I'm thinking of purchasing a Rapture Bass (J2-5) Can anyone give me heads up on this Beast (Pro's & Con's)
I used to have one. Great J style 5 stringer. Excellent B string. I sold it because I didn't care for the Bart pickups and preamp, they were too dark for me. I like bright, clanky tone that cuts through. And the bass was too nice to hack up for replacement pickups. Try it. If you like the sound of most Bartolini pickups, you will probably love it.
All pros here. First off, its lightweight. I have the 19mm bridge spacing-no cramping and plenty of space to thump. This is the first bass I ever played that "felt" right in my hands. And the tone is to die for-sparkling highs with no hiss even with treble at 100%. The best B I ever heard on a 34" scale. Plus Mike Pedulla and his crew are a pleasure to deal with. You will not be sorry!
I to use to own one. A great playing bass.I also love the 19mm, spacing Very well made. I to had issues with Bart. pickups. I just don't like Bart Jazz pickups, love there soapbars. I've own three Pedulla bass all are top of the line. Mike is great guy to deal with. If your looking fo a 5-string jazz bass this maybe it. I dig the 5-string Rapture with the single soapbar better.
I'm a huge fan of the Rapture with the 17.5mm spacing, which just goes to show that Mike Pedulla and company are aware of consumer demand and will supply basses with both tighter and wider string spacing at the same price. All positives, and the only negatives I've ever seen have to do with how a dealer has maintained the bass (sharp frets from humidity issues, customer dings, things of that nature) and not the initial construction itself. Wonderful players, from the standard solid finish with soapbar to the *bling bling* AAA flamed maple J2000.
Great basses, excellent playability. I like both the j style and the one soapbar style, but prefer the j's. Excellent basses wit hgreat B strings
had one and sold it...i still kinda regret it but at the time it was the right move. One of the best Jazz 5 I have ever played. I wasn't as impressed with the B as much as others but was floored by the versatility of it. Great, now I miss my old one....
Mmmmm Pedullas... I like to think of Pedullas as "bass meets sports car." Awesome sound, great balance and a neck that says "I was handcarved for you!" Lonnybass
No complaints here on my J-2 4. I love it, and the barts that go with it. For me the maple body really balences out the deep warm barts.
everytime i play one at the shop, i have almost an hour long debate with myself whether or not i should trade in my thunderbass t5 for one. very comfortable to play (like all pedullas to me), awesome jazz growl, and good b string. hehe and they're uber-pretty to boot!
I did essentially trade my thunderbass for mine. It has a maple body and maple neck, so I feel the tone leans toward bright, although I play it unplugged a lot when I'm practicing. It feels alive. When it's unplugged, it's really loud and responsive, hallmarks of a quality instrument. It is Sooo easy to play. If you set the action low, you can almost just hint at moving your fingers and suddenly you aer playing much faster than you thought you could. The B-string feels just like the other strings. After trying out a bunch of 5ers, this is really quite an accomplishment. You don't need to think "Oh, I am about to use the B-string. Let me switch to the altered technique I use for that." The EQ when plugged in makes it cover any conceivable situation, which is why I gave up the Thunderbass. The Rapture could almost do the one thing the Thunderbass does, plus it could do all this other much more practical stuff. The typical sound I use has a warm body with some sizzle on top. The resale value of these is criminally low. You could pick one up for 8 or 9 hundred.
I had one with the 17.5mm spacing it was a great sounding bass I ultimately got rid of it due to the spacing.
One of the best necks I've ever played, great balance and relatively lightweight. Sold it because I didn't like the Bart Jazz pickups or Bart preamp.
