Jump to content

Why the Wal is now my favorite Geddy bass.

fraroc

By fraroc,
in Rush

 Share

Recommended Posts

fraroc

fraroc

Posted
Posted

 

This video shows it all. That bass probably had the most crystal-clear tone of any of Ged's other basses and you can hear every note perfectly with very minimal muddiness. Now don't get me wrong, sometimes the muddiness works with other songs, including Xanadu, but in terms of how clean and pristine the bass tone is, nothing will ever beat the Wal MK1.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
edhunter

edhunter

Posted
Posted

It's very twangy and rubber bandy. Find a video from the RTB tour. At least the red one had a bit more low end to it.

 

The other day I accidently switched off the mid-cut on my Fender 100-watt practice amp, and it made my Music Man sound a lot like the black Wal. Dial in a little more low end and it wasn't too bad.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
fraroc

fraroc

Posted
  • Author
Posted

It's very twangy and rubber bandy. Find a video from the RTB tour. At least the red one had a bit more low end to it.

 

The other day I accidently switched off the mid-cut on my Fender 100-watt practice amp, and it made my Music Man sound a lot like the black Wal. Dial in a little more low end and it wasn't too bad.

 

I always thought that bass sounded too similar to the Steinberger, which was a bass that sounded clean and pristine, but didn't have the funky factor that the Wal MK1 did.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Day of Light

Day of Light

Posted
Posted (edited)

You can hear the bass?

 

Oh, I guess we need the guitar and the drums mixed a little louder...

 

The Wal has what I perceive as more.. uhh... "wiggliness"? Twanginess, I guess. It's the opposite of clear. It's kinda muddy.

 

But it's also got quite a unique timbre--I can't tell the damn difference between the Rick, Fender or Steinberger (other than maybe the way Geddy played them) but the Wal is distinct. Now it's up to you to decide whether bass should sound textured and distinct.

Edited by Day of Light
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Fridge

Fridge

Posted
Posted
I don't really like the Wal because it doesn't occupy as much space as the Ricky or Fender...it sounds like he's sacrificing rhythm for melody which in this particular case isn't a good idea.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
grasbo

grasbo

Posted
Posted
Back ln the 80s i really liked his bass tone with its twangy tone and yes you could hear every twiddly riff he played.But,and a big but,the bands sound was fleshed out with synths and the bass didn't have to occupy as much space not to mention Alex's guitar.Moving Pictures was the last real bass heavy album before the synth real came on.Add the Rick or Fender to HYF or Presto you would have ballsier albums.BTW i had Westone copy of Stienberger bass and added decent pickups but it just didn't cut it in the 'heavy'band i was in so back to my Fender Jazz.And i felt a bit goofy playing a stick.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Blue J

Blue J

Posted
Posted

 

Stupendous...I cannot even describe how blown away I was, the first time I heard disc 3 of Different Stages.

 

I know this was posted in a thread about tonal qualities of the bass guitar, but that recording, the fact that Bastille Day kicks it off- what I heard first, and what still blows me away more than anything else about it, is the way the drums sound.

 

A masterful recording, and performance...and EQ job.

 

:haz:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
1-0-0-1-0-0-1

1-0-0-1-0-0-1

Posted
Posted

 

This video shows it all. That bass probably had the most crystal-clear tone of any of Ged's other basses and you can hear every note perfectly with very minimal muddiness. Now don't get me wrong, sometimes the muddiness works with other songs, including Xanadu, but in terms of how clean and pristine the bass tone is, nothing will ever beat the Wal MK1.

 

Yes, that video does show it all. It shows how much the Wal bass does not fit in Rush's older songs.

