Wal Custom 1983 MKI Mark1 Fretless Bass Left Handed With Flamed Hydua Facings (Original Owner)

For sale by the original owner is this 1983 Wal Custom MK1 Mark 1 4 string fretless bass features flamed hydua facings, Brazilian mahogany core and an ebony fingerboard with rosewood inlays. It plays very well and sounds fantastic – in both aspects it is certainly the best of the three Wal basses I have owned over the years. The pickups and electronics/DI work fine.  This was my second Wal Custom. I found the standard neck to be a bit club-like for my tastes. When I talked to Wal himself, he agreed to shape this neck somewhat more like a Stringray which made it nicer to play.  It’s a dream live and in the studio - records beautifully. 

Those who know about these basses are aware that there are priced at around £6200 (I think) new and have multi-year waiting lists.  Check Wal site for exact details on new instruments costs/timing. In any case, these rarely come up for sale, esp. lefties.

Overall, the bass is in very good shape. There are some scratches, dings with some notable wear near the top of the rear pickup. Note that the headstock has checking in the lacquer finish. I’ve had two luthiers look at it over the years and at the time both agreed the finish checking is only the lacquer and not a cracks in the wood. These seem to appear to have no functional impact as It holds tuning very well, just as it always has. As I cannot guarantee that these are small cracks in the wood, if you wish to have a local luthier inspect it at your cost I can suggest several names of top people in this area and provide contact info. I can provide more detailed pictures of specific areas of interest on request.

Comes with original heavy duty flight case with additional Wal lightweight “dog bone” case. The dog bone case weather stripping on the case lid came off year ago - fine for casual carrying around but is not weatherproof. I can also provide the original handwritten correspondence from Wal (original receipt and explanation of how electronics work by the venerable Pete The Fish).  

As this is a vintage instrument, it is sold “as is” and I do not take returns.  As such, please ask any questions before committing to a purchase.

Shipping: At this point, I am only offering this for sale in the lower 48 US States If at all possible, I would like to arrange a hand-off.  We can talk about how/where we can make this happen to work for both of us.   If not, I can arrange shipping, though due to the weight of the bass/cases and insured value, it won't be cheap. If you are from outside the US, I'm open to suggestions.