Here's how much I like them!
The cherry MVP was recently traded for a cherry 4 string Buzz
The cherry MVP was recently traded for a cherry 4 string Buzz
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Pedulla quandary
- Thread starter tom dicus
- Start date
I remember when GC stopped carrying them close to two decades ago they slashed prices to crazy levels - like 1400 for a Thunderbolt, less for the model with the pickguard.
I wish I had the money at the time to snag one. I really liked them. Seeing them sold for such a low price has kept me from ever buying one for more...
I wish I had the money at the time to snag one. I really liked them. Seeing them sold for such a low price has kept me from ever buying one for more...
You won't be seeing deals like that again, that's for sure.
Someone mentioned earlier in the thread that Pedulla basses had once been built by a time working under Mike and that he had made a big deal of going back to being the sole builder. This is true. He had a licensing deal with GC in the 90's and took on staff to meet the demand of building. Around the year 2000, he had decided he wanted to go back to doing all the work himself and the GC deal was either called off or came to an end. The output slowed and prices naturally increased. From what I've read of Mike, it is clear he took real pride in his work and the basses with his name on. Whilst I am disappointed by the fact that there was no continuity plan put in place when he retired, I don't begrudge Mike the right to sail off into the sunset and not look back after over forty years of building basses. I certainly don't think he any trouble selliung basses in the last few years as his order book was always full and I remember reading of people who had missed the cut off at the end of production when he stopped taking commissions and started wrapping up what he had on the books. He did sell off a few handcrafted clocks and a couple of private reserve instruments right before the website closed and if he had done so to put a few more bucks in the retirement fund, good for him.
On the subject of the basses, I just love them. I've had a Pentabuzz since 2017 aftre having wanted once since I was 18 years old. It is the dream fretless for me. I sometimes wish for an MVP to go with it but then I had a load of basses that I dream of owning!
all I know is I was watching the price is right several years ago and they had a Pedulla bass for the showcase, so that was cool.
One of my favorite bassists, Doug Johns uses them. Check out some of his videos, he's amazing.
My ex (!!) bid on an ET5 around the time our son was born (circa '02). She knew that I had wanted one for a solid 10 years, it was a beautiful bass, and it was a great deal.
This was not going to be a closet queen - I planned on gigging the snot out of it. For a certain era, all of my gear (including the Pedulla) smelled like stale beer and cigarettes.
Safe bet to say - everyone who saw and heard my bass, fell in love with it. Fingered, thumped, plucked, picked - it was a sound that fit in my head. There were less than a handful of times that I let someone 'sit in' and play it. I like wide spacing and low action, most bassists I encountered seemed to like medium / medium.... so it wasn't always a good fit for the next guy.
No, I will not say they are the best thing ever or that they are perfect. I will say that I am proud to be an owner / operator, and that it is close to "perfect, for me". We only live once. Don't spend another day wondering.
This was not going to be a closet queen - I planned on gigging the snot out of it. For a certain era, all of my gear (including the Pedulla) smelled like stale beer and cigarettes.
Safe bet to say - everyone who saw and heard my bass, fell in love with it. Fingered, thumped, plucked, picked - it was a sound that fit in my head. There were less than a handful of times that I let someone 'sit in' and play it. I like wide spacing and low action, most bassists I encountered seemed to like medium / medium.... so it wasn't always a good fit for the next guy.
No, I will not say they are the best thing ever or that they are perfect. I will say that I am proud to be an owner / operator, and that it is close to "perfect, for me". We only live once. Don't spend another day wondering.
songwriter21
I have an obsession for wood. The musical kind.
He's now playint Sandberg. There's thread about on here somewhere.
I highly recommend playing it standing up, sitting down, and however else you'll be using it.
I've had a handful of Pedullas over the years and the MVP/Buzz never balanced well for me.
Not terrible by any means, but enough that it was immediately noticeable when I got another bass that balanced properly on me.
The sound and feel are amazing, but for me, the ergonomics just don't fit my body.
This is obviously a personal preference, but spending that kind of $ on a bass you'd better be sure it is going to work for you!
The build quality and the finishes are some of the best around.
The MVP/Buzz 4 string necks though...some of the finest I've played.
So slim and fast.
The only weak link in the Buzz/MVP is the control cavity being so close to the edge of the body.
The wood can be quite thin where the output jack is, and around the lower edge of the body.
Be sure to check the truss rod adjustment nut as well.
I've seen many get mangled (and received one in poor condition) from a lack of adjustment technique.
Those old ones should have a regular adjustment nut you can use a socket wrench on instead of the "newer" (from early 90's) ones with the hexagonal bit that is easily stripped if not carefully adjusted.
I've had a handful of Pedullas over the years and the MVP/Buzz never balanced well for me.
Not terrible by any means, but enough that it was immediately noticeable when I got another bass that balanced properly on me.
The sound and feel are amazing, but for me, the ergonomics just don't fit my body.
This is obviously a personal preference, but spending that kind of $ on a bass you'd better be sure it is going to work for you!
The build quality and the finishes are some of the best around.
The MVP/Buzz 4 string necks though...some of the finest I've played.
So slim and fast.
The only weak link in the Buzz/MVP is the control cavity being so close to the edge of the body.
