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Club Moollon

#661
ad9000 said:
Yes. I have a four year old J-Classic V, and during the first 6 months or so that I had it it got some battle scars just with normal, careful use. The finish hardened up over time as it cured, but it is still pretty delicate. Part of that is just the nature of thin nitro finishes, but I think it's also a result of the process used by Moollon, which doesn't seem to result in finishes that are as impervious as other nitro finished instruments that I own or have owned.

Re. protecting the finish behind the bridge when changing strings, I always hold down a business card or similar object in place when I'm guiding the ball end through so it can't drag on the finish. I've started to do this on all of my basses, but it's especially important with the Moollons because the clearance for the ball end is pretty minimal. There's a similar issue with adjusting the truss rod. I basically just gave up on trying to protect the finish while adjusting it, as even with the proper tool it was almost impossible to avoid marring the finish. I've seen since that they offer a truss rod channel as an option - seems like that should be a standard feature.
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I wish I had known that a truss rod channel was an option!
 
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#664
ad9000 said:
Yeah, if you search back a ways in this thread you'll see some discussion about it.
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There was a time not too long ago when a truss-rod channel was NOT an option. I’m glad it is now. I had my luthier make one - came out perfect.

As for the nitro, heck yeah it’s delicate, and sensitive to temperature extremes. Of course, Fender’s early finishes are as well - I own one and it’s still fragile after 50+ years!
 
#665
attackz said:
I deleted my comment on the B string (before I saw your reply) because I went to play the bass to double check and thought it was way to strong. I have a 130 at the moment, I'll try going lower. I remember that the B on your P5 was killer!
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Ah interesting. Killer on both my PV and JV. Let me know if you want to come by and check them out again. Love to see your PV.
 
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#666
TomB said:
There was a time not too long ago when a truss-rod channel was NOT an option. I’m glad it is now. I had my luthier make one - came out perfect.

As for the nitro, heck yeah it’s delicate, and sensitive to temperature extremes. Of course, Fender’s early finishes are as well - I own one and it’s still fragile after 50+ years!
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Good idea with the business card. I'll remember for next time though for my JV. For the PV, those LaBella DTFs are never coming off :)

Re: truss rod channel, if you look back at messages from Andi, I think you'll find this was a one time request and not a regular option in keeping with the vintage vibe of the instruments. I've had the neck off of all my Moollons to adjust the truss rod though have found over time they've become more stable. I do with this was a regular option but I've gotten pretty good at it at this point. Only one I've touched recently is the JV.
 
#667
TomB said:
There was a time not too long ago when a truss-rod channel was NOT an option. I’m glad it is now. I had my luthier make one - came out perfect.

As for the nitro, heck yeah it’s delicate, and sensitive to temperature extremes. Of course, Fender’s early finishes are as well - I own one and it’s still fragile after 50+ years!
Click to expand...

That's a good idea! I might ask my luthier to do the same.

Here's the problem with my B string I was referencing earlier, I've attached a clip which hopefully captures it. As I get further up the neck it develops some odd overtones, almost like a ring mod? Could it be that the string is too close to the pickup? It's about 4-5m away right now.
 

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#672
Yes, it very possible that the pup is too close. That can cause a "chorusing" effect. Cheap and easy fix that, if it's not the cause, can easily be reversed. New strings can be more susceptible to this because they vibrate more until they settle (and become old strings). Also be sure that the witness points are set.
 
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#678
NorseBear0903 said:
this recent convo is making me a little nervous about my recent purchase. At this price I dont want to worry much about QC issues.
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I got my Moolon P IV in June and have none of these issues people are mentioning. My fretwork is great and truss rod works as it should. I can set the action as low as I like, which I consider medium/low.

My bass does have a thin Nitro finish. ("20 very thin layers of nitro lacquer" to be precise ;)) But we get these Moollons because they have vintage specs...like a thin nitro finish. I'm expecting it to get dings and chips easily because it has a thin nitro finish. In fact, I just got my first ding last weekend on a gig and I don't even know how it happened, I just found it at the end of the night. Anyone watch Stephen Colbert? Louis Cato seems to have gotten a new Moollon JV (sonic bluie-ish) a few months ago and it already has a ton of visible chips on the front near the horn. I've only played a few vintage pre-CBS Fenders in passing but never owned one, so I can't really compare their nitro durability. I just expected fragile finish on my Moollon and that's what I got.

I'm still ridiculously stoked on my Moollon! :hyper:
 
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#679
attackz said:
That's a good idea! I might ask my luthier to do the same.

Here's the problem with my B string I was referencing earlier, I've attached a clip which hopefully captures it. As I get further up the neck it develops some odd overtones, almost like a ring mod? Could it be that the string is too close to the pickup? It's about 4-5m away right now.
Click to expand...
Same here with my P5. Lowering the pickup fixed it. ...and perhaps string aging - my Labellas are over a year and dozens of gigs along. I never think about it any more. No loss lowering the pickup. It’s massively powerful.
 
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#680
Britbonic said:
Good idea with the business card. I'll remember for next time though for my JV. For the PV, those LaBella DTFs are never coming off :)

Re: truss rod channel, if you look back at messages from Andi, I think you'll find this was a one time request and not a regular option in keeping with the vintage vibe of the instruments. I've had the neck off of all my Moollons to adjust the truss rod though have found over time they've become more stable. I do with this was a regular option but I've gotten pretty good at it at this point. Only one I've touched recently is the JV.
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You have a point. Yes, I have a channel routed. No, I haven’t needed to use it. That neck is positively a rock!
 

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