 

On the other hand, Justin Chancellor somehow makes the Wal sound right at home with Tool. So there's that.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites
New Digital Man

New Digital Man

Posted
Posted
I guess what we perceive as a good tone on an instrument is down to individual tastes and the topic on Geddys basses has always been divided! Some people like the heavily modified distorted sound of his Fender, the clanky sound of the Ric, or the clear, poppy twang of the Wal! I think all the instruments had their right place at the time but wish Geddy had used heavier strings and dialled in more bottom end through his rig with the Wal and cut right back with all the processing and distortion to a cleaner sound on the Fender. The Ric was spot on at the time! The Wals have come in for a lot of criticism for their thin sound as much as the Fender has for its harshness but you have to understand that this is the tone that Geddy created for them and if you took his Fender or Ric and put ultra light 30-90 strings on them and ran them through his 1990 era rig they would without doubt sound just as thin as the Wal, show me another Fender Jazz that sounds like Geddys, well you won't but all of his Fenders do have the same tone and that's cause they all run through his complex backline and so all end up sounding identical, even the Jaco tribute fretless oddly! I think to criticise the product of a renowned manufacturer as a whole on the basis of one individuals customised requirements is unfair and shortsighted frankly!
Link to comment
Share on other sites
PolarizeMe

PolarizeMe

Posted
Posted

On the other hand, Justin Chancellor somehow makes the Wal sound right at home with Tool. So there's that.

 

I think a part of why the Wal sounds right w/Chancellor is due to his elaborate guitar rig featuring a huge selection of pedals (not to mention his pick style playing). If he were to be stripped of all of that and be given Ged's rig I'd think his Wal tone would probably sound exactly the same as PoW through RTB.

 

Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree) and Mick Karn (Japan) also used the Wal Mk1 and made it sound right, but keep in mind they're both fretless bassists so the tone's already different from that alone.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
New Digital Man

New Digital Man

Posted
Posted

On the other hand, Justin Chancellor somehow makes the Wal sound right at home with Tool. So there's that.

 

I think a part of why the Wal sounds right w/Chancellor is due to his elaborate guitar rig featuring a huge selection of pedals (not to mention his pick style playing). If he were to be stripped of all of that and be given Ged's rig I'd think his Wal tone would probably sound exactly the same as PoW through RTB.

 

Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree) and Mick Karn (Japan) also used the Wal Mk1 and made it sound right, but keep in mind they're both fretless bassists so the tone's already different from that alone.

Yes of course it would to a degree although Chancellor doesn't use super light strings! agreed that a Wal fretless will have a different tone but having frets or not won't make a difference to how thin or fat your sound is will it? If you listen to the Youtube clip I posted of Flea's isolated bass parts from BSSM playing a Wal Mk2 with standard guage strings running clean then that is a good representation of the natural sound of the instrument albeit played hard!
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Entre_Perpetuo

Entre_Perpetuo

Posted
Posted

 

This video shows it all. That bass probably had the most crystal-clear tone of any of Ged's other basses and you can hear every note perfectly with very minimal muddiness. Now don't get me wrong, sometimes the muddiness works with other songs, including Xanadu, but in terms of how clean and pristine the bass tone is, nothing will ever beat the Wal MK1.

 

Xanadu is muddy? :blink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Todem

Todem

Posted
Posted

The Wal was perfect for the Power Windows-Roll The Bones period. That defines Geddy's sound during those recordings.

 

I could never imagine that bass tone on previous records or the ones that followed Roll The Bones.

 

He went back to Fender Jazz on Counterparts, Alex went back to Marshall stacks etc.

 

This is what has always made Rush one of the most interesting bands in rock music ever. The different time periods, the different equipment.

 

God I am missing these guys.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
New Digital Man

New Digital Man

Posted
Posted

There is a video on YouTube of someone playing Grand Designs on an MK1 using medium Rotos and it still had that twangy sound. IMO string gauge has nothing to do with it.

Well hopefully it will have the same twangy sound that is part of the Wal tone but I thought we were talking about thin sounding and lacking bottom end and a Youtube clip by some guy at home is unlikely to be a good comparison! I disagree about super light bass strings not affecting the bottom end, even Geddy said the G string was so thin it was like a guitar string!
Link to comment
Share on other sites
78jazz

78jazz

Posted
Posted

Feeling thin and sounding thin are 2 different things. I just played bass in a band last night with 35-90 strings and there was no lack of bottom to be found.

 

Yes, I base this on my experience and some will say the opposite, but for me I don't chalk up that Wal sound Geddy had to his strings. I wonder if it was in the EQ. I also think the MK II was worse than the I (based on RtB boots, I wonder if he had the tone completely rolled out on that bass).

 

If it matters,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...