This may look familiar, as this bass has been around the boards a bit. But I assure you, I've taken steps to make this a far superior bass than it was when I got it. And it was pretty sweet to begin with!
This is a 2004 Matt Pulcinella Level 5 bass. When it was built, the goal was a lightweight take on the venerable Stingray 5. And frankly, he did a great job. The build quality on this is second to none. Wood selection, fretwork, craftsmanship, all top notch.
WHY IT WAS PASSED AROUND:
I polled a lot of the previous owners and asked them what made them sell the bass. Invariably, the answer was THE SOUND. It came equipped with Bartolini electronics. Personally, I find that to be a huge weak link, as I despise Barts. I'm not going to go into that, though, some people here like them and that's fine with me.
My goal with this was to make it sound much better.
WHAT WAS DONE:
I replaced the Bart pickup with a DELANO DUAL COIL pickup. It has a lot more clarity and output. The tonality is very clean and modern, very musical.
The preamp was replaced with an ERNIE BALL MUSICMAN 3 BAND. I mean, if you're going to make a Stingray copy, why not use the real-deal preamp? I just so happened to come across one when I assembled this. I happen to have an SR5, so I compared and contrasted and this is dead-on for that classic Stingray tone. I mean, it should be! The preamp was from 94, the golden-era for Musicman, if you ask me... and a lot of others
With the components selected, I assembled the bass. The switch that is installed is a SERIES/PARALLEL switch. I could have done the 3 way but I hate single coil hum, so I opted not to. If you wanted it, though... I'd install a 3 way, no charge.
In addition, once I went to intonate the bass, I found that the screws for the saddles were too short. So I replaced them with stainless screws and it inotnates perfectly. They don't hang off the bridge either, which is a huge bonus!
WHAT THIS IS NOW:
In essence, this is a custom bass made in the style of a Stingray 5. But it is lighter (8.5 lbs), has 18mm spacing, 34" scale, 1-3/4" nut, black Hipshot USA hardware, a spalted maple top and some of the finest ergonomics you can want. It's super comfy to play.
There's some dings and dents and some signs of use, but it's never been abused. This is a VERY nice bass, believe me!
It also includes a high-quality Levy's gig bag that fits great.
$900 shipped to the US 48
Anywhere else, PM for a quote
PAYPAL or MONEY ORDER only.
Trades considered, although I'm trying to fund a Status purchase, so I may be picky on those.
Sound clip with horrible playing below, but you'll get an idea of the sound.