The wood can be quite thin where the output jack is, and around the lower edge of the body.
Be sure to check the truss rod adjustment nut as well.
I've seen many get mangled (and received one in poor condition) from a lack of adjustment technique.
Those old ones should have a regular adjustment nut you can use a socket wrench on instead of the "newer" (from early 90's) ones with the hexagonal bit that is easily stripped if not carefully adjusted.
IS, I once had a conversation with Alembic about their run of basses they built for a deal with Guitar Center, and the gist of it was their experience was similar to Mr. Pedulla's: They had to bring in more employees to build way more basses than they were used to, and just felt the volume was going to weaken their rep and were very uneasy with that. So when they had a chance to walk away from the arrangement when it was time to negotiate a new deal or extension, they ran. They utterly hated to let people go they'd hired for this, but they wanted to get a handle back on their traditional business and their considerable quality.
The Buzz/MVP platform is one of the ultimate 'full scale bass in a tiny body' designs ever. Would have been interesting to see it developed with alternate woods past the traditional all maple builds.
Mr. Pedulla has more than certainly earned the right to retire and do what he wants, and hope he has a great retirement. I wish he had found a contractor who could faithfully keep building them, but totally understand if he thinks he needs to build them himself, and without him, it doesn't go on.
Not a 'vintage' guy by any means, but I think these are only going to go up in value, and wish I could find one before they go out of sight.
Last edited:
Mike was quite clear that he never felt that the GC deal weakened his rep or that the instruments were sub-par. Indeed, his basses were always excellent. However, he did state that he felt that he had moved more into managing staff than building hands on himself (albeit he was still involved in hands-on work).
For someone who seems to have had such a personal connection to the basses bearing his name, I can understand why he chose to downsize and go back to the way he had started.
For someone who seems to have had such a personal connection to the basses bearing his name, I can understand why he chose to downsize and go back to the way he had started.
Correction: MVPs and Buzzes were more expensive than Thunderbolts ...but the Thunderbass was in the same price range as the MVP/Buzz. (I'm referring to new MSRP when all were still being made, not what pre-owned instruments are currently going for on the used market.)
I've seen several Thunderbolts at attractive prices but passed on them because of the truss rod. Probably my loss.
I had a Pentabuzz and it was an absolutely beautiful bass. One of my biggest bass regrets is letting it go.
My '84 MVP has a single action truss rod with a nut that accepts the same Gibson tool that I use on all my 80s Peavey basses. As soon as I saw that nut, I was like... "Oh, that's familiar!"
I watched Howard Ulyate and another man on youtube yesterday talking about a turquoise-ish MVP5. I think they called their clip 2 guys, 1 bass or something like that. Evidently, in the late 80s or 90s, Mike switched to a dual action truss rod with a (they said) square head truss nut that required the special tool. They also said something about Mike's earlier basses had no steel reinforcement rods, and that the ones with the square nut had steel rods.
I'm glad mine uses a familiar tool that I can buy any day of the week. And, I'm not a fan of steel rods either. I've had a few Warmoth necks with steel rods and they weigh a good pound more than necks without them. So far, I've found no dead notes on my new to me MVP, the truss nut looks like its barely been used, and the rod does it's job with very little actual tension put on it... probably because the neck goes into a slight back bow with no string tension and the truss nut backed completely off. I have to wonder if Mike built the backbow into the necks, when he was using single action rods? It would make sense if he did.
I watched Howard Ulyate and another man on youtube yesterday talking about a turquoise-ish MVP5. I think they called their clip 2 guys, 1 bass or something like that. Evidently, in the late 80s or 90s, Mike switched to a dual action truss rod with a (they said) square head truss nut that required the special tool. They also said something about Mike's earlier basses had no steel reinforcement rods, and that the ones with the square nut had steel rods.
I'm glad mine uses a familiar tool that I can buy any day of the week. And, I'm not a fan of steel rods either. I've had a few Warmoth necks with steel rods and they weigh a good pound more than necks without them. So far, I've found no dead notes on my new to me MVP, the truss nut looks like its barely been used, and the rod does it's job with very little actual tension put on it... probably because the neck goes into a slight back bow with no string tension and the truss nut backed completely off. I have to wonder if Mike built the backbow into the necks, when he was using single action rods? It would make sense if he did.
He IS amazing and I also saw his video with the Sandberg. First thing I thought though was that he didn't look as ergonomically comfortable as he did with his MVP. Those were like an extension of his arms and effortless...the Sandberg looked like he was workin it.
Amazing nonetheless. Too bad that Pedulla didn't make him a signature model and do only those as a semi retirement plan.
I have no idea who Doug Johns is, but since this thread is about Pedullas, Imma post this video:
Dude definitely does not look like he's fighting the ergonomics of that bass!
Dude definitely does not look like he's fighting the ergonomics of that bass!
Last edited:
My 1982 Buzz has a single-action truss rod with a "conventional" nut as well. It has some turns on it, but it no doubt has many more turns left in it, and I've only had to adjust it maybe three or four times since I purchased this bass in 1990.
I've used the same make and model strings all that time until just last year.
I think your MVP is no doubt prettier than my Buzz. When they switched to the new logo is also when he appears to have upped his game a bit with the finishes and even some of the woodwork as well.
Last edited:
