General Wal music magazine adverts from through the years...
Throughout their history Electric Wood, the company behind Wal Basses (in effect Ian, Pete and maybe a couple of sleeping partners) took out ads in the national music press. For many years it was just a very bijou Wal add nestling in the paid ads at the back of Guitarist Magazine. Minimalist but with all the info that a keen Wal-hunter needed. However, some where a little more all singing and all dancing. Including those featuring their celebrity endorsers... John Entwistle, Percy Jones and Laurence Cottle.A few of those adverts are attached below for your enjoyment...
These were the last series of Classified ads which ran in Guitarist Magazine through the late 1990s. They petered out completely from then on as the company started to experience difficulties, lost staff and moved premises several times...
Here are some others from earlier, happier times...
Pro Series bass adverts from the 1970s...
Custom Series Bass adverts from the mid-1980s...
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| Generic Wal advert from 1986 |
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In the UK, 5-string basses were something of a novelty throughout the 1980s. Some claim that Wal was the first UK company to make 5-strings as part of a regular bass range - though this is yet to be confirmed. However, what is certain is that the first two 5-strings which Wal made went to rising session star, Laurence Cottle. Here he features in an ad for the Wal 5-string back in 1987.
From the 1990s onwards the adverts were confined to small ads in the Classified sections of music magazines. Here are two of the types most commonly found and some page layouts to give an idea what they would have looked like in context.
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