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NBD and mini review - Moollon Classic J5

Sep 12, 2004
5,570
6,871
Disclosures
Mesa Boogie, Tech 21, Taylor
The wait for me is finally over. I have received a brand new hand made Moollon 5 string, and I could not be happier. It is always a gamble to spend boutique money without being able to play the bass first, but I knew plenty of name players using this bass, and heard enough clips of it, to know I had to have one.

I saw pictures of available options and immediately had to have this one. It is Firemist Orange and the first one that Young Joon Park has made in this color. Sign me up, I am all about having a unique instrument. The matching headstock is a thing I really love, and the pics should explain why.

Tonewise, this bass sounds exactly how I expected. A vintage Jazz with warmth to it and lots of nice midrange. I slid it into a track I first used my custom Bacchus DX6 on (which has 2 big split style pickups - a real beast - sounds excellent) and did not lose any low mids or have to deal with harsh high end. That is the holy grail for me as a Jazz bass player because it is not easy to find richness in the low mids, especially if you engage both pickups - but I finally have it! The tone knob is very versatile. Fully on it is very bright for any aggressive tone you could want, and rolled a little past 75% off it is fingerstyle/slap nirvana. Fully down is a very usable tone as well. I could see myself using a lot more tone settings than usual on sessions, which is a testament to the quality of this bass.

The playability is where I knew I spent my money wisely. The action was setup pretty low out of the box and the tuners were hyper responsive. These are the best tuners I have ever had on a bass and I have top quality Gotoh's and hipshots in the past. You can make very small adjustments on a strobe tuner and it grabs immediately. I love that. The neck - how to describe it. It just feels playable and worn in even though it is brand new. It is not super skinny but its a perfect balance of a flat radius up top and a very comfortable depth that feels exactly right. I also am very impressed at the upper fret access. the cutaway is so perfect that when you get up to the 20th fret your wrist rests right in it. It's incredible really.

Between the Bacchus basses and now this I just feel spoiled. This is probably the best bass I have every purchased in my career. I'll give it some time, but I already have this as my main player and I will be saving up some $$$ for a Moollon PBass next.

Feel free to ask any questions.

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If you can...would you say the neck feel and string spacing is more Fender Roscoe Beck V or more Fender American standard V?

More standard for sure. But the radius may be a little flatter. It is a very very comfortable and easy neck to play. The only way to describe is to say it feels broken in, like an old friend.

What are the pickups? Are they custom, or a brand name?

Custom hand wound to match the Fender pre CBS pickups.

Nice bass you have here...

Thank you, I am extremely happy with it.

I restrung it today with Fodera nickels and got it set up. It now records absolutely incredible. I was blown away by the richness of the tone. It is a very balanced and even tone.
 
Angelcrusher, as you say, some really nice players use Moolon basses, and I don't believe they are buying them for the heck of it. The finish and matching headstock on your bass is flawless.

I know I am in bass heaven with my own DJ5. A really nice passive Jazz five cannot be beat, IMO. That is doubly true if you also own a nice outboard preamp.
 
Angelcrusher, as you say, some really nice players use Moolon basses, and I don't believe they are buying them for the heck of it. The finish and matching headstock on your bass is flawless.

I know I am in bass heaven with my own DJ5. A really nice passive Jazz five cannot be beat, IMO. That is doubly true if you also own a nice outboard preamp.

Yes indeed and thank you. I also have a Noble preamp/di coming which has the Fender tonestack style EQ like a Sadaowsky so this will be absolute tonal bliss for me and my clients.

I can now see why players are buying these. The tone is really unbeatable for recording. It is a very fat jazz tone. The lakland 5 is a fantastic bass as well, and I enjoyed using mine for 2 years.
 
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Now that you have this, when will you use your Bacchus?

I use all my basses. I always have a main player which will be my Moollon, but the Bacchus has a very unique, modern P/Bartolini hybrid tone that is just too cool. It is also a 6 string and I always get some clients that write bass on keyboard and using a 6 sometimes makes it much easier to play the fast and high runs that sometimes come with that territory.
 
I use all my basses. I always have a main player which will be my Moollon, but the Bacchus has a very unique, modern P/Bartolini hybrid tone that is just too cool. It is also a 6 string and I always get some clients that write bass on keyboard and using a 6 sometimes makes it much easier to play the fast and high runs that sometimes come with that territory.

What are all of your basses?