pedulla

I don't know about the Rapture.

A Pedulla MVP-5 I played a few times is one of my favorite fivers. That's the fretted version of the PentaBuzz.

 

In my opinion the Pedulla stomps the Fender in everyway...Course I am a tad biased.

 

Having had both Fender 5s and Pedulla fives (I still own one) I can pretty much reinforce what chaoslord wrote.
The fit, finish and tone of the Pedulla is going to be far above the regular Fender Jazz 5 or the Deluxe.
Where Fenders pull a tad closer are when you get to the Roscoe Beck 5, the FMT Deluxe 5 or a Custom Shop 5.
But the Roscoe Beck weighs a ton and is passive (which you might be happy with), the FMT has a floppier B than the Rapture, and a Custom Shop is somewhat prohibitive in the area of cost.
All in all, I think the Rapture J5 is a fabulous bass made by a boutique builder and usually available used a non-boutique price. They are comparable in tone to any great active J-style bass I have ever played, and I have owned and played scads.
They are a great buy.
BTW, beautiful pieces chaoslord!

 

Pedulla fretless basses rule. I'm partial to the one below, a ThunderBolt 5 fretless. Slap a set of TI Jazz Flats on it, and you can have all the mwah you want.

 

What is the scale on those things?

 

Pedullas are 34" scale. They are often cited as proof that you don't need to have a 35" scale for a great low B, since their low B's are fantastic.

 

I currently own a Pedulla Thunderbolt 5.

I owned a Fender American Deluxe Jazz V. (Notice the word owned).

To me there really is no comparison. The Pedulla wins hands down. Big fat punchy sound that's not muddy, and the B is great.

JMO,

Don

 

The best fretless bass I've played was a Rapture J-2 with the optional coated fretboard. (the Buzz basses fall in at second)

Very, very tight B, mwah for miles, some of the best fit and finish work in the biz, and from what I hear, Mike Pedulla and Co. have possibly the best customer service out there.

I'm partial to the MVPs and the Thunderbolt basses. Those are what basses should be, and I would love to own one if I wasn't a flat broke college student.

 

I own 2 Pedullas, a Series2 fretless 4 string (passive electronics), and a Thunderbolt fretted 5. I must say they are some of the best basses I have played. Fenders don't even come close, don't even bother with Fender.