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Another Moollon NBD. I am impressed, at this moment it feels to me like something between US Laklands and Fender CSs. Great craftsmanship, playability and neck profile, but still vintage feel and "smell" thanks to cool nitro finish...
And another Moollon NBD !
The color is the now discontinued Root Beer Sparkle.
I don't know if I am lucky but the ebony fretboard looks great.
The color is the now discontinued Root Beer Sparkle.
I don't know if I am lucky but the ebony fretboard looks great.
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It's hard to imagine now that they used to only harvest the black ebony and this all went to waste or was left to rot in the forest.
I can appreciate a pure black ebony fretboard, but the steaks through this just give that bass more character.
Bad ass to be sure.
I can appreciate a pure black ebony fretboard, but the steaks through this just give that bass more character.
Bad ass to be sure.
Well this variety also occurs with more color. You might be thinking of gaboon ebony which is generally mostly black.
I see you edited your original question/comment. Give the Moollon some time to breathe and acclimate to its new home.
IMO the word "Sadowsky" will leave your vocabulary as you get to know the Moollon, because there's no comparison. (Yeah, I'm biased)
My UV70 is going NOWHERE. It's my favorite bass I've ever owned. Horses for courses, don't forget. I don't buy the premise that a Moollon and a Sadowsky are comparable in most regards. I think a Sadowsky and a Moon are comparable, say, in terms of "tone it's going for". It's a "Modern" J through and through. A Moollon holds to none of the aesthetics to which a Sadowsky aspires, other than craftsmanship and playability. Different animals completely, which is why I bought a Moollon in order to see if it could replace my CS '64 Jazz 4-string, which for passive vintage tone, is pretty rad; like no other Jazz I've ever heard. Jury is still out, but I'm quickly warming to the JV, especially now that I got my preferred strings on and it is now setup to my liking. That thing FEELS fantastic. Easy and fun to play. Gratifying B string, which is hard to accomplish on a J-type instrument, especially a 34" scale.
I've noticed YJ's 5-string pickups seem to have a pronounced high-end bite and I'm very tempted to dial back the CVT more than I expect to for a passive bass. Perhaps a consequence of trying to wind a vintage tone into a modern format of pickup?
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Macasser ebony has a quality in the high end that you might be hearing vs pickups. Indian is warmer. I hear the ebony in the mix compared rosewood jazzes...either Indian or Brazilian. That said I believe YJ will not use Brazilian rosewood so Mac he feels might be the closest. Certainly would be better than Gaboon for a rosewood replacement.
That's heartbreaking that the trees were wasted because they had grey streaks running through the wood. I heard an acoustic guitar maker Taylor bought an Ebony plantation and currently using Ebony that isn't entirely black. I have seen some Fodera's with grey streaks running through the fingerboard and I think they look great! As long as the board is great quality I wouldn't care about the streaks. That said I love the striped Ebony on Eneade's Moollon. I wonder if you could request a striped Ebony board when ordering a Moollon?
I have a Brazilian rosewood board and I think it sounds closer to ebony than it does to Indian rosewood. BR is much harder than Indian.
You could be right. One of my first impressions was a similarity in tone to my former Alembic.
I personally agree with YJ regarding choosing Mac ebony over those woods. Mac is clearer and more defined and still has some warmth, this roughly mimicks Brazilian (although it is still different in many ways). Pau Ferro and Morado sound drier and cloudier to me. I prefer Indian rosewood over both those too.
For me nothing is the same as Brazilian but when Mac is put into the entire vintage mix/specs that Moollon uses it tames the ebony somewhat and the end result is surprisingly closer to a Brazilian vintage bass than otherwise would be expected IMO. I personally wouldent use Mac ebony as a Brazilian substitute in let’s say a walnut/mohaghany/maple Fodera custom.
For me nothing is the same as Brazilian but when Mac is put into the entire vintage mix/specs that Moollon uses it tames the ebony somewhat and the end result is surprisingly closer to a Brazilian vintage bass than otherwise would be expected IMO. I personally wouldent use Mac ebony as a Brazilian substitute in let’s say a walnut/mohaghany/maple Fodera custom.
You've identified yet another No One True Seafoam logical fallacy.
It's admirable that Taylor has done what they've done to ensure that ebony will always be available and that other color variants of ebony, other than jet black, can and should be used.
What I don't know is if the streaked ebony has a different characteristic or density variance. If it is identical in nature to the black ebony then it was, and is, foolish not to use it. I love both.
Not sure if you can request a streaked ebony fretboard. I have seen some headstocks and necks before with some nice figuring in the maple as well. I wish that was also an option as I am a sucker for a nice wood grain.
Gaboon ebony (very black but sometimes with just a little streak) is quite different than Macasser ebony (black but with more and larger brown and sometimes white- ish stripes/streaks). Gaboon is denser/harder and has more defined and clear tone with a little less bottom and more compression. The Mac is still more defined and clearer than rosewood, but has a little more warmth and is a bit softer and less compressed than Gaboon.
