strings let alone 6 it played like a dream. OK, the neck was quite wide but I navigated it with ease, even with my small hands. I understood at that time there were only two 6 strings ever made.

Enjoy...!

Hey Brian - congrats on finding the Wal! I wouldn't worry about prices dropping - as far as I know Wal seems to be a non-entity at the moment, so demand (and prices) will probably remain constant or even increase.

Nice Wal, Brian! Now you have to learn some McCartney songs. I have a photograph of Paul playing his.

I think I'll stick with some "Tool" songs instead.

incubus2432 wrote:I think I'll stick with some "Tool" songs instead.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.... If you can get your head/hands round that stuff you are one s%*t hot player...

Steve.....I understand that some of the more recent basses out of the shop haven't quite lived up to previous standards and that production may get fired up again soon with an apprentice at the helm. Only time will tell future quality and how new production will impact the used market.

I got it tonight and am quite impressed with the tone and feel. I have a few minor issues that I have to talk to the seller about (likely shipping related) but it is certainly a killer bass. I absolutely love the tone from my Ric (LK) and, honestly, if RIC offered a five string I probably wouldn't have looked elsewhere BUT since they don't (not an acceptable one IMO) the Wal seemed like the best alternative. Both the LK and the Wal sound HUGE....the difference is hard to explain (for me anyway). The LK is a straight forward solid tone and the Wal sounds more complex.....almost like there are several distinct tones combined into one.

I've always said that Rics are as versatile as the player and I still believe that. The Wal does a have a greater variety of tones available but, knowing me, I'll find one I like and stick with it so it doesn't really matter.

John.....It's a '91 BTW.

(I posted a few more pics in my Blackened Laredo for sale thread if anyone happens to be interested)

Brian, there is another 5'er up on ebay at the moment. I think yours looks a lot nicer.